# appraising a timeshare?



## Dr. Cheesesteak (Feb 2, 2013)

Are there services or companies available that could appraise my timeshare to see its sale value?  Specifically for timeshares using annual points (for multiple locations)?  I checked at TUG's marketplace's For Sale Ads and the ratios seem to vary quite a bit.  

Is checking the sales ads the only way to get an idea of what mine is worth?  If I were to sell mine, would it be smart/viable to just sell it at about what I'm paying per credit x total credits available per year?  Or, back to the original question, is there a service that can do an un/official valuation/appraisal?


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## timeos2 (Feb 2, 2013)

"Appraisals" of timeshares was a big scam a few years back. As you only own 1/52nd of a unit - and at float resorts or systems maybe not even a specific unit - no appraisal as would be done on a whole ownership house or condo is realistic. 

Best to look at recent sales to get a good estimate of resale value. Usually it's depressingly low.


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## Goofyhobbie (Feb 2, 2013)

Hi Doc,

Sounds like you are looking for the equivalent of a Timeshare Real Estate Agent who like a regular Real Estate Agent would research the market and provide you the seller with "comparables." 

Be very careful when seeking such a person; because most if not all will ask for an upfront fee to "list" your timeshare.  If they offer to provide you with a value that value is probably not worth the paper it is written on.

A good guide, in my humble opinion, is not what others are asking for the timeshare that they own. 

A good guide is what a particular timeshare interest or more correctly what several similar timeshare interests actually sold for in the market place.

Two suggestions:

 1) Take a look to see if the county where your timeshare interest is located provides access on the internet to real estate transactions and more specifically to Timeshare or Timeshare points contract transactions. 

[However, when looking be sure to watch out for and not consider the very small dollar amount sales where the transaction is obviously just a token amount to satisfy the desire of both the seller and the buyer to simply record the deed. Also, discard sales where the very high dollar amount recorded is so high because a developer or a developer's agent was the Seller.]

2) Go to a major auction site like E-bay and look for actual transactions between a willing buyer and a willing seller of similar timeshare interest. But be prepared for a surprise when the average final sale price is determined.


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## ronparise (Feb 2, 2013)

Contrary to what others have said or implied a proper appraisal of a timeshare is no different than the appraisal of single family homes, condos or even commercial real estate, (apartment buildings stores and even warehouses and industrial property)

There are generally speaking 3 approaches 1) market, ie what have similar properties sold for recently 2) income ie what is the present value of the future stream of income (rent) generated by the property and 3) replacement value

A good appraiser will look at all three and give greater weight to the approach that best supports the purpose of the appraisal. 

With timeshares, I think a combination of market and income approaches would be right...ie what have other similar timeshares sold for recently, and how does that compare with the cost to rent something comparable.


The problem is you probably wont find an appraiser that knows anything about timeshares. I think you would be better off finding a broker that specializes in the timeshare you want to sell...You used the word  "credits" in your post, which leads me to believe we are talking about Worldmark. There are several good brokers that dont charge an up front fee to list and sell Worldmark. and thats the case for all the big names that have value, ie Marriott, Starwood etc..and even Wyndham


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## PTR (Feb 3, 2013)

*Timeshare Price Opinions*

[You cannot advertise your services on TUG.  You may have a link in your signature line, but it may only say "my website."  Please Review the Posting Rules - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/tug_rules.php -  DeniseM Moderator]


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## rrsafety (Feb 3, 2013)

Dr. Cheesesteak said:


> Are there services or companies available that could appraise my timeshare to see its sale value?  Specifically for timeshares using annual points (for multiple locations)?  I checked at TUG's marketplace's For Sale Ads and the ratios seem to vary quite a bit.
> 
> Is checking the sales ads the only way to get an idea of what mine is worth?  If I were to sell mine, would it be smart/viable to just sell it at about what I'm paying per credit x total credits available per year?  Or, back to the original question, is there a service that can do an un/official valuation/appraisal?



Post your TS info and ask the folks here there opinion of its worth. No sense paying hundreds of dollars to an appraiser to find out your TS is worth negative $900.


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## Dr. Cheesesteak (Feb 4, 2013)

DeniseM said:


> I'm sorry, but so many people have done that to solicit offers, that we no longer permit it.


well, could I give a general, semi-vague/ambiguous description?

I'm really new to the timeshare lingo/specifics, but mine is not just a single location access one.  I see the sale ads on TUG and eBay and it seems like 90% are for just 1 location, i.e. "selling my timeshare in the Bahamas".  Well, mine has multiple locations around the world.  And has an annual points system (which apparently is also a different dynamic).  I saw only a couple For Sales advertised on TUG here that fit that description as well and the prices weren't too surprising.  I've been told before timeshares don't re-sell for a lot (although I've never been given specifics).  However, I believe mine would be worth more than what those advertised ones were, based on the points.  Hope that wasn't too specific to count as an advertisement!  

Again, I'm not sure familiar w/ how timeshares work exactly, in terms of the legalese, accessibility and what buyers are looking for.  I've only owned mine for a few years (it was inherited) and have only done bookings online for myself/family, but now I'm interested in renting it out and possibly selling.  

I've seen some of those single-location timeshares being advertised to sell for like $20k~80k.  Yet ones that are worldwide for only $5k.  So I'm just truly in the dark about what the differences are and such.  Obviously locations matter and I'm sure the accessibility makes a difference as well (like, some of those 1-location timeshares seem to only be available at X time of year?  So it's limited, but also there's no worry about booking?).  But if one has the same locations as those $20k+ single-location timeshares and others, wouldn't it be safe to presume that person's timeshare is worth more?



ronparise said:


> You used the word  "credits" in your post, which leads me to believe we are talking about Worldmark.


yeah, pretty much.  From what I gather, as I tried to describe above, there seems to be a fundamental difference that sets Worldmark/Wyndham (I'm still not sure about the technicalities of them.  My acct mgr said Wyndham was a sister company of Worldmark...i thought Wyndham owned Worldmark?  And now RCI is officially bought out by Worldmark, as is "Fremont"?) apart w/ its annual credit system.  I honestly just thought that was the norm until just the past year or so doing a little timeshare research.


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## sue1947 (Feb 5, 2013)

Worldmark resales run about .30-.40/annual credit amount plus or minus based on credits and HK tokens available to use.  

Wyndham doesn't own WM; it is the manager and developer.  RCI also doesn't own it.  

Go to www.wmowners.com and read through the rent/buy threads.  There is also a thread of trusted resellers if you don't want to sell it yourself.  There are also threads on accounts for sale and you can scroll through and see what they are selling for.  

Sue


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## PassionForTravel (Feb 5, 2013)

What may be confusing you is that if you are looking at EBay, EBay requires timeshares to be listed with a specific location even if it's a point system where the points can be used anywhere. So all the ones for Worldmark are really for all locations and the seller is just picking whatever location they think will attract buyers who don't know better. 

Now Wyndham (WVR), HGVC, etc are different in that they have a home resort that MF's are tied to and that affects their value.


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## lcml11 (Feb 5, 2013)

Dr. Cheesesteak said:


> well, could I give a general, semi-vague/ambiguous description?
> 
> I'm really new to the timeshare lingo/specifics, but mine is not just a single location access one.  I see the sale ads on TUG and eBay and it seems like 90% are for just 1 location, i.e. "selling my timeshare in the Bahamas".  Well, mine has multiple locations around the world.  And has an annual points system (which apparently is also a different dynamic).  I saw only a couple For Sales advertised on TUG here that fit that description as well and the prices weren't too surprising.  I've been told before timeshares don't re-sell for a lot (although I've never been given specifics).  However, I believe mine would be worth more than what those advertised ones were, based on the points.  Hope that wasn't too specific to count as an advertisement!
> 
> ...



Worldmark, the Club, if that is what you are referring to, did not buy out RCI.

Here is how Wyndham describes the relationship with RCI:

http://www.wyndhamworldwide.com/about-wyndham-worldwide/wyndham-exchange-rentals


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## timeos2 (Feb 5, 2013)

And if this is a Worldmark or any system based on a RTU / Trust type setup then the very idea of an "appraisal" of the value becomes nonsense. There is no unit and you can't possibly value the system as a whole. 

Whenever you hear appraisal and timeshare at the same time you can be fairly certain there is some type of serious misrepresentation and a planned scam going on - usually for a big chunk of unearned upfront money for a bogus service.


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## Rent_Share (Feb 5, 2013)

In his first post he basically listed all of the Worldmark Locations as well as the RCI/II locations asking where/when he should reserve to maximize his rental income


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## MaryH (Feb 5, 2013)

Check email sale prices.  I seen some recent sales around .20 per annual credit


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## Rent_Share (Feb 5, 2013)

People who don't own worldmark often understate thepoint cost by neglecting to add unecessary add on charges imposed by the PCC sellers. Which are normal for "deeded properties"

Your comparables cannot be properly adjusted


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## benyu2010 (Feb 6, 2013)

If you own a WorldMark, the best place to find the answers for yourself is

http://www.wmtsinfo.com

http://wmowners.com/forum/index.php

If you need to sell, there is plenty of information on the site to help you DIY. Alternatively, you may find a list of recommendated resale agents to do the legwork. WorldMark ownership is trust-based and ownership is relatively easy to transfer. If DIY, key part is to find a knowledgable and trustworthy counterpart to walk through the process and properly handle the financial part.

Since you are still in "who is who" stage of your ownership, JMHO, rental is not something you would find deeply rewarding. Any week with commercial rental value was sought after by mega renters with great know-how and financial committment. It is simply not a level playing field for casual owner to compete with.

WorldMark is a great timeshare with lots of flexbilities. If you are undecided at the moment, you may rent out your available points to other owners. That would likely cover your maintanence fee and allow you more time to learn and evaluate your option based on individual circumstances.

The last thing you should know is WorldMark ownership has positive value and an active resale market. You do not need to pay anyone any $$$ UPFRONT to appraise or list for sale.


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## gnorth16 (Feb 7, 2013)

ronparise said:


> Contrary to what others have said or implied a proper appraisal of a timeshare is no different than the appraisal of single family homes, condos or even commercial real estate, (apartment buildings stores and even warehouses and industrial property)
> 
> There are generally speaking 3 approaches 1) market, ie what have similar properties sold for recently 2) income ie what is the present value of the future stream of income (rent) generated by the property and 3) replacement value
> 
> ...



Ron is bang on with everything here.  I'm taking the real estate appraisal courses to become certified and as Ron mentioned, there is little discussed on timeshares. The last textbook was almost 600 pages and there was *one paragraph*  about timeshares. 

There would even be a considerable discussion of what a "market value" of the timeshare would be and what and where comparables would be found.  There is a MLS service for timeshares, however I have no idea what percentage of timeshares are listed on it.  Private sales, eBay, arms length with closing, many sales are distress... I personally would not appraise a timeshare, however, "ballparking" is what tuggers and brokers do best.  Even then, comparable listings would most likely only be used, often lacking the most recent or comparable sale.


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## benyu2010 (Feb 7, 2013)

If the resale market of timeshare is transparent, efficient and liquid, fully developed and regulated, it would crush the current developer model of marketing and sale.


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## Dr. Cheesesteak (Feb 7, 2013)

MaryH said:


> Check email sale prices.  I seen some recent sales around .20 per annual credit





sue1947 said:


> Worldmark resales run about .30-.40/annual credit amount plus or minus based on credits and HK tokens available to use.
> 
> Wyndham doesn't own WM; it is the manager and developer.  RCI also doesn't own it.
> 
> ...





benyu2010 said:


> If you own a WorldMark, the best place to find the answers for yourself is
> 
> http://www.wmtsinfo.com
> 
> ...


Thank you guys all for that info and advice.  Will definitely check those links and probably lurk on those WM forums rather than here.  

And yeah, benyu, I've been thinking of and weighing the options - just trying to break even, try to make profit, partially cover fees, get rid of the whole dang thing, etc.  It's just been a big strain on my finances, as my finances have changed over the past half year, but of course I want to keep it for the future.  And a lot of the processes, renting competition, and such are a bit over my head as I've never had to deal w/ real estate legalese or knowledge until I inherited this timeshare a few years ago.  I will definitely take more time to think about and look into it.


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## PearlCity (Feb 7, 2013)

Take time to read and learn and find out what you have. I think with wm you can break your account up to sell some of you points completely and keep some to reduce your maintenance fee annual cost obligation. Good luck!


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## lcml11 (Feb 7, 2013)

gnorth16 said:


> Ron is bang on with everything here.  I'm taking the real estate appraisal courses to become certified and as Ron mentioned, there is little discussed on timeshares. The last textbook was almost 600 pages and there was *one paragraph*  about timeshares.
> 
> There would even be a considerable discussion of what a "market value" of the timeshare would be and what and where comparables would be found.  There is a MLS service for timeshares, however I have no idea what percentage of timeshares are listed on it.  Private sales, eBay, arms length with closing, many sales are distress... I personally would not appraise a timeshare, however, "ballparking" is what tuggers and brokers do best.  Even then, comparable listings would most likely only be used, often lacking the most recent or comparable sale.



It might be helpful to sellers of timeshare interests if the link to the MLS service was provided.  Does the MLS service also cover rentals?  Thanks.

Is this the group you were refering to?

http://www.timesharebrokersmls.com/


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## gnorth16 (Feb 7, 2013)

Yes that is the MLS for brokers.  My experience with it is limited to Judi Kozlowski (Re/Max) and her specializing in HGVC. I'm not sure what it has for rentals. 

 For the most part, when doing an appraisal(for a house), the bank wants MLS listings as comparables, since it is seen as the "marketplace" for sales.  Would MLS for timeshares be the equivalent? Maybe, but again, many of the similar TS's could be excluded giving an inaccurate valuation.


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## richardm (Feb 7, 2013)

I sent the OP a private message with a link to the service he needs..


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