Thinking of Renting for the first time

[gnipgnop]

There is a rental add on TUG that I am interested in but I am a little uncomfortable about renting from someone I don't know. Has anyone ever heard of Paul Symington - Utopia World Vacations?? The property is in California. Any assistance would be very appreciated.

 

[DeniseM]

There are a few simple steps you can take to verify a rental:
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109479

 

[gnipgnop]

But Denise, doesn't this name UWV Utopia Wold Vacations sound like a Real Estate or a scam??

 

[ronparise]

But Denise, doesn't this name UWV Utopia Wold Vacations sound like a Real Estate or a scam??

He has a nice website but it doesnt look like its been updated in several years

A simple rule of thumb is: If it feels wrong to you dont do it

Its pretty clear from your post that you dont feel comfortable. so......dont do it



Or you could give this guy a chance to prove himself. He should be able to send you a copy of his reservation and confirmation that you can confirm with the resort. I often will make conference calls, (me my client and the resort or their reservations dept). I have sent potential customers copies of my deeds to demonstrate my ownership. I have a website and I can provide names of previous, satisfied customers..If after all this I dont feel comfortable with my customer or they dont feel comfortable with me, we move on

 

[VegasBella]

I'm doing my first timeshare rental. I've also arranged rentals from individuals that aren't timeshares (vacation homes). The advice that Denise linked to is good. I may have my own advice later (since we haven't used the timeshare yet, just arranged the rental).

Here's how I see it:
- Most people are good people. Well, maybe not totally good, but most people are not total scammers. In other words, if you just randomly rent from anyone, there's only a slim chance you'll get scammed. It's a good gamble.
- Do the things you can to try to prevent fraud (double checking your reservation by calling up the resort, paying with a method that leaves a trail, etc) but ultimately the best advice is: don't spend more than you're willing to lose. Don't sign up for a rental that will leave you broke if things work out.

Also, renting from individuals means dealing with individual idiosyncracies. If you go to hotels.com and book a room it's simple and it's always the same. But when you rent from individuals you might get a chatty person who wants to email a lot back and forth or you might get someone who is tone deaf and doesn't get your jokes or you might get a worry-wart who wants you to sign some agreement that's 7 pages long. It's kind of interesting, really

 

[DeniseM]

But Denise, doesn't this name UWV Utopia Wold Vacations sound like a Real Estate or a scam??

I wouldn't worry about the name at all - I'd check out the facts, using the steps that I outlined in my post. There is nothing wrong with renting from a business, as long as they are reputable.

 

[gnipgnop]

I'm doing my first timeshare rental. I've also arranged rentals from individuals that aren't timeshares (vacation homes). The advice that Denise linked to is good. I may have my own advice later (since we haven't used the timeshare yet, just arranged the rental).

Here's how I see it:
- Most people are good people. Well, maybe not totally good, but most people are not total scammers. In other words, if you just randomly rent from anyone, there's only a slim chance you'll get scammed. It's a good gamble.
- Do the things you can to try to prevent fraud (double checking your reservation by calling up the resort, paying with a method that leaves a trail, etc) but ultimately the best advice is: don't spend more than you're willing to lose. Don't sign up for a rental that will leave you broke if things work out.

Also, renting from individuals means dealing with individual idiosyncracies. If you go to hotels.com and book a room it's simple and it's always the same. But when you rent from individuals you might get a chatty person who wants to email a lot back and forth or you might get someone who is tone deaf and doesn't get your jokes or you might get a worry-wart who wants you to sign some agreement that's 7 pages long. It's kind of interesting, really

I bet it's interesting but I'm still curious about the name or company I've mentioned above. To me this looks like a Rental Agency and I just want to know if anyone has heard of (or did business with) them. Thanks for all your advice so far.....I will definitely take it to heart.
OOps! I think we crossed in the mail Denise. Again thank you for your advice.

 

[DeniseM]

I bet it's interesting but I'm still curious about the name or company I've mentioned above. To me this looks like a Rental Agency and I just want to know if anyone has heard of (or did business with) them. Thanks for all your advice so far.....I will definitely take it to heart.

What's wrong with a rental agency?

 

[DeniseM]

Also - did you know that everyone who advertises on TUG must be a registered TUG member?

 

[VegasBella]

I bet it's interesting but I'm still curious about the name or company I've mentioned above. To me this looks like a Rental Agency and I just want to know if anyone has heard of (or did business with) them. Thanks for all your advice so far.....I will definitely take it to heart.
OOps! I think we crossed in the mail Denise. Again thank you for your advice.

Well I googled the name. Here is their website: http://www.utopiaworldvacations.com/

They claim they are a vacation property management company. So yes, sounds like a rental agency to me. They have some sort of affiliate program, maybe it's a multi-level markeing thing? Could be scammy or might be totally legit. The way they talk about the affiliate program feels scammy to me, but I honestly have no clue about this stuff. I bet it's probably not a scam reagrding the actual service they provide to renters, it's probably more slimely in how they acquire TS rentals or marketing services.

TUG thread about them here. Says don't let them "buy" your timeshare: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97306
Another thread I found on another forum says their rental went well: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2640543
But then they come up on Ripoff Report a few times.
I honestly have no idea. But Google is my friend, maybe it's your friend too?

 

[Xan]

Well I googled the name. Here is their website: http://www.utopiaworldvacations.com/

They claim they are a vacation property management company. So yes, sounds like a rental agency to me. They have some sort of affiliate program, maybe it's a multi-level markeing thing? Could be scammy or might be totally legit. The way they talk about the affiliate program feels scammy to me, but I honestly have no clue about this stuff. I bet it's probably not a scam reagrding the actual service they provide to renters, it's probably more slimely in how they acquire TS rentals or marketing services.

TUG thread about them here. Says don't let them "buy" your timeshare: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97306
Another thread I found on another forum says their rental went well: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2640543
But then they come up on Ripoff Report a few times.
I honestly have no idea. But Google is my friend, maybe it's your friend too?

When in doubt, don’t rent through the company and stick to TUG members for your rentals.

I definitely only know of one person that has their own website, (I’m sure there are a few more), but they are also a TUG member and have been renting their units and helping others rent out their units when they run out of weeks to rent.

Far as I know, we are all owners at the same single resort, but I don’t know if we are all TUG members, since I personally haven’t conversed to all these owners like the person with the website has.

See if you can talk to the person on the phone and make sure it’s a phone number that accepts return/incoming calls!

I don’t always trust Google, since anyone can write anything to make it sound true.


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[VacationForever]

When in doubt, don’t rent through the company and stick to TUG members for your rentals.

I definitely only know of one person that has their own website, (I’m sure there are a few more), but they are also a TUG member and have been renting their units and helping others rent out their units when they run out of weeks to rent.

Far as I know, we are all owners at the same single resort, but I don’t know if we are all TUG members, since I personally haven’t conversed to all these owners like the person with the website has.

See if you can talk to the person on the phone and make sure it’s a phone number that accepts return/incoming calls!

I don’t always trust Google, since anyone can write anything to make it sound true.


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This thread is from 2013. The ship has sailed...

 

[Xan]

This thread is from 2013. The ship has sailed...

Why am I getting this as current news? I didn’t even look at the date!


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