Anyone know anything about My Resort Network?

[smittygg]

My Resort Network contacted me to sell my Marriott timeshare at Harbour Lakes in Orlando. I am real nervous about giving anyone any escrow money. They stated they can sell it for $26k when on-line I see it never over $5k! Your thoughts appreciated....

 

[DeniseM]

Hi and welcome to TUG!

Are you sure the name is exactly My Resort Network? My Resort Network does not solicit sales - they are a reputable listing site where owners can post a "for sale" Ad, but they don't solicit sales.

ANY company that charges a large upfront fee is trying to scam you. They make their money with the upfront fee and then they make no attempt to sell your timeshare.

There are a lot of scammers out there taking advantage of desperate timeshare owners these days. Most timeshares are selling for 0-10% of retail, but that's a bitter pill to swallow, so owners grasp at shady offers, hoping they are for real. Legitimate resellers charge a commission after the sale, but the scammers all ask for a large upfront payment.

Here are some warnings signs with these kinds of companies:

1) Did you get an unsolicited sales call from them?

2) Do they say that they already have a renter/buyer for your timeshare? (or an established market like people attending conventions.)

3) Do they want you to pay hundreds/thousands of dollars for a title search, or transfer fees, or taxes, or a closing fee, or appraisal, UPFRONT?

4) Are they offering to rent/sell it for far more than the market value?

5) Do they want you to pay a large up front fee that supposedly you will get back?

6) Do they want your credit card number over the phone?​

If you answer yes to any of these questions, then this is the usual scenario:

Once you pay the fee and receive the contract, you discover that the company has only promised to advertise your resort, not to rent/sell it, and they don't mention having a renter/buyer in the contract.

Then, you won't hear anything from them for a long time, and when you contact them, they will tell you that the renter/buyer backed out, but they will advertise your timeshare on their over-priced website.

Finally, when you try to get your money back, they will point out that you signed a contract, and it's only for advertising.

When you try to challenge it with your credit card company, they will tell you that you only had 60 days to dispute the charge, and that it's too late to do anything.​

To see what your timeshare is really worth on the current resale market:

1) Register with eBay
2) Log into eBay
3) Search for the resort by exact name
4) Click on "completed listings" on the menu on the left

(Be sure you look at the completed listings - those are actually SELLING prices - you will find asking prices all over the place, but what really counts is what they actually sold for.)
​

 

[dougp26364]

Denise,

There's a company either using that name or, using a name VERY close. We had a call this past week that was trickier than most. They left a message on my answering service saying they needed to talk to me about our sold Marriott timeshare. Curious, I called and found it was exactly what I thought, another bogus sales company looking for an upfront fee.

To the OP,

DON'T give them the time of day and DON'T give them any money up front. They're preying on desperate people who need or think they want to sell their timeshare for cash. If you have a couple thousand lying around to throw away, give it to your favorite charity. These guys are crooks and they WON'T sell your timeshare for what they claim.

Personally, I blame timeshare developers and salesmen for this problem. Who is it that sells a timeshare and tells you buy today because the value/price will go up tomorrow? Who sells a timeshare as an investment by brining up historical DEVELOPER pricing, either for that particular resort or for other resorts the developer has sold? All TS salesmen sell their product using the line, or something similar, "Own a piece of ........." In Vegas the famous line was own a piece of the Las Vegas strip, as if that meant an huge return on your investment since land on the LV strip was skyrocketing in value (at that time). People bought thinking it was a real estate investment.

Now, on the back side, we have these scammers making a living off that same line. To many people who bought timeshare, bought that line that their purchase would do like normal real estate values and appreciate over time. Nothing is further from the truth but, if they sold it and told the truth, you resale value is 1/10th what I want to charge you, no one would buy.

 

[1950bing]

Back in '04 I used myresortnetwork.com. I started all the contact and it was sold in about three months. Everything went very smooth. Back then it was all free.( there is closing cost to pay but that's a different company ) I understand there is a charge now but nothing close to what scam places demand up front. So, I think you were contacted by a scam group using a name close to that of the above.
.

 

[larryallen]

You said, "They stated they can sell it for $26k when on-line I see it never over $5k! Your thoughts appreciated...."

I think you answered your own question. If it seems to good to be true....

 

[dioxide45]

My Resort Network is a fairly reputable online listing company. They don't charge a big upfront fee, just a nominal listing fee of about $35. This outfit that called the OP seems to be riding off of their company's name.

 

[Janette]

I've used myresortnetwork.com to sell, buy ,rent my timeshare and rent one for my family. I had good results when using good timeshares. If a timeshare is not in the top tier, you may not get the results we did. They did not solicit our business. I went to their web site.

 

[LisaRex]

The second a caller says the word "timeshare," I say, "I don't own a timeshare."

Stops them dead in their tracks.

Complete denial works with calls of all sorts of unwanted solicitors. Try it next time.

"I don't own a house."
"I don't travel."
"I don't vote."
"I don't give to charity."
"I don't read magazines."

 

[NJMOM2]

Also add "I work for a media research company - I cannot participate in a survey"

 

[dougp26364]

I just tell them they have the wrong #. It's drastically slowed down the amount of unwanted phone solicitations we've received. Of course, there's always one. The other day I told one they had the wrong # and she said "that's all right, we're calling all residents in the area".........that's about the time I hung up on her.