Help! Newbie who just received a huge offer on my timeshare

[SweetHeart17]

So yesterday I received a call from a company I advertised with over a year ago, American Resort Planners. I was told there was an offer from a buyer in Italy offering to buy my studio timeshare in Hawaii for $21,000. It's only worth about $12,000. I was told the buyer has already put down a deposit of $4200. Closing cost are $1850, and ARP's commission is 4% or $840. If this is legit, I'd walk away with about $5k in profit, but from reading through this forum, that's a pipe dream.

In June 2009 I was suckered into buying this timeshare. I'm actually using it in 3 weeks to spend a week in Hawaii, but the payments are still tough and ultimately I'd like to sell it.

Is this a scam? Any advice? I'm totally clueless on all of this and have no experience with how buying/selling real estate or timeshares works.

 

[siesta]

yes this is a scam, they will ask you to pay the money up front, closing and commission.

 

[DeniseM]

Hi and welcome to TUG!

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

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

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

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

5) Do they want your credit card number before they send you a contract?​

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.)
​

 

[MustangGuy]

scam

So yesterday I received a call from a company I advertised with over a year ago, American Resort Planners. I was told there was an offer from a buyer in Italy offering to buy my studio timeshare in Hawaii for $21,000. It's only worth about $12,000. I was told the buyer has already put down a deposit of $4200. Closing cost are $1850, and ARP's commission is 4% or $840. If this is legit, I'd walk away with about $5k in profit, but from reading through this forum, that's a pipe dream.

In June 2009 I was suckered into buying this timeshare. I'm actually using it in 3 weeks to spend a week in Hawaii, but the payments are still tough and ultimately I'd like to sell it.

Is this a scam? Any advice? I'm totally clueless on all of this and have no experience with how buying/selling real estate or timeshares works.

If there is a profit to be made, the resale company would not need any funds to make it happen. All funds would go to escrow, they would be the gate keeper of the monies to be made on buyer and sellers end.

 

[bogey21]

yes this is a scam, they will ask you to pay the money up front, closing and commission.

But they haven't yet. Play dumb. Tell them you accept and when (if) they ask you for any money, credit card number, or the like, then walk away. Chances are 99 out of 100 it is a scam, but I don't see what you have to lose by playing along. But remember, pay them nothing and if they send you documents, read them carfully.

George

 

[Rent_Share]

:rofl:

It's only worth about $12,000

:rofl:

This is where I find the arbitrary rules about not listing the property name frustrating.

There are a small fraction of timeshare weeks worth 1,200 in today's market much less 12.000

Since it's such a handsome profit for you offer to double their fees if they will just take it out of the proceeds. . . . . . . You will never hear from them again

 

[yoohoo]

There may be another angle to this. The buyers will you they are sending a cashier's check for more than the selling price giving you some excuse that sounds good. They will then ask you to refund the overpaymet to them. The key to this is that the cashier's check is a fake.

 

[Stefa]

It's a scam. They are just trying to get more money out of you. Once they have your money the buyer will disappear and you will not hear from them again.

Sorry to say, but your timeshare isn't worth anything close to what you paid for it. Timeshares are not like real estate. Most are worth pennies on the dollar of what they cost when purchased from the developer.

 

[TSAdvocate]

American Resort Planners

The company "American Resort Planners" is a DBA for Equity Marketing Corp of the former scam Resort Equity Marketing. We find it funny that ARP is in operations with a valid TC number however the former president of Equity Marketing Corp disolved the company in August. This means that ARP is not only operating illegally but fraudelently using a telemarkeing license and a telephone as an act to perpentrate a fraud. Interesting...