Questions about selling timeshare

[carolmb]

Hi - I am new to these forums. We are interested in selling our timeshare [details deleted to avoid appearance of advertising. Dave M, BBS Moderator] The unit is a 2 bdr lockout. I called sellmytimesharenow.com and they want a $599 listing fee. The salesman said the listing prices are between $23,000-$29,000. I just started researching all of this yesterday so I am very confused. So far people are not recommending paying upfront fees. But is worth it not to have to worry about anything - they say they take care of everything. My sister says I should ask what their last 10 sales were and how long they sat on the market. We want to sell this timeshare. Any thoughts on a listing price? We also own Hilton and Disney. We are just not using the Hyatt one and lose money on it every year. We usually convert the Hilton one to HHonors points every year. Any advice is greatly appricated.
Thanks,
Carol

 

[AwayWeGo]

If An Upfront Fee Actually Worked, Paying It Would Be O. K.

So far people are not recommending paying upfront fees. But is worth it not to have to worry about anything - they say they take care of everything.

Fee for service is OK. No problem.

The trouble with Upfront Fee timeshare listers is that you pay the fee & get virtually no service. That is the only reason that TUG people recommend against it so strongly.

Once the upfront people have your $599, that's all they're ever going to get out of the deal, mox nix whether your timeshare sells or not. So they apply their efforts to fast-talking other people out of more upfront fees rather than applying themselves to actually selling timeshares. (They may sell a timeshare now & then, but that's strictly a side-line to the main business of cashing those upfront-fee checks.)

If you want to try it anyway, it'll only cost you $599. Shux, some of'm take upfront fees of $2,000 or so -- whatever the traffic will bear. The thing is, you can heed The Wisdom Of TUG & learn the same thing for free instead of shelling out $599 to learn it 1st hand for yourself.

The upfront-fee companies actually do maintain & operate Internet web pages of timeshare for sale listings. The main reason they do that is so that when people who have laid out big bux for their "services" complain that nothing is happening, the company can point to the web site as evidence that they're doing something -- "something" as in not much.

Good luck.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Dave M]

Please carefully read the "How to Sell" article located at the top of the list of topics for this Buying, Selling, Renting forum. You'll learn how to improve your chances of selling without getting scammed. That article was developed and is regularly updated based on thousands of posts on these forums about reselling.

Paying an upfront fee such as you mention is a sure route to throwing that money away. Read the article for more info.

No matter what someone who wants an upfront fee promises, timeshares are now selling for practically nothing. The poor economy has resulted in many premium timeshares selling on the resale market for 10% or less of developer prices. Such companies will often tell you what you want to hear. It sounds good and is often convincing.

If you pay an upfront fee, remember, you were warned!!

 

[tango]

My suggestion is to go to ebay, the classified section of this board, and Redweek.com. Look up the sections that your timeshares are in, and follow a few sales for a few weeks. This will give you an idea of what is selling and for how much. Many timeshares don't sell even for a dollar. Many are listed for thousands of dollars, and just sit there. But for some TS there definitely is a market, and there is a value, even though it might be less than you would expect. Then, you can decide, whether it worth your while to try to sell.

 

[Stefa]

But is worth it not to have to worry about anything - they say they take care of everything.

Carol

They don't "take care of everything." They put up a very generic ad on their site and that's all. They make no effort to market your specific unit/resort. Many of their listings don't even specify a season or view when that can make a huge difference in the selling price. That should tell you how interested they are in actually marketing the timeshares they have collected big $$$ to list. Plus you are still responsible for responding to inquiries and dealing with potential buyers.

Since it sounds like you own a nicer timeshare, you could consider using a broker if you really aren't comfortable selling it yourself. They will charge a commission on the final sale so you lose nothing if it doesn't sell.

 

[crazywoman]

how did I get to be so stupid

I am in the same situation as Carol. We have a timeshare in Williamsburg that we want to sell, a 2 bed/1 bed lock out. I gave my credit card to a company (my husband would murder me), came home, looked up reviews on line, called and canceled. I also emailed and canceled.

Every time I check online for reviews of upfront timeshare sales companies, they are blasted. I was sinking into the "oh please, help me sell it" mind set. I am a Realtor, I should know better. I don't charge an upfront fee for listing a property though some Realtors do, but they reimburse the fee at closing.

I've now joined TUGS, and hope to get some advice and help from you. The economy is different, the market is different, that I really don't know what to do about selling my timeshare. When it is my own issue, I'm often too close to figure out what to do. I welcome advice.[/FONT]

 

[aliikai2]

Carol, your best bet is a legitimate resale broker

Like Seth Nock, His site

I must let you know in advance, those upfront fee company price quotes were pie in the sky type prices. In the real world, you can figure maybe 25-35% of what you paid is a realistic sales value in today's economy.

Best of luck,

Greg

Hi - I am new to these forums. We are interested in selling our timeshare [details deleted to avoid appearance of advertising. Dave M, BBS Moderator] The unit is a 2 bdr lockout. I called sellmytimesharenow.com and they want a $599 listing fee. The salesman said the listing prices are between $23,000-$29,000. I just started researching all of this yesterday so I am very confused. So far people are not recommending paying upfront fees. But is worth it not to have to worry about anything - they say they take care of everything. My sister says I should ask what their last 10 sales were and how long they sat on the market. We want to sell this timeshare. Any thoughts on a listing price? We also own Hilton and Disney. We are just not using the Hyatt one and lose money on it every year. We usually convert the Hilton one to HHonors points every year. Any advice is greatly appricated.
Thanks,
Carol