Selling with Timeshares Only

[mantraman]

Hi,

I am an Owner with my property located in Waikiki Beach, Honolulu. I am interested in selling my entire timeshare. I have been referred to Timeshares Only, who has stated that they would be able to sell my timeshare quickly for $600 advertising costs. I was told that they have a a quick turn around and that my property with Wyndham is very desireable. My question is should I sell my timeshare through them, or should I sell it through a diffferent company?

 

[rickandcindy23]

First, VIP doesn't transfer in resale, so the value of your timeshare is probably not even ten percent of what you paid. Your points aren't much more valuable because your points are in Hawaii. They might have a slightly higher resale price, but not much.

The only way to get your money back from a purchase is to use it. It's a valuable thing to own, but no one pays much for resale points. Check eBay for Fairfield points, and you will see what I am talking about. The proof is in the completed sales, which are easy to find by going to Advanced Search and search only completed listings.

Timeshares Only is a scumbag company that takes upfront fees and won't even take what they consider to be lowball offers to the sellers. Look at their website and see the inventory they have for Wyndham/ Fairfield points, and you will be shocked by the vast numbers of points packages available.

Do not use Timeshares Only, nor should you pay any upfront fees to sell your points. Upfront fee companies don't care whether they sell your timeshare, they care about listing it for a fee. They are disgusting!

Points are points within Wyndham. My points in Hawaii aren't worth any more than my points in Arkansas. And this will shock you: I paid $1,100 for 287,000 points on eBay last year, and those had extremely low maintenance fees and were deeded in Williamsburg (not that it matters where they are deeded).

 

[mantraman]

Timshares Only-reply

Thanks for the information. My goal is to try and sell my timeshare as I need the $$$. I paid approximately $12,000 which I am told is a reasonable price. I hope to recoup most of this, but understand that resale is not great with timeshares. Sounds like you dont recommend using Timeshare Only. Who or what venue would you recommend? I can list it in Ebay, and other sites, but want to maximize my exposure to the market.

Is now a good time to sell?

 

[rickandcindy23]

Now is not a good time to sell. The cost of gasoline affects travel, but it also affects the pocketbook of every one of us. You will seriously only get 2 cents per point at most. There are lots of people trying to sell timeshares on eBay, Redweek.com, myresortnetwork.com, and vacationtimesharerentals.com, and most just sit there, without any activity. It is very hard to sell a timeshare.

You paid considerably less than what I understood 300K points go for at Waikiki Beach Walk. Did you buy from the developer?

 

[Robert D]

I agree that Timeshares Only is a slimeball company that will just take your $600 and you'll get no results. I made some inquiries and offers of TS's I saw on their site and I don't think the seller ever received the offer. Also, they charge you a brokerage fee if they get involved with the sale. If the buyer asks a question instead of just making an offer, a broker will call and they charge the seller a brokerage fee of at least $1,000. Stay away from any company that wants money upfront. This company preys on people who are desparate to sell. Do a search on Ebay for Wyndham then look at completed sales and you'll see what your TS is worth. If you really want to sell it, it will sell on Ebay if the price is right. Also, you might want to post your info on the Wyndam board and they can also tell you what it's worth, but Cindy is probably right on as to the value.

 

[Seth Nock]

Based on the info, the unit is probably worth between $2400 and $6000 on resale. Although most people on TUG do not believe in up front fees, and many companies including mine, do not charge upfront fees, GMAC is one company that uses the upfront fee to help market the units. They have 3 divisions, 1 that is a by owner type, a 2nd that is a broker type with a commission (typically $1000 or more) and a 3rd division called "solutions" that helps people get rid of low priced units. Often I get calls from Rich Marquette to help owners that want out very quickly. Often that division (solutions) has commissions of a few hundred or even less. They have helped distribute hundreds of timeshares with minimal commissions in order to help the current owners from having to pay maintenance fees (and not have to give their units to Timeshare Relief and copycat companies). So, although you may not agree with GMAC's upfront fee, I am glad that they actually use some of that money to help owners sell their units, rather than other companies that take the money, write the sellers' info on an index card and throw it in a file cabinet.

 

[Jya-Ning]

Are you still has mortgage on your contract? Is 12,000 the reminding mortgage?

Jya-Ning

 

[Dave M]

mantraman -

Please read (and study!) this TUG how to sell article. It has practical advice for how to generate a successful sale without getting scammed.

 

[Robert D]

I made some offers over the weekend for TS's on Timeshares Only website. I got a call from a broker today to confirm one of my offers (she didn't see the other ones), and I confirmed that my bid was legit. She called back less than an hour later, said she talked to the owner and he/she turned the offer down. Then she called back an hour later about another offer I submitted. This time she asked if I understood that my closing costs on this deal would be $725 and if I agree to pay these costs (which did not include a title policy but a simple closing). Basically, the real closing costs were about $350 and the rest of the almost $400 were "transaction costs" that the buyer and seller split. These transaction costs go to her firm and GMAC Realty, which IMO is nothing more than a commission on top of the $600 that the poor seller had to pay to get their TS listed. I asked her to present my offer to the seller and she refused to do so unless I agreed to pay these inflated costs. She confirmed that she was a real estate broker and I asked if she didn't have an obligation to present any offers to the seller. She replied that if I didn't agree to these costs that my offer was not legitimate and that she was under no obligation to present the offer. I told her to deduct $400 from my offer and present it to the seller. I never heard back from her and bet that it was never presented.

Bottom line is I'm more convinced than ever that Timeshares Only is a new level of slime when it comes to the lack of any similance of ethics. My guess is that very few of the offers that are made thru that site ever get presented to the sellers. I'd love to know what % of TS's listed on that site actually sell and close - my guess is well under 5%, probably well under 1%. It's obvious to me they are in the business of collecting the upfront $600 fee from uninformed sellers and not in the business of selling TS's. Selling TS's is merely a byproduct of collecting the upfront fee and is a long shot to happen.

 

[richardm]

Please send me the TSO ad numbers you made offers on and the name of the associate you spoke with (or the email address you used- I can pull your offer history from that as well). Anytime a TSO seller has an email address in their database, your offer would have gone directly to the seller unless there is a listing agreement with a brokerage, which directs the offer to the listing broker. If the IPGMAC brokerage involvement was requested by the seller but an exclusive listing is not active, the $390 transaction fee is applied to a sale as I indicated in the prior email to you (most TSO sellers start off handling their own offer discussions- but often change their mind after the first fifteen or twenty bozos). A brokerage involvement is not required for sales that occur from TSO inventory.... There are normally about fifity sales that occur on TSO each day that do not involve a brokerage. I haven't seen the TSO reports this year yet- but at year's end 2007 TSO had sellers report sales and terminate just a hair over 21% of their active sale ads- a respectable number.

I'll recontact the sellers for you by phone (unless they are exclusive listings with another brokerage) and ensure the sellers are aware of your offers. Also, if you have a preferred closing agent you would like to use- that info can go a long way toward obtaining seller acceptance as it will give your offer more legitimacy. Finally, please let me know any questions or clarifications you require on the property as a condition of purchase- so the sellers can address these. With your permission, I'll release your email, name, and phone to the sellers to contact you directly.

I'm concerned over the agent comment you shared that "she was under no obligation to present an offer". If this inventory is under a listing agreement- the agent has a duty to present any and all offers (yes- even those for $1.). If this inventory is not subject to a listing- the seller would still have needed to be contacted per the terms of our agreement with TSO. This agent may require additional monitoring or training, as a comment such as that has no place in our business- regardless of the attitude or aggression of the buyer prospect.

Rich

 

[rickandcindy23]

Rich, that isn't what they do when you call with a low offer. I am a Realtor, and I know it is not ethical to tell a buyer that the price is too low and it won't be presented. I offered to buy several Fairfield points packages and gave up when the salesman told me he wouldn't present my offers because they were too low. They were the same I can pay on eBay.

 

[Robert D]

Rich, give me your email address and I'll forward the details to you.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Rich just sent me a private message saying I was "slinging mud," but my post was honest and not at all an attempt to "sling mud."

I am trying to deter people from using Timeshares Only to sell their timeshares because Timeshares Only has hundreds of listings on their website with all price ranges for the same thing. This is not how real estate brokers work. Where is the guidance in setting a price? And since when does any licensed real estate salesperson (I am a Realtor, which is a step above) charge a fee to list anything? You don't have to do anything other than add a listing to the seemingly endless inventory of weeks.

Let's not forget that Timeshares Only is an upfront fee company, and they did already make their money on the listing of the property, so they don't necessarily follow the Realtor code of ethics, nor do they have to. Only Realtors have to follow that code. That is not slinging mud, it is just fact. There is a difference between a Realtor and a real estate broker or salesperson.

I did buy a timeshare from Bobbie D. at Timeshares Only, and I will do so again, and when I do, Rich, you will be the one I call. No hard feelings, just being honest here. I am on the lookout for a Val Chatelle, Frisco, CO, ski week. If you find one, let me know.

 

[Robert D]

Like I said, I'm convinced TSO's business is collecting upfront fees, not selling timeshares. Selling the TS is merely a byproduct of collecting the upfront fees. After going through this last episode, I'm more convinced than ever that this is the case.

 

[Dave M]

Rich, give me your email address and I'll forward the details to you.

Click on his user name (to the left of his post) and you can select an option to send him a message - via e-mail or TUG Private Message.

 

[TUGBrian]

just so im reading that correctly...you are claiming TSO sells 50 timeshares a day (and likely more because you mention those are just the ones that sell without a broker)

that translates to over 18,000 timeshares sold a year. I would think that statistic would be all over the site and tv no?

 

[Dave M]

I made some offers over the weekend for TS's on Timeshares Only website. I got a call from a broker today....

Did you get a call from a broker or from a Timeshares Only employee? As posted here by a Timeshares Only representative earlier this year, Timeshares Only doesn't employ brokers.

 

[Robert D]

TSO may not employ brokers but a broker called me. When I made the offers, I noted in my offer that it was based on the week being a winter ski week and I think this got sent to the broker. One bad thing about their site is that very few listings indicated what the floating period was, it just said that it was a floating week. In Vail Valley, CO, the float period is the most important thing in determining the value. At any rate, apparently TSO is hooked up with a broker network and some of the offers are referred to this network, as best I can tell.

 

[grupp]

At any rate, apparently TSO is hooked up with a broker network and some of the offers are referred to this network, as best I can tell.

I believe GMAC Real Estate is the broker with which they have an association. At least that who I have dealt with for both of the properties I have purchased off timeshares only.

I do agree that the TSO website is frustating in that it does not provide real specific information on each particular week. For what people are paying you would think they could do much better.

However, I would not agree that they are a "new level of slime". Everyone I have dealt with during my purchases has been very responsive and upfront with the fees. Some of their fees may be higher than other options, but they do not try to hide them. But others may have a different experience.

Gary

 

[richardm]

International Properties/GMAC Real Estate and Re/Max Town Centre are the two most active brokerages that work with Timeshares Only clients. Many other brokers also use their system- but if you have a question it is normally referred to one of the offices above. If you make an offer on the website- it goes directly to the individual seller, and the seller can either contact you back personally or ask a broker do so..

 

[ROCKJenkins]

GMAC that is associated with Timeshare Only was great for me

I feel that since I've have been treated very well by GMAC International Properties that I should come forward to say something good about them.

David "Patch" Patchanian in Olando presented an offer to a owner that had listed with timeshare only.

I found David a very sincere and hard working person who felt very bad about the timeshare organization (Club Intrawest) pulling a ROFR.

A similar offer had past the Management of Club Intrawest last year, but due to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler I believe that Club Intrawest
pulled that ROFR.

My plan is to work with David again after the 2010 Olympic to purchase re-sale points with the Club.

Rock Jenkins

 

[sjuhawk_jd]

Points are points within Wyndham. My points in Hawaii aren't worth any more than my points in Arkansas.[/QUOTE]


Not entirely true. Try getting Mrytle Beach July or August week with your Arkansas points 8 months out.