Timeshares Only

I see allot of folks talk about upfront fee resale companies. Why is Timeshares Only so successful? Maybe they are not. Looking at there website with there 30,000 square foot facility they seem to be doing some real business. If someone did not want to pay high commissions to a broker and basically give the timeshare away, would anybody suggest Timeshares Only? The fee is up front but it seems they do there job. Any thoughts?

bobd157 wrote:

I see allot of folks talk about upfront fee resale companies. Why is Timeshares Only so successful? Maybe they are not. Looking at there website with there 30,000 square foot facility they seem to be doing some real business. If someone did not want to pay high commissions to a broker and basically give the timeshare away, would anybody suggest Timeshares Only? The fee is up front but it seems they do there job. Any thoughts?

If you are trying to just dump it or sell very cheap try Craigslist! This cost you nothing but your time and you can list what ever you want on the ad and have pictures too!

I just posted to a question on GETTING RID OF A TIMESHARE ON GENERAL DISCUSSION SITE you might go there and read it!

PHILL12

bobd157 wrote:

I see allot of folks talk about upfront fee resale companies. Why is Timeshares Only so successful? Maybe they are not. Looking at there website with there 30,000 square foot facility they seem to be doing some real business. If someone did not want to pay high commissions to a broker and basically give the timeshare away, would anybody suggest Timeshares Only? The fee is up front but it seems they do there job. Any thoughts?

They are successful at getting those upfront fees....where do you think the $$$ comes from?

They are not a realty company...because in Florida, a honest real estate firm can not take an upfront fee.

They can put your advertisement in a list with all the others....what price would you like to sell your weeks or points for? $ 1000 ??? $100,000 ??? who cares...we already got the upfront fee!!

Maybe we can try to snag the buyer who might happen along not knowing to check e bay or redweek or myresortnetwork first.

Lets see....how much can we charge them for a finders fee? Or maybe a super deluxe price on a closing? Oh oh! an extra charge for the maint fees and taxes...and the lawyers? What assessments?

I would say if you are unsure, go to a realtor....let them earn the commission they work for....selling real estate....not collecting up front fees to they can advertise. No bargans there....someone has to pay for all those TV and radio ads....guess who???

Heres the link to Phils (and others) good posts:

http://www.redweek.com/forums/messages?thread_id=10277;page=last

If a resale company charges an upfront fee then run as fast as you can. They already have your money and no incentive to market your timeshare except to list it in a database that no one will likely ever see.

They will tell you your timeshare is worth much more on the resale market than it actually is. That's how they snare you into their web. Read all the testimonials here concerning upfront fee resale company scams. You can sell your timeshare yourself on sites like Redweek if you price it right.

Timeshares Only lists SOLD timeshares on there website. It seems like allot. Either they are flat out lying or they do sell allot of timeshare. I wonder if it is possible for a advance fee timeshare company to actually be litigate in the resale community eyes. There has got to be another option as appose to "pricing it right" aka "giving it away". So here are some questions.

Has there ever been, since the conception of timeshare, a legit advance fee timeshare adverting and marketing company?

Is there a way to sell timeshare for at least what you bought it for?

Will people keep buying timeshare when it has become apparent timeshare is a gigantic sales game, from the vacation package reps to the timeshare sales reps, and fianlly to the resale market?

Is there ever a time that the owner of a timeshare actually sees return on investment. I don't just mean money but use and lifestyle?

bobd157 wrote:

Timeshares Only lists SOLD timeshares on there website. It seems like allot. Either they are flat out lying or they do sell allot of timeshare. I wonder if it is possible for a advance fee timeshare company to actually be litigate in the resale community eyes. There has got to be another option as appose to "pricing it right" aka "giving it away". So here are some questions.

Has there ever been, since the conception of timeshare, a legit advance fee timeshare adverting and marketing company?

Is there a way to sell timeshare for at least what you bought it for?

Will people keep buying timeshare when it has become apparent timeshare is a gigantic sales game, from the vacation package reps to the timeshare sales reps, and fianlly to the resale market?

Is there ever a time that the owner of a timeshare actually sees return on investment. I don't just mean money but use and lifestyle?

bobd157;

Yes, I think it's possible for someone to buy a timeshare and see a return on their investment, and no, I definitely don't mean a monetary return.

We bought at a great new resort in Hilton Head, SC about 8 years ago, and we love it. It's a Marriott property. We've also traded our weeks to go to other (mostly Marriott) resorts, given away a couple of weeks to friends who needed to get away and decompress. I've traded a couple of weeks to Marriott for the points. And we've rented weeks to people (mostly using Redweek) when we had more weeks than we needed, and I wanted to cover my annual maintenance fees since we own multiple weeks and the maintenance fees do add up.

Do I think we'll ever be able to sell these weeks at a profit (if we wanted to, which we don't)? No, I absolutely know we couldn't. Do I think we could ever even manage to get back just the amount we spent when we bought the weeks (even with no interest added since we paid cash)? No, I definitely don't.

Do I wish we hadn't bought the weeks? No, absolutely not. We've enjoyed them, and hopefully will continue to enjoy them for years to come. Do I wish I'd known then what I know now about never, ever buying directly from the developer? Absolutely YES!

I'd never ever buy from the developer again although to be fair, our salesperson told no lies. But he emphasized the positive to a very great degree, and went pretty rapidly over cost issues. However, he certainly never suggested buying the weeks was anything but a way to assure a vacation at that resort, or maybe use the weeks as a trade to go elsewhere.

And I was so pleased with the resort, and with the idea of trading and going other places (since I love to travel) I know I didn't ask enough questions or think hard enough about the long term financial aspects of buying these weeks at the price quoted. The annual maintenance fees were definitely mentioned in the sales presentation, but I don't remember hearing about specific costs to belong to Interval International, although he did say the developer paid the first year's fee for II. I also heard that we could trade our weeks and go either to Marriott or other resorts inside and outside the US, but I don't definitely remember hearing the actual costs mentioned.

But in the long run am I sorry I bought the weeks instead of putting a hefty down payment on a beach house? No, I'm really not sorry, as if we'd bought a beach house, that's where we'd have gone several times every year. But instead we've been many places in the US and several overseas, given our kids weeks to use as they liked, etc., and done the other things I mentioned above.

So, no I'm not sorry we bought these weeks, and yes, I think our investment has paid us dividends - good times in lovely locations and a bunch of great memories.

Kathi

bobd157 wrote:

I wonder if it is possible for a advance fee timeshare company to actually be litigate in the resale community eyes. There has got to be another option as appose to "pricing it right" aka "giving it away". So here are some questions.

In reading timeshare forums all these years I have never seen anyone post that an upfront fee company sold their timeshare.

Quote:

Has there ever been, since the conception of timeshare, a legit advance fee timeshare adverting and marketing company?

Not to my knowledge.

Quote:

Is there a way to sell timeshare for at least what you bought it for?

Not if you bought from the developer in 99 out of 100 cases. The one percent being some of the very high end timeshares.

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Will people keep buying timeshare when it has become apparent timeshare is a gigantic sales game, from the vacation package reps to the timeshare sales reps, and fianlly to the resale market?

Yes, people will continue buying timeshares until they are educated on the subject. Developer timeshare salespeople are very good at what they do and people are extremely impressed at the beauty and amenities at resorts compared to a motel/hotel room.

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Is there ever a time that the owner of a timeshare actually sees return on investment. I don't just mean money but use and lifestyle?

Timeshares are not a financial investment, however they ARE an investment in quality vacations at nice resorts.

Take a look at this link, it looks impressive.

http://timesharesonly.com/sold_timeshares.jsp

That is allot of SOLD timeshares. Maybe advance fee companies can do the job, or maybe they are lying.

And the other big one out there SellMyTimeshareNow.com they actually that the millions of dollars of offers placed on the specific ads. They state:

Total timeshare sales and rental offers for 2006: $233,864,650.00!

sellmytimesharenow.com

Is it possible that the resale market is turning around?

bobd157 wrote:

Take a look at this link, it looks impressive.

http://timesharesonly.com/sold_timeshares.jsp

That is allot of SOLD timeshares. Maybe advance fee companies can do the job, or maybe they are lying.

And the other big one out there SellMyTimeshareNow.com they actually that the millions of dollars of offers placed on the specific ads. They state:

Total timeshare sales and rental offers for 2006: $233,864,650.00!

sellmytimesharenow.com

Is it possible that the resale market is turning around?

I seriously doubt it. They can type anything on their website(s), including lies. There's no proof that they've ever sold the first timeshare. Their 'sold timeshares' seems to be hype to get your attention.

Like I said, in all the years I've been involved in reading timeshare forums on the internet, I've never read of even one person that has had their timeshare sold by an upfront fee resale company, but I have read thousands of testimonials from people that have been ripped off by those companies.

What does this mean?

"...Total timeshare sales and rental offers for 2006: $233,864,650.00!..."

An offer? For what?

Hey Grandma!! Would you offer your t/s to our company for $118,432,325.00 please?

There...that takes care of about 1/2 of the claim. Now...where to find Grandma....why up the river, of course....Where's Uncle John??

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/homes/resales.shtm

Resale Checklist Selling a timeshare is a lot like selling any other piece of real estate. Check with the resort to determine restrictions, limits, or fees that could affect your ability to resell or transfer ownership. Then, make sure that your paperwork is in order. You’ll need: • the name, address, and phone number of the resort; • the deed and the contract or membership agreement; • the financing agreement, if you’re still paying for the property; • information to identify your interest or membership; • the exchange company affiliation; • the amount and due date of your maintenance fee; • the amount of real estate taxes, if billed separately.

I have had my timeshare for sale on Timeshares Only for nearly two years and no interest, even though I dropped the price very low for a one week 3 br unit at an II rated 5 star resort in Orlando.

When we visited their offices they told us they had sold X number of units at our resort in the past x months, which sounded reasonable. However our unit is on the list at a much lower price that a lot of the others in the same resort, but still no interest. I don't think TO are better than anyone else selling timeshares and it has the added disadvantage of paying an upfront fee. I have read on another forum that the buyer has to pay a hefty fee.

karenw150 wrote:

I don't think TO are better than anyone else selling timeshares and it has the added disadvantage of paying an upfront fee. I have read on another forum that the buyer has to pay a hefty fee.

It seems they get paid on both ends (seller, buyer) and typical of upfront fee resellers.

karenw150 I have had my timeshare for sale on Timeshares Only for nearly two years and no interest. ==================================== {phill12} Karen, I wouldn't say there was no interest only because I doubt many people even know of your ad!

===================================== {Karen} When we visited their offices they told us they had sold X number of units at our resort in the past x months, which sounded reasonable. =====================================

{PHILL12} I would think this statement is written down under the to say list!

First thing is most of their business is over the phone so when a owner walks in they are probably not ready for you. This is why I said the "WE SOLD X UNITS " is on there to say list.

Many of these companies go through employees very quickly so you might have even talk to some one working there less than a week.

What I don't understand is people come on these sites and ask about these upfront companies and are told same thing, "RUN' .

Then they will state all the reasons they like the company. Unless there shills on these site trying to spread lies why ask for our(owners) thoughts!

Hope you do sell but you should try other ways to let people know you have a timeshare for sale!

Upfront fee? Promptly FLEE! --- Period, Amen.

Never mind the BS shill claims of grandiose success and big dollars. I've never heard of a single soul, anywhere, at any time ever selling their timeshare through ANY upfront fee company. Not once. Not ever.

Stroman is a Realtor in Texas. Upfront fees are allowed in that state. I've seen some on tug say they bought from them.

Unfortunately, they also have a bad rep, however.

kekouri wrote:

Stroman is a Realtor in Texas. Upfront fees are allowed in that state. I've seen some on tug say they bought from them.

Unfortunately, they also have a bad rep, however.

To the best of my knowledge, upfront fees per se are not actually expressly prohibited by law in ANY state, as long as not actually collected as a "commission in advance". That still leaves the door wide open however for "marketing fees", "advertising fees", etc. collected up front. Laws in that area clearly need improvement.

Wayne Stroman has indeed seen some days in court, including federal court --- but has always WON so far. That's not to say that he won't be in court again..... Presently, however, Stroman has lots of listings for which NO upfront fee has been requested or collected (at least as I understand it). Instead, however, commission terms (upon sale) in some specific instances are minimum $950 or 10% of selling price (whichever is greater). So, someone using Stroman to sell a $3k timeshare would end up paying about 1/3 of the selling price in commission. Some might say that's "plenty"....

We actually went into their offices and during the sales presentation we asked how many units they had sold from our resort. The woman said she would have to go and check - she was away for at least 15 minutes and came back with a printout that she didn't actually show us, but just told us how many they sold.

I wouldn't normally have considered paying an upfront fee but the fact you could walk into their offices (which seemed to have a lot of footfall) gave us confidence.

I have advertised on a couple of timeshare forum websites but unfortunately I think potential buyers in the know wait until a seller is so desperate they lower the price to less than £1000.

karenw150 wrote:

We actually went into their offices and during the sales presentation we asked how many units they had sold from our resort. The woman said she would have to go and check - she was away for at least 15 minutes and came back with a printout that she didn't actually show us, but just told us how many they sold.

Merely propaganda.

It should not have taken 15 minutes to access timeshares they've sold. Probably what they accessed was their 'for sale' inventory that they have taken upfront fees since she didn't let you see the list, or it could have merely been a list of resorts. The fact that she wouldn't show the list to you raises a big RED flag.They'll tell you anything to get your upfront fee.