Using Redweek?

If I decide on a price and date with an owner through Redweek what assurance do I have when I get to that destination, the timeshare will be reserved for me? When and how does the owner get the rent for his unit? What documentation do I get from the owner that the timeshare is being rented to me?

geraldinec22 wrote:

If I decide on a price and date with an owner through Redweek what assurance do I have when I get to that destination, the timeshare will be reserved for me? When and how does the owner get the rent for his unit? What documentation do I get from the owner that the timeshare is being rented to me?

First if all there needs to be a contract in place signed by both you and the renter and the contract should contain all the info that you're seeking above.

When you sign the contract you then send the renter the payment agreed upon then the renter sends you confirmation that the week is in your name. If you want further assurance then you can call the resort for confirmation.

You can 'search forums' for a rental contract.

Thanks for your advice. I am a nervous first time renter.

geraldinec22 wrote:

I am a nervous first time renter.

If it is of any comfort to you, in my opinion RedWeek is actually one of the SAFEST sites on which to conduct a rental. That's in part because RedWeek ads cost money and an advertiser's credit card info is provided and on file (and retrievable by RedWeek) when placing each ad. Accordingly, every RedWeek advertiser can be very easily tracked and identified in the event of a problem or a scam. That's NOT true on other sites (like Craigslist, for specific example), where the ads are free and the advertiser identities are completely unknown to Craigslist --- and the opportunities for scams there are accordingly unlimited and difficult (almost impossible, actually) to trace back to an identifiable perpetrator.

not alone... did it in Miami, the guy (mgr.) said, "He would walk through the unit "with me to make sure all was fine when we arrived, get keys, etc. It was a happy ending, but yes....we had doubt.

I rented my timeshare and rented another one at a different week at the same resort for the first time. I found a rental agreement and had them sign it as well as sending me 1/2 of the rental money. I then contacted Beach Quarters when I got their deposit and they (BQ) sent a letter to the renters. At that point, they sent me the remainder of the money and a confirmation went out from BQ that their room was reserved. I then did the same thing with the people I rented from. It was easy, smooth, and a great time...Just make sure you get a contract that also states you are not responsible for any damages incurred while occupied by the renters..Good Luck

susanj37 wrote:

Just make sure you get a contract that also states you are not responsible for any damages incurred while occupied by the renters.

Most resorts routinely require a credit card imprint upon guest check-in, which the resort can promptly charge against the renter (...but ONLY IF those damages are discovered BEFORE the next guest checks-in). However, there is always a financial limit to that pre-authorized credit card amount and if the resort cannot complete the repairs within that pre-authorized amount, then the resort will chase ONLY the OWNER for any damage balance due. A resort will make NO further effort to find or collect from the renter --- that will become solely the OWNER'S problem and responsibility to take the renter to court to recover any uncovered damage balance due. The court course of action is obviously much easier said than done if / when the resort, the renter and the owner are actually located in 3 different states...

I have replied to 2 renters several times on Redweek with no response. How do I find out if their unit is still available when it continues to appear, but they don't answer my emails? I have tried having a copy sent to me, but how do I know they've received it, and how do I notify Redweek that they're not replying? Thanks for any help!

juliak24 wrote:

I have replied to 2 renters several times on Redweek with no response. How do I find out if their unit is still available when it continues to appear, but they don't answer my emails? I have tried having a copy sent to me, but how do I know they've received it, and how do I notify Redweek that they're not replying? Thanks for any help!

It is reasonable for any advertiser to take a week (or two) to respond to ad inquiries. People have busy lives. They could be in business travel, on vacation themselves, or be dealing with serious family or health problems, etc. They could also just have "spam filters" in place which preclude their seeing your inquiry at all after it is "forwarded" via RedWeek. Beyond two weeks or so, however, an advertiser being unresponsive might very well warrant RedWeek assistance in contacting that advertiser, who should really either be responding to inquiries in a timely manner or removing their ad.

I rent out a lot of units, not as many currently sure to the economy. I only use a rental agreement when the renter asks. Rental agreements protect both parties but if something goes wrong are you really going to spend the time and money to sue? I doubt it. So far been all the websites I've used, nearly two dozen, I've never lost money from a fradulent customer. However, maybe 2% of the renters willing to book with me have acted in a questionable manner and failed to pass my vetting. I also contact other owners to reserve units for customers and three times in five years out of maybe 300 reservations the owners didn't provide the unit or agreed view type.

So yes, at times the owners cancel reservations or misrepresent view or other features. And at times renters attempt to pay with invalid checks and credit cards. Rental contacts are not the best way to ensure safety, they only provide a warm fuzzy. Careful thought about the other party's communication, ability to verify the reservation, and the use of either a credit card or rental escrow will help to assure a valid reservation for your lodging.

Well said, I have only rented at my home resort. You can weed out the flakes by asking for $$$ one month before. If they send check, it clears before our next conversation. Also have rented from other owners, If I tell them I am a T/S owner looking for more time, they also can tell if I am really interested in there Unit.

peterp151 wrote:

I rent out a lot of units, not as many currently sure to the economy. I only use a rental agreement when the renter asks. Rental agreements protect both parties but if something goes wrong are you really going to spend the time and money to sue? I doubt it. So far been all the websites I've used, nearly two dozen, I've never lost money from a fradulent customer. However, maybe 2% of the renters willing to book with me have acted in a questionable manner and failed to pass my vetting. I also contact other owners to reserve units for customers and three times in five years out of maybe 300 reservations the owners didn't provide the unit or agreed view type.

So yes, at times the owners cancel reservations or misrepresent view or other features. And at times renters attempt to pay with invalid checks and credit cards. Rental contacts are not the best way to ensure safety, they only provide a warm fuzzy. Careful thought about the other party's communication, ability to verify the reservation, and the use of either a credit card or rental escrow will help to assure a valid reservation for your lodging.

I beg to differ .... if for some reason either party abuses the transaction, a signed contract by both owner and renter is a papertrail that can be used in small claims court .... a verbal agreement or a phone agreement has no legal standing in a court of law because no tangible proof exists.

Just because you havent been burned before doesn't mean it won't happen in the future ..... especially with the multitude of scams out there in this economy ..... you've just been lucky so far.

peterp151 wrote:

So yes, at times the owners cancel reservations or misrepresent view or other features. And at times renters attempt to pay with invalid checks and credit cards. Rental contacts are not the best way to ensure safety, they only provide a warm fuzzy. Careful thought about the other party's communication, ability to verify the reservation, and the use of either a credit card or rental escrow will help to assure a valid reservation for your lodging.

The best scam artists are very articulate and charming ..... that's how they get away with their crimes (just look at all the upfront fee resale scammers out there), so going by how a person sounds over the phone or in an email is NOT valid security.

And, although escrow is the most reliable way to go, most people (owners and renters) don't want to spend $200 extra dollars ($100 each) for that service.

So what do YOU do when "at times renters attempt to pay with invalid checks and credit cards" to protect yourself .... what are your terms and conditions without a written and signed contract by both parties ..... how do you articulate those terms and conditions to your renters ?????

I actually bought a timeshare using Redweek and was very happy with the transaction.. Also have rented several times.. Just be sure you do your homework and have it in writing.

jayjay wrote:

peterp151 wrote:

I rent out a lot of units, not as many currently sure to the economy. I only use a rental agreement when the renter asks. Rental agreements protect both parties but if something goes wrong are you really going to spend the time and money to sue? I doubt it. So far been all the websites I've used, nearly two dozen, I've never lost money from a fradulent customer. However, maybe 2% of the renters willing to book with me have acted in a questionable manner and failed to pass my vetting. I also contact other owners to reserve units for customers and three times in five years out of maybe 300 reservations the owners didn't provide the unit or agreed view type.

So yes, at times the owners cancel reservations or misrepresent view or other features. And at times renters attempt to pay with invalid checks and credit cards. Rental contacts are not the best way to ensure safety, they only provide a warm fuzzy. Careful thought about the other party's communication, ability to verify the reservation, and the use of either a credit card or rental escrow will help to assure a valid reservation for your lodging.

I beg to differ .... if for some reason either party abuses the transaction, a signed contract by both owner and renter is a papertrail that can be used in small claims court .... a verbal agreement or a phone agreement has no legal standing in a court of law because no tangible proof exists.

Just because you havent been burned before doesn't mean it won't happen in the future ..... especially with the multitude of scams out there in this economy ..... you've just been lucky so far.

You missed my point. I agreed a rental agreement can protect you, but if the renter is from Florida and the owner is from Oregon, its not practical or financially viable to sue due to the geographical distance vs the small dispute amount. Thus, the contract is no more valuable than agreements made via email, which are also binding.

If you want maximum protection as a renter, offer to pay for rental escrow since it is your best protection. I don't like rental escrow since as an owner I prefer to receive the money immediately, and as a "renter" nearly all my reservations are made less than two months in advance so my credit card payment protects me, or I'm doing repeat business with an owner so our history gives me a comfort level.

As for me being lucky, you couldn't be more wrong. And you're not listening/reading what I've written. I evaluate and vette the people who contact me and I chose not to rent units to people who are questionable. Yes the day might come when something could go wrong, but it's far more likely my criteria and methods will continue to protect me.

And apparently you've forgotten one of our conversations where I believe you called me a shill when I went on record I'm probably the only person who ever got paid selling timeshares to a scam company. The reason I got paid is because I don't commit until I have contracts and refund mechanisms in place to ensure my transactions are viable. There's no luck to this, its all common sense and due diligence. Funny about when you called me a shill, I provided the transaction dates and locations of the transactions which others posted they verified as accurate, but no apology from you, just silence.

jayjay wrote:

peterp151 wrote:

So yes, at times the owners cancel reservations or misrepresent view or other features. And at times renters attempt to pay with invalid checks and credit cards. Rental contacts are not the best way to ensure safety, they only provide a warm fuzzy. Careful thought about the other party's communication, ability to verify the reservation, and the use of either a credit card or rental escrow will help to assure a valid reservation for your lodging.

The best scam artists are very articulate and charming ..... that's how they get away with their crimes (just look at all the upfront fee resale scammers out there), so going by how a person sounds over the phone or in an email is NOT valid security.

And, although escrow is the most reliable way to go, most people (owners and renters) don't want to spend $200 extra dollars ($100 each) for that service.

So what do YOU do when "at times renters attempt to pay with invalid checks and credit cards" to protect yourself .... what are your terms and conditions without a written and signed contract by both parties ..... how do you articulate those terms and conditions to your renters ?????

I don't understand your question maybe because I think it's pretty obvious what should be done and not done when there's payment failure - you don't rent the unit to them. As for the clever scammers, the most important thing to remember is do not believe what they say but compare what they say to what the most likely truth is, and to what the safest method should be to conclude the transaction. Always ask yourself how to validate what they say. If they fail validation, they're either scammers or borderline customers, both high risk not worthy of doing a deal with. Although I must admit I've done well with borderline customers, but I never rent to them when reservations are less than a month in advance.

claudiam8 wrote:

I actually bought a timeshare using Redweek and was very happy with the transaction.. Also have rented several times.. Just be sure you do your homework and have it in writing.

And I agree, doing a transaction thru a well known website such as this one will in all likelihood result in a positive outcome, regardless of how much you protect yourself. But if you as a renter want to have maximum protection, you must "insure" yourself. This doesn't mean get a signed rental contact as it's enforceability could be more expensive than any remedy you secure because you don't live in the same area as the other party. Either buy insurance to protect yourself (just don't fall for an insurance contact which doesn't protect your timeshare reservation) or pay for rental escrow, our use a credit card if your trip is less than two months away.

Your protection is not absolute, regardless of how you protect yourself. After all, rental escrow and credit cards can get your money back under the correct conditions, but if you have no unit upon arrival you are still in a pinch! Some people buy travel insurance only to learn later the fine print doesn't protect them. It's important to think your travel through and remember just because someone assures you their recommendation is the best way it's very important to review the pros and cons yourself to verify you will truly be protected.