Timeshares...who has one and have you ever rented it out?

[savagefan04]

hey guys, i'm in need of your help again...

does anyone here own a timeshare and have you ever rented it out? I'm looking for referrals or recommendations to good, trustworthy 3rd party resellers / renters. I own a couple of "floating" weeks just outside the Disney properties in Orlando and since the wife and i are expecting baby #2 in september, we will not be able to use the time we have banked.

We used to get calls all the time from buyers and potential renting firms, but since we listed with the Do Not Call lists, they stopped calling me.

So, if anyone has a referral or recommendations, please let me know.

gabe

 

[FastEddy]

Look here for some great info.
http://clarkhoward.com/cgi-bin/htdi...ct=&cat_selected=All Categories&sortdis=Score

 

[savagefan04]

Thanks Ed...

just to clarify, i'm not looking to sell my timeshare, i'm looking for a place that will help me rent out the weeks i have banked up...

 

[robriguez]

Is it a resort time share or a private residence? If a resort, you may want to check with HSI or RCI.

 

[savagefan04]

its a resort Timeshare. We use RCI as out exchange company, but they want 4-500 up front just to try and rent it.

 

[robriguez]

I assume youve already paid your maint fee for the year?

If not, the easiest thing would be to give up your weeks and save them until next year if they will let you. Ours is with HSI and they allow you to do that but only a certain number of times. Thats strange that they would CHarge you to list your weeks for you.

Another thing you can try is to sell your weeks on Ebay, or even offer them up for the guys here. I think as long as YOU make the reservation under your member number it doesn't matter whos name the reservation actually in. Our HSI rep actually "encouraged" us to do this and sort of become our own travel agency and buy up multiple time shares and sell them for a profit to people we knew. With the deals they were offerring at the time (sadly they no longer offer such sweetheart multi packages) and the extras and upgrades they would have thrown in on OUR package it was almost a no brainer. Even with a substantial markup it would still be cheaper for the people we sold to than booking though the hotels/resorts directly themselves as non members. AND we would have made all the money back in 5 years. Then it would have been 25 years of profit on the 30year package they were pushing.

So, that is another route if they allow you to make a reservation in someone elses name under your number.

 

[savagefan04]

yep, all the fees are paid up to date and we actually own the "week" outright so its mine till i die.

we thought about banking the year and just using it next year, but we already have 4 weeks banked, plus the 2 weeks for 06 still in limbo. there is just no way we can use up the 6 weeks, plus the 2 for 07 before they start to expire on us.

Ebay is just to risky with timeshare. u have no clue who the people are, and if they damage or steal from the suite, the "owner" gets stuck with the bill.

i may try and offer it up here, but i have no clue what to ask for.

Where do u own your timeshare?

 

[robriguez]

Mine is in mexico.

Yeah same rules apply, the owner would be responsible if we gave our weeks to someone else. I would recommend a refundable deposit on top of the rental fee. When we rented a house down the NJ shore they made us sign a simple form stating that we would give a $500 refundable deposit on top of the rental fee and be responsible for any damage. Basically we just had to promise to leave the house the way we found it and we got a check in the mail a week after we got home.

As for how much to charge... I would contact the resort to find out the cheapest possible rate for someone to book a suite there as a non owner. Then work out how much you paid for it down to the week. Then find something in the middle or slightly less then middle but higher than what you paid. This way the person buying the week(s) gets a great deal and you dont lose any money. If the weeks are set in stone I would go with a lower than middle. If they are floating weeks where the person buying them from you can choose just about any week they wish then I wuold charge middle or slightly higher because this adds to the value and allows them to pick when THEY want to go rather than the resort dictating it. Or screw it, if your going to put it on ebay charge them the same and "make" some money on the deal.

 

[savagefan04]

Robriguez, thanks for the all the help. i ended up selling a week to my neighbor so that "bought" me more time.

i called in to the resort reservations desk to get an idea on the $ and they quoted 1700-1850 for the week, depending on when i want to go. right now the weeks are going for 1700, as the cooler months come along, the rates will jump up. X-mas week is 2k. thats for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, suite with maid service.

where in mexico? Cancun?

 

[robriguez]

Mine is in Puerto Vallarta on the west coast. Very NOT like Cancun. Very laid back, relaxed, beautiful scenery, the town of old Vallarta is one huge tourist market but other then that its a very neat little village.

 

[savagefan04]

sounds like a nice place. the wife and I honeymooned in Cabo. Came an inch away from buying a week there, but at the last minute chicken out. i love the "attitude" from the west side of mexico. very calm, VERY friendly and best of all, they club life is there if u want it, but its not the only thing to do.