1/20/2011 7:27 AM (PST)

Keep doubting that any of these companies and their offers are honest - they are NOT!

Let me guess, they have a ready buyer for your timeshare (some company in Branson or some corporate buyout scheme) but need a big fee to cover closing costs or something like that? Click on the New Scams section in the top menu bar here on TrustLink and see the article we have posted on "Selling Your Timeshare: Important Things To Know"

Over the years, there have been a lot of companies that came to life with the promise of helping people sell their timeshares. Most of these companies are located in areas where there are a lot of timeshares, like Florida and California.

Typically, they make a lot of promises about their abilities and claim that there is an army of people dying to purchase timeshares, and all of this will be available to you if you pay them the requested fee.

Reality is completely different. The truth is that timeshares are next to impossible to sell. There's almost no secondary market for timeshares, especially given the current economy and all of the problems in the housing market. Furthermore, if there really was a strong secondary market, these companies wouldn't have to charge a fee, they could make more money charging commissions on sales. The bottom line is that you should not pay any upfront fees to sell your timeshare to somebody else. Check out the Florida AG's website also:

http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/main/9161973ee14fdb1a85256cc900600947!OpenDocument

There are legitimate title transfer companies that will actually purchase a timeshare, and the benefit to the timeshare owner is that when closed, it gets them out from under the continuing obligations for common area fees. But the whole industry is hot with scams and fraud.

Run, don't walk.

1/23/2011 10:13 AM (PST)

The "corporate buyer" scenario is one that is common to many timeshare scams. Be very careful and ensure you do your research! You can confirm a valid real estate broker's license at numerous state websites.. www.arello.com can give you general licensee information for numerous states. For Florida specifically, you can verify licensure at the state website www.myfloridalicense.com (Florida law requires a reseller to be licensed if they acting as a third-party broker to sell deeded timeshares). Also, you will want to confirm that the closing company is also properly licensed. Many of the newer scams involve fake title companies who require you to send in seller "closing costs" even though in a real estate transaction any seller fees would be deducted from your proceeds at closing. Once you pay these fake fees, you never hear from them again and of course, you never get the money that was promised to you.. In Florida, you can check for a valid title license at the website http://www.myfloridacfo.com/data/aar_alis1/index.htm. Also, contact a respected resale broker and ask for a free comparative market analysis to know what the realistic resale expectation should be for your resort. If the "offer" you received is far different, ask yourself if that seems reasonable.. The entire concept that a large corporation would be interested in buying any type of real estate and would not perform simple due diligence to discover pricing is just silly! I've worked as a buyer's agent for developers looking to acquire interests in timeshare regimes, and I was paid specifically to try and negotiate purchase contracts that were below CMA levels (in fact, the commission structure was directly tied to how much money they saved on each purchase!)..There are legitimate resale brokers who can help you, and do not charge any type of upfront fee to do so. I've posted several in other answers on this very website! Be sure to take your time and verify verify verify...

4/29/2014 9:31 AM (PST)

Timeshare resale companies are a legitimate business. Companies agree to advertise a timeshare for a fee on their websites. As with advertising, the membership doesn´t need to sell in order the fees to be legitimate. The difference between an honest timeshare resale company and a scam, is when the company falsely suggest they have a buyer waiting for their timeshare, or picture unrealistic, overoptimistic selling possibilities: http://www.timesharescam.com/blog/92-timeshare-resale-companies-analysis/