Scary Tales of Timeshare Sales

I thought it might be appropriate this Halloween to recount some scary tales The Traveler has had in the sale of some Hawaii Timeshare property.

Don’t worry, it does have a happy ending, but there is a cautionary tale in the process.

Our timeshares had served us well through most of the 1990’s and early “aughts”. We were able to regularly visit Hawaii, and take trips to Fiji, New Zealand, Trinidad & Tobago, as well as some great areas here in North America.

But as our travel adventures widened, we found we were using the timeshares, points, and exchanges less and less. Once we converted the “weeks” to “points” it became harder and harder to decipher the process (for me anyway), and the maintenance fees, it seemed to us, could just as easily be used to simply travel.

And so this year we decided to sell our timeshares, and this is where the cautionary tale comes in.

First, we went online and found numerous websites offering to list our properties for an up front fee. One such site is SellMyTimeShareNow.com

The website gave a good presentation. After filling out an online form, a representative got back to me the next day – and kept calling until I returned the call a day or two later.

He explained that since SellMyTimeShareNow is such a highly trafficked site, it is was likely – though certainly not guaranteed – that our properties would move. And once there was an interested buyer, they had a real estate agency “next door” (or some damn thing like that) to handle the closing. No extra charge.

After telling the rep what it is we had to sell, he suggested an asking price of $24,000. (What we had to sell was 9,255 annual points for Shell Vacation Club Hawaii and some leftover points from 2006 and 2007).

The cost to place an ad on the site? $600.

After I paid the fee (yes, I took the bait) I never heard from the rep again. Despite fully explaining we had points based on three different Hawaii properties, they got the ad wrong, which they did correct when I emailed them. Other than that, I never heard a thing. And no takers, not even a nibble. Certainly not for $24,000.

Lesson: Never pay an up front fee to sell a timeshare.

Next, we responded to a postcard we received from Timeshare Acquisitions. They would be in our area the very weekend we returned from Alaska, so we thought we’d sign up for the presentation. I admit I had hopes that we’d walk away with a deal for them to purchase our timeshares. Perhaps at a wholesale price, but that would be just fine.

After their presentation on what a boat anchor timeshare are, and how it would make our progeny poor and destitute, they said it would only cost us $2,500 for them to take our timeshares off our hands. And they were giving us a break because we owned multiple properties in Hawaii.

Lesson: Never, ever, EVER, pay anyone to “take your timeshare off your hands”. This is at best highly unethical.

I may be stupid, but I’m not that stupid. So I looked around some more for a solution to our timeshare problem. I found a real estate agent that deals in nothing but timeshares: Smartchoice Timeshare Realty

After discussing my situation, I was told by Judy at SmartChoice what I had already learned. The websites that take up front fees are more often than not worthless and a waste of money (at least for sellers, and given that I was allowed to list at a hugely inflated and unrealistic price, probably  for buyers as well), and companies like Timeshare Acquisitions that want us to pay them for the privilege of taking our assets off our hands are preying on ignorance and fear, and driving down the legitimate marketplace for timeshares.

So to make a long story not quite as long, I listed with Judy at just over $1 a point, and had a buyer within a couple of weeks. Judy will get her commission upon closing, but otherwise I have paid no up front fees, the buyer is willing to pay all transfer costs since I am willing to discount my asking price, and I am finally able to sell my timeshare property.

Lesson: Always deal with a reputable real estate agent when selling a timeshare. Don’t pay any up front fees. And don’t pay anyone thousands of dollars to take your property away from you.

And that’s my Halloween story on selling timeshares. Don’t make the mistakes I made. Be prepared to accept less than you originally paid, but don’t pay anyone anything until you have a closed sale.