If you go to the many websites that offer information on timeshares you will see a lot of negative information on owning a timeshare. That is not the purpose of this blog, the purpose of this blog is to assist those that have purchased and now want to see what options they have.
The information that I share today comes from personal experience of renting out my timeshares, talking to other owners, info sites like Tug2.net, Yahoo and Google Groups, Facebook and Company Websites. We will attempt to help you walk thru this information and help you decide, do I want to rent out my timeshare or have someone do it for me. How much time will it take, how do I find renters, how do I collect my money, do I need contracts, will the timeshare company blackball me for renting out my ownership. These are all the questions that we will attempt to help you with and hopefully, you can make a decision on how you want to move forward.
First Steps
Determine what you have available for rent.
Determine if you are trying to cover your maintenance fees or make a profit.
Determine if you have the time to invest in renting out your timeshare.
Determine how long do you have to get the time rented.
Determine what to do If I decide to vacation after I have rented my timeshare.
Don'ts
Think you are going to get enough money to pay off your timeshare unless you have a highly desired location at a special events time then probably not going to happen
Rent out to make money, Companies frown on this and can seize your account covering your fees is going to bother them
Use trademark and registered photos on your ads, this will get them taken down.
Rent out exchange weeks, or other companies time this can result in losing your account.
How do I determine the value of my rental?
If you own points then you want to determine when the busiest times are at resorts and the resorts that take the least amount of points to make the reservation, if you only own 154,000 points don't advertise at a location that you would need 200,000 points to book it. Plan for folks always wanting 7-night intervals, let them ask about less. You can always advertise 3-7 night stays to drive interest.
Go to rental sites like Expedia, Travelocity, Tripadvisor and see what they are renting time for at the resort before you set your price. Remember these companies have the size strength and power to drive the market. Also see what the resort is renting intervals for, they have the advertising clout, so find out what's available.
Check out Craigslist, Facebook, eBay, Local papers, to determine rental rates, remember if the listing is still on craigslist or Facebook that means no has booked it so might not be priced appropriately.
Next, do a Google search using the name of your resort (in quotes if more than one word), and various words such as timeshare, rent or rental, and the name of the state in which the timeshare is located. Mix and match these terms to come up with different sites that might list rentals for your resort. Here, as with some other sources, you'll need to do some interpolation of rates, because (example) that week 27 on the beach listed for rent will fetch a much higher rent than your week 20 in cooler weather before school gets out. That's what comparing will let you know.
Don't use the maintenance fee as the amount you want to rent for, many will not cover that cost but some will rent for a whole lot more. Remember the VALUE of your Timeshare is the memories that you can make using it!
How Should I Advertise?
Never ever pay an up-front fee to an individual or a company (except for a nominal $15-30ish classified ad fee) to list your week for rent. Success rates after making such payment are between poor and non-existent! You will not recover any upfront monies so just DON'T DO IT.
Never ever pay an up-front fee to an individual or a company (except for a nominal $15-30ish classified ad fee) to list your week for rent. Success rates after making such payment are between poor and non-existent! You will not recover any upfront monies so just DON'T DO IT.
Never Pay someone to sell, trade, or otherwise get you out of your timeshare. PERIOD!
Using Services like Craigslist, Local Newspapers, Facebook, are the best for small renters, VRBO, HomeAway, Vacationrentals.com are resources that you can use and YES THEY CHARGE A FEE, so make sure you add it into your rental fee.
Tips for the Renter!
Ask to get a copy of the reservation BEFORE you pay money when the person makes the reservation an email is generated and you should receive a copy direct from the timeshare company. Ask for a phone number to call the resort and verify the reservation this may take up to 2 weeks for the resort to have the information so be patient. Contact the resort approximately 2 weeks out for any special needs on the room location. Room assignments can be changed by the Resort Company. Verify!
Get a rental agreement that spells out what's involved in the cancellation or change of a reservation and what refund you would be eligible for.
Confirm your travel plans prior to making reservations, acquire travel insurance (AAA offers several suggestions on companies) in case you have to cancel your vacation.
Tips for the Landlord!
Get 100% of the money prior to check in and ensure you explain any options for a refund or cancellation! There are so many flakey renters out there who change their mind that taking a deposit and finding out 30 days before check-in that the renter is not going forward means a loss of a lot of money.
Get a rental agreement that spells out what's involved. However, if something goes wrong are you going to hire a lawyer at $300 per hour to fight a $1,000 rental - not likely, so it is important you feel comfortable about the transaction before any money changes hands.
In your rental agreement make sure you get a copy of the State Issued Drivers License of the person whose name is on the reservation to prove they are at least 23 years of age. Many resorts require the person checking in to be at least that age.
Get a 10% security deposit refundable 14 days after the completion of the interval and check-out date. Ensure the details of the refundable deposit are included in your rental agreement! You would be surprised how folks that want their deposit back are the ones who have trashed the resort.
Call the resort 1 day after the check-out and confirm that there were no problems. The renter has to put up a credit card when checking in but if they max out and there is damage to the resort, the resort will come calling on you. Find out before you return the security deposit.
Look into setting up a Square credit card account to accept credit cards, follow the terms of service and list in contracts that any additional charges will be charged to that account.
Ask to get a copy of the reservation BEFORE you pay money when the person makes the reservation an email is generated and you should receive a copy direct from the timeshare company. Ask for a phone number to call the resort and verify the reservation this may take up to 2 weeks for the resort to have the information so be patient. Contact the resort approximately 2 weeks out for any special needs on the room location. Room assignments can be changed by the Resort Company. Verify!
Get a rental agreement that spells out what's involved in the cancellation or change of a reservation and what refund you would be eligible for.
Confirm your travel plans prior to making reservations, acquire travel insurance (AAA offers several suggestions on companies) in case you have to cancel your vacation.
Tips for the Landlord!
Get 100% of the money prior to check in and ensure you explain any options for a refund or cancellation! There are so many flakey renters out there who change their mind that taking a deposit and finding out 30 days before check-in that the renter is not going forward means a loss of a lot of money.
Get a rental agreement that spells out what's involved. However, if something goes wrong are you going to hire a lawyer at $300 per hour to fight a $1,000 rental - not likely, so it is important you feel comfortable about the transaction before any money changes hands.
In your rental agreement make sure you get a copy of the State Issued Drivers License of the person whose name is on the reservation to prove they are at least 23 years of age. Many resorts require the person checking in to be at least that age.
Get a 10% security deposit refundable 14 days after the completion of the interval and check-out date. Ensure the details of the refundable deposit are included in your rental agreement! You would be surprised how folks that want their deposit back are the ones who have trashed the resort.
Call the resort 1 day after the check-out and confirm that there were no problems. The renter has to put up a credit card when checking in but if they max out and there is damage to the resort, the resort will come calling on you. Find out before you return the security deposit.
Look into setting up a Square credit card account to accept credit cards, follow the terms of service and list in contracts that any additional charges will be charged to that account.
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