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Re: timeshare renting

jayjay: I agree that *in general*, most up front fee companies do not deliver as promised. I also agree that there is no guarantee for anyone, no matter how legitimate the company may be, to be successful in selling or renting. You can have the most popular property ever, priced dirt cheap, in front of 100,000 different people per day, and still not get it sold. Your advice (to pay at the back end of the sale) is sound advice. I'd say that just as so many upfront fee companies are scams, 99.9% of the people that are in a desperate situation with their timeshares are likely candidates to be scammed. I paid a considerable amount for my membership with my current company. I chose to pay this money after months of research and analysis-- And even with all of this research, I might have still not chosen to pay this price if not for my sister-in-law's success with the same company. Its one thing to read a company's references, but when your reference is a family member that you've seen have success, it means a lot more!! She did a one-time rental with this company, and as she lives the next town over I was privy to the whole process every step of the way, and I gained respect for how this company did their business. I have a timeshare in Mexico with the option for accelerated usage, so in my case it made sense to purchase a rental package with this company that includes lifetime advertisement for unlimited rentals. After my second rental through this company, this advertisement paid for itself, and I have since rented my property for pure profit. This might not make sense for every timeshare owner-- Again, my experience is my own. I found the initial investment worth the initial "risk", and I was proven correct. This is not to say that there is ANY guarantee that everyone would be this successful! To answer your question point blank, the lifetime membership (unlimited rentals) was $2k. I've read your posts, jayjay, and I can only imagine what your reaction to this will be! :) I know that most of the people on this site found themselves successful with Redweek, Myresortnetwork, ebay, craigslist, and other no-cost/low-cost options--and I applaud everyone that is able to make these services work for them! I personally don't have the extra time or energy to deal with handling the rental process myself-- I'm one of those people who has no problem paying extra for convenience! If all I do is have to pick up the phone, say yes or no to an offer, then get a check in the mail, than its money well spent. If I hadn't gotten any offers, well, it would have been an utter waste of money-- but I did the research necessary to determine how great of a risk it was, and I thankfully have had success. PLEASE, don't take this as a judgment on Redweek or any other company--nor is it a judgment on the people who choose any of these companies! Again, I am merely sharing my experiences! Best of luck to you all--