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[Q=timd116] New to renting on RedWeek and for that matter new to renting a time share. I rented a higher price "identical" unit because it was a RedWeek verified posting and had the pay now option that was very easy to use. I didn't want the hassle of verifying that someone actually owned a unit and writing them a large check. Just my two cents. Maybe as I rent more I will feel more comfortable working directly with owners.[/Q] Personally, I think that people advertising timeshare rentals on RedWeek should pony up the mere $14.99 extra to get their ad "RedWeek verified", if only to help assuage the concerns of folks like you who may be inexperienced or nervous (or both) regarding timeshare rentals. That being said however, anyone placing an ad on RedWeek must first become a member and, in order to do so, must provide a credit card or other form of payment which discloses their identity and a means to contact them (and trace them later, if necessary). In short, I think it's unlikely (not impossible, but certainly highly unlikely) to find "scammers" trying to conduct their scams on RedWeek. There are simply much easier (and free) sites for scammers to operate, Craigslist perhaps being the very best example, since scammers can easily operate in complete anonymity there --- at zero cost or risk to themselves where there is no route by which to easily identify or trace them. No such "it’s easy to hide and operate in the shadows" situation exists for advertisers here on RedWeek, so I personally believe this to be a very safe site for timeshare rentals. Fwiw, it's really not a moon launch for a prospective renter to verify the legitimacy of an ownership. It's frankly much more of a hassle for the owner than for the renter. Owner might be willing to provide a copy of a (redacted) maintenance fee bill, for example (although many don't want to), or an owner can give you his / her name and phone number and unit info and invite you to just make a single phone call to the resort yourself to verify their legitimacy. No resort will ever actually [b]release[/b] any owner info that an inquirer does not already have, due to privacy protection laws, but many resorts are willing to at least [b]VERIFY information that you ALREADY possess (i.e., already having been provided to you by the owner)[/b].