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Re: How can I rent a timeshare? (by Bill S.):

ken1193 wrote:

bill1943 wrote:

We are new members and have posted an ad for our timeshare/vacation rental. Please provide us some tips on how to handle the money transactions...need help! Thank you, Bill

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It's not at all clear to me from your post whether you are an owner advertising and renting out your own week, or someone seeking to rent from an owner. My $0.02 worth follows and actually is exactly the same in either case:

1. Execute a formal rental agreement (contract), to be signed by both parties. You can easily find such rental contracts on virtually any and every timeshare related site in existence, either free (or downloadable, always for under $10). You could also use a third party entity for the transaction and escrow of funds, such as First American Title (offered here via RedWeek). However, I have found First American Title to be unacceptably unresponsive in my own few attempts to contact them. That "third party" route will also cost the owner and renter an additional $50 each.

2. If you are the renter, it's a very good idea to confirm for yourself directly with the resort (before parting with ANY money) that the person from whom you are potentially renting is, in fact, the actual owner of the week and unit advertised. Unfortunately, there are scammers out there --- and there are also people trying to rent out (for profit) weeks which they do not even actually own in the first place, but have instead obtained via an "exchange" from RCI or II. This is a clear violation of both RCI and II rules and it can ultimately result in the reservation being cancelled entirely, potentially leaving the violator with a cancelled membership and the would-be renter with no place to stay (despite having already paid "rental" money) . That's clearly a "lose / lose" situation for all involved, no matter how you spin it.

3. Very clearly specify a cancellation policy in the rental agreement. Since an owner (the one who pays the hefty annual fees for ownership) is the one most at financial risk, I recommend ZERO refund of rental payment for any cancellation made less than 60 days from commencement of the rental period. Maybe 50% refund for a cancellation made MORE than 60 days in advance of rental, but that's a personal judgement call. I recommend simply and clearly specifying "forfeit of all rental funds paid in the event of cancellation", in writing and without any time period limits in the rental agreement. Owner is paying maintenance fees and advertising costs and, at least in my opinion, should not have to just "eat" those significant out of pocket expenses if a renter just casually decides to back out and cancel later. In any case, owner should have payment in full for the rental at least 30-60 days in advance, to ensure that any issued check, including out of state checks, has "cleared".

4. Make clear in the agreement that the renter will be responsible for any damages incurred during occupancy, and that a credit card (and only one issued in the renter's own personal name, matching the name on the rental agreement) WILL be required to be presented to the front desk (and will be "imprinted" there) upon check in. Make clear in writng that any and all damages discovered by management upon renter check out WILL be promptly charged to that same credit card. That said, however, you should also understand that in the eyes of the resort (and in the eyes of the law) the OWNER is the one ultimately responsible for any and all damages caused by a renter during use of the owner's week, if the owner (as opposed to the resort itself) is the one who had arranged that rental in the first place. The resort could simply chase the owner directly for any damages, leaving the owner to then have to chase the renter to recover those costs in court. Ultimately, a paper agreement between owner and renter will NOT absolve the owner from full responsibility for damages if the owner is the one who directly arranged the rental. The agreement will help the owner later --- if / when the owner has to take the renter to court later to recover damage costs.

5. Spell out very clearly the check-in / check out days, dates and times. Otherwise, inexperienced renters may not fully understand that in timeshare facilities, check in will rarely (if ever) be allowed any time before 3 or 4 p.m. on the day of check-in and that occupants must be GONE by 9 or 10 a.m. on the check out date. These are inflexible and virtually universal "house rules" at all timeshare resorts, simply because timeshares must "turn over" each week in a timely fashion for the next owner / occupant and housekeeping practices and schedules cannot be turned upside down to accomodate "late check out" (as might be the case for a motel, for example, where there might not be someone coming in right behind the vacating party). Also, since a timeshare week can be Friday to Friday, Saturday to Saturday (the most common), or Sunday to Sunday, depending on the individual resort, it's clearly in EVERYONE'S best interest to spell out all days, dates, and times in clear, specific, written detail.

6. Some direct communication between owner and renter is beneficial to establish a mutual level of comfort, trust and understanding, but a signed rental agreement is, in my opinion, ALWAYS a MUST for the protection and benefit of BOTH parties involved.

7. Finally, beware of the so called "419 Nigerian scams", in which a semi-literate person contacts you, usually with poor English and jumbled grammar, seeking to send you an "overpayment" (via counterfeit "certified" check) and asking you to then "refund" the difference to them. This scam is old and it's obvious --- but it still exists. Run (don't just walk) away from anyone seeking to "overpay" you. In and of itself, any such suggestion to "overpay" obviously makes the contact highly suspicious, at best. That's my own $0.02 worth, based on long term experience as both an owner and as an occasional renter. Good luck.

thank you very much for your response, it clarified a lot of questions for us....i also found jayjay's sample contract helpful. lynn and bill