Original Message:
"Owner reviews" ain't gonna happen.... (by KC):
kimyn wrote:=================================================As a new renter I am very nervous about renting a TS due to the overwhelmed information and complaints about scams, etc that I saw in the Redweek forum. I thought it would be helpful for a potential renters to be able to see some of reviews or evaluations from the past renters for that particular owner. If it is already in place, would somebody please show me how to access to it. Thank you very much.
There is no "review of owners" on this site or, for that matter, on any other timeshare site --- nor will there be. Any such endeavor would be very difficult to implement or manage, all input would be completely subjective and unverifiable and, perhaps most significant of all, negative input from a disgruntled renter could constitute libel if a disgruntled renter publicly "bad mouthed" an honest owner for no good reason, thereby negatively impacting that owners' future rentals. No timeshare site on Planet Earth is going to willingly subject itself to potential involvement in any such legal liability and / or litigation.
My advice is to simply be a smart and cautious renter:
1. Confirm ownership of any advertised week by getting the owner name, address and phone number from the advertising "owner" and then confirm that information for yourself, directly with the resort, with a phone call. In doing so, you are thereby also making certain that you are not considering renting a week which someone doesn't even own in the first place (such as a week obtained by "exchange" through RCI or II --- such weeks CANNOT be legally rented out AT ALL).
2. Have some direct conversation with the owner and develop some mutual comfort and trust. Remember, the owner has legitimate concerns too, such as "bounced checks" and the fact that he / she is ultimately responsible to the resort for any unit damage caused by a renter. Conversation aside, also insist upon a formal, written rental agreement which clearly identifies all owner and renter details (and signatures) and which specifies rental dates, unit identification, deposit and balance payment requirements and a specific cancellation policy. Then confirm the unit and date accuracy reflected in the agreement directly with the resort yourself.
3. If you are unwilling to undertake the above described efforts yourself but are willing to pay an extra $100-$150 to an escrow service, you can opt to use a third-party escrow service to handle the rental agreement details and all funds involved in the transaction. However, many owners (even completely honest owners) simply will not accept escrow company involvement, since doing so will necessarily mean that the owner won't get paid until a few weeks AFTER the rental is actually completed. Understandably, some owners find the idea of receiving rental payment "after the fact" to be completely unacceptable.
I hope some of the above helps you, but don't hold out any hopes for "owner reviews" on this site --- or anywhere else, for that matter. It simply "...ain't gonna happen".