Original Message:
I WORKED FOR ONE OF THESE COMPANIES (by Renee M.):
I am posting this to better educate timeshare owners about the dangers of dealing with resale companies.
I'm ashamed to admit that I worked for one of these outfits in Florida (I am a realtor by trade, and when the market crashed, a friend offered me a job working for a popular timeshare resale company). I would mention the name, but I am fighting them in court, and would prefer to not give details.
ANY company that asks you for money up front is worthless. They do not use this money to do a title search; they do not use this money to defer expensive ad costs... they pocket this money, and the sales rep gets a small percentage (25% - 30%), the Company Owners (who both encourage and reward employees for these fraudulent practices) take about 70% and look the other way. The most the company will actually do is place your t.s. on their website, which costs them $0.00. You have an equally good chance of selling by listing your property with E-bay or Craigslist, or even the corporate that originally sold you your t.s..
As for me, I am facing a possible law suit, because I warned customers and gave them an opportunity to be refunded their listing fee. I, and other former employees, are awaiting subpoenas; a few have already been served and will appear in court in late April.
Bottom Line: If you own a timeshare, chances are that you're on a mailing list somewhere, and will be getting multiple solicitations from "resale corps" who guarantee that they can sell / rent your property in less than 90 days. Some will even tell you they have an interested buyer on hand, and need to you pay a handling fee to get the ball rolling. The entire sales pitch (including their names) is pretty much a lie, and I encourage you to write the State Atty General in the state where the timeshare company is located.
Be warned: they're still doing this, and the only way to stop them is if timeshare owners band together.