Purchasing thru Redweek or other resale companies

jayjay wrote:

vonei1 wrote:

The reservation is cancelled.

What reservation?

I joined this forum to gain information on renting my timeshare weeks. I thought I was getting some pretty good information then things went array. Are any of you skilled and knowledgeable TS owners/renters still interested in helping us that are just starting out?

shelbyr7 wrote:

I joined this forum to gain information on renting my timeshare weeks. I thought I was getting some pretty good information then things went array. Are any of you skilled and knowledgeable TS owners/renters still interested in helping us that are just starting out?

mike1536 wrote:

There are pleny of people interested in helping newbies and other owners. As you noticed this thread got out of hand and RedWeek staff deleted all the irrelevant comments. I try to provide information based on what I read and/or experienced. If I'm wrong, then correct me; i won't be offended. All I ask is... don't "shoot the messenger" if you don't like what you hear.

DITTO, but I have to ask why the last part of my last post was deleted when I suggested we bury the hatchet with vonei and work together to educate all timeshare owners here on Redweek? Marty?

And why hasn't vonei's abusive post, that started this mess to begin with below, not been deleted while most other posts that addressed her have been deleted (posts from educated timeshare people that come here everyday free of charge to try to educate people on the subject of timesharing for the benefit of Redweek members)? I'm somewhat disappointed in Redweek for moderating like this. The post below should have been deleted by Redweek staff in the first place as being abusive before getting out of hand.

vonei said, "I am wondering why you are so worried about my rental unless you want to rent it. I have done nothing wrong. I am not so stupid to not check it out. You have no clue what I own, which is a ton of properties and this is not the first time I have done it, it is the first for Summer Bay. I can also rent out my property in Cancun. Maybe you can pick on someone else to argue with but I am tired of your answers unless you want to rent it. If you know what I own and what I can do then you can write but until that time, keep your nose where it belongs. I can't stand people like you that are so worried about what someone else is doing. Maybe get involved in community service and then you won't spend so much time worring about what I am doing. I spent alot of time researching what to do and this is legal, even though you are a lawyer and say it is not. Thank you so much for worrying about me, but I do fine by myself."

I am thinking about joing Redweek.com to list my property at Summer Bay in Orlando.

Is it worth it? I was told this is one of the better sites? Have you sold yours yet or had any nibbles.

Richard

patriciagayle wrote:

llhayden wrote:

Hi All:

I have been a lurker on Redweek for many years - never, though, have I taken advantage of either renting a timeshare or buying one. I did, however, have my sister rent through Redweek, and she said it was a great experience.

My question is this, as I am a novice timeshare person. I already know that there is a ton of overhead costs if you purchase a timeshare directly from the facility (Marriott, Sheraton, etc.), so using a website like Redweek to purchase is best. But, how do you know whether these timeshares for sale on this site are in the "old" or "new" section of the resort?

Also, 2 questions regarding "floating" weeks- how easy is it to get a reservation at a resort outside of your home resort when your week says "floating"? In other words, if your home resort is in Orlando and you want to RCI elsewhere, is it just as easy with a floating week than with a set week to get a reservation elsewhere? ****Does having a floating week help or hurt you when you want to make a reservation at your resort - since there's no set week, do you have to call many months in advance to get the week you want?

Thanks for your help! I'd like to purchase something, but am a little hesitant due to the floating week thing!

Hi Hayden. We are experienced ts owners but when we weren't, we did make one mistake which we donated to charity. Buy your timeshare on e bay or Redweek but do not pay full price from a resort because you won't be able to get back the value. If you can, make sure it's a 5star resort which enables you to exchange anywhere. If you are bidding on a resort of interest go to the website of that resort and read the reviews (very important). Pix don't mean a lot. Also read trip advisor. Keep in mind that there is always at least one disgruntled person but if most say it's great than it's great. To exchange you do need to book a year or more in advance. Of course you can exchange 59 days out... which we did....and what is available is leftovers like a gorgeous condo in Florida when the temp is 110 in summer. If you are buying in a warm climate then google and find out the hurricane and /or rainy season. Interval charges about $125 to $139 for an exchange and RCI is about that too so that's in addition to your timeshare fee. Once you buy, your mailbox will never be empty again because you will be deluged with 3 night invitations for a "short tour". If no interest avoid those marketeers. Otherwise....it's really great, much better than a hotel and you get to go everywhere including cruises. Good luck to you. patriciagayle

richardl272 wrote:

I am thinking about joing Redweek.com to list my property at Summer Bay in Orlando.

Is it worth it? I was told this is one of the better sites? Have you sold yours yet or had any nibbles.Richard

Redweek is one of the top timeshare listing sites on the internet and has over 1 million members, however you must price your timeshare competively in order to snag the interest of a buyer and that would be no where near what you paid the developer.

Resales typically garner only 1/3 to 1/4 or less on the resale market what was paid the developer if the timeshare can be sold at all. Orlando (and the surounding area) is overbuilt with vacation accomodations in every genre including hotels, motels, condotels, privately owned homes, privately owned condos and well over 100 timeshare resorts, so you have to keep that in mind when you get ready to list your timeshare for sale.

If you think you will get anywhere near what was paid the developer, you will be sorely disappointed when you get no replies or offers from you ad ..... if you ask a fair market price and do sell it, you will take a loss depending on how much you paid in the first place if you bought from a developer.

Truth be told, it is very hard to sell a timeshare today. Orlando timeshares are passed up on ebay with starting bids for $1.00

I know fees are not high here on redweek, but it all adds up if nothing sells.

My strongest suggestion is to list it on ebay. Invite people to comment or ask questions, then you will know what your unit is worth and probably get a few options for selling it.

I know for fact that offers are made when no bids are. At least I got a few offers with out a bid.

I own 4 timeshares to date. Two points resort and 2 weeks resorts. I purchased my Disney from Disney which is points and the rest I purchased on ebay. One is an rci points resort in Kissimmee and the other two are weeks resorts that I can have RCI credit me with points because I have a points account already with them with Kissimmee. So my weeks resort can be used as a weeks or a points resort but I usually just use it myself instead of depositing it. I have rented from owners on redweek.com and have been very pleased with the transactions. I rented in San Antonio at a Wyndham from an owner and also in Royal Resorts Mexico from an owner and I thought I got a great deal from both owners considering the type of unit I got. Both were excellent deals on 2 bedrooms for $700 a week which I could have never gotten from the resort directly or on an exchange of my own inventory except maybe my Disney which I would rather use myself anyway. So I recommend taking the plunge and getting in touch with an owner on redweek. It seems to attract nice serious people. Most people are honest about what they are selling and of course you can always do your due diligence and call the resort to get more info on the unit type and location. I do that myself to assure myself that what I am buying is what they are advertising and so far so good. As far as RCI is concerned I recommend joining them because as far as exchanging is concerned they suck but if you travel alot and want to pick up good deals then you can get great deals on the last call inventory starting at $199 a week. I often rent the last call and stay only a few days and more than get my money's worth. Same goes for II but I have yet to exchange with them so I don't yet have an exchange opinoin. Good luck to you.

mike1536 wrote:

vonei1 wrote:

adahiscout wrote:

vonei1 wrote:

ken1193 wrote:

vonei1 wrote:

I have my timeshare listed for rent with Redweek.com. It is at the Summer Bay Resort in Orlando. The town is like Clear something, but the resort backs up to Animal Kingdom. It is only about 5 minutes to Disney World. I have it for rent for only $980 for the week in a gorgeous Villa, June 29-July 6. I have not received one message on this. Has anyone tried to use Redweek before? I thought for sure someone would want this by now.

============================================== I do not claim to know Orlando or your particular resort. That said, it's still clear that you are now within just about a month from your usage week. Is your advertised rental rate competitive with others being offered at the same place during the same time period? If not, you'll clearly need to lower your asking price to match (or beat) comparable offered weeks --- and soon.

With just over a month now remaining, you might consider also putting your week rental up for auction on Bidshares (which is free). You can identify your own "reserve" (your minimum acceptable rent amount) there. You can do the same thing on eBay (but an auction listing on Ebay is not free). RedWeek is generally a VERY good place for successful rental advertising, but your price may not be competitive, or perhaps the particular week (which includes the July 4 holiday) may not be a major draw. Good luck, in any case.

Thank you very much for the information. My price is competitive. All the others were higher. I will try the Bidshares, I had not heard of that so thank you very much.

========

I'm rather surprised that you are able to offer your Summer Bay for rent. Isn't that an RCI Points resort? Or was it not yet in that organization when you bought? MD

Yes I have it reserved with points, then when it is rented it is transferred to the new person for a fee of $59 and they make them a reservation. Is this Ok?

============== The question is how the unit was reserved with the points. I asked RCI the procedures for renting out my week at my home resort if I own at an RCI Points resort The following is RCI's reply:

"As long as you reserve your home week (if you own fixed weeks) or the unit type and season that matches your floating ownership and confirm during the home week or home resort period, you may use or rent out that week. If you reserve a unit which does not match your ownership, or reserve after the home week/home resort priority reservation period, you may not rent out the unit."

Based on this information, if you reserved your week during the home week reservation period (11-12 months prior to check in) or home resort reservation period (11-12 months prior to check in). If you reserved your week after these periods then it you could not rent it out since this would be considered renting an exchange, which is taboo. In addition, you must also reserve the unit indicated in your account. For example, if you own a 2 BR unit you cannot reserve a 1 BR unit and rent it to a third party.

I have just read over all the entries in regards to this situation and I can see where someone would feel that the replies are implying that he is doing something wrong. That is how I read it.. I guess if you take a look at many of the Redweek or other website advertisments most of these timeshares should not be rented out by the owners. Most of them are posted at a profit to cover all costs and to have the fear that whoever rents them out they could be cancelled by RCI or II and that would be a shame to have a family show up on a planned trip and not be able to use the timeshare that they rented for that week. Several postings are legitimate but at the same time whatever anyone does on this website should not be questioned with questions ending in ??? 's.. what one does it there own business and it anything happens then its there problem and not for anyone to really question. In future answer the question posted and please don't make it look that they are doing something wrong because some people are new at this game and really have no idea what they can do or are allowed to do as they just look and see what everyone else is doing which is renting weeks on Redweek however it works for everyone. There are thousands of timeshares being rented in Orlando and if it wasn't for many (not all) being rented the way they are not supposed to Redweek would most likely be half empty with advertisments. I do beleive that the websites are being watched by exchange companies but this year with high costs they are turning a blind eye because if they didn't Orlando would be in dire straits with no tourists and timeshares would sit idol without occupants.

bonniea16 wrote:

There are thousands of timeshares being rented in Orlando and if it wasn't for many (not all) being rented the way they are not supposed to Redweek would most likely be half empty with advertisments. I do beleive that the websites are being watched by exchange companies but this year with high costs they are turning a blind eye because if they didn't Orlando would be in dire straits with no tourists and timeshares would sit idol without occupants.

If I'm reading your post above correctly, you are saying to go ahead and rent an exchange from RCI and/or II. With the economy being like it is you say that, "RCI and II are turning a blind eye" to this activity. Do you know this for a fact?

There have been reports, one just recently on Tug, where an II member was accused of renting II exchanges. In the end the accusations were false, but II contacted that member threatening to close his II account, so if you think it's okay to rent RCI and/or II exchanges, you are wrong ... bad economy or not.

There have also been reports on Tug of RCI closing member's accounts that have been caught renting RCI exchanges. Some people do get away with it, but I definitely wouldn't take the chance myself .... it's just not worth losing one's membership and renters being turned away at check-in.

jayjay wrote:

bonniea16 wrote:

There are thousands of timeshares being rented in Orlando and if it wasn't for many (not all) being rented the way they are not supposed to Redweek would most likely be half empty with advertisments. I do beleive that the websites are being watched by exchange companies but this year with high costs they are turning a blind eye because if they didn't Orlando would be in dire straits with no tourists and timeshares would sit idol without occupants.

If I'm reading your post above correctly, you are saying to go ahead and rent an exchange from RCI and/or II. With the economy being like it is you say that, "RCI and II are turning a blind eye" to this activity. Do you know this for a fact?

There have been reports, one just recently on Tug, where an II member was accused of renting II exchanges. In the end the accusations were false, but II contacted that member threatening to close his II account, so if you think it's okay to rent RCI and/or II exchanges, you are wrong ... bad economy or not.

There have also been reports on Tug of RCI closing member's accounts that have been caught renting RCI exchanges. Some people do get away with it, but I definitely wouldn't take the chance myself .... it's just not worth losing one's membership and renters being turned away at check-in.

I agree with you... I would not take the chance either but all I meant was that we didn't really know the gentlemans situation before some questions were asked in a questionable way. I guess I find it hard to understand how SO many timeshares are for rent everywhere if they are not done through exchanges. I couldn't imagine renting a timeshare out and then having it cancelled or my membership taken away I so agree with you but so many are taking that chance and most are getting away with it to the few that are getting caught . At some point the system has to change things to either allow it or to monitor it one or the other to make it honest and fair.I guess the original way of questioning could have been phrased differently to not offend anyone thats all.

bonniea16 wrote:

jayjay wrote:

bonniea16 wrote:

There are thousands of timeshares being rented in Orlando and if it wasn't for many (not all) being rented the way they are not supposed to Redweek would most likely be half empty with advertisments. I do beleive that the websites are being watched by exchange companies but this year with high costs they are turning a blind eye because if they didn't Orlando would be in dire straits with no tourists and timeshares would sit idol without occupants.

If I'm reading your post above correctly, you are saying to go ahead and rent an exchange from RCI and/or II. With the economy being like it is you say that, "RCI and II are turning a blind eye" to this activity. Do you know this for a fact?

There have been reports, one just recently on Tug, where an II member was accused of renting II exchanges. In the end the accusations were false, but II contacted that member threatening to close his II account, so if you think it's okay to rent RCI and/or II exchanges, you are wrong ... bad economy or not.

There have also been reports on Tug of RCI closing member's accounts that have been caught renting RCI exchanges. Some people do get away with it, but I definitely wouldn't take the chance myself .... it's just not worth losing one's membership and renters being turned away at check-in.

I agree with you... I would not take the chance either but all I meant was that we didn't really know the gentlemans situation before some questions were asked in a questionable way. I guess I find it hard to understand how SO many timeshares are for rent everywhere if they are not done through exchanges. I couldn't imagine renting a timeshare out and then having it cancelled or my membership taken away I so agree with you but so many are taking that chance and most are getting away with it to the few that are getting caught . At some point the system has to change things to either allow it or to monitor it one or the other to make it honest and fair.I guess the original way of questioning could have been phrased differently to not offend anyone thats all.

Also what is TUG I would like to read about it for my own knowledge and interests. Can you post the website? I would appreciate it thanks!

bonniea16 wrote:

Also what is TUG I would like to read about it for my own knowledge and interests. Can you post the website? I would appreciate it thanks!

You have to understand that there are hundreds of thousands of timeshare owners that do not belong to any exchange company and they are free to rent their owned timeshares. I really don't believe the overwhelming majority of rentals are exchanges.

Tug is at www.tugbbs.com

bonniea16 asked in part: >> Also what is TUG I would like to read about it for my own knowledge and interests. Can you post the website? I would appreciate it thanks!<<

See http://www.tug2.net. With no disrespect intended toward RedWeek, there are far more people (both in number and in knowledge and experience level) on TUG, which is an abbreviation for Timeshare Users Group. In fairness, comparing the two, forums haven't been around long on RedWeek, but I believe they have been in place for about 15 years on TUG.....

ken1193 wrote:

bonniea16 asked in part: >> Also what is TUG I would like to read about it for my own knowledge and interests. Can you post the website? I would appreciate it thanks!<<

See http://www.tug2.net. With no disrespect intended toward RedWeek, there are far more people (both in number and in knowledge and experience level) on TUG, which is an abbreviation for Timeshare Users Group. In fairness, comparing the two, forums haven't been around long on RedWeek, but I believe they have been in place for about 15 years on TUG.....

You know I hadn't really thought of the fact that many users are not on or with exchange companies you are so right . I am going to join TUB by the sounds of things it will have alot of things that will be of interest to me and I will learn alot as well I thank you for this information greatly appreciated.