Buying, Renting, and Selling Timeshares

Quick Question concerning renting timeshare unit

Hey guys, Im in the process of trying to rent a unit @ The Omni in Cancun, I have sent messages to couple people. I have one individual whom described the process as I send him a check he then sends me a confirmation and the reservation will be in my name. Shouldnt he send me confirmation before I send payment? We are traveling in March do I have the time to use an escrow company? Any advice greatly appreciated.

GMC8

Gaye M.

I would go through an escrow service.

R P.

gayem8 wrote:
Hey guys, Im in the process of trying to rent a unit @ The Omni in Cancun, I have sent messages to couple people. I have one individual whom described the process as I send him a check he then sends me a confirmation and the reservation will be in my name. Shouldnt he send me confirmation before I send payment? We are traveling in March do I have the time to use an escrow company? Any advice greatly appreciated.
GMC8

I would at least ask for some type of proof that he owns the unit (not an II or RCI exchange) and it is available for the week in question. You can try calling the resort to check that he is an owner. The resort will not release provate information, but should be able to confirm or deny any information you give them.

Escrow is OK, but you may have to pay the entire fee which will be between $100 and $200 depending on the rental cost.

Mike N.

mike1536 wrote:
Escrow is OK, but you may have to pay the entire fee which will be between $100 and $200 depending on the rental cost.

Mike I might be wrong but don't you need to sign on for escrow more than 60 days out?

Also renter needs to understand many owners won't work with escrow because they don't want to wait two weeks after rental to get their money.

Many owners are planning their vacation or paying mf's and if rental is in middle of the year then they really can not use the funds for their vacations or what ever!

PHILL12

Phil L.

Phill: You you hit the nail right on the head. I am an owner and I rent my units. I refuse to wait 2 weeks after the completion of the Rentee's vacation to receive my money from an Escrow Company. I like to control my money myself not a third party escrow. I refuse to use an escrow acct thru a third party to rent my units......

Les B.

phill12 wrote:
mike1536 wrote:
Escrow is OK, but you may have to pay the entire fee which will be between $100 and $200 depending on the rental cost.
Mike I might be wrong but don't you need to sign on for escrow more than 60 days out?

Phil First American Title can be used for rentals made at least one week in advance. This is based on the info from the link on the Redweek.

If a rental is made less than 60 days in advance, then the FULL rental payment is due at the time of the application. Other escrow companies could have different restrictions.

think the FULL payment should be made regardless of the time frame, which is another negative I have about using escrow (in addition to getting money AFTER the rental date). If a renter cancels 61 days prior to check-in he will lose the deposit, but the owner now only has 60 days to try to re-rent, use, or exchange the unit. Whenever I rent, I usually charge the cost of the MF, plus $100-$200. Only getting 50% on a cancellation wouldn't even cover my MF.

Mike N.

Last edited by mike1536 on Feb 09, 2009 07:21 AM

Yes, you should have confirm # plus name and # to contact at resort. once this all positive pay 1/2 other 1/2 month before departure

Ken G.

I was looking to rent a unit at the Omni also. The rental offers at the Omni look very suspicious. They don't specifiy as week but list a several year period for rent. I checked other properties and some show specific weeks others don't. Are the owners listed for the Omni really working for the hotel and just running ad's on Redweek or is something else going on?

Christopher C.

christopherc62 wrote:
I was looking to rent a unit at the Omni also. The rental offers at the Omni look very suspicious. They don't specifiy as week but list a several year period for rent. I checked other properties and some show specific weeks others don't. Are the owners listed for the Omni really working for the hotel and just running ad's on Redweek or is something else going on?

A person could own several weeks, or most likely the person owns a floating week or points to book a week and does not have any specific week reserved. He/she can be more flexible as to weeks available. This can backfire if someone inquires about a high demand week and all the weeks are already booked.

Or the "owner" might just be a third party company running the ads.

Mike N.

Hey I just wanted to respond. I just got confirmation info from the gentleman we will be renting from. I did not choose to do the escrow though. We had a little touch and go with our emails not getting to each other for a day but since we have exchanged phone numbers and all is checking out. I think the owners have so many weeks a year they have access to units but like the owner Im working with, checked the availablity and didnt have a unit available that week but did for the week before, we were flexible the price was fantastic so we worked our travel dates around what was available. The Omni is marvelous we have stayed twice and cant wait for our 3rd time. Hope this helps.

Gaye M.

I generally ask for half upon receiving the signed contract and then the other half after I have provided them with confirmation that their name has been added to the reservation.

Angie G.

Angie,

Is there a general contract on Red Week that can be used? Or did you draw you're own?

Ist time renting my timeshare and I want both myself and renter protected.

Any help you can provide would be great. I was thinking of using Pay Pal as funding source.

Carolyn

Carolyn J.

carolynj46 wrote:
Angie,
Is there a general contract on Red Week that can be used? Or did you draw you're own?
Ist time renting my timeshare and I want both myself and renter protected.
Any help you can provide would be great. I was thinking of using Pay Pal as funding source.
Carolyn

Here is the link to RedWeek's Rental Agreement. This is a good starting point and you should modify it as necessary. I always add any additional mandatory costs charged at check-in as well as whether or not housekeeping is provided (prevents surprises).

I make sure to highlight rules such as No Smoking or No Pets.

I also add a line which states that the renter must adhere to all the policies of the resort. And be sure your cancellation/refund policy is clear.

PayPal is OK, but it really doesn't give too much protection to either party. Yes, you get your $$, but if for some reason the renter did not pay (or the check bounced) all you need to do is inform the resort that Mr & Mrs Renter is not permitted to use the unit.

The only protection the renter gets from PayPal is if they use a credit card and that is only if they dispute the charge.

Good Luck

Mike N.

Yikes!! What do you recommend?

Carolyn J.

carolynj46 wrote:
Yikes!! What do you recommend?

Do you mean recommendation for payment? PayPal is fine, I've used them , but it can be a nuisance setting up the account. I've also had people send me checks.

Checks should be drawn on US banks, NOT be third party checks and should be for the exact amount owed. I don't know about now, but in the past, if I was suspicious, I could call a bank to verify if the account has sufficient funds (saves me a potential bounced-check fee). I also accepted a credit card payment through PayPal, but the renter has to pay the additional fee.

The best option for the renter's protection is an Escrow company, but I'm not a fan of Escrow due to the costs and restrictions.

Your protection is that YOU control the reservation; you only need to notify the resort if there is any problem with the paymets and tell them the person does not have permission to stay there.

All that being said, here's the one potential problem for you. Even though the renter provides a credit card to the resort at check-in, if there are any damages and the resort, for some reason, CANNOT collect from the renter, YOU will be responsible. IMO, this situation is rare, but some owners will also ask for a security/damage deposit.

Mike N.

Typically, we have to pay a maintenance fee in order to make the reservation, I usually require this amount in advance from the renter for good faith as it it is non refundable, wouldn't want to be stuck with a paid time with no renter. I have a time share in Cabo where my maintenance is upward of $400.00s, hope this helps.

Franklin M.

Thanks for the great info.

Carolyn J.

Glad it worked out. With a March vacation date, escrow would have been hard to manage. As a points owner, I usually put a Confirmation in my name, send a copy to the prospective renter so he know we have it, and put the reservation into HIS name when full payment is received. If time permits, he can pay half immediately when I prove that we have the unit and the balance 60 days before check-in, but it stays in my name till payment in full is received. Of course a person who owns a set week at a specific resort can rent it when he pleases without the resort's permission but he should let them know who is actually coming in the owner's place. A written contract is a good idea in either case. MD

Mary D.

We are going on a Baltic cruise out of Harwich, England, in June and spending a week in England afterward. The cruise pretty much takes care of itself, but figuring how to navigate in England is quite a job.

We'd prefer NOT to drive in England for all the obvious reasons and so are looking into rail. Getting from Heathrow to Paddington Station in London is easy. Getting across London to connect with rail to Harwich is vague. A simple route map seems hard to find.

After the cruise, we hope we can use rail passes more broadly. Still do not know exactly where we will go. Ideas from those who know the ropes over there? MD

Mary D.

How does it work if you are renting from someone who owns a timeshare through II? I am new at this and scared of getting burned as a renter. Thanks!

Tammy M.