How To Avoid Time Share Scams

There are literally hundreds of time share scams circulating today. Here are a few of the main scams associated with time share resale companies and the tricks used to snare potential owners looking to sell or rent. Read through this list and make yourself aware before you fall victim to one of these time share scams.

1. The Infamous Buyer Waiting - Do not, under any circumstances, ever let a sales representative tell you they have a buyer waiting for your time share. Unless you have the ONLY time share for sale at a given resort, why would your unit be the one this buyer is looking for.
2. The Crystal Ball - No one can tell you when a time share is going to sell! Unless they are in possession of the proverbial "crystal ball" how in the world can they tell you approximately, or even with any degree of certainty, when a piece of vacation property will sell for sure?
3. Sales Representatives Don't Sell time share - They sit in a boiler room type environment soliciting other owners to sell or rent their unit. They are not brokers or agents. Don't let them fool you. By law they cannot show your time share to anyone or charge a commission on the sale. All they are able to do is put your advertisement online and wait for an interested party to find it. You can do that by yourself and save hundreds of dollars.
4. Inventory Manager Close - This is where the sales representative hands the phone off to an "inventory manager" who then proceeds to tell you how much they need your property in their inventory and offer you a deal if you get this property listed today. The point is to hurry you into a sale with pressure. Do Not Bite!
5. Over Valued Scam - With this scam, a sales representative will tell you your time share is worth thousands more than you paid for it in hopes of getting you to sign up to sell your property with them. time share is not real estate. If you paid 10K for it 15 years ago, it is still not worth more now and chances are it's worth less. Don't get caught being greedy!
6. Unregulated Fee Scam - Make sure you're not paying too much for your advertisement. Chances are the sales person is the one setting your price based on whatever it is they think they can get away with charging you. This type of unregulated pricing allows two people with the same advertising to pay different fees. If they ask you what you do for a living tell them your poor and you need a discount even if your not.
7. The Open House Scam - Some sales people use this tactic to invoke urgency in the minds of sellers. A rep will tell an owner that "they will feature their property at an open house this weekend" and that "there are plenty of vacationing snowbirds walking in off the streets to inquire about time share just like theirs". This could not be any further from the truth. Unless the business is located in the "time share capital of the world" this just does not happen. Folks do not just happen into boiler rooms.
8. The Deferred Payment - With this scam, the rep will pass the phone off or put you on hold while they see if they can get you "a discount" if you promise to sign up today. They will then return to the phone and tell you that they could not get a discount but the manager said you can pay half now and defer the other half until after the sale. Once again this is a tactic to hurry you into the sale. This scam works well since the rep has quoted your advertising fee higher than usual to allow for the discount.

Keep checking back for new and completely different time share scams uncovered by our staff. We post these scams here to inform and make no reference either written or implied as to the perpetrator of these scams. Keeping on top of the game is how to stay protected.