BBB Offers Caution On Timeshare Purchase Offers

A company named Timeshare Acquisitions has sent a postcard mailer to a large number of timeshare owners in our area, triggering calls to the BBB. The BBB Reliability Report of the Better Business Bureau serving Los Angeles/Colton, CA, which is where the company is primarily based, states:

This company advertises an offer for time share owners to relieve themselves from future ownership responsibilities. According to the company, this is accomplished by paying the company to assume financial responsibility for the timeshare, and then respondents re-coup the money by using the amount as a deduction on their federal taxes the coming year. Although transaction fees range, the company usually requires respondents to pay approximately five years worth of maintenance fees.

This company is not in the business of buying timeshares. Their actual business is persuading timeshare owners to pay them to take responsibility for the property. There are no cash offers made to anyone at seminars. The company's "offer," consists of a proposal to pay them to take the property off your hands.

Consumers should be aware that the company does not handle the entire closing and escrow services. This is done by Timeshare Closing Services, Inc. out of Orlando. FL.

If you are considering selling your timeshare, other options are available. Some companies will sell for a fee, but collect only after the timeshare is sold. Do they handle the entire closing and provide escrow services? You may try selling your timeshare yourself, by placing an ad in a newspaper or magazine, or contacting a real estate agent familiar with the area. If all the timeshares have been sold in your development, consider asking the seller to establish an on-site resale office. As an alternative, you may consider an exchange program. For a fee, these programs allow you to arrange trades with other resort units in different locations.

The BBB offers this general advice on timeshare sales:

Reselling Your Timeshare

Unscrupulous companies typically contact you by phone, mail or the Internet asking you to call a phone number about your timeshare. The salesperson may claim that the market is "hot" for resales, when in fact the market varies considerably depending on location and the prime season for that particular unit. For an advance fee of about $300 to $700, some salespeople promise to sell your timeshare for a price equal to or greater than your purchase price. They may claim to have a list of sales agents and potential buyers. While the seller may possess these lists, it is unlikely the parties are interested buyers. To further entice you, they may promise a money-back guarantee or a government bond if they can not sell your timeshare within a certain amount of time.

In the end some owners have found that their timeshare did not sell, their fee was not returned and they were given a bond worth as little as $60 to $70. If you are considering reselling your timeshare and are approached by a company offering to help, the Better Business Bureau recommends the following:

• Do not agree to anything over the telephone until you have had a chance to check out the company.
• Ask the person to send you written materials.
• Ask for references, including address and phone number and contact them.
• Ask where the company is located and in what states it does business.
• Ask if the company's salespeople are licensed to sell real estate where your timeshare is located. If so, verify this with the state licensing board.
• Find out if the company charges a commission. Do they handle the entire closing and provide escrow services? Do they charge an up-front listing or advertising fee? What does it cover and is it refundable?
• Be wary of companies charging an advance "appraisal" fee for services. Consider opting for a company that offers to sell for a fee only after the timeshare is sold.
• Contact the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org/), state Attorney General's office, and local consumer protection agencies in the state where the company is located to find out if complaints have been lodged against the company.

Keep in mind that there are other resale options. You may try selling your timeshare yourself, by placing an ad in a newspaper or magazine, or contacting a real estate agent familiar with the area. If all the timeshares have been sold in your development, consider asking the seller to establish an on-site resale office. As an alternative, you may consider an exchange program. For a fee, these programs allow you to arrange trades with other resort units in different locations.