There are many options available for selling timeshares. You can sell by owner or go with a broker or real estate agent. Both circumstances have pros and cons, but the best thing you can do is to research and educate yourself.
Whether you choose to sell by owner or through an agencies there are two aspects to selling timeshares that remain the same. First of all, you need to know what the value is of your property. Then you will need to market the property to potential buyers.
Almost always, you will save money if you do this by yourself. This is obvious because you would have to pay the agents and brokers to do this for you. However, it does take time and a little expertise. For some people, their time may be worth more than the dollars they will save by selling timeshares on their own.
One great resource for getting information about timeshares is tug2.net. This site is run by other people who own timeshares. There are a lot of members to this website who talk about all the issues dealing with buying, owning, and selling timeshares.
If you decide to sell your timeshare by owner, the internet is clearly the best way to reach out to potential buyers. There are many websites that are designed to bring buyers and sellers together.
Ebay is one of those sites. Millions of people look on Ebay every single day. They have a specific section dedicated to those people who are selling timeshares. There are Ebay fees involved with listing your timeshare on their site, however you can be assured that your listing will be exposed to a very large amount of potential buyers.
The other great website for selling timeshares is Craigslist. Craigslist is mostly free, however a small fee may be charged for real estate listings in some cities. The great thing about Craigslist is that your listing will stay posted for a very large amount of time. Additionally, you can post an ad in a very targeted market (ie where the timeshare is located) or in as many cities as you would like.
If you do choose to use a real estate company or any other company who wants to sell your timeshare for you – never ever pay upfront fees. Also, chances are if the company calls you first then it is not going to be a good deal for you.
Reassure your potential buyers about what other owners or vacationers think about the place. Talk to your neighbors and other timeshare owners ahead of time and ask them if they mind if you give their contact info to your potential buyers. The buyers may feel like they are getting more unbiased answers to their questions coming from someone other than the seller.
Explain to the buyers how they can go about getting the dates that they want. The purpose of buying a timeshare is to have convenient vacations every year. So reassure them that getting the dates they want can happen.
Give the buyers an accurate history of the fees associated with the timeshare. If you are suffering from fee increases, it is best just to be honest. Buyers will trust you more if you are upfront about everything, both good and bad. Of course, there are always ways to spin it so that the fees do not seem so bad. On the other hand, if you have not had any fee increases in a long while this is a huge selling point.
Give your potential buyers a description of the management company. Especially if you are happy with how your timeshare property has been managed and maintained. It is good to give specific examples of their good work.
Another good thing to do when selling timeshares is to talk about any improvements that are coming in the future. Let your buyers know if a remodel is expected or if upgrades will be made to your unit. These types of things can increase the value of the timeshare and will help your buyer feel like they are getting more for their money.
Lastly, when you are selling timeshares be sure to talk about how much you have enjoyed vacationing there. Show pictures and talk about good times you have had. Let your buyers know how long you have been coming there and how many memories you have made with your loved ones. Playing to a potential buyer’s emotions can work in your favor.
It is possible to sell a timeshare with a little bit of work. In my opinion, I think it is best when selling timeshares to play up the vacation aspect of it. For example, if you have a las vegas timeshares, talk about how it is cheaper to vacation in a timeshare than without one. If you have savvy potential buyers and try to talk about how it is a good investment property then you will probably lose the sale.
Selling a timeshare can be difficult. Sometimes it is necessary to unload the burden of timeshare ownership. You should know that you will rarely make money selling a timeshare. As a matter of fact, in the current economic times I have read that when selling timeshares owners usually get about 10-25% of what they paid for it. However, hopefully you got all the value out of the timeshare by having wonderful vacations in them. Below is a list of things to den when you are selling timeshares.
Find a real estate agent. Make sure you are dealing with a licensed agent or broker. You will need to research the local governing agencies where your timeshare is located to find out what licenses are available. There are many scammers out there, so it is important to make sure you are dealing with a legitimate agent. Agents can help you market your timeshare to a wider market than you may be able to do on your own.
Do not pay upfront fees. This is a major red flag for a scammer. If you pay a broker a flat free upfront to sell your timeshare, then you have thrown your money away. First of all, the broker or agent has no incentive to get you the most money for your timeshare. Additionally, they could run with your money and not do anything at all for you.
Consider selling your timeshare by owner. Obviously this would require much more work than using a real estate agent, but it could save you a ton of money in fees and commissions.
Use an appraisal service. Hire a respected timeshare appraisal company to come and tell you what your property is worth. This will give you leverage when negotiating a deal.
Price your unit correctly. If you try and sell your unit for what you paid for it you is going to sit on it forever, especially if you bought your unit from a large company. These companies will spend enormous amounts of money marketing their timeshares and then pass the cost down to you. This may help you get an inexpensive vacation. However, you will be upside down in value.
Advertise your sale. There are special venues for advertising timeshares for sale and it is important to invest in this. It is not like people who are shopping for timeshares are going to actually go down to the place they are considering. They are going to purchase the timeshare from home, and then go on their vacation. So if you are selling your timeshare by owner make sure you invest in good timeshare advertisements.
