Advantage Vacation recently received a Consumer Advisory issued by ARDA (American Resort Development Association). They explained the purpose of the advisory was to make consumers aware of two deceptive resale solicitations that have been reported to them by timeshare owners. As Advantage Vacation has cautioned in the past, if you have been contacted by someone that you did not initiate the contact with – be aware and beware! ARDA is also warning owners of the same – to proceed with caution if they are contacted as part of either of the following resale efforts.
If you own a timeshare in Mexico, you will want to pay close attention to the following information and beware of paying a Mexican “sales tax or fee” to a resale company. The first point is, paying an upfront fee of any sort to a resale company comes with a certain element of risk. The “sales tax or fee” scam involves a claim from a resale company representative that they have a buyer who would like to purchase the owner’s timeshare in Mexico. The resale representative states that Mexican law requires the timeshare owner to pay a tax or fee in advance of the actual sale in order to complete the transaction. The resale company also states that they will hold the fee in their escrow or bank account until the transfer is complete (ARDA has heard reports of resale companies asking up to $7,000 for these taxes or fees). The resale company may guarantee the reimbursement of this tax or fee upon transfer of the property, but ARDA warns timeshare owners to be skeptical of this claim. Once the resale company has the money from the timeshare owner, ARDA has been told the sale is never completed and the money is never returned. ARDA urges owners to be cautious when solicited by companies who claim to have buyers willing to purchase their timeshare.
The second scam involves timeshare owners receiving calls from “buyers” that want to purchase their timeshare through a specific resale company because, they claim, the resale company is holding their purchase money in escrow.
ARDA believes this may be a new scam created to get around the Florida Timeshare Resale Accountability Act that took effect in July of 2012. The new law directly affects “resale advertising” where a person or business offers resale advertising services (often implied as “selling”) to timeshare owners for an upfront fee. The law states that a resale advertising company may not say or imply that they have identified a buyer or renter without providing the timeshare owner with proof that the buyer exists. Having someone pose as a buyer and call the timeshare owner directly is one way being used to try to get around that law. ARDA advises that timeshare owners should be suspicious if a buyer calls you wanting to purchase your timeshare and wants you to use a specific company to complete the sale, as this buyer may be an agent for that company and may be trying to scam you.
Advantage Vacation along with ARDA, advises all timeshare owners to thoroughly research and investigate any resale company before writing a check, giving a credit card number, wiring money, or making any other form of payment to such a company. The best way to assure yourself that you are dealing with a reputable timeshare company is to visit the Better Business Bureau website at bbb.org to check out the BBB Business Review for any company you are considering doing business with.
Advantage Vacation specializes in resales of name brands of Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Westin-Starwood. Contact one of our licensed real estate professionals today for information on how to buy a timeshare resale or if you are interested in selling a timeshare. We never charge an upfront fee. Our business has been built on relationships and we pride ourselves on providing excellent service to our clients.
Advantage Vacation is a member of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) and offers the best buys on the timeshare re sales market today. We never charge an upfront fee for clients who want to sell a timeshare and only receive a commission, paid from escrow, when the transaction is closed.
We are leaders in the timeshare resale secondary market, have been in the timeshare industry for over 30 years and are Accredited Members of the BBB with an A+ Rating.
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At Advantage Vacation you can be assured you are working with professionals who believe that honesty and integrity are the most important aspects of the business they are in – timeshare resales. Our business has been built on relationships and we pride ourselves on providing excellent service to our clients.
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