Part Two: Examining the value of timeshare classified ads
This is Part Two of a two part series. See archives for May 28, 2005 to view Part One.
3. Classified ad timeshare websites are there to sell ads. They don't provide personal assistance to help you sell your timeshare. They have no licensed real estate agents, not even someone to whom you can personally talk in order to receive counsel as to sales strategy and how to properly price the timeshare so it will sell.
These companies offer zero service and they are not interested in
selling your timeshare. Their only interest is to charge you to place an online ad that somehow magically is supposed to sell your timeshare with no one to advise you and no one to prompt and encourage the buyer. Such sites may offer you a link to a closing agency, but they don't disclose hidden costs and the fact that closing agencies do not handle many of the common problems that come up during the escrow sales closing procedure.
These web sites are NOT licensed real estate brokers and they do not have to follow the comprehensive laws a licensed broker must follow for your protection.
4. The majority of buyers simply do not like the idea of dealing directly with a seller. They want to make an offer but they want someone else to do the negotiating because they find it distasteful to deal directly with the seller.
An online classified ad will miss these valuable offers from this type of buyer.
Similarly, sellers in reality don't really like negotiating
directly with the buyer either.
Experience proves that buyers dealing directly with a seller will propose all kinds of "mickey mouse" insecure ways to try to accomplish the transfer and handling of funds, all of which could have been done easily by a trained licensed professional timeshare broker who knows how to structure the transaction so that it flows smoothly and follows strict real estate laws that are already in place to protect BOTH buyer
and seller. Plus, the timeshare broker services the sale and follows it through from start to finish, expediting the signatures, forms, funds, etc.
Virtually ALL online ads you see on such sites are OVERPRICED, will never sell, and the seller has wasted their money and more importantly their time.
Buyers who are browsing these sites until they are cross-eyed, eventually learn the listings are over-priced (or no longer for sale), and the buyers
sooner or later narrow their search to the professional sites where there
are actually trained professionals they can speak to, as opposed to the
speaking to the seller who is obviously biased in his/her own favor.
5. A broker serves to protect the seller from frivolous offers. There are many many buyers who constantly browse the Internet and make ridiculously low offers to sellers.
Such buyers are "bottom fishers" and they are very "brave" sitting behind their computers and sending ridiculous and disgusting offers.
They can actually get quite hostile. They will make offers and say things that they would probably never do in person. Kind of like the drivers we've all met who "hide behind the wheel" of an automobile, honking the horn and acting far more aggressively than they would if
they were face-to-face with the other person.
The seller who wisely
has a licensed real estate broker representing the listing, will be shielded from such distasteful buyers.
6. An online ad is limited because it is only one source of locating a buyer. A licensed real estate broker brings many other sources to the table for you, such as walk-ins to the office, repeat business from previous buyers, referrals of buyers from previous buyers, large databases of proven buyer sources, referrals from timeshare industry related agencies, Internet and print advertising, direct mail, and more.
There is just no comparison between an online classified ad, and a dedicated licensed professional timeshare real estate broker who lives, works, and experiences the business day in and day out.
7. As a seller, please think it through - is it really to your
advantage to try to cut out the professional licensed timeshare real estate broker?
Do you really want to deal directly with a buyer?
If problems come up during
the sale, do you really want an angry buyer on your hands who probably has your home telephone number and address?
What problems, you ask? I can only tell you that misunderstandings and
problems are so common during the sale, it still amazes me even after all these years in the business. And these problems are not handled by the closing agencies.
There are many entities involved in a timeshare transfer, far more than most would realize, and the greater the number of agencies, the more chances for misunderstandings.
The entities include the resort management company, the lender, the exchange companies, the escrow companies, taxing agencies, local governmental agencies and more.
Each can represent a problem or misunderstanding.
If you have no broker you are on your own. A broker serves a very important "referee function" and often pays out of his/her own pocket to save sales that would otherwise fall through. Very common, believe me!
I am speaking about real-life experience here!
The following are reasons why we believe we offer the experience and professionalism so vital to a seller of a vacation timeshare ownership:
Each timeshare developer has its own unique procedure, fees, documentation, and requirements in order to transfer ownership to the new owner. We are well-trained and familiar with them.
Don't trust your valuable ownership to online timeshare classified ads and novices, use a professional with a long track record of success, and the powerful tools to get the job done right!
Click here for information on how to list your timeshare for sale with us.
posted : 8:05 PM
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