The Timeshare Resale Scam: How It Works

Contrary to trustworthy programs like the Legacy Program at Westgate Resorts, timeshare resale company scammers contact you without advance notice, and typically they will employ any or all of these 6 tricky tactics to separate you from your hard-earned money.

1. Timeshare scammers pretend to be legitimate companies. Timeshare resale scammers pretend to be representatives of a licensed real estate company. Whether this company supposedly wants to buy a timeshare for its own use, or is simply the name of a broker that’s no longer active, they’ll pretend to be someone other than who they are. If they’re legitimate, they would otherwise be fine if you do your research and they checked out. Unfortunately, this isn't the case 99.9% of the time.

2. The scam caller tells you they have a buyer ready. Nothing could set a real estate owner’s mind more at ease than the promise of an easy sale. Scammers will claim that they have someone ready, who needs to act in the short term, to take over the property. This creates a sense of urgency that simply isn’t ever going to be the case when it comes time to actually 'list' the property,... which is when the scammer will typically hit the would-be seller up for an expensive, up-front listing fee that does little to actually sell the property down the line.

3. The resale scammer requests an upfront fee. No timeshare real estate company needs to request an upfront fee. Asking for an upfront fee isn’t even legal in Colorado! Scammers claim an upfront fee is for taxes or other payments to start the process of selling your timeshare. There have even been documented cases in which the timeshare resale scammer represents a required fee as an official government fee that the seller could be 'in trouble for' if they do not commit to. All of these 'fees', of course, are purely a scam to con you out of your money. Always be skeptical of a company asking for an upfront fee, especially if it’s a wire transfer.

4. Scammers promise a dream selling price. There’s no better way to get someone to agree to a timeshare resale than by claiming that they can deliver an unbelievably good price. Always be skeptical of someone promising something better than what you think, especially if you don’t have it in writing. Just like in other forms of real estate ownership, market values and demand tend to set the standard for what the asking price should be when it comes to selling a timeshare property. Even the best, most professional selling agents in the industry agree that this is case, no matter what - so anything that claims to be otherwise, is simply misrepresentation.

5. They claim that a government wants to purchase your timeshare. Some scammers resort to claiming that an official entity like the Mexican government is reaching out to timeshare owners to buy their property after a perceived bad deal. It’s simply not true. Governments do not establish supply chains for property acquisitions with individuals, and typically operate in a completely different manner. Bottom line, this is just an official-sounding spin on an old con-job tactic.

6. The resale scam agent insists that you have to “act now.” Just remember that what you hold is a valuable timeshare. Any real buyer would be willing to wait for something worthwhile, especially if there’s a commitment. Undue pressure to act immediately in order to make your timeshare unit available for resale is typically just that,... undue pressure. Don't get taken for a ride and always make decisions while you're off the phone and have had time to research and think about the options you've been presented with.

The best way to avoid any timeshare resale scam is to use someone you know you can trust. The Westgate Legacy Progam is there to help you, should you ever find the need to consider transitioning out of vacation ownership, to provide safe and secure exit options for all qualifying accounts. The Legacy Program offers Westgate Resorts owners the ONLY Developer-guaranteed release option.