If you’re looking to pick up a timeshare at a great price, eBay is often the best place to find one. Hundreds of timeshares are bought and sold on eBay every week and nearly every major timeshare company is represented so whether you are looking for a fixed week deeded timeshare or a points-based vacation club, you should easily be able to find it for the right price.
There are some important questions to keep in mind however as you search eBay for the right timeshare to bid on. They’ll keep you from getting stuck with a terrible trader or financial surprises for your winning bid.
What are the closing costs?
Many of the timeshares on eBay have very low opening bids or Buy It Now prices and sometimes it is because the seller is making it up on the back end, i.e. the closing costs for hiring a title company. From my research on Ebay, the majority of timeshare auctions are handled by real estate companies and most of them have a relationship with a particular title company. This is fine, but do shop around. Expenses can vary dramatically between title companies.
Is there a resort transfer fee?
For most timeshares, once you win your eBay bid, you pay the winning bid amount , the current year’s maintenance fees and the closing fees for the title company. There are some timeshare companies though that require a fee to transfer a deed or membership between owners. This can vary anywhere from $50 to $350, so be sure to double check the fine print on the auction listing before you bid.
Is trading power a consideration?
If you are buying a timeshare strictly as a trader for exchange programs like RCI and Interval International, generally the $1 timeshare auctions are a waste of time. Every single one that I have ever looked at has been in some horrible low season week in a part of the country that either no one wants to visit or the week is for an essentially dead season in that location (i.e., winter in Cape Cod). Maybe you will be luckier than I have been and find an amazing deal at a fire sale price, but don’t count on it.
Is the timeshare free of any entanglements?
Try and do your due diligence on a timeshare before the auction ends. Contact the seller and ask him or her for the contract number and the name of the owner and then call up the resort and verify the details listed in the auction. Here’s a list of questions you should ask:
- Are maintenance fees up to date?
- Are any tax obligations current?
- If it’s a points-based timeshare, is the number of points listed in the auction the same number of points as in the membership?
- If it’s a fixed deed timeshare, is the week correct?
- If it is a “Right to Use” vacation club membership, is the expiration year correct?
Are there any special assessments due?
Special assessments cover things like hurricane damage and major rebuilding projects. Many owners frequently want to unload a timeshare if there’s an onerous special assessment that needs to be paid for several years, so make sure you don’t pick up some else’s burden.
It may seem like a lot of things to keep in mind, but buying a timeshare on eBay will frequently save you anywhere from 50 to 75% of the developer’s retail prices, so it’s well worth the time to look into things carefully to find the best deal for you. Once you take your first vacation to your new home away from home, it’ll be well worth the time spent.
