How do most of you conduct your rentals

When you rent a timeshare do you expect some of the payment first, before signing over the week to the renter. or Do you send them a contract first signed by you and then wait for them to pay some part or all of the funds. Or do you send them a contract with both names on the contract as a sample and expect them to pay and return it signed and then you sign. Just want to know.

SAMPLE RENTAL AGREEMENT:

RESERVATIONS - Upon mutual agreement of unit rental, a ____% deposit must be made to confirm your reservation. Balance is due upon written confirmation or no later than _________, 2007. Payment is to be made with a bankcheck/draft (or a personal check if you accept that mode).

CANCELLATIONS - No cancellation allowed once a reservation has been made.

CHECK-IN/OUT - Check-in time is _____ P.M. on arrival date of __________, 2007. Check-out time is _____A.M. on date of departure of_________, 2007. Any exceptions must have prior approval from the owner and/or resort. The agreed upon rental price for the above stated timeframe or week of ______, 2007 is ________$ for unit number ____ at _________ (resort).

RULES AND REGULATIONS - Upon check-in, you must present a credit card to the front desk personnel, just like when you rent a hotel room. YOU are responsible for any damage, loss or theft incurred while renting this property. Any damage, which is not considered normal wear and tear, loss or theft caused by you, the renter, may be charged to your credit card. In order to reserve the integrity of the unit, we ask that it be occupied in a quiet and dignified manner. As guests of ______________(resort), you are expected to respect the premises and its contents and guard against damage, loss or theft. You are expected to adhere to all of _______________(resort) rules and regulations. The _____________ (resort), its employees and property owners will not be held libel for any claims, suits, damages, costs, losses and/or expenses arising from injury to any person or property occurring on the premises resulting from/relating to rental of this property. The renter must be at least 21 years of age and agrees not to sub-rent this unit. The rental rights acquired from this rental agreement are non-transferable.

TELEPHONE - All telephone calls, toll calls etc. will be billed to your credit card. NO PETS ALLOWED AT______________ (RESORT) AND NO SMOKING ALLOWED IN THE UNITS. A copy of this rental agreement is hereby acknowledged by both parties.

_________________ _________________ Signature of renter Signature of owner

Name, address, phone Name, address, phone __________________ __________________

I have used that rental agreement and sent it to the renter. However, they want me to sign it first and then send it; then they will send the first payment. I usually wait until the first payment is sent, then send the contract (which I changed this time because they wanted the contract first, which I did, but with no signature, just my name), and then send the resort's confirmation to them. I send everything thru email. However they won't send any money until they get the contract in their name signed by me. Ijust wonder if that is the usual way most of you do it. I am more like Jenny ( in one of the strands here) but these renters say it is their way or nothing. I have had so many differences of opinion with them already during this process that I am thinking maybe they are not the kind of renters I want. But I don't want to be unfair.

alldolledup wrote:

I have used that rental agreement and sent it to the renter. However, they want me to sign it first and then send it; then they will send the first payment. I usually wait until the first payment is sent, then send the contract (which I changed this time because they wanted the contract first, which I did, but with no signature, just my name), and then send the resort's confirmation to them. I send everything thru email. However they won't send any money until they get the contract in their name signed by me. Ijust wonder if that is the usual way most of you do it. I am more like Jenny ( in one of the strands here) but these renters say it is their way or nothing. I have had so many differences of opinion with them already during this process that I am thinking maybe they are not the kind of renters I want. But I don't want to be unfair.

mike1536 wrote:

alldolledup wrote:

I have used that rental agreement and sent it to the renter. However, they want me to sign it first and then send it; then they will send the first payment. I usually wait until the first payment is sent, then send the contract (which I changed this time because they wanted the contract first, which I did, but with no signature, just my name), and then send the resort's confirmation to them. I send everything thru email. However they won't send any money until they get the contract in their name signed by me. Ijust wonder if that is the usual way most of you do it. I am more like Jenny ( in one of the strands here) but these renters say it is their way or nothing. I have had so many differences of opinion with them already during this process that I am thinking maybe they are not the kind of renters I want. But I don't want to be unfair.

================ I have no problem sending a signed contract, then get payment with the returned contract with their signatures. Only after receiving the signed contract and payment would I contact the resort; let them know the name of the guest using the unit, and send out a confirmation. Remember you still have the leverage because you control the unit.

If I were the renter, I would never send funds directly to an unknown owner , even with the signed contract, much less with an unsigned contract. Most people are honest, but there are some scam artists on the rental sites. I would always insist on an escrow service as a renter, to insure that the money is not released until I have a confirmation with the resort. I would also insist that if for some reason, due to the owner, I am denied entry to the resort at my scheduled time, that the owner is liable for my legal costs should I prevail in court against the owner for breach of contract. Without these protection, if you get scammed, the cost of suing the "scammer" will be prohibitive relative to the rental cost you try to recover. I have rented one property without the language allowing me to recover my rental costs, and I lucked out and the person was honest. That occurred when I was renting my first property, it worked out, but I had assumed the risk of losing all my rental fee, because of lack of knowledge at the time. Stan.

[Stan, Personally, I probably would never rent to you. I have a fear of people that seem to "insist'. They are usually trouble and probably can never be happy. I have probably rented thirty timeshares over the years, have many returning customers, have made friends with some of them. We now visit each other when we are near where they live. I have only had one person that I have had trouble with. She too was an "insister" on everything and then she was the one who screwed us, saying she didn't like the timeshare after staying there a couple days and demanded her whole rental cost back. We did give it back but now probably would not be intimidated again. I am now leery of the type who feel the need to protect to the extent it seems that they trust no one. I do agree with many responders here. If either party feels bad vibes, maybe you should not do business with each other.

Q=stanleyf5]

mike1536 wrote:

alldolledup wrote:

I have used that rental agreement and sent it to the renter. However, they want me to sign it first and then send it; then they will send the first payment. I usually wait until the first payment is sent, then send the contract (which I changed this time because they wanted the contract first, which I did, but with no signature, just my name), and then send the resort's confirmation to them. I send everything thru email. However they won't send any money until they get the contract in their name signed by me. Ijust wonder if that is the usual way most of you do it. I am more like Jenny ( in one of the strands here) but these renters say it is their way or nothing. I have had so many differences of opinion with them already during this process that I am thinking maybe they are not the kind of renters I want. But I don't want to be unfair.

================ I have no problem sending a signed contract, then get payment with the returned contract with their signatures. Only after receiving the signed contract and payment would I contact the resort; let them know the name of the guest using the unit, and send out a confirmation. Remember you still have the leverage because you control the unit.

If I were the renter, I would never send funds directly to an unknown owner , even with the signed contract, much less with an unsigned contract. Most people are honest, but there are some scam artists on the rental sites. I would always insist on an escrow service as a renter, to insure that the money is not released until I have a confirmation with the resort. I would also insist that if for some reason, due to the owner, I am denied entry to the resort at my scheduled time, that the owner is liable for my legal costs should I prevail in court against the owner for breach of contract. Without these protection, if you get scammed, the cost of suing the "scammer" will be prohibitive relative to the rental cost you try to recover. I have rented one property without the language allowing me to recover my rental costs, and I lucked out and the person was honest. That occurred when I was renting my first property, it worked out, but I had assumed the risk of losing all my rental fee, because of lack of knowledge at the time. Stan.

I am looking to rent my first property and am aslo a little weiry as as a renter i feel i am in the hands of the rental person without there honesty surely i may lose my money ?

My best advice is to contact the person by phone and talk a bit. I feel that you can get an idea about them from their tone, and answers to questions. The more helpful they seem, the more you should feel comfortable. Either the renter or thye rentee can get burned but it is not the norm. Linda

I would 'hesitate' to EITHER... rent From or rent To...anyone. until and unless I have had at least One Teleconversation with the other party. If possible, I would prefer to call the other party to ensure I have at least one 'true' contact number. When we rent TO another, I include ALL numbers (including those of the Resort) on the Rental Agreement (along with their Confirmation) In Spite of all attempts to avoid 'problems' they seem to still arise at the least convenient times.

I put the guest name on the reservation, let them review the reservation and then require payment. I deal with the Pueblo's and Morritt's resorts a lot and would just cancel the guest reservation if I didn't receive payment. I really haven't had too much trouble with this approach....I'd imagine it could be a problem if you have a resort that charges for multiple changes or something like that.

I'm a little confused. I am about to list an owned week for rental. This is my first time doing this. If I understand correctly, I should speak directly to the person who wants to rent my week, then send the contract and ask for how much deposit? Is 50% ok? Then I contact the resort and tell them I rented out my week? I give them the name of the renter and ask for a confirmation. I then send the renter the confirmation and ask for the balance of the $. What happens if the resort also has a rental department, will they let me do this? Also what happens if the renter has a problem at the last minute and can't for instance go on vacation and use my timeshare. Can they demand their money back? Can I require them to take out vacation guard insurance to protect them and myself if they have an emergancy and cant use my timeshare? Thanks, Elaine P

I do my best to make the guest comfortable with paying me. However, I rent 98% of all my units as follows: - Guest makes payment using a credit card - I provide confirmation information. - I state our e-mails and in 70% of the cases Paypal invoice are sufficient to address our agreement. After all, how do you enforce a signed contract gone bad? It will cost more to enforce the contract than the lodging cost.

A very small number of guests want a contract, so: - I e-mail a digitally signed contract - they sign and fax back and pay by credit card. - I provide their conf info

Here's my opinion: - 80% of my potential guests will not reserve thru me when I require a deposit. - Deposits are a pain in the neck. Some people rent two weeks in advance, OK easy. But remembering to refund for a reservation made 5 months or a year in advance is too much, given than I rent a lot of timeshares. - Contracts are not enforceable. OK they are legally enforceable but would you fly to another state to sue someone in small claims for $1,500, then pay a collection agency or use other fee based services to attach liens or other actions? You will loose more than $1,500 in time and expense to collect $1,500. - I don't like giving up rental income by paying credit card fees. But thru the use of rick controls and always sticking to my rules, I have never been defrauded. Could be luck, I feel it's proper use of rules and risk controls. - I rent a lot of units less than two weeks in advance. It is nearly impossible to receive a check and know it's valid before the guest's vacation is over. There are systems which will validate checks, but that costs as much as accepting credit cards ... - OK, I accept a few risks. In the event someone ruins a unit, it might come out of my pocket. But first look at your safeguards. 1) Your guest must provide a credit card when they checkin. The first line of defense is the resort charging the cost of damage to the guest. This eliminates almost all the risk. 2) OK, there is no 2! But I've rented hundreds of units and aside from one missing bike which I didn't have to pay for, there have been no issues to be concerned about!

mnop wrote:

I do my best to make the guest comfortable with paying me. However, I rent 98% of all my units as follows: - Guest makes payment using a credit card - I provide confirmation information. - I state our e-mails and in 70% of the cases Paypal invoice are sufficient to address our agreement. After all, how do you enforce a signed contract gone bad? It will cost more to enforce the contract than the lodging cost.

A very small number of guests want a contract, so: - I e-mail a digitally signed contract - they sign and fax back and pay by credit card. - I provide their conf info

Here's my opinion: - 80% of my potential guests will not reserve thru me when I require a deposit. - Deposits are a pain in the neck. Some people rent two weeks in advance, OK easy. But remembering to refund for a reservation made 5 months or a year in advance is too much, given than I rent a lot of timeshares. - Contracts are not enforceable. OK they are legally enforceable but would you fly to another state to sue someone in small claims for $1,500, then pay a collection agency or use other fee based services to attach liens or other actions? You will loose more than $1,500 in time and expense to collect $1,500. - I don't like giving up rental income by paying credit card fees. But thru the use of rick controls and always sticking to my rules, I have never been defrauded. Could be luck, I feel it's proper use of rules and risk controls. - I rent a lot of units less than two weeks in advance. It is nearly impossible to receive a check and know it's valid before the guest's vacation is over. There are systems which will validate checks, but that costs as much as accepting credit cards ... - OK, I accept a few risks. In the event someone ruins a unit, it might come out of my pocket. But first look at your safeguards. 1) Your guest must provide a credit card when they checkin. The first line of defense is the resort charging the cost of damage to the guest. This eliminates almost all the risk. 2) OK, there is no 2! But I've rented hundreds of units and aside from one missing bike which I didn't have to pay for, there have been no issues to be concerned about!

How do you use credit card payments? You must be in business and set up an account to do this. Don't you? What does an average person renting two or theree units a year do?

queenelaineii wrote:

How do you use credit card payments? You must be in business and set up an account to do this. Don't you? What does an average person renting two or theree units a year do?

The nice thing about accepting credit cards thru Paypal is it allows you to offer the customer some levels of purchase security to make them comfortable and it allows you the owner to be much more comfortable when receiving certain short notice payments such as a rental two weeks in advance. Any check received less than two weeks in advance can be fraudulent, even a certified check. you don't want to know after the rental begins or ends that the check bounced.

If you make your Paypal Account Premier your fee to accept credit cards is 2-3% lower, although a premier account is charged a fee for ALL money received whereas the personal account is not charged for payments made from the other members' bank accounts or Paypal balnce.

Here is how mine recently happened... I was the renter. I found the ad on redweek. Contacted the owner via redweek system. Exchanged emails on some specifics of room location, type, charges, etc. I was pleased with offer and resort. We then spoke on phone. He provided me with several references of folks he's rented to in past. I contacted 3 of these folks, randomly. All three gave good ref. He gave me his home number and home address, and even his workplace name. I was able to confirm all of these as legit via google search, some phone calls, etc. Satisfied he was not a scammer, I agreed to rent the TS. He sent me a contract to sign. I returned the signed contract with $100 deposit down. After the check cleared, he put the ressie officially in my name. I contacted the resort and confirmed it was in my name. I then send 50% as a 1/2 payment/deposit (minus the initial $100). I will send him the 50% balance due 3 months before trip. I will call before the flight to re-confirm the ressie still stands in my name.

Hi John,

You are a great example of a transaction gone well, although that's three payments which could have been done in one if you used a credit card since you can contest the charge if the unit wasn't reserved in your name. Calling references is also smart as it lowers your risk of a bad experience. I have had two experiences though where I was thorough on checking references and our experience was still not good. Those two experiences are not indicative of checking references and represent an incredibally small number of my total experiences.

You're also among fewer people planning a trip far in advance. Credit cards offer superior protection when planning trips short term but if you plan a trip 6-12 months in advance like yours sounds, any method of payment aside from using a rental escrow service is lost money if the owner doesn't fulfill their obligation. Think of it; if an owner doesn't deliver the promised unit you reserved 6 months in advance and refuses to refund your money, your only recorse if you paid direct is to sue. Are you going to spend $500-$5,000 to sue someone living in another state over $500-$3,000? Even if you win, if they don't pay the judgement then you spend more trying to collect.

All true, Peter. It is a confidence game, a bit. Hopefully you find a good person. The ref's help, the phone calls are huge. I think it is imperative that you have the renters contact info .. several contacts including a home phone and possibly work phone. Cell phones are not a great contact means. Could be a single-use cell, could be a number they'll drop. If I have their work (mine was verified as a teacher) and home numbers, I know darn well I have a mean to hound them mercilessly if they try to steal my money. I personally wish their was an affordable Escrow service. The rates that these places charge are outragous for a simple services, IMO.

johnc1143 wrote:

I personally wish their [sic] was an affordable Escrow service. The rates that these places charge are outragous for a simple services, IMO.

I would rather see a 50% deposit, then the balance paid in full within a week of obtaining the confirmation.

Renting a floating week: Can anyone offer advice on renting a floating week on redweek? We're considering doing this, but are not sure of how to do it and make even a little bit of profit. I see others have postings with a date range, unit listed as 'unnassigned', and view listed as 'varies'. Are such postings successful? I'm not asking for exact details, just want to know if people are doing this successfully on redweek. thank you.