Timeshare Tip #7 – Checking Information In Postings

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Hopefully it goes without saying that when considering a vacation rental or a timeshare purchase you should check every little detail to make sure there are no surprises down the road…but let us help you on your way anyway.

When you find a posting on Vacation Smarter that you’re interested in the first thing you should do is compare the information in the posting to what you already know about the resort. Does anything in the posting disagree with what you already know? If it does then find out why. The next thing you should do is compare the posting to other similar postings on Vacation Smarter. Do the other postings contradict anything in the posting you’re interested in? If it’s a timeshare purchase do the maintenance fees agree, if it’s a ‘right to use’ resort does the end date agree… etc…? If it’s a vacation rental do the other postings agree with the resort fees you may or may not have to pay? (some resorts in Hawaii and Caribbean levy a per/night resort fee payable upon check out), do other postings agree with the number of people your unit can sleep…etc…? If there are any discrepancies make sure you ask and make sure you get a satisfactory answer from the owner/broker. If you’re in any doubt then call the resort (we provide the phone numbers for all our resorts on the web site). Never part with any funds if you haven’t had answers to all your questions. If there are discrepancies between postings it may well be the case that the owner you’re dealing with has been the diligent one and it’s the other postings that have failed to ensure that their information is correct….but it never hurts to check. It’s unlikely that anyone has ever had regrets about doing too many checks! The overwhelming majority of owners and brokers that we have dealt with are well intentioned people and any errors or discrepancies we’ve found have been down to carelessness or absentmindedness and nothing more sinister than that. But errors are errors and there have been occasions when we’ve noticed an error that has changed our mind about a deal…and that’s why we’ve written this tip. Do your research, check the facts and use reliable sources (like the resorts themselves) and you won’t have any surprises.