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The FTC and state consumer protection agencies have shut down dishonest timeshare resellers for bilking timeshare owners out of millions of dollars. If you’re selling a timeshare, listen carefully for the promise of lots of money quickly and a request for an upfront fee. Those are two key signs of timeshare resale scam — and someone you don’t want to do business with.     

In one recent case, Vacation Property Services claimed to represent big-name companies eager to buy timeshares for business travel and events. The company guaranteed timeshare owners hefty returns if they moved quickly on the offer. But first, the company said the owner had to pay from $500 to $2,000, via credit card, in “registration” and other fees to seal the deal.

Timeshare Resale Scams Infographic

Timeshare Resale Scams
Infographic

The company’s promises of ready buyers, fast sales, big profits and money-back guarantees turned out to be lies. What’s more, the timeshare owners were stuck with debt on their credit cards from paying the “fee” after the company told them that the sale would be complete — and that they’d have their money — by the time the credit card bill came.

If you own a timeshare, question any offers to help you resell it. Be skeptical of companies that:

  • claim the market in your area is “hot” and that they’re “overwhelmed” with buyer requests
  • say they have buyers ready to purchase your timeshare — or promise to sell your timeshare within a specific time
  • guarantee you’ll get big returns on your resale
  • require you to pay fees upfront — even if there’s the promise of a “money-back guarantee”
  • don’t provide a contract — or provide a contract that doesn’t accurately reflect conversations you had   

Read about buying and selling a timeshare, or check out our infographic to see how timeshare resale scams typically work.

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The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

  • We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
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livinlife
October 16, 2018

In reply to by Huggermugger

I have been dealing with Richard B. Smith law firm and have come to the decision that it is a total scam. After call bank numbers etc. nothing pans out. I am going to cut my communication with them.
brenda
August 17, 2018
Has anyone been contacted by a company, supposedly out of New York...Master international Company, who are offering hefty prices for resorts purchased in Mexico.
Rusty
September 05, 2018

In reply to by brenda

Yes, Brenda. I've been dealing with them for a couple of weeks. They say "no upfront fees", and then later on they come up with a tax id fee and naturalization fee of over $4,000.00. I didn't send them anything and I'm waiting to hear their response. Probably a scam.
Rusty
September 25, 2018

In reply to by Rusty

Ever since I told them I was not going to send any money, and that they would have to handle the sale without that, I haven't heard back from them.
brenda
October 03, 2018

In reply to by Rusty

Thanks Rusty for responding. I just received the request from tem to pay the Naturalization/Tax ID fee. Have you had any further contact from them?
Rusty
October 29, 2018

In reply to by brenda

Hey Brenda: I haven't heard back from them after it was clear that I wasn't wiring them any money.
bugsy
October 25, 2018

In reply to by brenda

Yes, Master International Company, a (Mr David Penning) person is calling a couple times a week requesting i send all my ownership documents. Sounds like a scam to me. Cant find any reviews online or any information on them. big promises.....
jzzeygirl
August 21, 2018
My husband rec'd a voicemail from Armando Campos with Sea Trip Travels who wants to talk about buying our timeshare in Mexico. I'm glad I found this site. I googled "Sea Trips Travel." That's all it took for this link to this site to show up. Thank you!
SoCalSurf
August 22, 2018
Yet another new name scammer called me today. This one is Accelerated Sales and Marketing in Atlanta Georgia. Same thing as all the others, unsolicited offer to buy my unit. This time I even got him to say they will just rent out my units. Told me $3850 per week. I'm now awaiting their totally fake offer. Of coarse if you look up their street address, it's an office building, where they are not even a tenant. Their website has only been active in the last month or so. I'm just going to string him along until he gets tired of me. They say they are in Georgia, and yet list stock pictures of houses in New York on their website. And of coarse, no broker number anywhere. Be careful out there everyone!
sunnygirl
February 08, 2019

In reply to by SoCalSurf

what ever happened? Accelerated called and offered me an astronomical amount.
Coloradoguy
May 08, 2019

In reply to by SoCalSurf

I just received a "Letter of Intent" from Accelerated Sales and Marketing in Atlanta offering to buy my Vidanta timeshare. Has anyone figured out if they are legitimate?
Rosalinafromca…
August 23, 2018
I got a call today from Hudson holding group wanting to buy our timeshare in Mexico, they emailed a form for us to sign, came from George Kim, the y want to pay 9k more than what we paid, I don’t know how they got our information. Anybody have investigated this company?
iowaviking
September 28, 2018

In reply to by Rosalinafromca…

I received the same call and similar offer. I cant find anything online to determine if this is a scam or legit. Their website looks legit, but anyone can design a decent website. Anyone else have any info on this company?
DallasRose
October 05, 2018

In reply to by iowaviking

I also got a similar offer. Offering 5xs what I paid for my membership. Can't figure out if they are real or not.
Foxy Lady
August 24, 2018
International leader Realty called me several times, asking to send copy of my timeshare contract. Michael Nicholson is the "broker" that contacted me, talks a lot, very polite, and nice on the phone, sharing family anecdotes, and telling his weekend plan. Of course I am not sending any copy of my timeshare, neither give any information, and will block his number. He have several timeshare, one of them in Cabo, years ago we were approach by one of those, he took us to the office, and they were offering a trade for a new one that was under construction, and because my husband wanting a unit close to the pier, took the bite. The deal was that the unit we will acquire was about $5,000 less than the price for the new one. They gave us a name of an escrow company close to our home, and said that they will fax all the necessary paperwork, To prove solvency they ask if he could pay with a credit card when paper sign, and they ask hi to call the credit card costumer service and ask if he was able to charge $20,000, of course the company said yes. It was fishy to me, because the timeshare is under both names, and they didn't ask for any of my info. Anyway the CC was charge about $19,000 that my husband still fighting with the bank. So, before anything I research, and thank you very much
Bill H
September 21, 2018

In reply to by Foxy Lady

I have the same company contacting me for the last month. Do you know for sure if it's a scam ?
Phoebe
September 30, 2018

In reply to by Bill H

Bill, I have been called by them as well, probably a scam... What is the name of the person who called you and if there is more than one could you please give all names? Just checking something. Thanks!
Bill H
October 01, 2018

In reply to by Phoebe

Noel MacDonald , Jacob Malik, a guy with the last name Hill, Jerry Delgado from Acquisition Strategies,LLC. Their escrow company. There are others. Any info would be helpful.
Felipe
August 26, 2018
Has anybody heard of a company called Agoda? They contacted me telling me that they can give me a large amount for my travel package! I told them that I would not give them a single penny until the promised money was on my hand, all they needed was for me to send them the front of my contract but that I can cross it saying void if I wanted!! I’m concerned since I paid a lot of money for this and never used it!
JoJen
September 21, 2018

In reply to by Felipe

Hey there - we had a lawyer look at the "contract" sent to us from Agoda. It's a total scam. Sorry for the bad news!
JKM68GT
August 27, 2018
We were contacted by Rodney Lewis from Master International Company. They promised a lot of money for our condo in Mexico, even though there is a 5 year 'No Resale' clause in our contract. He said that was no problem. Then he told us we would be working with Management Group International for the escrow and that the buyer would be putting money into our account as soon as we set up the escrow account. We got the 'application' from Management Group, but they asked for our birthdays and birth places, which raised a red flag. I tried calling, asking for 'Richard Shore', but the receptionist was very uncooperative but finally forwarded me to his extension ... but he never answered. Then Mr Lewis called and left a message asking when we would be completing the escrow account application. Based upon what I have read here, I am convinced that this is a scam.
brenda
October 23, 2018

In reply to by JKM68GT

Have you had any further dealings with Master International Company? Did you sign Sales Agreement? I am dealing with them now.
cmbb
October 28, 2018

In reply to by brenda

Do not deal with Master International Company at 1090 3rd Ave, Suite #9b, in New York City! For the last month or so, I've been dealing with Michael Greco who offered to purchase our timeshare in Mexico. Other names associated with this scam were Amanda Gill and Richard Shore who worked for the alleged escrow company called Master Group International. We agreed that as soon as they asked for money, we were done. The documents they sent to execute this lucrative deal could've easily been replicated on Microsoft Word. As others have noted, they asked for $4,720 for a temporary naturalization certificate and tax id which would be reimbursed by the buyer at closing. In fact, a new sales agreement was sent almost immediately after this request showing the buyer added $4,720 to the sale price as a "reimbursement." I will admit, Michael was very personable and seemed like a nice guy. I just happened to be in New York City, so, I told Michael I wanted to pay his office a visit. He told me he would call me the next morning at 8 am and would set-up the visit for 10:30 or 11:00 am. The next morning, he didn't call, and I went to 1090 3rd Avenue. A CitiBank takes up most of the block, but on the left of the block I found 1090 above a glass door and entered. It was a sales office for DDG...a company selling units for a condo tower under construction. I spoke with the nice woman there who begin to help me locate Master International Company. I walked around the block and checked with several businesses and residential units. None of them heard of the company. I sat on the sales office couch and called Michael. It rolled to his voicemail. I called back the main number, and I spoke with the receptionist. I said to her I was downstairs and would like to come up and wait in the reception area. She immediately got nervous and asked who my broker was. I told her it was Michael, and she put me on hold. After about a minute, I was disconnected. I tried calling back the receptionist and Michael, but kept getting voicemail. I left a message for Michael saying I would leave in 10 minutes if he didn't call back and the deal was off. He called back and said if I sent him a copy of my license, he would provide it to security and make an appointment. I countered that he could come downstairs and get me, I would be happy to show my license to security, and he could bring me to his office. He countered that he couldn't do that because it was against New York law. By this point, I knew they weren't located here and this was a scam. Michael started saying I was questioning his integrity, we signed a sales agreement, and I should be honorable. I flat out told him if he didn't come downstairs in 5 minutes, I was done. He said he needed to ask his boss if he could come down, and he would call me in 5 minutes. Sure enough, I never received a call. I did receive an email an hour and 10 minutes later from Michael saying he couldn't find his boss, and he was standing outside CitiBank waiting for me (probably the time it took him to grab an Uber from the scam business' real address to Citibank). I was long gone. I left a message telling Michael I was filing a complaint wth the Attorney General, Better Business Bureau, and DDG was also filing a complaint with the Attorney General for this company fraudulently using their address.
bessie
November 16, 2018

In reply to by cmbb

I have been dealing with Master Int'l. I am now on my third broker, and they all seem nice. Once I read comments here, I became worried. They said that because I signed the Sales Agreement, thy would initiate court proceedings if I do not pay. Can they do this?
ES
December 14, 2018

In reply to by cmbb

If you did these complaints do you know why they are still up and running? They have been dealing with us for about 5 months.
Laura
August 30, 2018
I have received several calls from Travel Start Mexico about purchasing my UVC membership. They are not an approved vendor with UVC but have all my information. Has anyone actually sold membership to them or is this just one more Fraud attempt. Thanks in advance for your comments.
Edgar
August 31, 2018

In reply to by Laura

they are all scams, i just received an offer for my UVC membership. they used a law office of Brian Smith who died four years ago. they just change the address and phone number. they wanted me to send a wire transfer to mexico to complete the title transfer and thats when i realized it was a scam. the company was Travelstart.mx with is fake. dont let them sucker you.
Edgar
August 31, 2018
i was contacted by a company called Travelstart.mx offering to buy my UVC membership for 23k. They used a NJ law firm of Brian Smith and provided a face BAR number. After looking up the attorney i found he had been dead for four years. the scammers are using real companies but changing the phone numbers and addresses. Travelstart is a real travel company but Travelstart.mx does not exist. they said the law firm was going to hold the money in escrow until the title transfer was completed and said someone from UVC was going to contact me. the next day someone claiming to be from UVC contacted me and even emailed me documents that looked legit but after cross checking the phone numbers and emails to the real UVC the did not mach. they wanted me to wire $4k to mexico to complete the title transfer. dont fall for this scam.
Jesse
September 17, 2018

In reply to by Edgar

This doesn't accurately reflect my experience with travel start.mx My wife is talking to them (she really hopes it's legit but I have concerns and will obviously not be sending any money anywhere). They are saying similar things. There is a law office acting as an intermediary who is supposedly holding onto the money until the sale is completed. They have not asked us for money/fees/etc. The most recent info has told us that we need to pay off the account before it can be sold. But if we are able to do that (the cost is about 5k), no money would go to travelstart. We would give it straight to UVC. So I'm really wondering how this 'scam' would net them any money.
UVC Sucker
September 18, 2018

In reply to by Edgar

I wanted to thank you Edgar, for your detailed description and due diligence in your research. We got a pretty flyer sending us an offer of $22K to buy our membership today. I found nothing online for the travelsmart.mx business site, but your review was the most helpful. This offer was more than double what we paid, and when my husband got the call from the fake UVC, he told them we only had 8 of 10 years left, and of course they said, no problema! If it's too good to be true....
dleeb
August 31, 2018
Has ANYONE successfully sold their timeshare with honest results?
rocket
December 10, 2018

In reply to by dleeb

i've tried several , they all want money upfront, so no I haven't
haleyinlr
September 02, 2018
I have a company that's been hounding me for several months now called Asset Real Estate investment (AREI) out of clayton. Mo. I asked them to go out and take a selfie of them standing in front of their building name. He wouldn't do it. They all sound Mexican also. They're named David Mathews and Joseph Harder. You sign a contract with them, and if you cancel, its $4 000. But no need to worry, you're not going to cancel. Then then get a call from Corporate Escrow. You have to deposit maintenance fee up front. The bank you have to wire the money to is international. They never tell you this upfront. That would then make you want to cancel, because my bank says they can't trace international wires. They told me not do it.
SueD
September 03, 2018
has anyone received a call from W & B Consulting Group LLC from Columbus Ohio offering to buy UVC Vacation Club and using escrow company by the name of Title 1, LLC in Phoenix, Arizona? Anyone know if it is a scam ? We are in the beginning process of selling but concerned that they are both not legitimate.
DON'T DO IT
December 07, 2018

In reply to by SueD

**BEWARE** NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH ANYONE CALLING YOU IN REGARDS TO PURCHASING YOUR TIMESHARES, UNLIMITED VACATION CLUB MEMBERSHIP (UVC), RCI OR ANY SUCH SIMILAR ENTITY WHICH CLAIMS TO OFFER RELATED SERVICES. THESE BOGUS COMPANIES FRAUDULENTLY OBTAIN YOUR PERSONAL AND CONTRACTUAL INFORMATION WHICH MAKES IT SOUND LEGIT WHEN THEY CALL YOU SINCE THEY KNOW SOME SPECIFIC DETAILS. THEY WILL MAKE IT SOUND TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE AND IT IS. RED FLAGS SHOULD BE RAISED AND WAVING AT THIS POINT. THEY WILL OFFER YOU MORE MONEY THAN YOU PAID FOR YOUR MEMBERSHIP. RED FLAGS AGAIN SINCE YOU CAN BUY MEMBERSHIPS FOR LESS THAN THE OFFER YOU WILL RECEIVE. IF YOU BRING THIS POINT UP TO THESE BOGUS COMPANIES, THEY WILL GIVE YOU SOME REASON WHY THEY CAN ONLY BUY EXISTING MEMBERSHIPS. THIS IS GARBAGE. THEY WILL ASK YOU TO DEPOSIT MONEY INTO AN INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR A "TRANSACTION FEE" OR SOME SIMILAR GARBAGE. THEY WILL TRY TO PRESSURE YOU INTO MAKING QUICK DECISIONS. DON'T DO IT. THIS IS GARBAGE AND, AGAIN, RED FLAGS SHOULD BE SMACKING YOU IN THE FACE. HARD. IT IS ALL A LIE. THEY WILL STEAL YOUR MONEY. IF YOU HAVE A MEMBERSHIP WITH ANY COMPANY FOR WHICH YOU HAVE RECEIVED CALLS AND OFFERS REGARDING PURCHASING YOUR MEMBERSHIP, TIMESHARE, ETC., ALWAYS CALL THEM FIRST BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING. ALWAYS QUESTION EVERYTHING THESE PEOPLE TELL YOU. YOU WILL FIND THE ANSWERS ARE LIES. BEWARE, BE CAREFUL AND TELL OTHERS TO DO THE SAME.
been scammed
September 10, 2018
if you are asked to wire money it is a guarantee a scam. there are steps they follow to scam you and it is been around a long time and they are good, good. please goggle time share resale scams, look for the steps, process they use. all they do is change names. call you time share. no one is buying timeshares. they got me and others. do not do it, do not send money you will not ever see it and they have all the good deals and speeches as to why you need to wire money.. trust me,, I fell for it.. and lost.
Irene
September 24, 2018
Has anyone been contacted by First Property of New York? They contacted me today saying they are buying timeshares for a corporation from private owners because corporations are not allowed to obtain membership (and/or buy timeshares).
Bill H
September 25, 2018
can you tel me if International leader realty corp 13 holland ave, White plains NY 10603 is a scam. they want to resale my time share.
Mike Pro
October 01, 2018
Has anyone heard from a company called keytovacation? They called and offered to buy my parents timeshare for double what they paid for it.
Wondering???
October 01, 2018
Has anyone had any experience with Sequoyah Property llc? Some one called from there today sounding exactly like the scams described in this discussion.
dbski
October 22, 2018

In reply to by Wondering???

Yes, we have just been approached by Sequoyah also. Have some interesting observations about their website. Looks like a scam.
Lindsay
October 05, 2018
Anyone hear or royal management worldwide as a company that would sell a timeshare- they claim they have a buyer for my timeshare but do want a portion of money upfront before the sale that will be refunded. The website looks legit- but I am wary of a scam! Help?
CorreaFJ
October 11, 2018
Has anyone heard of Better Business Lodging or BBL? I will say, they were upfront with me and made no guarantees on the sale of the property. Also, I have been contacted by Travelstart.mx as well. They said no fees upfront and made me a good offer. I told them I would not pay a dime and then said ok. Just curious if anyone has followed all the way through and succeeded. Can anyone recommend a company to resale the timeshare. We don't care about the profit. We just want out.
David M.
October 17, 2018
I was contacted from Vayama Travel out of Mexico City and they have offered to buy available weeks from my 3 timeshare weeks/year that I own at the Mayan Palace Vacation Club. Does anyone have any timeshare related experience with Vayama Travel?
Nick B.
October 20, 2018

In reply to by David M.

I was also recently contacted by a representative claiming to be from Vayama in Mexico offering to buy our timeshare in Cabo for a price that seems to be too good to be true. No up front money requested though. Did you have any further experience with them David?
David M.
October 25, 2018

In reply to by Nick B.

Vayama also gave me an offer too good to be true...with reportedly no money up front. Tons of online complaints about their travel service - but no other good or bad comments about timeshare transactions. I know that my Vida contract requires me to pay a transfer fee but I've yet to respond to their offer.
BrianS
October 29, 2018

In reply to by David M.

Also got a offer from Vayama and was made a decent offer for my timeshare in Cabo. Proceeding cautiously. Please keep this forum updated with your findings.
RMR
November 02, 2018

In reply to by BrianS

I received a call from Vayama to sell my time share in Cabo, too. Having received dozens of offers to sell my time share in the past -- ALL of which turned out to be scams -- I assume that this, too, is a scam. Please let me know what happened with all of your interactions with Vayama.
Nick B.
November 13, 2018

In reply to by BrianS

I have also gotten an offer for my Cabo timeshare through Vayama, skeptical about these things as always, did you sell to them Brian?
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