What You Need To Know Before Renting Out Your Timeshare

By Arthur Meyer


Timeshares are good ideas for people who want to vacation in the same spot each year. Instead of renting a hotel room, you can stay in a luxurious condo or townhouse located in a complex loaded with amenities. At some point you will own a share in the property. If you cant use your time, you might be able to rent it, but there are certain things you need to know before renting out your timeshare.

Before you do anything, you must contact the owner or manager of the complex. You can also read over the contract to see if there are any restrictions or rules regarding renting units. You certainly don't want to go to the expense of advertising or take time talking to interested renters if the management restricts owner occupants from renting or subletting.

If management will allow you to rent, the next thing you have to do is set a price for the week or weekend. You should charge the tenants as much or more than it would have cost you to stay. There may be other owners who have had the same idea. If so, you can discuss how they arrived at their fee. The manager may be willing to tell you what the complex charges non-owners who visit.

Next you will have to see which times are available for you to rent the property. You will have to check carefully in order to avoid leasing the unit on a time when you want to be there. It's a good idea to call the management to make sure the times you are considering are not going to conflict with exchange or bonus days they already have scheduled.

If you are only going to offer the unit to friends and family, you won't need to go to the expense of advertising. Otherwise, you will have to spend a little money by placing ads in newspapers, online and print classified, and shopping guides. A lot of owners have had success with offering time on auction websites which allows anyone with access to the internet to bid. You don't want to spend a lot of money on advertising. You will have to be creative.

Don't be fooled into thinking a contract between you and the renter is unnecessary. In order to avoid a lot of headaches, you have to create a binding, legal document that details everything the two of you agree to. That includes the dates the unit will be occupied, the cost of the security deposit, and how extending days will be handled.

Once the renters leave, you have to designate someone to inspect the unit to see if it was damaged or left in an unacceptable condition. You need to hold the security deposit until this has been determined. Once you are satisfied everything is okay, you should refund the deposit.

Timeshares can be good ideas especially if you love to vacation in the same spot all the time. They are expensive if you don't use them however. Renting your share out is a good way to recoup some of this investment.




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