What if I want to rent my timeshare?
Are you not using your timeshare to its fullest and wonder, “How can I rent my timeshare?” Or perhaps you think “While I’m waiting to sell, I’d like to rent my timeshare.” To rent a timeshare is easy once you understand the process and is a good way to not waste money on a valuable investment. By determining an asking price, posting and then understanding the details you can rent your timeshare smoothly and for a fair price.
Now that you have decided, ‘I want to rent my timeshare’ you must answer, “how much should I ask for my timeshare?” There are a number of ways to do so. The first, if your timeshare is at a resort, is to find the asking price of the resort. Call up the resort and ask for the renting price of a comparable place. If you can ascertain this, you should likely charge slightly less. Other options include using other online resources. EBay has a timeshare section, check recent auctions that have closed and the price that it closed with. Other sites, like Craigslist will likely have postings comparable to your own. If all else fails, a Google search will likely prove helpful in finding the asking price of other rentals. When renting your timeshare, remember – the price should be determined by the current market value, not how much you initially paid for the timeshare!
You’ve now answered, “how much I should charge to rent my timeshare?” so we’ll move on to “where should I post to rent my timeshare?” The answer is simple – online. As mentioned before, EBay has excellent auctions to both sell and rent timeshares. Craigslist is also an incredibly inexpensive way to post your timeshare for rental. Other sites exist to specifically post timeshare rentals and assist people in finding them. These sites may charge a small $15-30 fee to post. Before paying this fee, ensure that the site has a large number of active members.
Once you’ve located a renter, there are a few technical details you’ll have to think about in order to make the transaction smooth. A rental agreement will be the first important document to obtain. There are a number of quality rental agreements available online which will cover your needs. Next, it will prove helpful to ask for money up front, as well as a 10-20% security deposit. By receiving money up front you greatly reduce any hassle and risk later, and a security deposit will help insure you against damage. The easiest method for transferring funds between you and the renter will be PayPal, as it is instantaneous and reduces risk. It’s free to set up a paypal account and simple to operate.
By finding a suitable asking price, posting and working out the details you hopefully will be able to declare “not only do I want to rent my timeshare – but now I know how to!”