[ 2008 ] Who is Preston Green? Is he an agent of some sort? (m)

[ciscogizmo1]

He contacted me in renting my timeshare but I'm leary..

Thanks..

 

[FredaS]

What company did he say he is with? I have heard of a Preston, but his last name wasnt Green..

 

[ciscogizmo1]

He didn't. He just said to provide a phone number so, he can call me.

 

[theo]

Like a bad penny, this name keeps coming back...

He contacted me in renting my timeshare but I'm leary..

Thanks..

I know from my own and others' personal experience that Preston Green:

1. ...has / had a business (supposedly located in CA) which (as of around April, 2007 anyhow) was called "Vacation Homes Only". Mr. Green...

2. ...trolls around various timeshare sites, scouting posted ads, then contacts the folks posting the ads...

3. ...representing that he (select an item below, as appopriate to the ad):
--"has a renter for you" (if you have something advertised for rent)
-- "can find what you are looking for" (if you've posted a "want to buy" ad).

This is not to suggest or state that he is dishonest (I don't claim to know). It is clear, however, that he conducts an opportunistic enterprise from the posted ads of others. Whether he actually has access to renters or a means to locate weeks, I cannot say (and don't care to know). Folks have reported disliking his style, described as "pushy and obnoxious". YMMV....

 

[NTHC]

I have rented to and from Preston Green. All transactions have gone smoothly to this point. I believe the company is Vacation Homes Only. I can't vouch for others experiences obviously, but I would do business with him again.

Thanks,
Cindy

 

[icydog]

Sometimes a broker may find someone who needs a timeshare and yours fits the bill. I have been contacted several times in instances like that. He has to give me my regular rental price though and, so far, none have been willing to do that.

 

[RLG]

Anybody have a more recent experience with these guys?

I've gotten similar emails where they need to speak to me asap. If they legimately have a renter for me, I'd obviously love to take their money. However, their communication makes them seem like scammers. (Why is it so important that they have to speak to me rather than communicate by email?)

I searched and found another thread with an significantly different take here:

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59478

I can't tell whether I should take the negative comments on that thread with the same shaker of salt that I use for the frequent comments here that assume everyone on Ebay is a crook.

 

[DeniseM]

I have been contacted by him a couple of times, and I felt like he was really pressuring me, without giving me any info. I'd get emails like, "Other owners are renting their week while we are wasting time sending emails - call me right now!" He wanted to rent one of my Hawaii weeks, but I wasn't going to get the rent upfront, so I declined. He contacted me one more time, with a "hurry up and call me" email and I responded that I had all the time in the world and he needed to email me his offer, before I would call him - I never heard back from him again.

 

[theo]

Preston Green

If they legimately have a renter for me, I'd obviously love to take their money. However, their communication makes them seem like scammers.

Mr. Green's "company" (he may actually be a one man show, for all I know) is based in California and is called Vacation Homes Only. I don't believe that he is a "scammer", per se, just an opportunistic (and pushy) "businessman" seeking to make a buck by being a middleman linking owners and renters, marking up the rent above what the owner wants to "net", and pocketing the difference.

I spoke to him once, about a year ago. I'll readily admit that I somehow instinctively disliked him and just politely declined to do business with him, since I tend to trust my instincts. That said, I also know of a few other folks who did (or who claim that they they did) conduct successful transactions with him. He seems to find owners seeking to rent their weeks primarily by trolling around various timeshare ad sites on the Internet (formerly including TUG, before the privacy improvements were adopted). The existence and operation of Green and others of his ilk raises the obvious question --- can he can find renters any more easily than an owner advertising directly on his / her own at competitive prices?

Who needs a "middleman" anyhow? I very rarely rent my weeks, since I own them to use them, not to rent them out. That said, I have never had any difficulty renting on my own when circumstances or other committments required me to do so --- including this year in a very weak economy...

 

[MuranoJo]

Bringing this back, as Mr. Green is obviously still working. Too bad I gave out my phone # before checking here. I should have known better.
'Ashley Richardson' was the signature, and I became even more concerned when the messages came from two of three rental sources. (Didn't realize this until I responded to the first.)

They may be fully legit, but I don't want to deal with it.

 

[Phill12]

I have read many post about this person and he seems to just troll these sites like Tug and Redweek for customers! Kind of a pain in A-- and seems to rush owners into a deal.:annoyed:

If you use search on Redweek for Preston Green you will find thirty postings dating back few years. It does seem that most people that have posted did rent and did get their money. Didn't read what percent he takes though!

Seems the neg postings are the people that just don't like him trolling for customers on Redweek.

I would recommend going there and reading up on him for yourself.

PHIL

 

[gorevs9]

I've never received a call from him, but I've received calls from other people who represent a "vacation club" looking for a rental for a client. People join these clubs and then can't find the units they are hoping to get. An agent from the club starts searching the rental sites.

The last time it happened, I told the person, that I needed the name/address of the client for the "guest certificate"; I would need a signed rental agreement and I would not send confirmation until I received full payment. That sort of ended the phone call. I would not have a problem doing this as long as the process was handled like any rental and I got my full asking price (the agent usually offered less than my asking price).

 

[MuranoJo]

Oh yeah, they always seem to offer less than your asking price (gotta make some moola themselves, of course). I guess if things aren't turning as you'd hoped, sharing the profits isn't a bad deal if you have to move the unit. They seem to find sources we may not have. Not saying it's a bad model, but you just have to be aware they are acting as the middleman finding the buyer and taking a cut. (I'd be real curious as to how much they actually get for the units you had for rent--you take a cut in your price, but it's hard to believe the renters take an increase over your ad, as they must also be trolling to have found the middleman.)

 

[theo]

Not necessarily...

...it's hard to believe the renters take an increase over your ad, as they must also be trolling to have found the middleman.)

In my own prior experience with Preston Green and "Vacation Homes Only", it's actually Mr. Green (or his associates) doing the "trolling".

He could (...and he does) see either a rental ad or a "rental wanted" ad while surfing the net and then attempts to insert himself into the transaction process, in exchange for a piece of the action...

 

[amisco]

Postings on Redweek

His organization has posted two listings on Redweek for a MVC Maui Beach Club - Lahaina Villas rental for 2014-15. When I inquired about them I received a form email telling me to call to make sure the units don't get rented. I called and he began changing the story on the rental..essentially the price was no longer the price because if he got a vacation week he wanted a higher price (it is referenced briefly in his description as that such weeks "may be higher") It does not cost more for a Platinum owner to reserve a holiday week (unless it is a Platinum Plus week)... but this and his offensive style (he threatened legal action if I posted on TUG)...makes me wonder if this guy is someone that I would ever want to do business with...NOT.

The folks at Redweek have posted some comments of note:

http://www.redweek.com/forums/messages?thread_id=12181&page=last

Let the buyer beware.

 

[MOXJO7282]

His organization has posted two listings on Redweek for a MVC Maui Beach Club - Lahaina Villas rental for 2014-15. When I inquired about them I received a form email telling me to call to make sure the units don't get rented. I called and he began changing the story on the rental..essentially the price was no longer the price because if he got a vacation week he wanted a higher price (it is referenced briefly in his description as that such weeks "may be higher") It does not cost more for a Platinum owner to reserve a holiday week (unless it is a Platinum Plus week)... but this and his offensive style (he threatened legal action if I posted on TUG)...makes me wonder if this guy is someone that I would ever want to do business with...NOT.

The folks at Redweek have posted some comments of note:

http://www.redweek.com/forums/messages?thread_id=12181&page=last

Let the buyer beware.

I've always been on the other side of these guys where they need my product for a client they found and I demand upfront payment so I never have a problem but it looks like being on the other side may not be a good experience so I would just move on and find an owner to deal with directly.

 

[Passepartout]

This is a reply to a nearly 5-year-old thread. Ho-hum.

 

[tschwa2]

It doesn't mater if the thread is old if the players and situation are still active.

Preston Green seems like he is on the abrasive side and I may not want to do business with him but when you look at the ad he has posted it does give a price but in the details page it states:

*(2bedrooms Starting at $2495, 1bedrooms, Studios, and ALL VIEWS available. Call Now for Availability.)

So even though the one liner is states a price and 3 years of availability, it doesn't seem unreasonable that different weeks would cost different amounts to rent despite the fact than an owner pays the same regardless of which unit is reserved.

Price: $2,495 ($356 per night)
Length of Stay: 7 nights
Available: Jan 1, 2013 - Dec 31, 2015

The starting at rates may only be for last minuted distressed and/or low season availability. If he had listed a specific week at a specific price and then tried to charge much higher then I think he should definitely be called out on it.

You called and he didn't have the week you were looking for at the price you wanted to pay and you didn't like his attitude then by all means don't rent from him and move on. You can even call him out for his attitude as you perceive it, but your expectation that all weeks in Hawaii should rent for the same amount is very unrealistic.

 

[theo]

Some thoughts...

<snip> It does not cost more for a Platinum owner to reserve a holiday week (unless it is a Platinum Plus week)... but this and his offensive style (he threatened legal action if I posted on TUG)...makes me wonder if this guy is someone that I would ever want to do business with...NOT.

The folks at Redweek have posted some comments of note:

http://www.redweek.com/forums/messages?thread_id=12181&page=last

As reported long ago, I have previously spoken with (and instinctively disliked) Preston Green, but I'll nonetheless make two observations in regard to the above quoted part of your post:

1. You really have no legitimate "beef" in regard to the fact that different weeks have different rental value (as appears to have been clearly stated in writing within the ad which you cite, btw). Owners' reservation costs are completely irrelevant; it's a matter of supply and demand market pricing, plain and simple.
Mr. Green seeks to make a profit in his role as "transaction middleman"; his is not a charitable enterprise facilitating bargain or "break even" vacations.

2. That being said, please do not be intimidated in any way by Mr. Green's (or anyone else's) bluster and /or empty and hollow threats of "legal action".
If you state pertinent facts accurately and truthfully, whether here on TUG or anywhere else, Preston Green (and anyone else) can go pound sand. Mr. Green may well not like your input, but you are on rock solid ground merely expressing a personal viewpoint while making no false and / or libelous statements.