If you own a vacation time share be cautious about people offering to help you resell it for an appraisal fee. Most of these sales programs are bogus. The market for resale's is very active, but it is trying to sell the needle in the haystack. One recent survey found that less than 4 percent of owners reported reselling their time shares during the last 20 years.

Unscrupulous companies may contact you by phone or mail. For an advance "appraisal" fee, often $300 to $700, some salespeople promise to sell your time share for a price equal to or greater than your purchase price. To further entice you, they may offer you a money-back guarantee or even a $1,000 government bond if they can't sell your time share within a year. Others offer to purchase your time share for 80-90 percent of its appraised value if they don't sell it within a specified time.

In reality, the market for resale's may vary considerably, depending on the location and time of year. The lists of sales agents and buyers may consist of people who have never heard of the company or have no interest in buying a timeshare. It may be unlikely that the company can sell the time share at all, let alone at a price equal to or greater than your original purchase price. In addition, many consumers whose time shares don't sell after a year may be presented with a government bond worth only $60 or $70 or told there's no refund on their listing fee.

If you want to resell your time share and are approached by a company offering to help, consider taking these precautions:

• Don't agree to anything over the phone until you've had a chance to check out the company.
  
  
• Ask the salesperson to send you written materials.
  
  
• Find out where the company is located and where it does business.
  
  
• Contact the Better Business Bureau, state Attorney General, and local consumer protection agencies in the state where the company is located. Ask whether complaints have been lodged against the company.
  
  
• Ask if the company's salespeople are licensed to sell real estate.
  
  
• Be wary of companies charging an advance "appraisal" fee for services.

You have several other resale options. You may try selling your time share yourself, by placing an ad in a newspaper or magazine, or contacting a real estate agent familiar with the area. If all the time shares have been sold in your development, consider asking the seller to establish an on-site resale's office. As an alternative, you may consider an exchange program. For a fee, these programs allow you to arrange trades with other resorts.

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