Bought my 1st Timeshare on Ebay...now what?

After months of tracking and bidding unsuccessfully on multiple timeshares, I am excited that I was finally able to buy my 1st timeshare...resale on ebay (thanks mainly to a lot of great advice and background info that I was able to find on this forum!).

Now that the 1st part is complete, I'm looking for some advice on what happens next (I've sent an email to the seller to get things kicked off) but am not sure what the exact process is. It is a Marriott, so it will have to pass ROFR. Any help is much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance,
Matthew

All funds should go through a reputable, licensed closing company. Traditionally, the buyer gets to choose the company, but ebay sellers usually have their "pet" companies that they insist on using (which may actually be in-house.) If you go back to the ebay Ad, it should state who the closing company is. I would not send the full payment upfront - I'd pay a small good faith payment, and then request the contract and estoppel letter, before I made the final payment.

Remember that a winning bid on a TS is NOT binding on ebay. If the seller is uncooperative with providing info., or the deal seems shaky, you have the legal right to walk away with no penalty.

Now that the 1st part is complete, I'm looking for some advice on what happens next (I've sent an email to the seller to get things kicked off) but am not sure what the exact process is. It is a Marriott, so it will have to pass ROFR. Any help is much appreciated

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Pay by credit card, if you have not already done so. That way, you'll have some support if things don't work out.

Stay on top of the transaction. Some of these closures move slow and you might need to email the parties, including marriott to keep things moving. Hopefully, you won't have to go through that but I did on a few occasions.

Good luck with your new timeshare!

We recently bought our first timeshare off Ebay too. Bought it for $1 and $349 closing costs, on Aug. 19. It's at the Crafts Inn, in Wilmington, VT. We got a floating red week, it's only for even-numbered years. Maintenance fees are $350, only to be paid on the even-numbered years.

I paid promptly, and we got the papers in the mail one week later, on Sept. 2. Spur of the moment, we decided to take a long weekend road trip to Vermont, to check it out, before signing.

We loved the place, and sent all the signed papers back to the closing co., and our closing was on Sept. 11! Yay! Just yesterday, we received a letter from the closing company, telling us that everything went according to plan, and it's official. They said that we can expect to get more papers from the Crafts Inn in a few weeks, possible longer.

Now, I'm looking for our second timeshare.

Timeshare Transfers Inc.

I just received the escrow contract for the completion of this deal from 'Timeshare Transfers Inc.'. Has anyone dealt with this company? I just did a search on them in this forum and am not getting the 'warm fuzzies' about them...then checked their website which lists a San Jose area code, but their documentation is in Castle Rock, Colorado...

Thanks!
Matthew

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105365

Who was the seller,

There is significant suspicion that this closing company is related to Wanted Weeks/Shaun Fletcher wo folded his tent ad left sellers and buyers holding the bag

marriottsme

Marriottsme is a 'new' seller on ebay (who when i checked had a -2 rating) --> Some bad ebay feedback reviews are starting to roll in...

The registered owner of timesharetransfers.com is someone by the name of Kristopher Chavez out of Colorado.

Can anyone recommend a reputable closing company that is able to close on a California Marriott property and accepts credit card as a form of payment?

Thanks!

Drop the s on the URL and you have what is reccomended as a winner

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106198

I have no personal experience with the Vero Beach One

I do not believe they can accept credit cards though

IMHO Walk (RUN) away I am assuming it's eBay item 250498699588

You are being asked to pay for a 2009 Week in White Season

$ 650 is nowhere near the correct amount for a year of Marriott Maintence fees, other Auctions list it north of a Grand

It's Mid September - You might get it in time to deposit it, doubtful that you will get any usage of the 2009 week

Not to mention the Negative Feedback and questionable closing company

Palm Desert serves as the exceptional setting for Marriott's Desert Springs Villas. Beautifully designed on

400 acres. Your beautiful 2-bedroom 2-bath villa features a full kitchen, formal living and dining areas, 2

private patios/balconies, and washer and dryer. Adjacent to the JW Marriott® Resort & Spa. Enjoy 36 holes of

manicured fairways, exquisite tennis facilities, a lavish European spa and tempting cuisine. On-site, soak up

the sun and relax with 7 luxurious pools.


Your Week in Detail

Floating White Season​

Deeded Week #24/Unit #9591W
2 Bedroom Lock-off
Annual Usage/Lifetime
Usage Starts 2009
What's Due
Transfer Fee: $195
Closing Costs: $350
Maintenance Fees and Taxes for Use Year 2009: $650.00​

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Thanks for the feedback - it is indeed this item.
I had contacted the seller about the strange 2009 maintenance fees - which he explained are a portion of what the seller had paid and the full MF of $845 was indeed listed in the contract that I received (taxes billed separately in CA). Also he said that the 2009 week has been already banked with II and would be transferred upon sale.

Right now I'm evaluating my options, but don't feel comfortable proceeding with their closing company.

Although they stated a closing amount they didn't state a closing company in the auction - You can always walk away, if they won't let you select the closing compamy

I would apply that $ 350 to a closing company of your own choosing.

I would also not deposit any more than the "excrow" fee while the closing company of your choice went through the ROFR dance. If Marriott exercises their ROFR then that should be returned to you


As to the credit card aspect, your time limit to dispute is usually shorter than the normal timeline of a deeded transfer. If that is the reason you are looking for a closing company that accepts a credit card.





As to the abity to transfer the "banked week" - I need to defer to the II experts

Thanks for the info - the only way i'd feel comfortable proceeding with this is through an independent closing company...we'll see what happens.

Matthew_D said:

Thanks for the feedback - it is indeed this item.
I had contacted the seller about the strange 2009 maintenance fees - which he explained are a portion of what the seller had paid and the full MF of $845 was indeed listed in the contract that I received (taxes billed separately in CA). Also he said that the 2009 week has been already banked with II and would be transferred upon sale.

Right now I'm evaluating my options, but don't feel comfortable proceeding with their closing company.

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Even if you had this exchange with the seller while the listing was active--if he did not correct the listing--I believe you can back out of the deal because the item was what eBay would call SNAD: Significantly Not As Described. The listing said the maintenance was $650, but the maintenance was really $850.

The listing is supposed to be accurate. If it's not, then the item is SNAD.

Caution to anyone dealing with ebay seller "marriottsme"

As way of an update, the unit has been re-listed on ebay after my request for an independent closing company was rejected, even though I offered the seller compensation for switching and would pay whatever additional closing fees there would be by using another company. Looks like this guy really wants to use his own closing company despite my offer of paying him more money to switch to another company....something's not quite right. I find it quite strange that he didn't address any of my concerns and relisted the unit within 20 minutes of denying my request. Caution to anyone dealing with ebay seller "marriottsme"

Still trying to figure out his angle as to why he will only use this one closing company.....

Marriott Knight
date Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 12:12 PM
subject Re: Message from eBay Member

Thanks for your response. I'm sorry that this deal did not work out. I am committed to working with Timeshare Transfers. Good luck with your future timeshare purchases.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good morning,
Thank you for your email. I am also very committed to closing this
deal. Unfortunately with my outstanding concerns, I do not feel
comfortable using Timeshare Transfers Inc. for the closing. I would
re-iterate my previous offer to use an independent closing company -
the one I would like to use is accredited with the Better Business
Bureau (BBB) and has an A+ rating. As stated previously, I would be
prepared to compensate $200 USD to you for any relationships that you
have with Timeshare Transfers Inc.

At this point, the decision to proceed with this timeshare closing is
in your court. If you are agreeable to using an independent closing
company, then I am fully committed to proceed. However, if you insist
on using Timeshare Transfers Inc., then I am afraid that I do not wish
to proceed any further with this sale.

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I like Timeshare Transfer! Used many times.

Matthew_D said:

I just received the escrow contract for the completion of this deal from 'Timeshare Transfers Inc.'. Has anyone dealt with this company? I just did a search on them in this forum and am not getting the 'warm fuzzies' about them...then checked their website which lists a San Jose area code, but their documentation is in Castle Rock, Colorado...

Thanks!
Matthew

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I have bought and sold timeshare in resale and I always have tried to use Timeshare Transfer. I have had no complaints. They have always been responsive and reasonable.

I am not a reseller but just someone who has bought and sold a few timeshares and I would use Timeshare Transfer again.

Scott

To Matthew D

It's worth noting here that there are two closing companies with very similar names (...which is likely not just a coincidence):

1. Timeshare Transfer, Inc. of Vero Beach, FL (take note that there is no letter "s" at the end of the word Transfer) is well known, well established and well respected. Many here on TUG (including me) have used them many times. I've yet to hear of any experience with this closing entity which was anything but professional and smooth.

2. However, there is also an obscure entity with a (no coincidence) very similar name, something like "Timeshare Transfers", located somewhere in Colorado. They are not at all well known and few people report having any experience with them at all. Certainly, no one seems to be stepping forward to endorse them...

It's important to conclusively ascertain which one of these similarly named entities is involved here. I'm betting it's #2 in CO since, to the best of my knowledge, Timeshare Transfer Inc. of FL does not have any "mandatory arrangements" with PCC's or any other such "eBay megasellers". Also, their fees are fixed, flat (and highly competitive) so there would be no reason whatsoever for the legitimate, Florida based Timeshare Transfer, Inc. to ever affiliate itself with any PCC or any other such "megaseller".

Matthew, not all of us are ebay buyers. Some of us have sold on ebay as well and my experience leads me to suggest you see this from a different angle. If the agreement to use the transfer company was clearly stated in the bid, what you have here is an inexperienced bidder (you) trying to change the terms after he has already bid and the bid has been accepted. While you may be able technically to do that, it really is not fair to sellers to bid, be the winning bidder and then try to change the terms. That is why a lot of sellers will not sell to "zero bidders." The seller was probably out at least $85 in listing fees when you reneged. And, when one gets a "steal" on an ebay timeshare with some problems (here white season) there will always be tire kickers telling you to get a better season. Most all of the timeshare sellers use their own timeshare transfer company and this has been discussed quite frequently on this site. So next time, I suggest you do your due diligence before placing a final bid as it really is not fair to the ebay seller to do otherwise. Funtime

Since I had bad experience with this sound alike transfer company and a zero feedback seller - I will respond

If the agreement to use the transfer company was clearly stated in the bid

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An amount was specified but the name of the closing company was not part of the original bid desciption

what you have here is an inexperienced bidder (you) trying to change the terms after he has already bid and the bid has been accepted.

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Buyer 0 feedback Seller (2) No experience over Negative BTW should be (3) if you read the comments on the one neutral

While you may be able technically to do that, it really is not fair to sellers to bid, be the winning bidder and then try to change the terms. That is why a lot of sellers will not sell to "zero bidders." The seller was probably out at least $85 in listing fees when you reneged. And, when one gets a "steal" on an ebay timeshare with some problems (here white season)

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The buyer offered to pay the closing fee for doing nothing

The seller and closing company are flakes (I have first hand experience with this closing company) IMHO these are affiliates of the Wanted Weeks group

Thanks for the supportive response Rentshare.

Funtime - I would re-iterate that the closing company was NEVER stated in the ebay auction description. In fact, the seller has since relisted the unit and still has not specified using only his closing company. I can understand your argument if this was the case because it would be up to the buyer to do their due diligence on the closing company before bidding. This was clearly not the case. Not only did I offer to pay the additional closing costs with another company, I even offered the seller a cash incentive to switch.

A zero rating as a buyer does not make me a negligent or irresponsible bidder. One has to start somewhere. You would've had a zero rating as a bidder/seller at some point as well.

Thanks TUGgers for all your help!!

Update regarding closing company Timeshare Transfers, Inc.

A few days after our deal with marriotsme collapsed we were contacted from a buyer who purchased another unit in a different state via marriotsme. The same closing company was utilized:

Timeshare Transfers, Inc.
4833 Front Street #B268
Castle Rock, CO 80104
(408) 914-2474 --> note a San Jose, CA phone number?!?
www.timesharetransfers.com

The seller kindly informed us that he received his contract with all incorrect information. In fact the contract was our old one...had our names, personal information, desert spring unit info, our price, everything. Glad to know this closing company is competent in its core business dealings. Very happy we didn't give them one cent.

No surprise...

Matthew_D said:

A few days after our deal with marriotsme collapsed we were contacted from a buyer who purchased another unit in a different state via marriotsme. The same closing company was utilized:

Timeshare Transfers, Inc.
4833 Front Street #B268
Castle Rock, CO 80104
(408) 914-2474 --> note a San Jose, CA phone number?!?
www.timesharetransfers.com

The seller kindly informed us that he received his contract with all incorrect information. In fact the contract was our old one...had our names, personal information, desert spring unit info, our price, everything. Glad to know this closing company is competent in its core business dealings. Very happy we didn't give them one cent.

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Frankly, I am a bit surprised that the real, competent and legitimate Timeshare Transfer, Inc. (located in Vero Beach, FL) doesn't take legal action against these people for inappropriately using the "look alike" name.
Then again, I suspect that the legitimate TT in FL likely already has all the business they can handle anyhow, so they are not exactly losing customers to the imposter CO "wannabees", so maybe it's not worth the bother for the real Timeshare Transfer to even acknowledge the existence of the "wannabees".