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Anybody dealt with Resort Marketing?

newvalve

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I'm looking to get rid of my timeshare, and was contacted by someone named Monica, email address: mpaigemorrissey@gmail.com. She's offered to buy my timeshare for at least a couple of hundred dollars, which is better than the $799 the resort will charge to take it back, and also to cover the transfer fee ($250).

She sent me an agreement with the buyer listed as "Resort Marketing" 500 Pilot Rd, Suite A, Las Vegas.

She claims to have worked with ResortCom, the outfit that runs my timeshare.

This seems reasonably legit, except she hasn't answered my question of what she does with these -my guess is she (or her accomplice/associate) resell them somehow. I also can't find her or Resort Marketing on google which seems strange.

Anyway - the risk seems low - no money asked from me, in fact, no out of pocket cost. Has anybody dealt with this person/organization? Does anyone know if she's legit or not?

Much thanks!
 

TUGBrian

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pretty easy rule of thumb when someone contacts you out of the blue with a relatively unbelievable offer to buy or rent your timeshare is that somewhere down the line....an attempt to extract money from you is going to happen.
 

newvalve

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Agreed - but this is not an unbelievable offer - they're willing to take it off my hands for less than it would cost to return it to the resort, in fact, so far, no out of pocket cost at all. That's why I'm asking to see what's really happening here.
 

newvalve

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Also she acknowledged finding my ad on TUG - so it wasn't really "out of the blue"
 

TUGBrian

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id say that someone calling to offer you MORE than your asking price for your timeshare, when the resort itself wants nearly $1000 just to take it back...is a pretty unbelievable offer =)

that said, as long as you are on the lookout for potential scams and know what to expect...hopefully you can protect yourself.

I see its in mexico...this would have my ears perked up for a "glitch" in the transfer down the line where they want you to pay some "mexican sales tax" or similar.

fact is, I dont think anyone has ever heard of a legitimate company for selling timeshares that contains the word "marketing" in it.
 

vacationhopeful

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Trust TUGBrian ... out of the blue, huh?

You should spend MORE time here on TUG reading and learning ... before assuming she will do anything positive for you. You most likely will be asked to sign a POA - you will expect to pay the 2015 MFs now & then she 'can' rent you unit out where you get none of those proceeds. She will imply the new buyer wants immediate use of the unit and funds will be disbursed after closing and reconnection from resort ... expect no sale and next 2016 MF invoice.

Have you gotten any other inquiries on your ad?

Have you looked for ads on Redweek or myresortnetwork or vacationtimesharesbyowner websites?
 

Rent_Share

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If you insist on playing with fire (you will probably get burnt), you can sell to anyone you want (my read is she is offering a nominal payment), just be prepared to be in control of the closing process using a closing company of your choosing to take this all the way through registering the new owner. If the buying entity offers to handle any of it, run

$1,049 doesn't sound outrageous for an HOA to take the unit since it represents another year's maintenances fees an a couple hundred for recording expenses and document preparation.
 

HudsHut

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Welcome to TUG.

If the resort will actually take your timeshare for $799, thank your lucky stars. You have an easy out.

Monica will come back to ask you for money. Let us know what line she uses when it happens.
I assure you they do not resell them, because no one will buy them. Not even for $1.
 

newvalve

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FWIW, the resort has acknowledged Monica as legit, I've spent $0, and won't send any other, and the worst that will happen so far is I'm back where I've started, but far more likely, I'll end up with $250 in my pocket and be rid of something I don't want. Now I just wish I could take a tax loss.

And yes, I've done a lot of reading on TUG and other places - there are plenty of horror stories, and to be honest, I was burned by one a few years ago.

The "higher price" came from an email negotiation, not her offer, in other words she said she was interested, and in an attempt to push a little, I pushed up the price a little and she's paying the transfer fee - like I said nothing out of pocket.
 

DeniseM

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Please let us know how this turns out - very interesting situation.
 
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TUGBrian

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I thought the resort was offering to take it back for hundreds of dollars?

seems odd they would confirm some random marketing company as legitimate if they had an existing deedback strategy.

hope it all works out for you in the end, we've just heard far too many of these storys...yours would be the first that ended well.
 

theo

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Some clarifications and some cautionary observations...

If you insist on playing with fire (you will probably get burnt), you can sell to anyone you want (my read is she is offering a nominal payment), just be prepared to be in control of the closing process using a closing company of your choosing to take this all the way through registering the new owner. If the buying entity offers to handle any of it, run

$1,049 doesn't sound outrageous for an HOA to take the unit since it represents another year's maintenance fees an a couple hundred for recording expenses and document preparation.

The resort at issue is located in Mexico. Accordingly, there is no "ownership" or any deed or any deed recording, no HOA and likely no say in "closing" procedure. Instead, this would be the transfer of a date-defined RTU contract. Many of the Mexican facilities (...just as RTU "vacation clubs" here in the U.S. generally do, to be fair) utilize their own (i.e., mandatory) internal paperwork, procedures, forms (...and yes, fees too) in order to effect and acknowledge RTU contract transfers.

One (among numerous others) potential 'fly in the ointment' with such transfers of Mexican RTU contracts is the possible revelation of an unexpected and huge transfer fee extorted mandated by the "house" to effect the contract transfer. Sometimes that extortion mandatory charge is actually several thousand dollars. I know nothing whatsoever about the specific Cabo facility at issue here, so I don't claim to know if that potential extortion transfer fee scenario applies in this specific instance.

OP, the abbreviated version of my input above is a strong recommendation to proceed with caution and with both eyes open; the devil always lurks within the details. "Buying out of" your current RTU contract for relatively short money by dealing directly with the resort may be wiser and much safer than choosing instead to roll the dice with some unknown, obscure marketing entity in Las Vegas seeking to "help" you (or themselves) here. It's your call and your decision, but that's my $0.02 worth.
 
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Rent_Share

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What is the Risk of the OP just walking away from the original obligation contracted under Mexican law.
 

TUGBrian

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is a good question, I would imagine the POSSIBLE risk would be the same as with any other timeshare.

I am sure if the money is enough, mexican resort operators can easily contract collection agencies based in the US to hound you.

I however am not sure how mexican debt reporting is done in regards to a US citizens credit. I'd gander that the collection agency could certainly file the non-payment with the 3 credit bureaus if the mexican company couldnt.
 

theo

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It's of course ultimately a personal decision, but if the OP can be permanently "out" for $799 without ever having to harbor any fear of consequences which might well accompany default, that would seem to be at least worthy of further investigation and maybe serious consideration. That being said, I trust that the OP has this alleged "offer" in writing and that it's not merely something expressed by (who-knows-who, with who-knows-what actual authority) in the course of a phone conversation.

Viewed another way, if this was instead a Westgate conversation and someone stated that they could get out cleanly, lawfully and permanently for $799, people would probably be lined up here to say (...maybe even shout) Yes, do it --- Do it NOW! In fact, I would most likely be among those doing just exactly that.

What we don't really know here with any certainty is what / where OP's referenced "ResortCom" (or its' reach) might be. If, for example, this "ResortCom" entity has a business (or affiliate) location operating within the U.S., it would likely just be child's play for them to have a default appear for the OP in all 3 major credit reporting agencies in the blink of an eye. That particular consequence might very well not be one particularly attractive to the OP.

I'm certainly not advocating just hastily or blindly shipping U.S. dollars off to 'ol Mexico; I'm instead just noting that there are not yet enough hard facts or important details 'out on the table' here upon which to actually make any well informed and intelligent recommendations. :shrug:

In any case however, I'd personally be blowing off the unknown Las Vegas 'marketing entity' with the gmail email address in about a heartbeat's elapsed time.
I'd instinctively just expect that person / entity to ultimately be revealed as a train riding hard on the tracks to Nowhere. Just a hunch --- but can anyone here cite any "marketing" or "solutions" named timeshare-related entity (past or present) that is actually legitimate? I have to state without any hesitation that I cannot do so.
 
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TUGBrian

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I am also skeptical about the resort "suggesting" you use this random company to get you out of your contract.
 

newvalve

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Well, it turned out OK! I just got a check from Resort Marketing for what I asked for. Unfortunately, I didn't properly ask/demand/check that they cover fees, so I'm net -$20 - the cost of 2 notarizations.

For those involved in resort.com - Villa Del Palmar, etc. the costs are: $799 to return your timeshare, i.e. walk away or $250 to transfer ownership. Resort Marketing did what they said - paid me the $250 that I wanted, I just didn't make sure they covered the transfer cost when I started.

So, yes, I thought they said they'd cover the transfer, and they didn't, a bit of a scam, but overall, I'm out of my timeshare for essentially no cost when no buyers were even remotely interested.

The other cost here is that you have to be up to date on maintenance fees to do either a transfer or a return, and since I did this with a maintenance fee due, I had to pay this year's fee, but I'm out of the remaining 21 years on my contract.
 

tschwa2

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If for some reason after the year is up and MF's are due again and you find that you aren't out of the contract like you thought, please come back and let us know.

If you had taken the $799 option, would you have had to pay the MF?

What country are you in? Just asking because most people in the US can get documents notarized at their bank for free if they don't have access to one at their workplace. I couldn't imagine two notaries and document shipping, even to Mexico would cost $270.
 

RX8

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Did you pay the maintenance fee to this company? If so how did you pay?

There are many red flags. There is nothing on the Web for this "company". The state of Nevada has nothing on the company name. The individual who contacted you is using a generic personal email. As Bryan stated in a previous post, the use of the name " marketing " in any timeshare outfit seems to be a scam 100 % of the time. Mexican timeshares also seem to attract the most scammers.

If you paid this company your maintenance fee that could possibly be what they were targeting all along.
 

theo

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Color me dubious...

Call me a cynic, but not much about this whole story / gig sounds quite right to me somehow. Stated more bluntly, I find it a bit hard to comprehend and / or believe.
If a check has been issued, I have to wonder if it will prove to have successfully "cleared" in 60-90 days --- or in whose name the contract will (still?) be next year.
Sorry, but I simply do not buy that this unknown "Resort Marketing" entity is actually legitimate.

On the other hand, could this be an elaborate scheme directly (but opaquely) involving the resort itself, in which the maintenance fees get voluntarily brought current, with the resort operating in cahoots with this third party "Monica with just a gmail address"? If so, in the end the resort could "cleanly" and easily recover control of the underlying RTU contract and then just sell it all over again to someone else. I dunno --- just theorizing.

The only reason I can think of that such a "scheme" would even make any sense at all is that any Mexican operation knows that it has no real collection leverage over someone residing in the U.S., including any contract holder who might now be ready and willing to just "walk away". This theoretical scheme would at least be a way to get the account balance current before taking it back --- then sell it all over again to some other lucky winner visiting on vacation and succumbing to the "pitch". :ponder:
 
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theo

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Do scammers ever try to post up on TUG to get customers :eek: :shrug: :eek:

On occasion, but they are usually very quickly and effectively smoked out, exposed --- and promptly "booted" thereafter by the vigilant TUG moderators.
There is a whole lot of knowledge and experience among people on TUG; this is surely not the best crowd on which to attempt to perpetrate a timeshare scam.

Shills are more frequent than scammers here, appearing out of a clear blue sky to (quite unconvincingly) attempt to sing the praises of some unknown, obscure entity. Such shills are seldom too sharp and are usually promptly exposed; DeniseM in particular has a honed skill for promptly "outing" such shills and sending them packing.
 
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