Resort(s) Bailout

[bobhood]

Contacted by the upteenth firm wanting to help me dispose of my unwanted timeshares. This outfit "sounds" a lot more legit than some others I have run across - but there doesn't seem to be much information about them.

At this point I'm almost willing to pay someone to take the two Branson timeshares I own off my hands. Resort Bailout is asking for fees that are a little more than one year's assessments, as opposed to several other callers who wanted 2X to 3X annual fees.

Anyone have experience with this Shelton, CT outfit? (Hey, at least they aren't in Florida!)

[simpsontruckdriver]

One simple rule: do NOT pay anything upfront. You can go to the "Bargain Deals" section of TUG (Forum Jump button) and offer it to anyone.

TS

[Ridewithme38]

How much are they asking you to pay?

Why not post in the bargain deals section of this forum for others with that amount?

If your willing to pay a shady company, why are you unwilling to pay a person the same amount?

[DeniseM]

Different name - same old story. They are no different than the company that already ripped you off - it's a waste of time to even talk to them.

Please consider giving your timeshare away to a private individual who would like to own it, before you spend a cent with a company like this.

Why?
-You can give it away yourself for nearly no cost.
-You can control the transfer process to make sure it is truly transferred out of your name.
-You won't have to deal with companies that may or may not be Legit.
-You can transfer it to a private individual who will be happy to have it for their own use.
-You will have the satisfaction of knowing that you ended your ownership legally and ethically.

There are two places on TUG where you can give away your TS's for free (no charge for the Ads.) There are other cheap and free sites on the internet, as well.

TUG Marketplace - the only cost is your TUG membership - $15 (List it for $1 and it will automatically go in the Bargain Basement Ads.)

Bargain Deals - Totally FREE! - just write a simple post with all the pertinent info. In your post, include the following info.:

-resort name
-unit size
-season owned
-maintenance fee
-current reservations

To make it more attractive I would:

1) Pay the 2012 maintenance fees and don't ask for reimbursement.

2) Pay for the title transfer (you can get a simple title transfer with no escrow or title search for about $100.) Many people have used Tugger TTT (Alan) at Time Travel Traders for this service in the past, but he is retired and is referring most business to Lisa Short for this service - 1.706.969.8906 readylegal@gmail.com Lisa has been receiving good reviews on TUG.

3) Reserve a popular holiday week in 2012 for the new owner.

4) Instead of paying a fee to a rescue company - consider offering a cash incentive to the new owner.

Good luck!

[bogey21]

Originally Posted by bobhood

At this point I'm almost willing to pay someone to take the two Branson timeshares I own off my hands.

If you own at an independent resort, I would call and ask it they will allow you to deed your week(s) back to the HOA. I have done this successfully with 3 different resorts and am now working on another. It is not always easy. Sometimes you have to call many times to find the right person. Sometimes they commit to accepting a deed back then don't follow through without prodding. But I have found that persistance pays off.

George

[funtime]

If you decide to post either on our bargain board or by placing an add on ebay starting at 1.00 (which ad of course you need to spend some time on and make it look professional with pictures etc) please put some effort into your post. Remember what it was about the timeshare that you liked in the first place and emphasize that and potentially where you traded it to etc. However, a posting either here or on ebay that says I really need to dump this timeshare will get you few postings. Funtime

[Resort Bailout]

My name is Stephen Masella, I am the owner of Resorts Bailout, I just happened to search the company's name on the Internet and noticed this thread about my company.

I would like to share another point of view in this discussion of why I started this company. I also would like to respond about the comments made about the ethics that some people are making in regard to how my company conducts business. I completely understand the quick reactions most of you are having right now, most of you have either spoken to and/or inquired to a resale company for more information on sell your timeshare. I would like to make it very very clear I am not a Resale company. I do not charge ANY upfront fees to sell or rent a timeshare. I am not another company using a different name. Anyone can search my information, this is the first company I have ever owned.

I started this company because of the amount of friends, family members, friends of family members. etc that have timeshares and want out of. I have had experience in the industry and have helped people in the past dealing with these situations. I have alot of friends in the timeshare industry. With the knowledge I have obtained, the connections i have acquired, and the need I see this industry has for this service, I decided that this seems like a good industry to enter because there is a NEED for my services. I have friends that have worked for years in the industry that have an array of experience, connections, and knowledge that allows me to conduct business successfully. While I do understand the black eye the timeshare industry has, especially the secondary market, which will obviously cause many people to be cautious of any business and what their attentions are. Its gives no one the right to verbalize over the Internet misleading comments and lies about who we are and how they think we conduct business when they have never done business with us. I can not change what has happened to anyone in the past in this industry, all I can do is empathize towards your situations.

[Resort Bailout]

Right now this industry has upwards of 12 million owners in the timeshare industry, close to 70 to 80 percent of the industry is looking to get out. On top of that, there are barley any new owners looking to buy in any more. How can an industry sustain itself with that type of ratio. The resorts have spent 40 yeas pushing these timeshares, sending out gift after gift, selling more and more potential buyers into timeshares. All the Resorts have been focused on is getting more people into timeshares so they can get more people to pay for maintenance fees. Never has any resort come up with a gameplan for what an owner should do when they are finished and want out. Because at the end of the day; they don't care. My company’s primary focus is on helping timeshare owners, and you are all looking at me as the bad guy.

This company is not one of those firms that charge 6000 to 8000 dollars to get people out of a timeshare, not even close! We are very fair with owners, but in order to get someone out of their timeshare, our company incur costs, and its not just as simple as transferring a timeshare, I can assure you of that.

For everyone that is holding on to their timeshare because they think the industry will turn around and then they will sell it. I can assure you of one thing, people aren't buying timeshares, NOT because they cant afford it, because they DONT want it.

Let me explain; 90 percent of timeshare owners that buy timeshares finance 90 percent of the price, most cases they are able to get you in for as little as 900 - 1200 dollars. This looks great, especially since most people that go on vacation went to Triple A and booked a trip for 5,000 dollars to go to Disney World, after airfare, car rentals, etc etc. Not only will the resot sell you on how cheap it is to finance the timeshare (even thought interest rates can be upwards of 15 to 18 percent), they will also include a membership with RCI to travel to 60,000 Resorts in the world, it all seems like a GREAT deal.... Well at least when no one knew better!

The reason why timeshares cant be sold is because everyone is so connected! Most people now of days have androids phones, Iphones, Blackberries, etc. This has caused this world to enter a very social Era, everything is now Facebook, blogs, forums, polls, TUGs etc. So now when people are at a presentation, they do not have to depend on the smooth talking sales person, whos pushing them into buying a timeshare for $15,000. Just like if you went to buy a car now of days, people use car facts. People are now starting to use their phones and search google, ebay, craigslist.Once they spend a quick moment doing just a little research, all they will see is pages of horror stories, people imploring people to stay away from timeshare, timeshares selling on Ebay for a $1. Who is going to buy a timeshare after they see all that?

[Resort Bailout]

Now I also saw a comment on her saying, “why dont you post the timeshare for a dollar on TUGGs”. I agree with you. Especially in the United States you can sell anything, You have a product, now all you need is a prospect. That is the problem with timeshares! People that dont own timeshare, most cases dont know what a timeshare is. Everyone on TUGGS obviously knows what a timeshare is, you all own timeshare, but everyone else is the world that dont own a timeshare, you expect to search online for cheap timeshares? Why do the resorts send so much money on gifts? So what I ask everyone to do is one thing, take a moment and just ask yourself a couple questions.

First, if you are a timeshare owner ask............ when did you purchase my timeshare?
Second, Ask yourself.......... what you knew about a timeshare 5 years prior to buying?
Third - Ask yourself............... when were you then sold on being an owner?

Chances are the majority of timeshare owners learned about what a timeshare was on vacation. You were on vacation and you got gifted into a sales campaign, some head hunter ran up to you and said, “want 100 dollar gift card,” you and your wife probably ask for what, which you are then told to go to a timeshare presentation. Most people reaction, whether they decide to go or not is, “What kind of presentation, Timeshare? Isnt that have something to do with vacationing?”

This is the dilemma a timeshare owner will face whether they are selling, renting, or trying to give the timeshare away. Because the way the Internet works, when you search for something, you search by using Key words, in a search engine like google, yahoo, etc. Now the only people that actually go to google, 95 percent of the time, to look for a timeshare is other timeshare owners. They are either looking for information on selling, or searching for a company to work with. People that don't own a timeshare, chances are don't even know what a timeshare is, they might have heard of it, but they do not know anything about it.

Now a lot of owners might say, but its “real estate!!” or something along those lines. Timeshare its not traditional style real estate, you cant pull equity out of a timeshare, you cant put timeshare up to get a loan at the bank. Real Estate most cases is the biggest investment most people will make in their life. People spend their whole life looking to the future looking to become a home owner, This stems back to when you are kid, when you are a child you played house with your friends, you didn't play timeshare. So at the end of the day you can put ads up on tugs, you can put them on Ebay, put them on Craiglist. However, when you put those ads up, you need to hope that someone will come along and find your ad, but that still requires someone to search for it. And I know this is a tough pill to swallow but i mean think realistically, do you really think someone is going to search on google for you timeshare and you will show up on the first 50 pages. Now people are going to read this and go, that's not true, All i ask you is go around and actively ask your friends,

What do they know about a timeshare?
Ask them to name you a timeshare
Ask them what are the benefits of owning a timeshare.
The response you will hear 9 out of 10 times will either be i have no idea, or they will say isn't it something for vacationing.

The is the exact reason why I am in business, right now being a timeshare owner is a very difficult situation. You have cost that will incur after you pay off the timeshare called maintenance fees and assessment charges. Once you sign a contract you make your family responsible for these fees. Now these fees are told that they cover, the up keep of the property, however really consider the amount of owners, and then add up the amount of money you pay, and consider the amount the other owners pay, then multiply. Now really ask yourself, how much does it really cost to fluff some pillows and cut some grass.

[Resort Bailout]

Your money is really being used to fund, bonuses, salaries at the resort, and compensate the resort where money is needed. You do not have to believe this, however I have many friends that work at the Resorts and this is the truth. Right now the resorts spend millions of dollars in gifting solicitations to gift potential buyers into the timeshares, since less people are buying they are having to be more aggressive and gift more people in, guess who has to compensate the resort for this loss in profit margins. Now the Resort is also losing a ton of money on people not buying timeshares anymore, guess who has to compensate the resort on the loss of income? Now lets focus on the actual owners in the industry, right now say out of the 70 percent of owners that want to get out of their timeshare, about 10 percent of those owners leave the industry, either because they use a bailout service or since they are foreclosed on because they no longer can pay the rising maintenance fees or cant afford their mortgages anymore because of financial difficulties.

I mean the best example of what is happening to timeshare owners I can come up with is what happened like 6 or so years ago. Wall street was getting hit very hard because of the recession, and a lot of the stock brokerage firms were going out of business, causing the United States to have to Bail all these companies out. Well right now the Resorts are using the timeshare owners as their bailout money.

And what aggravates me so much especially after reading these comments, is the lack of action by the timeshare resorts.The resorts are putting timeshare owners in a very tough situation. The resorts can really put these timeshare resale companies out of business with a snap of their fingers.They can tell all their owners to NOT PAY anyone to sell their timeshare, but they dont They might act like they are doing something, but they really aren't, the Owners are the ones actively trying to get the word out. Most timeshares actually tell people when owners call in looking for information to get out of their ownership, they will either say, you can keep paying maintenance fees or sell the timeshare. What the Resorts wont tell you but is really happening is the Resort want these listing companies in business. They bank on the fact that listing company's are out their and give timeshare owners, hope. They need owners to believe their timeshares will sell because if they dont, they 70 percent of owners that want to get out would call the Resorts every day to get out. They would call and constantly be asking, can you get me out, i dont want it anymore, etc etc. By owners paying a listing company, they believe their is a lil bit of hope that the timeshare can be sold, but it might take some time, so for the next couple years (3 years X 600= 1800 in maintenance fees) they put it off in hope a sale facilitates continuing to pay their fees. Now the Resort has an out, so the disgruntle owners who are unhappy, wont be calling the Resort anymore, but instead calling the listing companies to work harder and find them a sale. A friend of mine who works for a timeshare told me he knows the resort had a partnership with a resale company and was sending consumer information to them and got paid for leads. This is what the Resort does!

How can you blame an owner to want to get out and never look back! The resort will allow liers/ robbers to stay in business, however they will jump through hoops to make my company unable to help you. I have a take list, and a do not take list, I have timeshares I can work with and timeshares I cant work with. Resorts are constantly making new rules and regulations through the home owner association so present owners that want to get out, have a harder time to achieve that. The very reason why they are doing that is because they are doing everything in their power to protect what money they have coming in. This angers me to no end because with all the bad in the industry, we are an entity out their for timeshare owners to provide a solution, when a solution is needed. Not a place, where you speak to someone and they give a whole song and dance with no guaranteed solution. This company provides a guaranteed exit strategy if we are able to help you. If we are able to help you, you will be out of your timeshare, you will be done, no more phone calls, no more bills or statements, you will be out, you will be timeshare free.

Now everyone that reads this can take this and feel good about what we do, or you can still feel negatively, your feelings are that of your own and I will never tell anyone how they should feel about something. However at the end of the day realize the situation you are in, and understand why you are looking to get out. The resort has inflated the price of the timeshare, the day you bought it, the resort is not willing to help you besides either upgrading your package or to take in payment for your maintenance fees.

The next 10 years will be very hard for any owner in this industry, its only going to get worse, less units will sell, and your maintenance fees will go up. I do not see how this industry will sustain itself anymore, there are more owners than there are weeks, rci and II you can barley get a week in any more, there is barley any new owners buying into the industry, and the owners are being held responsible to compensate for missed profit margin. We are in a recession, the middle class in this country is practically gone, why should owners that dont want a timeshare be expected to fund a multi-million dollar corporation, they deserve to have a way out! In the next 10 years, how much is the average owner going to spend paying, for something they aren't able or cant use. Renting doesn't fix this problem, if you are not using it, renting might cover some of the maintenance cost, but you are still legally binded to the timeshare, so even though you cover for that one year, you are going to need to find another renter the following year, then the next year, etc etc, while this is happening your maintenance fees can still go up and your still responsible for them.

I always tell my agents before explaining to people how to get out, ask people if they are really prepared to get out of their unit, cause once we take it, its gone. Maybe this is an impulse driven decision maybe they just need help using the timeshare. Howver if after explaining this an owner still is adament that they want out, I will give an owner that way out. I always tell my agents if they have someone who still owes a mortgage, since we are unable to help them to explain, how to do proper seo work for their ebay ads, and to use websites like TUGs. This company always does its job to make sure that consumers have the facts and that they are pointed in the right direction.

I hope in the future, as the word gets out about how we conduct business with both strong ethics and determined to keep consumer satisfaction as a number one priority, people wont jump to conclusions when speaking about my company. Instead telling people what my agents already tell them.

Our bailout program should be used as a last resort, however at the end of the day, the program is still available.

-Stephen

[DeniseM]

I don't think I've ever seen so many words used to say so little.

Here is a brief summary of what Mr. Resort Bailout REALLY said:

1) They charge an upfront fee.

2) His company uses a "viking ship" to get rid of your timeshare. - They create a business entity for the sole purpose of "acquiring unwanted timeshares" and then they abandon it, so that you and I, and other owners at the resort can shoulder the cost.

Doesn't that sound like a great way to help the whole timeshare economy?

[Ridewithme38]

Originally Posted by DeniseM

I don't think I've ever seen so many words used to say so little.

Here is a brief summary of what Mr. Resort Bailout REALLY said:

1) They charge an upfront fee.

2) His company uses a "viking ship" to get rid of your timeshare. - They create a business entity for the sole purpose of "acquiring unwanted timeshares" and then they abandon it, so that you and I, and other owners at the resort can shoulder the cost.

Doesn't that sound like a great way to help the whole timeshare economy?

I was interested in asking this question in the post about exchanging into a 2br when you only need a 1br...

Why are we to think about others before ourselves in situations that could cause us bankruptcy and major problems in our lives, like staying in a TS we can't afford, but in situation where we will just be a little uncomfortable in a smaller room, its rediculous to imply that we should think of others??

I have no problem with people using 'viking ship llc's' to get out of TS's if it means them and their children won't end up homeless on welfare...Either way i'm paying, but atleast with the viking ship, they still have a home and a chance at a future

[DeniseM]

Ride - If you are going to end up homeless and on welfare, you DECLARE BANKRUPTCY - a legal way to handle the situation. If you are at that point, you need a lot more help than unloading a yearly MF!

This "offer" isn't for people at the end of their rope, it's for people who want out and can pony up $1,000+ to get out of their inconvenience. If you are on the verge of homelessness, where are you going to get $1,000+???

One more note - the attorneys on TUG have indicated that creating a business entity for this purpose is illegal.

[sjm.tfp]

Dennise, so by defending my company and correcting people that are posting wrong information on your forum, is reason to be banned from TUGS, how is what i did wrong?

And just to correct you.

1) Like I said before, I do not charge upfront fees. What people pay is a Transfer cost to proceed with the Transfer of ownership. To transfer the timeshare out of someones name, it cost me money. So when I begin services with someone, from that moment on, my company represents that person handling everything. I am not sure what you are expecting? If you asked a lawyer to represent you, how would you pay them. Would you have them do all the work for you, and then the lawyer needs to hope when its all over, you might pay them for their services? If you went to the store to buy a TV, do you take the TV home and pay for it later? I don't even get what you mean by upfront fee. I mean I understand if your saying, dont pay upfront on the hope if you the person ahead of time, that the timeshare may or may not sell, because at that point all incentive for the company to find a buyer is gone. However when someone pays this company they get something in return, its a mutual agreement.

2) We do not do a viking ship transfer or w.e you called it. The name on my company is Stephen Masella, the only LLC I own. But once again I am happy that you are willing to jump to conclusions to misinform your viewers.

But I am not going to keep doing this, you would rather people spend money on something they cant or don't want to use, for the better of the timeshare economy? Or maybe its because its for the better of the TUGS community. Without timeshare owners you don't have a website to moderate. I used to refer people to your website because I thought it was a good portal with good information, especially for the owners I cant help. Guess I was wrong.

[Ridewithme38]

Originally Posted by sjm.tfp

Dennis, so by defending my company and correcting people that are posting wrong information on your forum, is reason to be banned from TUGS, how is what i did wrong?

Tug doesn't allow business names to be used as Screen names...I think the ban might have been for that...but i'm not a mod or admin, so i don't know for sure

(p.s. it's denise)

If you gave a basic outline of what you are able to do with an unsellable timeshare it may help us understand a little better, obviously not inside business information, but beyond, deedback and Viking Ship LLc's i don't know of any other way

[DeniseM]

First - Commercial user names are not permitted on TUG. That is stated in the posting rules you agreed to when you joined.

2nd - Self-promotion is not permitted on TUG.

3rd - we already know that you charge over $1,000 in upfront fees - it doesn't matter what you call it. Everyone on TUG knows you can do a simple deed transfer for $100 or so - it does NOT cost $1,000 - that's $900 in your pocket.

4th - Five long winded posts, and you still haven't disclosed what you do with the timeshares. Maybe the LLC's aren't in your name - that doesn't mean you don't use them.

But I am not going to keep doing this, you would rather people spend money on something they cant or don't want to use, for the better of the timeshare economy?

No - I would rather that people use ethical and legal ways to dispose of their timeshares.

[sjm.tfp]

Your are almost correct, a simple deed transfer cost more than 100 dollars, you need to transfer the ownership at both the county and resort level. So depending on the resort, the fees vary. With that being said, I direct this comment to any and all owners that are reading this post, if you have someone willing to take over the timeshare ownership, and you are not using it, go that route, Denise is right it is cheaper.

HOWEVER, in order to just do a simple deed transfer is you need someone willing to take the timeshare from you. The problem you are going to face is no one wants timeshares anymore, they can see all the horror stories online. Now i know what your going to say Denise go to the tugs classified ads and post it for a dollar, which i again i would also recommend doing too.

But most people do not know about a timeshare is, people learn about timeshare at presentations, people that are online searching on tugs typically are timeshare owners looking for information on getting out, possibly once and a while you'll get an owner that wants to buy another one. Now a timeshare owner that wants out now, they can do one of two things. They can work with me and have a guaranteed exit strategy, or they can work with you, risk putting an ad on your website for a dollar, nothing ends up happening, and he is right back where he started, owning a timeshare, which he doesn't want just that much closer to paying his maintenance fees.

My recomendations for all owners reading this, try posting it a couple times for a dollar see what happens, ask people you know, do what you can. But when push comes to shove know in the back of your mind this option is available.

[Passepartout]

Wow! That guy posted 4 humongous tirades in 3 minutes. What a typist! And said nothing to boot.

I'd like to introduce him to Rachael at Credit Card services. Those two deserve each other.

Ride, Keep stirring. Ol' Steve will enjoy mixing it up.

Jim

[Ridewithme38]

Originally Posted by sjm.tfp

My recomendations for all owners reading this, try posting it a couple times for a dollar see what happens, ask people you know, do what you can. But when push comes to shove know in the back of your mind this option is available.

You are charging them upwards of $1000, i think if they posted here offering their TS Plus $1000, they'd have very little trouble getting rid of it...

[slip]

Still hasn't said what happens to the timeshare.

[DeniseM]

My recomendations for all owners reading this, try posting it a couple times for a dollar see what happens, ask people you know, do what you can.

Here is where you are confused - we are not a forum of owners trying to get rid of our timeshares. We are a forum of owners who enjoy timesharing and support a healthy timeshare economy. People and companies who promote unethical ways to dump a timeshare are not well-regarded here.

But when push comes to shove know in the back of your mind this option is available.

And what OPTION exactly is that?

[sjm.tfp]

Denise my favorite pizza spot is in Brooklyn New York Its called L&B Spumoni Gardens Pizza. They are considered one of the greatest Pizza places in the United States. They were ranked on the food network you should stop by and grab a slice if your ever up around this area. Now with that being said, if I went in there and went over to the owner and told them i really love their pizza, what is the recipe, I would love to have it, the people there would laugh at me. Well this is no different, at the end of the day, when people work with this company we get them out of their unused timeshare, at the end of the day isnt that what matters? Why are you trying to make this more then it really is. I am openly telling people on your forum to use your website first, post ads on your website, ask all their friends, and people they know they have a timeshare and they can have it. All i am saying is if they get no bites, not one wants it, just to know that my company is available, and the program works.Why cant we leave it with that? I always refer people to your company to get information, especially people that have timeshares I cant work with, I have a whole list of timeshares I am unable to work with, I always send them to either, your website and redweek, the two websites i tell my agents to send them too. especially because you guys have an array of information, to help use their timeshare, or help figure out a way to possibly get rid of their timeshare.

[DeniseM]

Well this is no different, at the end of the day, when people work with this company we get them out of their unused timeshare, at the end of the day isnt that what matters? Why are you trying to make this more then it really is.

Of COURSE it matters! That is what this whole thread is about.

I wonder how many thousands of dollars your viking ships have cost Tuggers?

But of course, at the end of the day, "that doesn't matter"...right?

Here's some sound advice - when you are digging a deep hole - quit digging!