Getting rid of a time share.

ronp85 wrote:

i would be willing to take that chance---how do i get in touch with this person---my timeshare is paid in full and maintance fees are up to date--can someone tell me how to get up with him---thanks

If that's what you want to do, why don't you just see a lawyer and set up a bogus trust yourself. Sorry, but if you transfer your timeshare knowing that the MFs will not be paid, then you are just as guilty as he is.

ronp85 wrote:

i would be willing to take that chance---how do i get in touch with this person---my timeshare is paid in full and maintance fees are up to date--can someone tell me how to get up with him---thanks

We don't endorse scams on these forums. He's been here before touting his scheme but was evidently banned .... haven't seen him here lately. Have no idea how to get in touch with him (and even if I did, I wouldn't post it here) .... perhaps you should peruse Ebay.

sorry i just thought it was a way out---i know you screen these posting s and it sounded good---i guess everything to do with timeshares is just a fraud and we have to live with it---thanks again

ronp85 wrote:

i guess everything to do with timeshares is just a fraud and we have to live with it---thanks again

Unfortunately, people fall for the lies told by the TS sales staff. There are too many to list, but I'm sure you know the common ones.

It never seems to amaze me that people will pay tens of thousands of dollars on a purchase based on the "word" of a salesperson. Those same people probably spend more time researching a new car or even a big screen TV than they do researching a TS purchase.

If a car salesmen gave you false information and you ended overpaying for that new vehicle, would you cry fraud? It would probably never happen because you already did the preliminary research.

Many TS owners including myself, bought my first unit from the developer. Did I overpay? In hindsight, YES. Did I get "taken"? No, I bought a week at a resort which I can use every year as long as I continue to pay my MFs. At no time has my unit been unavailable for me to use.

The resort has change policies regarding exchange companies, reservation changes, etc, but the bottom line is that I contract I signed allows me to use my week at my home resort.

The fraud continues when someone wants to sell their TS and falls for more lies from people who claim they can sell them for big bucks. Again, if you were trying to sell a 5 year old car, that you knew was only worth $5000, would you believe a person who told you that he had a buyer waiting that was willing to pay you $15,000, but you had to send him $1000 first?

The bottom line is while you are trying to sell or give away your TS, continue to use it. Learn how to optimize your exchanges, or the best way to rent it. Offer it friends, families and/or co-workers.

Good Luck.

I agree with Mike!

We got rid of our TS through "Timeshare Relief". We got final notice this week that everything is final. We hated to think we had to pay to rid ourselves of it but at least it's done!!! We tried every which way. You cannot give them away. People just don't want the burden of the maintenance fees and, of course, that is exactly why we wanted out too. Everything went smoothly and the people were quite helpful. Personally, I don't care if someone else makes a million on it - at least it's out of our hair! They do have a list of ones they'll take and perhaps yours wouldn't be on that list. We feel this is a reputable company - they followed through with every detail - and it surely is a relief!!!!

We got rid of our TS through "Timeshare Relief". We got final notice this week that everything is final. We hated to think we had to pay to rid ourselves of it but at least it's done!!! We tried every which way. You cannot give them away. People just don't want the burden of the maintenance fees and, of course, that is exactly why we wanted out too. Everything went smoothly and the people were quite helpful. Personally, I don't care if someone else makes a million on it - at least it's out of our hair! They do have a list of ones they'll take and perhaps yours wouldn't be on that list. We feel this is a reputable company - they followed through with every detail - and it surely is a relief!!!!

My husband and I were able to work with a group called The Owners' Advocate to get our timeshare with Bluegreen canceled. They worked with us to dispute their intentional misrepresentation and make it so we never had to pay those crooks again! Seriously, they are legitimate and they work!!

annab99 wrote:

My husband and I were able to work with a group called The Owners' Advocate to get our timeshare with Bluegreen canceled. They worked with us to dispute their intentional misrepresentation and make it so we never had to pay those crooks again! Seriously, they are legitimate and they work!!

Their website is quite interesting and appears legitimate. However, I'm a little puzzled by the material provided there from "Joanna Bond" of Timeshare Accountability Group (TAG). She does a rather thorough take-down of 3 scammers and one legitimate competitor of The Owners' Advocates. However, the TAG website simply says "coming soon" although it's been registered since last year. The principals in the WHOIS registrations for both sites are hidden behind a privacy shield.

Furthermore, based solely on writing styles, it appears to me that much of the material on The Owners' Advocate *may* have been authored by Joanna Russ of TAG. If - and I stress if - she is writing material for The Owners' Advocater and if she also is an "investigative reporter" for TAG, that raises questions such as why is the TAG site empty, why are both sites' owners hidden by the WHOIS privacy shield, and why her "investigative" work has not been posted on the empty TAG site.

If I sound a bit paranoid and conspiratorial, it's because this whole industry has been built on smoke, mirrors, and illusions spun by players who are not always - in fact, often are not - what they claim to be. I'm ready to give TAG and TOA (the original one) the benefit of the doubt and hope that they are successful in their putative missions; but does anyone have any information on the somewhat less transparent TAG and Joanna Bond? I haven't kept up on developments in this area so any information is welcome.

I wouldn't read too much into the sites' owners hidden by the WHOIS privacy shield. I like to think I'm an open book kind of guy (just read my posts!) but I prefer to keep my contact info private from WHOIS inquiries. Cuts down on sales calls and the like.

I agree with your other concerns, wish I could help on that.

Regarding Bluegreen, while overeager or undertrained sales people have been known to "blow some smoke", I assure you that Bluegreen itself is no scam. We have been owners for about 10 years now and are not sorry, though we might have been well advised to buy more Resale. (Or not.) The organization itself offers an excellent "product" and the BG owners site is full of generally well pleased people. Of course there are always a few who got carried away on vacation and bought something they really could not use properly for lack of time or money. (Yea for the legal recision period!) Still, some of the most baffled people we hear from on the site bought Resale and haven't a clue what they really own or how to use it. MD

peterp151 wrote:

I wouldn't read too much into the sites' owners hidden by the WHOIS privacy shield. I like to think I'm an open book kind of guy (just read my posts!) but I prefer to keep my contact info private from WHOIS inquiries. Cuts down on sales calls and the like.

I agree with your other concerns, wish I could help on that.

I hear you on privacy, but here we have two organizations that claim to be consumer rights advocates. All WHOIS shows is the name, organization, address and contact info for the site administrator. That doesn't even have to be the content provider. It often is just an individual in the ISP that sold and administers the domain, which tells you nothing about the actual source.

The only "legitimate" reason to stay low is if the site owner works in the industry and is moonlighting as a consumer advocate. But we are left wondering whether the two sites are jointly run, or even worse, whether they are fronts for less-than-credible sources. Not likely, but conspiracy theories are what happens when you hide something about yourself.

I agree, I wouldn't put a whole lot of importance on the WHOIS blackout. But it is a bit odd and worth noting.

If Joanna Bond is a published writer, she must do it in obscure sources or under a different name. I couldn't find her listed as a journalistic author on Google or on a Highbeam search of 3,500 publications and news sources. My guess - and I'm going even farther out on the limb here with thinly supported supposition based solely on what I know about PR practices and the style of her analysis article - is that if she exists at all, she's a freelance writer with some PR experience. And her analysis has a certain lawyerly ring to it, as if she were rewriting a legalistic briefing paper. Nothing inherently wrong with that - I have done the same exercise hundreds of times in my job - but if so, the claim that she is an "investigative reporter" or whatever is stretching it a bit.

If she or anyone who knows her wants to weigh in to add to the record, I will humbly stand corrected. I'm just reading some rather thin tea leaves here. And the bottom line still is that there apparently are some out there who are willing to take on the hustlers and con men by actually helping their victims istead of ripping them off for a second time.

The Timeshare Relief people are unscrupulous and prey on old people. My dad is 85 and has a popular timeshare in Palm Springs that he has used or traded through RCI for many years. But now that my mom has Alzheimers he doesn't travel much any more so he decided to try and sell it. Enter Timeshare Relief with their ads offering to BUY his timeshare. I told him if you can sell it and get a good price go for it. He told me he wouldn't take anything less than $5,000. Next thing I know, he calls me and says he has PAID THEM $3800 to "take it off his hands." Whaaaaaaat??!! Turns out they did a big psychological number on him and convinced him it was a terrible financial burden on him and his heirs (they play on the victim's heart strings that they are doing the best thing for their kids). They brought up Hurricane Katrina and the huge assessments on timeshares afterwards and every other scare story they could think of. By the end of it, they had him convinced they were DOING HIM A FAVOR and he hands them his credit card and they rip him off for $3800 AND take his valuable timeshare away from him! What a scam. He had talked about giving the timeshare to me and my brother but I foolishly thought maybe he could get some money for it. By the way, he was in no distress. The timeshare was paid off and he told me he didn't have any trouble paying the yearly maintenance fee. He wasn't in need of "timeshare relief" but as soon as they had him in their sights they wasted no time separating him from his timeshare AND his money. How can this kind of scam be legal?

lewism20 wrote:

How can this kind of scam be legal?

Unfortunately, this outfit and numerous others like them have been around for many years. Their practices are not actually in any way unlawful (...despicable and opportunistic, to be sure, but NOT illegal). Remember, people must first VOLUNTARILY attend the "meeting" to which they have been invited by mail. They must then VOLUNTARILY CHOOSE to pay the exorbitant fee (usually between $2.5 -- 5k) and to VOLUNTARILY CHOOSE to forfeit the timeshare, under signature, on a contract. In short, there are several, separate, VOLUNTARY CHOICES made here by the timeshare owner. There is no coercion, just "salesmanship". It's unfortunate that your father yielded to the all razzamatazz, since he apparently knew from the outset that his timeshare had some market value (... as not all timeshares do).

These outfits do not target the elderly. On the contrary, they target ANYONE AND EVERYONE who wants (...or can somehow be convinced to want, once they show up for the "meeting") desperately to get OUT of the alleged "evils, perils and pitfalls" of timeshare ownership.

These parasites are collectively known as PCC's (which stands for Post Card Company, a nickname acquired over the years by the means of their "invitation" distribution to potential "customers").

Unfortunately (...and please don't shoot the messenger here) you haven't even touched upon (and may not even be aware of) the REAL risk potentially involved here. Some PCC's (...I'm not sure about this particular one) don't even actually take deeded ownership into their own name after they collect their "fee". Instead, they merely have the "customer" sign a Power of Attorney, authorizing the PCC to TRY to sell the timeshare (...but leaving the deeded ownership in the current owners' name). If the PCC ultimately fails to sell the timeshare, take a wild guess who STILL owns that timeshare, DESPITE having already paid $3-5k to get RID of it!

You'd be well advised to ascertain whether there was an actual transfer of ownership via a new (and officially RECORDED) deed --- or if your Dad merely signed a Power of Attorney. If it was just a PoA, the situation unfortunately could actually be even much WORSE than you currently perceive it to be. In any case, however, you can certainly regard the money paid to the opportunistic PCC as being now officially GONE...

I want to exit my timeshare. Purchased 8 years ago. It is 100% paid for. $600 per year mx fees. Not desireable enough for easy resale. So, I am searching for someone to help me transfer the title (I don't want to sell it for $). Seems there are several approaches here:

1. "Donate for a Cause" offers a 'guaranteed' sale for $1299 including the Resort Transfer Fee, with the added benefit of getting a tax write-off. Title company holds fee in escrow until sale is complete. 2. "Timeshare-Insider" offers 'guaranteed' sale for $1,995 plus RTF. No charity involved. 3. "The Owners Advocate" offers to get the resort to take back the timeshare for $550.

Any thoughts? Advice?

Thanks!

ede48 wrote:

Any thoughts? Advice?

My advice would be to first make the effort to conduct a "search" here on RedWeek (see above right, green "button" under "I want to"...), enter the subject of selling a timeshare, read throught the many, many previous posts on the subject and then try to sell it yourself.

With a total expenditure of less than about $100, you can advertise on about six sites. Even if you sell it for a penny, you are ahead of the game compared to PAYING some entity many times that amount to MAYBE (...or maybe not) transfer title into THEIR name. Even if you offered it for FREE and even agreed to pay all closing costs youself, you'd still be out only a few hundred dollars. That's still better than ANY of the options you've listed above...

P.S. No entity on Earth can EVER "force" ANY resort to "take back" a timeshare --- UNLESS the resort CHOOSES AND AGREES to do so. With that fact in mind, I'm not at all sure that your "number 3" option above is actually a realistic or available option in the first place.

ede48 wrote:

I want to exit my timeshare. Purchased 8 years ago. It is 100% paid for. $600 per year mx fees. Not desireable enough for easy resale. So, I am searching for someone to help me transfer the title (I don't want to sell it for $). Seems there are several approaches here:

1. "Donate for a Cause" offers a 'guaranteed' sale for $1299 including the Resort Transfer Fee, with the added benefit of getting a tax write-off. Title company holds fee in escrow until sale is complete. 2. "Timeshare-Insider" offers 'guaranteed' sale for $1,995 plus RTF. No charity involved. 3. "The Owners Advocate" offers to get the resort to take back the timeshare for $550.

Any thoughts? Advice? Thanks!

Donate For A Cause will NOT take just any timeshare week (they're probably not taking ANY weeks now) and they cannot guarantee one will sell that they might take. In this economy, timeshares are a luxury that many people merely cannot afford any longer with rising maintenance fees due to mounting foreclosures (in other words the owners that pay their higher maintenance fees are now having to make up for those that do not pay). This is being discussed on TUG.

Neither can Timeshare Insider guarantee that a timeshare will sell, so that's a bunch of BS in order to get your money (upfront fee).

Owner's Advocate can in no way force a resort to take back a timeshare deed .... they are just another upfront fee scam.

jayjay wrote:

ede48 wrote:

I want to exit my timeshare. Purchased 8 years ago. It is 100% paid for. $600 per year mx fees. Not desireable enough for easy resale. So, I am searching for someone to help me transfer the title (I don't want to sell it for $). Seems there are several approaches here:

1. "Donate for a Cause" offers a 'guaranteed' sale for $1299 including the Resort Transfer Fee, with the added benefit of getting a tax write-off. Title company holds fee in escrow until sale is complete. 2. "Timeshare-Insider" offers 'guaranteed' sale for $1,995 plus RTF. No charity involved. 3. "The Owners Advocate" offers to get the resort to take back the timeshare for $550.

Any thoughts? Advice? Thanks!

Donate For A Cause will NOT take just any timeshare week (they're probably not taking ANY weeks now) and they cannot guarantee one will sell that they might take. In this economy, timeshares are a luxury that many people merely cannot afford any longer with rising maintenance fees due to mounting foreclosures (in other words the owners that pay their higher maintenance fees are now having to make up for those that do not pay). This is being discussed on TUG.

Neither can Timeshare Insider guarantee that a timeshare will sell, so that's a bunch of BS in order to get your money (upfront fee).

Owner's Advocate can in no way force a resort to take back a timeshare deed .... they are just another upfront fee scam.

Okay, sorry if this was discussed elsewhere, but what happens to you if you stop paying the assessment and walk away, particularly if you live in a different state than where your unit is located? People walk away from houses when they are underwater all the time. Sorry if this is a stupid or naive question.

lewism20 wrote:

what happens to you if you stop paying the assessment and walk away, particularly if you live in a different state than where your unit is located?

The state of the timeshare location and /or that of owner residency and / or whether the two states are the same or different matters not even one little bit. The numerous NATIONAL credit reporting agencies have a very effective (...and very long) reach; mere distance won't protect you in any way, shape or form.

There are consequences to just simply ignoring the legal and financial obligations associated with timeshare ownership. The resultant events would likely be, in sequential order:

1. Being hounded by collection agencies while late fees and interest just continue to accrue and add up, thereby increasing your debt.

2. Foreclosure.

3. A negative entry on your credit report, which will have serious ramifications for your future attempts to successfully obtain loans or mortgages of any kind.