Upfront advertising listing company - Bay Tree Solutions

[RX8]

There is another thread where an OP is asking a question about selling their timeshare, a timeshare that is likely worth little or nothing. The OP mentions Bay Tree Solutions.

Bay Tree Solutions is no different than the other listing companies - collect a large upfront fee and place an ad on their website at a ridiculously high price.

There are many people who have unrealistic ideas as to the value of the timeshare and think they have many thousands of dollars in value, after all they paid many thousands for it. Bay Tree Solutions feeds these unrealistic expectations of the timeshare's value in order to justify their large upfront fee. From Bay Trees Solutions website:

"Don't be confused by negative and misleading information you may read online: your timeshare has a value."

Their website states further:

"Bay Tree Solutions only works with select resort properties of our choosing, based on marketability. By avoiding depressed properties and desperate sellers, our clients are able to sell their timeshares at prices 30-50% higher than our closest competitors."

This company benefits from customer's unrealistic expectation of a selling price because they offer a money back guarantee if the timeshare is sold by the owner outside of Bay Tree Solutions IF it sells within 35% of the asking price. I don't think any owner will be able to find a buyer to pay 65% of a selling price that is marked up 1000x or more. Thus, the guarantee is worthless and the upfront fee is not refunded.

As far as their claim that they only work with resorts that have marketability, the fact that they have 194 Westgate Resorts for sale, every single one of them with an asking price that is multiple thousands of dollars, tells you that truly the upfront fee is their priority over the actual selling of the timeshare. Most Westgates have little to below zero value. Bay Tree Solutions, like every other upfront listing company, is simply taking advantage of owners to get their fee.

And finally, Bay Tree Solutions is a proud member of ARDA. Well, isn't that special...

 

[TUGBrian]

lots of upfront fee companies have been "proud ARDA" members over the years.

isnt it a great feeling to know that millions of owners contribute to such an organization year in and year out by paying extra maintenance fees as a donation?

 

[LannyPC]

They sure sound a lot like Timeshare Adventures (look up some old threads about Timeshare Adventures if you have the time) and Sell My Timeshare Now.

 

[LannyPC]

There are many people who have unrealistic ideas as to the value of the timeshare and think they have many thousands of dollars in value, after all they paid many thousands for it.

Which is exactly the same hysteria that all these upfront fee scam companies thrive on.

 

[TUGBrian]

and 2 years later...still an ARDA member.

the irony of this press release today wasnt lost...

Bay Tree Solutions Applauds ARDA Stance on Timeshare Exit Firms

June 17, 2019 (ATLANTA, GA) -- Bay Tree Solutions, one of the timeshare industry’s most robust and ethical online timeshare marketplaces, issued a statement applauding the timeshare industry’s stance on timeshare exit firms. In a recent press release from ARDA (American Resort Development Association) entitled “Judges Ruling Demonstrates the Pattern of Fraud and Deception Perpetrated by Exit Firms on Unsuspecting Timeshare Owners” Robert Clements, VP of Regulatory Affairs and General Counsel of ARDA said “timeshare owners were deceived into paying large upfront fees for services that the exit company knew it could not deliver.” He was referring to a ruling of the United States District Court Middle District of Florida Orlando Division ruling against Mitchel Reed Sussman & Associates, a timeshare exit firm.

*facepalm

 

[RX8]

Of course they are against the exit companies. The exit companies are a direct competitor for the timeshare owner’s upfront fee.

The self proclaimed most “robust and ethical online marketplace” does nothing to discourage owner’s misconceptions about the value of their timeshare. The most recent complaint on BBB is someone who is not happy because Bay Tree promised the timeshare would be sold within 90 days and they haven’t had one offer...since 2015!

Bay Tree’s response to the complaint on BBB was “...customer's main concern is that her timeshare has not sold through our program yet. Currently priced at $42,900, her property represents one of the more expensive 1-week ownerships being sold and, as such, we would expect that the process would take longer than average. (The median price of a timeshare today is about $21,000.)“

Anyone in the timeshare industry, except Bay Tree, knows that the average resale timeshare value is not $21,000. Of course, maybe they said “price” on purpose as that could be the average listing price in their website. If they told sellers the truth about the value of their timeshare no one would pay the upfront fee. Nice ethical move.

 

[LannyPC]

isnt it a great feeling to know that millions of owners contribute to such an organization year in and year out by paying extra maintenance fees as a donation?

...and that the resorts, when they send out the MF bills, add the contributions to the bills making it look like it's a necessary part of the bill rather than pointing out that the owners have the option of not paying these contributions?