timeshare broker services

I placed a bid on a timeshare that was accepted via a broker. I found this timeshare on my own at sellmytimesharenow.com. A broker responded to my first offer via email. She has acted as go between. Now that the seller and I have agreed on a price, broker tells me I have to pay all closing costs which I expected but then she said I had to pay her commission as well, which she stated was $500. Is this legit since I did not retain her services, the seller presumable did? I argued the point with her but she insisted that buyers pay the sales commission in timeshare deals. I am a newbie. Thank you.

Hi and welcome to TUG!

I have never heard of the buyer paying the commission in a TS deal - I would let this one go, since the terms were not disclosed to you up front.

There are so many timeshares on the resale market right now, you will find something else at the same price or better, if you are patient.

Call her bluff. Walk

cynthialac said:

I placed a bid on a timeshare that was accepted via a broker. I found this timeshare on my own at sellmytimesharenow.com. A broker responded to my first offer via email. She has acted as go between. Now that the seller and I have agreed on a price, broker tells me I have to pay all closing costs which I expected but then she said I had to pay her commission as well, which she stated was $500. Is this legit since I did not retain her services, the seller presumable did? I argued the point with her but she insisted that buyers pay the sales commission in timeshare deals. I am a newbie. Thank you.

Click to expand...

No. You have no obligation to the agent unless it was in the original offer. She is trying to double dip (is there no end to the tricks in timeshares?) As Denise said if she insists (although I don't know how she could enforce it) tell her the deal is off and find it elsewhere. Then she gets nothing which it sounds like she deserves.

update from op

The broker from Timeshare Broker Services called back yesterday. She quoted me $853 in closing costs PLUS a $500 commission she insisted should be paid by me because the cost of the unit $800 was so low and the seller could not absorb this cost. I told her now way was I going to pay $1353 in closing costs on a unit I was paying $800 for and she hung up. Thanks for telling me to walk away.

cynthialac said:

The broker from Timeshare Broker Services called back yesterday. She quoted me $853 in closing costs PLUS a $500 commission she insisted should be paid by me because the cost of the unit $800 was so low and the seller could not absorb this cost. I told her now way was I going to pay $1353 in closing costs on a unit I was paying $800 for and she hung up. Thanks for telling me to walk away.

Click to expand...

Yes, of course you should walk. Below is my personal consumer opinion about what I would also do as a courtesy to others:

If this timeshare is a real estate deed, a complaint to her state department of real estate may be in order. You will help to protect folks against these kind of abuses. Buyers/sellers negotiating closing costs are customary. Buyers paying for the sellers commission is not. You can check with the department of real estate on the local laws. I would expect commissions to be disclosed in the listing and as well as before any agreement is reached on sales price.

In a real estate transaction, just about everything is negotiable. The broker or sales agent's objective is for a deal to be completed and a commission to be paid.

If you blindside a buyer like this agent obviously did, then you risk losing the deal. They did.

Usually, there is an agreement in place to determine who pays a commission. The reason a seller usually pays commission is that they sign a listing agreement that specifies the commission prior to sale.

If a buyer is to pay a commission, there is usually a buyer's agency agreement that specifies the amount to be paid.

A broker cannot collect 2 commissions without disclosing it. Of course, if another company is collecting the advertising fee (as is the case with SMTSN), then that is technically NOT a double commission.

What the OP should do is try to contact the seller directly. Offer the $800. If the deal is done, the seller is likely the party that Timeshare Broker Services will have to go after to collect a commission. They will claim that they are the procuring cause, but getting that from the buyer who was never disclosed that they were to pay that fee will be difficult and costly to get. The seller bears the risk if a deal is done and a commission isnt' paid.

Not impressed

I made a (low but fair) offer on a Marriott property listed on SMTN. I got a response from a broker from Timeshare Broker Services teling me that Marriott would never let the sale go through their ROFR at the price I offered. I have not heard any report of Marriott using ROFR for at least several months, so I doubt this is true. I took my business elsewhere and the same offer was accepted by someone else.

Good job. Far more sellers than buyers

Stefa said:

I made a (low but fair) offer on a Marriott property listed on SMTN. I got a response from a broker from Timeshare Broker Services teling me that Marriott would never let the sale go through their ROFR at the price I offered. I have not heard any report of Marriott using ROFR for at least several months, so I doubt this is true. I took my business elsewhere and the same offer was accepted by someone else.

Click to expand...

You did exactly the right thing. Like everyone else brokers are being negatively impacted by this serious downturn and some are still trying to claim that ROFR is a player when in fact it is dead dead dead (except the seller will still get nicked for the unnecessary and rip off $95 fee to "reject" ROFR interest in many cases). It is an open market with thousands more sellers of even the best properties than there are potential buyers. As a buyer you need to pay very little to take on the true cost of timeshare - the annual fees. Fees at the "name" brands tend to be 1/3 to 1/2 higher than "nonnames" so be sure you feel that the value is there for you. Buy very low and then you'll get your value out of the annual fees and be able to sell very low when your time to sell arrives. It is the only timeshare model that actually works. Paying much of anything to buy is money lost you'll never see back.

Good experience with BTS

I recently had a positive experience with Better Timeshare Brokers. I dealt with Karen; she quickly returned emails and calls, accepted my offer even though was very low, and was upfront regarding all the fees and costs.

BUYER EXPERIENCE w/ TBS (part one)

8/22/2010 Message from a Buyer, also posted on redweek.com: I just read through this long stream of replies and info (before mine) about Timeshare Broker Services (TBS) and Sell My Timeshare Now (SMTN).... mostly old stuff from years ago and some from what appears to be a disgruntled employee that knows every bit of history on the company/s and other from their now CEO and then of course the folks like us who barely have a clue and can't help it be concerned. I don't know what to believe but I'll tell you my first half of the story (will follow witht the second half after the final close):
As an interested buyer, I stumbled upon the SMTN site. I found a property I was interested in, replied with an email message and the next day got a phone call from a sales rep with TBS. After speaking with him on the phone, we came up with a price to offer (with my understanding I (the buyer) would be paying all the closing fees so this was accounted for in the offer). At this point I did provide my charge card put up the good faith offer (about 45% of my total expected costs). I figured if this was a scam I could always call my credit card company and cancel the charge. The next day I received an email/phone call saying the buyer accepted the offer and I would be receiving the paperwork to sign. The paperwork arrived within a week, I signed it and got it in the mail with the estimated remaining amount for closing. It was/is estimated to take 30 to 60 days to close. Its been almost 60 days and I am expecting it any day now. So far I cannot say anything negative about TSB as they have been on-top of everything and stayed in contact with me. I have sent a couple emails asking questions and the response has been the same day or the next day. The one thing I would like to point out is that from the start I was provided the Timeshare Unit # (as it was posted on the ad listing and followed through with all the paperwork) and the amount I am paying is fulling disclosed on the Buy/Sell Agreement so both the Buyer and Seller can read and see everything. This is in contrast to what I have read on this post about "ghost sale ads by irreputable brokers" and "backdoor sales commissions that are scammed on sellers." As mentioned, I will follow-up with Part Two of my reply once the timeshare sale closes. At this point I have no reason for concern. Hope this helps clear a few things up for new people (buyers or sellers) considering TBS and/or SMTN.

The negative posts are not about BUYING through them, they are about SELLING through them. It's a completely different situation. These companies charge a large upfront fee to SELL owners timeshares, and then most of the time, they don't sell them.

Denise, I will admit I'm new to the picture here... I'm reading posts on both side (buyers and sellers) and the one I thought I had replied to was a buyer saying the TBS tacked on another $500 after they agreed on the Buy/Sell.

I suspect the complaints and negative weigh in heavier on the seller. But wouldn't mind hearing some buyer feedback.

Look forward to learning and using TUG - got a lot of questions still.

TUGMT said:

Denise, I will admit I'm new to the picture here... I'm reading posts on both side (buyers and sellers) and the one I thought I had replied to was a buyer saying the TBS tacked on another $500 after they agreed on the Buy/Sell.

Click to expand...

Gotcha - that was a slightly different situation, but yes you are right. I hope your purchase works out - let us know!

I placed about fifteen bids on a location that I was interested in with Sell My TimeShare.
One Broker emailed me back and said I am not even going to call my seller with your offer.
One Broker said my offer was too low, I emailed back and said due to the bad economy his seller might be pleased to sell. He stated his seller did NOT need my money.
Many of the other offers were never even responded to.

Is it possible if the broker feels they are not going to make a certain commission then perhaps they do not even contact the seller. The poor seller are waiting month after month. Not sure how honest everyone is.

I did have an offer sent to the seller and the seller agreed and accepted. I guess my persistance paid off...I am NOT paying the broker a penny. Not sure where it is coming from. I am only dealing with the closing company and the seller emails to see if I have heard anything. So we communicate.

This thread was interesting to read

I can't imagine they are being very honest and I'm shocked you heard anything. I made a few offers through SMTN and never heard one single word. I did hear from a woman through Redweek - a broker who insisted that a bronze week was worth 8K and tried to pull the Marriott ROFR excuse. God only knows who the seller was; will they ever sell that week?

Most listed with brokers aren't worth it because of the transaction fees involved (not talking about closing costs - transaction fees that places like RE/MAX charge to conduct real estate transactions) and/or broker's commissions. I don't fully understand why people list timeshare with traditional brokers, but there must be a reason...

Sounds like SMTN farms out their leads to different brokers - some good and rude. The one I got seemed to be good, but my deal is not closed yet. I had quite the opposite experience, as it went like this: I emailed in inquirey stating I had an interest. There were actually 24 properties listed in the development I liked so I inquired on the least expensive one which was $7K (others were much higher). The broker called me and asked what I wanted to pay. I told him no more than $4K and he said OK, we'll offer $3K because you are paying the closeing costs and it will come in around $3.7 to 4K when all is done. I told him OK. He got back to me in a couple days and said it was verbally accepted. Since then everything has been on-track with what he said would take place and the timing. I had a question 3 weeks ago for the escrow closing agent and they responded the same day with the status and what to expect, saying it could take another 30 days. Looks like that is the case.

I'm feeling like I paid on the high side seeing yesterday on ebay a property from the same development, just sold for $1. Maybe that's why the broker was so willing to offer less than 50% of the asking price on the one I am purchasing.

There is a week in the resort you're describing (if it's the same) that someone here on TUG is trying to sell for $1300. It's a week 17. Not sure what week you got. Search the marketplace for your resort name.

My offers are always supported by empirical data, but I often anger the brokers when I quote prices like ebay. Some folks don't like ebay purchases. But that's okay. I think that's why I never hear from them. I'm certain if I was willing to overpay they'd take my call to get the commission.

Jennifer, you are correct, its the same place at $1300 for Meadow Lake here in Montana. The one I am trying to close on is not a specific week every year. Its supposed to be a RED rotating schedule so it changes.

That one for $1300 says the Maint fees are $1800 per year. Thats pretty high. All the ones I've seen posted for Meadow Lake are $400 to $650 but they are in the newer buildings.... hope thats not what to expect in a few years.

Thanks for the info.
Randy

Part II: follow-up - my purchase closed ok

Part II follow-up: My timeshare purchase closed and took around 75 days rather than the 60 days expected.... but no problems. As discussed below (Part I), I had concerns as a buyer to know if I was dealing with a reputable company (TBS and SMTN) - given the negative messages posted on this site and Redweek. Fortunately, my experience as a Buyer went fine. If anyone wants to know the closing company that was used for my purchase, just ask. I would recommend them to any sellers out there (assumming you found your own buyer), as an option to close your time share sale - without having had to post it on a web site like SMTN and pay a commission and listing fees. That said, my experience in finding a listing at SMTN and going through the purchase -- all went fine.

TUGMT said:

8/22/2010 Message from a Buyer, also posted on redweek.com: I just read through this long stream of replies and info (before mine) about Timeshare Broker Services (TBS) and Sell My Timeshare Now (SMTN).... mostly old stuff from years ago and some from what appears to be a disgruntled employee that knows every bit of history on the company/s and other from their now CEO and then of course the folks like us who barely have a clue and can't help it be concerned. I don't know what to believe but I'll tell you my first half of the story (will follow witht the second half after the final close):
As an interested buyer, I stumbled upon the SMTN site. I found a property I was interested in, replied with an email message and the next day got a phone call from a sales rep with TBS. After speaking with him on the phone, we came up with a price to offer (with my understanding I (the buyer) would be paying all the closing fees so this was accounted for in the offer). At this point I did provide my charge card put up the good faith offer (about 45% of my total expected costs). I figured if this was a scam I could always call my credit card company and cancel the charge. The next day I received an email/phone call saying the buyer accepted the offer and I would be receiving the paperwork to sign. The paperwork arrived within a week, I signed it and got it in the mail with the estimated remaining amount for closing. It was/is estimated to take 30 to 60 days to close. Its been almost 60 days and I am expecting it any day now. So far I cannot say anything negative about TSB as they have been on-top of everything and stayed in contact with me. I have sent a couple emails asking questions and the response has been the same day or the next day. The one thing I would like to point out is that from the start I was provided the Timeshare Unit # (as it was posted on the ad listing and followed through with all the paperwork) and the amount I am paying is fulling disclosed on the Buy/Sell Agreement so both the Buyer and Seller can read and see everything. This is in contrast to what I have read on this post about "ghost sale ads by irreputable brokers" and "backdoor sales commissions that are scammed on sellers." As mentioned, I will follow-up with Part Two of my reply once the timeshare sale closes. At this point I have no reason for concern. Hope this helps clear a few things up for new people (buyers or sellers) considering TBS and/or SMTN.

Click to expand...