TransferSmart [merged]

has anyone out there actually completed a transaction with Transfer Smart and they successfully transferred the timeshare out of their names?

jtridle said:

A few months ago I called around to some places who could handle sale of my sister's Wyndham New Orleans Avenue Plaza studio. One service told me that they charged $275 for handling deed, escrow of funds, coordination of paperwork. They said there was also a fee of $350-400 recording fee. They said that Louisiana and new orleans is very expensive to record new deed. They said that if the buyer wanted an estoppel letter from the resort, stating that there were no outstanding fees, that would cost an additional $100. They didn't handle title insurance and if the buyer wanted that my sister would have to get another entity to do that.

I called two or three other places and those charges weren't out of line from the above. Cheapest was an attorney in FL but he closed on FL timeshares only. My sister actually did use him once when she sold a FL timeshare. He told me that he charged $400 for everything, or $125 if all you needed was a quit claim deed. I don't know under what circumstances a person would just need to get a quit claim deed.

So that's what I was told. Maybe they exagerated the cost of recording new deed in New orleans.

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Quit claim deeds in New Orleans can be done inexpensively. Only when the buyer requires a Cash sale or Warranty deed does the recording fees get very expensive. Expect to pay $325. additional for the Cash Sale or Warranty deed.

Is this company for real? They require a personal meeting to explain their program. Would not give me any details over the phone.

drmarmi said:

Is this company for real? They require a personal meeting to explain their program. Would not give me any details over the phone.

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What is it they think they can do for you? Unload a white-elephant TS for far-more than its worth? HA!
They will propose that, for a massive upfront "marketing" fee, they will have you sign a Power of Attorney so they can transfer title to some phantom buyer who will disappear mere moments after they get their money. Meanwhile, you'll still own your TS, but now have a cloud on your title from the POA. That is what's real.

They want YOU TO PAY THEM $3,000 to "take your timeshare off your hands."

Information about Transfer Smart

Don't do it!

Did the the timeshares get transferred out of her name? Transfer Smart has contacted me also. Does the company do as they say or is it another scam. I honestly don't mind paying to get out of my yearly maintenace fee, as I've had my timeshare for 20 years and it is time to move on.

jtridle said:

Thought I would update you guys. Transfer Smart was honest at least to the extent that they did do as they said, i.e. they did reimburse my sister's credit card for the two timeshares that my sister initially said she wanted them to take and she paid them for them - But then she changed her mind and decided she wanted to hang on to them. They said they would reimburse her. It did take them about 6 weeks or so to do so but at least they did it, and they reimbursed her the 2010 maintenance fee that she had paid in advance on one of the two timeshares that they are taking. They said that was their policy - that since she was giving it to them and therefore the usage of the 2010 week, that they would reimburse that maintenance fee. The one timeshare transfer company that Denise referred me to has told me that since my sister paid them so much, $5000 to transfer two timeshares, that they probably will be honest and transfer them out of her name. Guess we will see and I will update you if that actually happens. Yes, I know that is an outrageous price to pay somebody to get rid of them but she doesn't seem to mind if she can get rid of them and no longer have the maintenance fees to pay.

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transfer dumb

I just went to one of the meetings by Transfer Smart-
I felt like I was in a timeshare presentation where a guy with a fake tan talked for about an hour oabout how i am stuck for like with my timeshare and than said that it would cost me over $5,000 to give them my timeshare. Five grand to give them the timesahre that they will sell to a holding company. My BS alarms went off.
I pay about $850 every two years so this is about 10-12 years of fees-
I told them I could probably find someone to give it to for free in 10 years.
I could probably even find someone who would take the timeshare if I gave them $,1000.
FIVE GRAND- $5,000-- what?????

Did you get paid anything for your time, gas, etc.?

Sou13 said:

Did you get paid anything for your time, gas, etc.?

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Here is my two cents regarding Transfer Smart. I received a letter today, July 8th 2010, inviting me to attend a meeting at a local hotel any evening between July 23rd thru the 26th. I did my due dilligence, as always when it comes to unknown companies, and found a good rating on the BBB website. After Googling them, and going through various pages including two threads in the TUG forums, I finally was able to figure out that Transfer Smart, Transfer on the spot, and Timeshare Relief are basically the same company with different names. If you go to their collective personnel pages: Our Team(for Transfer Smart), Our Team(for Transfer on the Spot), and Travel Team (for Timeshare Relief) and compare who they are, you will see almost identical names and photos from one site to the next. In fact, some of the email addresses given next to the pictures on the Timeshare Relief site (e.g. Chris Bodig & Linda and J.C. Skidmore) have @transfersmart as the email domain name. This does not look good to me. I also found a Chicago investment advisor, Philippe Myer(s), that warned against Transfer Smart in an article found here

http://transfersmart.wordpress.com/2010/06/05/transfer-smart-alert-watch-out-for-scams-this-summer/

If it sounds too good to be true...

DeniseM said:

They want YOU TO PAY THEM $3,000 to "take your timeshare off your hands."

Information about Transfer Smart

Don't do it!

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Here is my two cents regarding Transfer Smart. I received a letter today, July 8th 2010, inviting me to attend a meeting at a local hotel any evening between July 23rd thru the 26th. I did my due dilligence, as always when it comes to unknown companies, and found a good rating on the BBB website. After Googling them, and going through various pages including two threads in the TUG forums, I finally was able to figure out that Transfer Smart, Transfer on the spot, and Timeshare Relief are basically the same company with different names. If you go to their collective personnel pages: Our Team(for Transfer Smart), Our Team(for Transfer on the Spot), and Travel Team (for Timeshare Relief) and compare who they are, you will see almost identical names and photos from one site to the next. In fact, some of the email addresses given next to the pictures on the Timeshare Relief site (e.g. Chris Bodig & Linda and J.C. Skidmore) have @transfersmart as the email domain name. This does not look good to me. I also found a Chicago investment advisor, Philippe Myer(s), that warned against Transfer Smart in an article found here http://transfersmart.wordpress.com/2010/06/05/transfer-smart-alert-watch-out-for-scams-this-summer/ and Denise has warned about "Timeshare Relief" in another post by that thread name. I believe she said she would not waste her time for a minute, as they have one "C" rating and three "F"'s.

drmarmi said:

They require a personal meeting to explain their program.

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Without knowing anything else, this would be a huge red flag to me.

A slick salesman can sell almost anything with a good presentation. How many people do you know that have been suckered into buying a $3000 vaccuum cleaner, a $2500 cookware set, a $2000 smoke detector, a $5000 buying club, or a $20,000 timeshare from a personal meeting when they could have bought something almost identical for a small fraction of the money elsewhere?

I can guarantee that you'll be met with a second "red flag" any time a personal meeting is required to learn about something...

"This offer is only available today. If you leave, you will never have another opportunity."

Good article about this organization..

http://www.timesharepages.com/times...ean-transfer-america-or-is-it-transfer-smart/

Well I got my letter from Transfer Smart today

We must be special -

We got their mailing today. Very pretty paper edged in a Thanksgiving theme. But best of all, Transfer Smart included a recipe for their family's favorite hearty vegetable soup!!

Send me a PM if you want a copy :hysterical:

Ann

I used Transfer Smart successfully

Hi - I used Transfer Smart to get rid of my deeded/flex week timeshare in Newport, RI which I had owned/used for 20 years. It cost me a little under 4 times my current yearly fee for them to take over my timeshare and transfer the deed to another owner/company. It took longer than they advertised, so be patient. They advertised the transaction to be completed in 60 days. I contracted with then in April, 2010. The deed transfer in Newport, RI took place in July, 2010 (which I confirmed by calling the town hall), but the timeshare organization (Wyndham)took until the end of November, 2010 to actually transfer the timeshare to a new name/account owner on their books. (So I got a bill but called them and they confirmed my balance was zero and the timeshare had been transferred to a new account owner/number). Anyway, this was a successful transaction for me and I am happy to say I am no longer an owner of a deeded timeshare in Newport, RI!

"Successful" --- a matter of definition...

das said:

Hi - I used Transfer Smart to get rid of my deeded/flex week timeshare in Newport, RI which I had owned/used for 20 years. It cost me a little under 4 times my current yearly fee for them to take over my timeshare and transfer the deed to another owner/company. It took longer than they advertised, so be patient. They advertised the transaction to be completed in 60 days. I contracted with then in April, 2010. The deed transfer in Newport, RI took place in July, 2010 (which I confirmed by calling the town hall), but the timeshare organization (Wyndham)took until the end of November, 2010 to actually transfer the timeshare to a new name/account owner on their books. (So I got a bill but called them and they confirmed my balance was zero and the timeshare had been transferred to a new account owner/number). Anyway, this was a successful transaction for me and I am happy to say I am no longer an owner of a deeded timeshare in Newport, RI!

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The shorter version and bottom line is that you paid several thousand dollars out of your pocket to part company with a Newport, R.I. timeshare, when you could have just given it away for free instead.

If you're happy, then I'm happy for you --- but that money need never have been spent in the first place.