Is this legitimate?

Does anybody have any information about webuyandselltimeshares.com? I listened to their presentation tonight and it does meet the TUG criterion of no up-front charges, but I have no idea if it's legal or legitimate. they have been in business 13 years, so do any of you know about them?

How did you hear of them? If they cold called you, there's a pretty good chance that they are less than honorable. How do they say they sell your timeshare? Who are their customers? Do they have a catalog of TSs for sale? Who does their closing?

There have been a number of entities that have sellers simply sign a quit-claim deed or Power of Attorney to them, then they title a bunch of them into a group and bankrupt it. Then they start another company under a different name. We call this a 'Viking Ship'. the former owners may or may not be rid of their TSs, but the HOA of the resorts has to maintain them, other owners have to pay for those who bail out, and eventually the weeks have to be foreclosed on, adding financial burden to the remaining owners.

Proceed with caution.

Jim

From their website, it appears they only buy timeshares and don't sell any. That really sounds suspicious.

jpetersen45 said:

I listened to their presentation tonight and it does meet the TUG criterion of no up-front charges, but I have no idea if it's legal or legitimate.

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What are you hoping to accomplish by using this company?

What are they promising to do for you?

If you pay them money (obviously they're going to want money for their "services"), what do you think they will do?

do tell, please elaborate on the "presentation"?

what makes you think there are no upfront fees?

artringwald said:

From their website, it appears they only buy timeshares and don't sell any. That really sounds suspicious.

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This part always cracks me up. I have called companies that even show listings on their site and they stammer and stutter that they don't sell timeshares they only market them.

I called this one and it sounds like they really do sell timeshares.

This company appears to be located in the Orlando building, 8545 Commodity Cir, that houses numerous current and former timeshare entities including CJ Timeshares and Timeshare Closing Services.

There is almost no chance of not having an upfront fee unless the timeshare is highly valuable.

You know more about them than any of us do, if you listened to their presentation. Was there a Q and A ? Let us know!

This company is a dba of V. I. Network Inc.. They have been around a while. dbas of VI include:

Vacation Innovation, We Buy and Sell Timeshares, Give Away Timeshare, VIN, DVC Timeshare, Strategis, Timeshare Luxury, Timeshare Out, Timeshare Complaints, Give Back Timeshare

A complaint from March of this year detailed someone having to pay $3,584.15, which would be held in "escrow" until the closing. This individual thought they were getting money rather than paying money. It appears their "no up front fee" means it's not really up front since it sits in escrow.

Don't put much faith in their BBB rating. They pay the BBB to be accredited which means the BBB will keep their rating high as long as they pay.

The hard truth of it is no company wants a near worthless timeshare without needing money. That would not be a sustainable business model. It is difficult to accept that a timeshare purchased for $5k-$25k is not worth any money.

You are correct. I spent more than an hour this morning talking to their rep. He made it perfectly clear that the money placed in escrow would be used to pay a rental company, convention company, vacation club or other client to take my timeshare deed. Normal processing time is 120 days. If the deed is successfully transferred to another entity, the money is released to that company and V.I, if the deal falls through, the escrow funds are released back to me in full.

More hard truth...not only are most timeshares worth nothing or the open market, but the ease of use and volume of vacation rentals online makes it near impossible for me even to rent an unused timeshare. If anybody can give me any better solution, speak up...Please!

jpetersen45 said:

More hard truth...not only are most timeshares worth nothing or the open market, but the ease of use and volume of vacation rentals online makes it near impossible for me even to rent an unused timeshare. If anybody can give me any better solution, speak up...Please!

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Look at the sticky that explains how you can give away your timeshare for free on TUG.

jpetersen45 said:

Normal processing time is 120 days. If the deed is successfully transferred to another entity, the money is released to that company and V.I, if the deal falls through, the escrow funds are released back to me in full.

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Pure baloney - this is the deal:

• Either this is a "Viking Ship," company, in which case they will deed your timeshare to a phony LLC, and abandon it.

• Or they are simply going to steal your funds. 120 days = past the time when you can dispute it with your credit card, and the "escrow" is undoubtedly under their control - not a true independent escrow.

DON'T DO IT - give it away on TUG instead: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132509