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[2011] IA Vacations / Property Relief

M&JJ

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I am having a helluva time completing a deal with this company and am ready to throw in the towel.

I purchased a week on ebay back in December of 2010 and paid (wherein I learned lesson #1) the related purchase price, transfer fees and closing costs within a weeks time. Prior to the end of December I also paid (again... lesson learned) the 2011 maintenance fees for the unit.... then... I waited.... and waited... and waited.

In the middle of January I received an email that the transfer documents were "still with the resort" and they would let me know when the transfer was complete. So I waited... and waited... and waited.

In the beginning of February I received an email from another individual from Property Relief that the other individual I was working with was no longer with the company so this person was my new contact. I asked how much longer this was going to take... no response. At the end of February I called Property Relief and left a message to please contact me. No response. I emailed the "new" contact as well... no response. I emailed the general email box I found on the link to the company's website in an email.... no response. So... I waited... and waited... and waited.

Mid March I emailed the individual from IA Vacations whom I had done the purchase through asking for assistance with getting contact from Property Relief. I received an email from this person that day saying he would be back in the office on Monday and have someone contact me. He also followed up on the Monday saying he would have someone contact me that day. I waited... and waited... and waited. (there is getting to be a pattern here).

10 days later I emailed my contact at IA Vacations again and received a response from a different individual that they would have someone from Property Relief contact me that day.... well lo and behold I got a call. I got a song and dance that the information took this long to get from the Resort and that now they needed my original signature on the document - that the scanned/emailed signature was not good enough - and that they were going to mail me the documents for my original signature. I asked that they scan and email me the documents for signature and I would mail them back the original to save time in waiting for post. They agreed. I waited... and waited... and waited.

Middle of April, I emailed the contact reminding them that they were going to email me these documents and I hadnt gotten anything yet. I was told that the originals were in the mail so I had "good clean copy" for signature. I was fed up... expressed my dismay and asked for a refund of all payments made. I was told that the orginals were mailed and asking if I received them yet (NO!!!). I again asked for a refund of all payments made.

Then I receive an email of the documents for my signature. (Funny... this couldnt be done before???). I see on this document that the seller changed from IA Vacations to another party whom I assume to be the owners who enlisted IA Vacations to help them sell their ownership. It would appear to me that IA Vacations never held title to this property and that perhaps this could be why the resort would not transfer the deed. I have again asked for a refund of all payments made. I have no intention of signing the transfer documents and (perhaps it is a pipedream) expecting a refund of all costs I paid.

Question:

If I do not sign these documents, what trouble can I get into?

(Im thinking none, as the original contract had IA Vacations as the seller so they listed themselves as the owner with title to the unit. I would think it is hard to enforce a contract where the seller has outright lied on the contract.)

What is the liklihood that I am going to see any of my money back?

thanks for reading my story. I welcome all comments while I wait... and wait... you get the picture.
 
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vckempson

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Wow, you are one patient person. I'd have been all over them like flies on a bull's buttocks with what you described. While it's not unreasonable that you requested a refund, I'm guessing they will fight it. If you try to reverse credit card charges they might successfully refute it as they are still willing to complete the deal. While technically you might be in the right, that doesn't mean you'll get what you want, at least not without a fight.

If you still want the week, why not complete the papers and call them every week as to the progress. Ask for a copy of the deed when they get it back and call the resort to confirm reciept of the new deed. When you call, ask for confirmation that the 2011 MF's have been paid. Sort of like the old "trust but verify" mentality of the Reagan era.

If you had plans to deposit the week with RCI, maybe think of asking for a partial refund of 2011 MF's. if you're likely to lose TPU value due to late depositing.
 

richardm

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Your only mistake was buying from them in the first place...

Sorry for your situation... This is a story that happens far too often with groups like this. What's amazing is how they simply juggle lie after lie!

The original owners probably paid thousands to be "relieved" of their timeshare to an affiliated company like "property donation group" and didn't even realize that the transfer was never completed. Then, this group of scammers sell the same property to you and charges you closing costs, maintenance fees, and heartache (which they already charged the original owner.)..

I appreciate you sharing your story, but unfortunately I doubt it will make any difference. Another Tugger will come along later and still buy from them, even through they are aware of these stories. I don't understand it- but it is a very sad fact.....

I hope things finally work out for you. I personally hope that you stick to your principles and file every complaint you can about this outfit..

Try filing a complaint for unlicensed activity with the Tennessee Real Estate Commission, and then file with the attorney general in Tennessee, your home state, and also the state where the timeshare is located.

Perhaps eventually it will make a difference!
 

MOXJO7282

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I am having a helluva time completing a deal with this company and am ready to throw in the towel. I purchased a week on ebay back in December of 2010 and paid (wherein I learned lesson #1) the related purchase price, transfer fees and closing costs within a weeks time. Prior to the end of December I also paid (again... lesson learned) the 2011 maintenance fees for the unit.... then... I waited.... and waited... and waited. In the middle of January I received an email that the transfer documents were "still with the resort" and they would let me know when the transfer was complete. So I waited... and waited... and waited. In the beginning of February I received an email from another individual from Property Relief that the other individual I was working with was no longer with the company so this person was my new contact. I asked how much longer this was going to take... no response. At the end of February I called Property Relief and left a message to please contact me. No response. I emailed the "new" contact as well... no response. I emailed the general email box I found on the link to the company's website in an email.... no response. So... I waited... and waited... and waited. Mid March I emailed the individual from IA Vacations whom I had done the purchase through asking for assistance with getting contact from Property Relief. I received an email from this person that day saying he would be back in the office on Monday and have someone contact me. He also followed up on the Monday saying he would have someone contact me that day. I waited... and waited... and waited. (there is getting to be a pattern here). 10 days later I emailed my contact at IA Vacations again and received a response from a different individual that they would have someone from Property Relief contact me that day.... well lo and behold I got a call. I got a song and dance that the information took this long to get from the Resort and that now they needed my original signature on the document - that the scanned/emailed signature was not good enough - and that they were going to mail me the documents for my original signature. I asked that they scan and email me the documents for signature and I would mail them back the original to save time in waiting for post. They agreed. I waited... and waited... and waited. Middle of April, I emailed the contact reminding them that they were going to email me these documents and I hadnt gotten anything yet. I was told that the originals were in the mail so I had "good clean copy" for signature. I was fed up... expressed my dismay and asked for a refund of all payments made. I was told that the orginals were mailed and asking if I received them yet (NO!!!). I again asked for a refund of all payments made. Then I receive an email of the documents for my signature. (Funny... this couldnt be done before???). I see on this document that the seller changed from IA Vacations to another party whom I assume to be the owners who enlisted IA Vacations to help them sell their ownership. It would appear to me that IA Vacations never held title to this property and that perhaps this could be why the resort would not transfer the deed. I have again asked for a refund of all payments made. I have no intention of signing the transfer documents and (perhaps it is a pipedream) expecting a refund of all costs I paid.

Question:

If I do not sign these documents, what trouble can I get into?

(Im thinking none, as the original contract had IA Vacations as the seller so they listed themselves as the owner with title to the unit. I would think it is hard to enforce a contract where the seller has outright lied on the contract.)

What is the liklihood that I am going to see any of my money back?

thanks for reading my story. I welcome all comments while I wait... and wait... you get the picture.

I've purchased a Marriott Newport Coast and a Marriott Kauai Beach Club from Austin at IAVacations. He always seemed to be a stand up guy for me. The closing company while slow did get it done properly a few years ago.

My KBC is still pending and they have been slow but effective so far. Last they told me is the transfer docs were sent to Marriott. I really need it to happen within the next 4 weeks to be able to properly reserve the week I want.
 

yumdrey

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These days, it takes less than 2 weeks until Marriott update your account.
I purchased two marriott weeks recently and both of them were in my account about 1 week after they got new deeds and transfer fees. Super fast.
 

M&JJ

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Are IA Vacations and Redweek4less the same company?

I was looking at ebay (as usual) and see a week that might be of interest being sold by redweek4less. Then I see that the closing company is Property Relief LLC. well... there goes that idea.
 

Rascalsmom

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Still trying to get closed on a property I bought from them in May. I thought we were making some progress, until I got a copy of the deed and they had deeded me the wrong unit!

... and they spelled my name wrong. :wall:
... and they sent me a copy of an "Estoppel Letter" that lists the MF for a 2BR Vistana Falls as $500, when I know from TUG that they will likely be $718.

I can see the incorrect deed online at the County Records website; the person I am talking to at PR says the correction has been made. She promised to send me a copy but it's been 10 days, so Monday morning I need to get on the phone again.

I'm so thankful for all the info on the boards! I'm sure I wouldn't have been checking everything so carefully without all the great info on here!
 

M&JJ

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My wait is over

Continued from original post...

After 30 emails and another 15 or so phone calls I finally got this looked after.

I refused to sign any documents and told IA Vacations and Property Relief that I wanted out of the deal. In June I received a refund of the closing costs I had paid but was told the maintenance fees were forwarded to the resort so they could not be refunded. I was insistent in my communication that this was unacceptable - that the maintenance fees were the responsibility of the owner and since I was never the actual owner of the unit, then the fees were not to be paid by me. I waited... and waited.

More emails and more phone calls ... more empty promises ... the accountant is on holidays (got that twice)... they will look into it... that person is on the phone with another resort but will get back to you right away... I waited... and waited.

I called early September and found out the individual I was dealing with was no longer with Property Relief so this new person would look into it and get back to me. They called once and left a message. I called back numerous times and left voicemail after voicemail... no return phone calls.

Finally after what seemed like the 10th call last week, listening only to the voicemail message, I did another internet search and found a BBB rating for Property Relief to be A-. There were 3 complaints that had been resolved so I thought to my self... "self - file a complaint". I filed an online complaint on Friday Sept 23. On Tuesday Sept 27 (two business days later) I received an email confirmation of my complaint from the BBB and that Property Relief had been contacted. In less than 4 hours from the time of that email, I got a call from a representative from Property Relief explaining that he was the new manager there and had been there since Sept 1. He had reviewed my file and a refund check was already prepared and was taken to their local Fedex office. He gave me his cell phone number for me to contact him and he was going to call me back with a tracking number - and he did!!! He explained that after his arrival there had been a series of dismissals of several employees who had failed to provide proper service. He also explained that he has spent most of his first month dealing with many outstanding issues that had been ongoing for most of this year. He asked that I contact the BBB and report that the complaint had been resolved. I told him I would. Not being completely stupid I decided to wait to do this until I had the check in hand. Well the check arrived today (less than 24 hours). I got the resolution I wanted.

I dont know if I would have got the same result if I had filed the BBB complaint prior to this gentleman working there but this got the result I wanted. It took 9 months to get things looked after but with some patience and perseverance I have received everything back.

This is not an endorsement for IA Vacations or for Property Relief however this new individual talked a good game and came through as he promised. Maybe things are turning around there?

I dont think I should post his name or cell phone number however will provide it if someone needs it through a PM.
 

gnorth16

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Glad to hear it's over.

I have had my own issues with this company and would stay away from them both. IA Vacations only does closings with Property Relief who are sloppy, slow and unreliable.

Wrong Name, Wrong Address, Wrong Phone Number, Wrong Week, Wrong Unit Number.


So when they told me the deed was registered with Starwood three weeks prior AND I should have received a copy of the deed, I called Starwood. Try asking the rep to pull your info if IT IS ALL WRONG!!! Talk about frustrating! Finally Starwood tracked my info down (by a phone number on my email signature and NOT on the closing documents) and the deed was corrected. Tough to verify the info if you never got the deed!

Even though the closing was eventually completed, it was frustrating and at times I felt like I was being conned.

From person experiences, I would avoid these guys and Uri Fried. Chicago Closing and Timeshare Closing Services both went well.
 

presley

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I am still doing the tango with these imbeciles. I have a question, though. I have an invoice and proof that I paid $1500. for the purchase of the resort (that doesn't include, closing, transfer, etc). The deed that was recorded says that the purchase price was $1000?

This is what it says exactly:

This Deed, dated this <removed> by Property Relief, LLC, with Power of Attorney, Robert Pickel as Attorney in Fact for <names removed>, husband and wife as joint tenants, (the "Grantor"), for valuable consideration in the sum of One Thousand Dollars ($1000.00), hereby grants to <my husand and I and our address>

What I am wondering is if they are stating that I paid $1000, when I paid $1500 and does that give me the right to sue them for a full refund and force them to transfer the deed back?

The total amount is less than $5K, so I can do small claims, but is it better, quicker, to have an attorney take care of it. I have a local attorney that I like a lot. I don't care if he takes half of the refund at this point. I doubt he would, but that is where I am at this point.
 

presley

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I just got an email from the resort. They have been trying to help speed up the process for me. The deed was recorded on 8/2/11 - I have it because I paid the county for a copy.

On 8/8/11, the closing company told me that they had already sent everything to the resort. My resort person just said she didn't get it until 9/30 and that the legal description is wrong, so she has to have them redo it.

Big surprise, the person we have been dealing with at Property relief is no longer with the company.
 

lennyb216

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I just got an email from the resort. They have been trying to help speed up the process for me. The deed was recorded on 8/2/11 - I have it because I paid the county for a copy.

On 8/8/11, the closing company told me that they had already sent everything to the resort. My resort person just said she didn't get it until 9/30 and that the legal description is wrong, so she has to have them redo it.

Big surprise, the person we have been dealing with at Property relief is no longer with the company.


This same thing is happening to me as well..I spoke to Austin at IA vactions and he refered me to Levi or Hope/Heather at Property Relief.. They told me that the legal description was wrong on my deed and had to be done over..
 

Sunnydude

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We purchased from IA Vacations via Ebay recently. They have been prompt to reply (many times by different people) in response to my requests. Being new to the process I called Property Relief to ask how long the process will take. Hopefully our closing won't have the issues others have had. Nice to hear they no longer have the person responsible for the posters incorrect deed.
 

tschwa2

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I recently asked for a copy of the deed that was send to be recorded for a resort I bought and paid for in July and had been told had been mailed to the county for recording Sept. 9. Heather (unsigned but answering Heather's email address) came back today and said that Property Relief's "Privacy Policy" prevented them from releasing the deed to the purchaser until after it has been recorded by the county.

It seems crazy that a privacy policy would prevent a buyer from viewing the deed before it was recorded. If anything the buyer would be able to prevent some of the errors that seem so prevelent with ebay sellers. Undoing a recorded deed seems like it would be much more trouble then fixing errors or cancelling a sale due to errors before its recorded.
 

frank808

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This same thing is happening to me as well..I spoke to Austin at IA vactions and he refered me to Levi or Hope/Heather at Property Relief.. They told me that the legal description was wrong on my deed and had to be done over..

Paid for an auction promptly on June 10. Actually they called me pretty quick and would not give up till I gave them my cc info. Then I had to email them my info. Did all this and to this day still have no deed. I inquired and was told heather is no longer with the company. It is a Hawaii timeshare so it might take a little while longer but 4 months? I have bought many hawaii timeshares and most of them did not take 3 months. Last month, Hope from property relief says that she is now the mananger and will expedite my transfer. It has been a little over a month and still no deed and the resort does not list the week in my name yet.
 
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presley

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Yeah, I am still deciding if I should just get a lawyer and get a refund. I looked at the process of small claims and it looks like it will take too long. Plus, the payment went to Stacey Gillispie and his phone is no longer working.

I should probably just have an attorney send a letter. I just really wanted my TS. I can get another on ebay from someone else, though.
 

MOXJO7282

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I just backed out of a sweet deal with these guys because I just didn't want to go through the hassle. And they wanted all monies up front, which I'm not agreeable to if its more than $5k.
 

lennyb216

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Paid for an auction promptly on June 10. Actually they called me pretty quick and would not give up till I gave them my cc info. Then I had to email them my info. Did all this and to this day still have no deed. I inquired and was told heather is no longer with the company. It is a Hawaii timeshare so it might take a little while longer but 4 months? I have bought many hawaii timeshares and most of them did not take 3 months. Last month, Hope from property relief says that she is now the mananger and will expedite my transfer. It has been a little over a month and still no deed and the resort does not list the week in my name yet.

I was emailed last week by Katrina Collingsworth. She's now handling my file going forward. They didn't give me a reason why Hope/Heather wasn't on the file any longer.. Like most people here, I've called but know one answers the phones at this company anymore.. I will let you know if this new person helps with finally closing this deal.
 

RLG

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My most recent purchase took more than FOUR MONTHS to be completed almost entirely due to their bungling and inattention. They made it even worse by repeatedly claiming they had done things which they hadn't done yet.

Add my vote to the people who think everyone should avoid this seller and closing company.
 

presley

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Hope has lied to me twice in the last week. First, she promised that if I ever emailed her about my transaction, that she would get back to me by the end of that day. She missed that opportunity twice.

Next, she told me that she never knew that the deed was recorded wrong. I sent her a copy of the email from my resort that says, "I spoke to Hope and she is going to type up the new deed," that was sent to me a week before.

Maybe there are only 2 or 3 people working there and they all share names.:p

Anyhow, I just filed bbb complaint. I see that they have an A rating, even with many complaints. That means that they donate $ to bbb. Hopefully, they will get the complaint and actually do something for once.

On a much happier note, I recently purchased a TS on ebay from Emidsouth. They have done everything that they said they would do. It has taken 2 weeks from my purchase date (the day i won the auction) to them sending my recorded deed to the resort. They have restored my faith in buying on ebay.
 

lennyb216

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It's good to know that there are some companies on ebay doing things right. Let us know how your process turns out and I will do the same.

Is there is a thread listing ebay sellers to avoid/buy from?
 

Rascalsmom

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Finally closed!

Oh.My.Goodness!

Just talked to Jose at SVO and the property I bought from IAVacations / Property Relief **on May 17** is actually closed and recorded at Starwood. Took five months and probably 40 phonecalls & emails, but finally it is done.

There is still a unit in the Orange county system that they deeded to me incorrectly. Calling the county directly now to try to get that cleared up.

It was very frustrating; I would never deal with them again.
 

lennyb216

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Oh.My.Goodness!

Just talked to Jose at SVO and the property I bought from IAVacations / Property Relief **on May 17** is actually closed and recorded at Starwood. Took five months and probably 40 phonecalls & emails, but finally it is done.

There is still a unit in the Orange county system that they deeded to me incorrectly. Calling the county directly now to try to get that cleared up.

It was very frustrating; I would never deal with them again.

Glade to hear that, there is still hope for the rest of us.. If you don't mind me asking, who have you been dealing with at Property Relief?
 

presley

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Is there is a thread listing ebay sellers to avoid/buy from?

I don't know if there is. Maybe one of the Moderators will know.

If not, I can start a thread that lists ebay sellers and users who have had good or bad experiences. I'm thinking that way, people can PM the users for more info if they want. Also, it will help avoid a black list if it turns out that they buyer is just a fussy person.
 

lennyb216

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I don't know if there is. Maybe one of the Moderators will know.

If not, I can start a thread that lists ebay sellers and users who have had good or bad experiences. I'm thinking that way, people can PM the users for more info if they want. Also, it will help avoid a black list if it turns out that they buyer is just a fussy person.

Sounds good to me.
 
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