Can I trust SellMyTimeshareNow.com?

[Divedoggy]

We have 5500 Marriott Vacation Club points plus two different timeshare weeks worth 5350 points. Our original cost was $86k. The maintenance fees this year totaled $9640 and they go up every year, so we decided we would like to get out. SMTN says we can list these properties for $80k+ and they will pay any maintenance fees until the properties are sold. The catch? We have to pay $20k in upfront fees, which makes me very nervous. Marriott will let us exit, but they will give us zero dollars. Any suggestions?

 

[Theiggy]

Doesn’t sound good to me! No way I would give them one cent.


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[Janann]

Do not pay any upfront fees! There is no way that you're going to get $20K back from the company if/when you're timeshare doesn't sell.

 

[RX8]

That doesn’t sound like SMTN’s business model. Someone pretending to be SMTN? They never were a wise choice to list a timeshare for sale to begin with but if this is the real SMTN proposal then they are heading straight into scam territory. No way will that sell for $80K and $20K upfront is the scam.

Edited: Looking at SMTN’s website, they have a program called “Maintenance Fee Protection”. No information other than they state they will pay the annual fees and not all resorts qualify. Whatever the program is, it will not be to your benefit. What were the details to their offer? Do they pay your annual fees but in return they then get to rent out the points and keep the full rental proceeds? If so, that sounds like a good deal for them, making profits on your investment, plus with your $20,000 in their pocket. They could continue to profit off those points for years…which they will because it won’t sell for $80K.

 

[Janann]

BBB Complaints: https://www.bbb.org/us/nh/portsmout...my-timeshare-now-llc-0051-92008632/complaints

 

[dioxide45]

That doesn’t sound like SMTN’s business model. Someone pretending to be SMTN? They never were a wise choice to list a timeshare for sale to begin with but if this is the real SMTN proposal then they are heading straight into scam territory. No way will that sell for $80K and $20K upfront is the scam.

I think their claim of paying maintenance fees until it is sold has something to do with their rental program. IF they can rent out your timeshare, they will cover the fees. It is all a ruse to convince you to sign up. As noted, they are a high upfront fee timeshare listing company that lies about the value of the timeshare to obtain listings. No way this is worth $80K.

 

[andre10056]

I know nothing about Marriott Vacation Club points nor the alleged values of whatever two weeks you own, but I would avoid at all costs any business proposal that would ask you to pay $20,000 upfront.

But the universe of possibilities does not just include those two options that you set out. Have you looked at websites like redweek to see what others might be charging for whatever you own? Of course, people can ask for whatever they want but at least you'll see other timeshare owners' asking prices, and some of those other owners may have already determined "true value" through their research. Also, ebay might tell you if what you own has any value at all.

From time to time people post names of reputable brokers who do not charge anything upfront to sell. Or perhaps you can contact such brokers if they have listings in either redweek or myresortnetwork. They might be able to better guide you as to whether or not you have anything that might sell and for how much it might sell.

The more data, the better you can make any decision.

 

[dioxide45]

We have 5500 Marriott Vacation Club points plus two different timeshare weeks worth 5350 points. Our original cost was $86k. The maintenance fees this year totaled $9640 and they go up every year, so we decided we would like to get out. SMTN says we can list these properties for $80k+ and they will pay any maintenance fees until the properties are sold. The catch? We have to pay $20k in upfront fees, which makes me very nervous. Marriott will let us exit, but they will give us zero dollars. Any suggestions?

It is 100% a rip off to take your $20,000. It is highly unlikely that what you own is worth anywhere close to $86,000. Resale value might be closer to $0. You pay $20,000 and your listings will languish for years and never get a sale. Mainly because they are listed way too high compared to their real resale value. Why would I go to SMTN to overpay for a timeshare week when I can get it somewhere else for much cheaper.

Compare what you own to completed Ebay listings and ROFR.net to see what the actual resale prices are closer to. You will find it is not anywhere close to $86,000. They tell you $86,000 to make you feel good about paying them $20,000 for the listing. They couldn't convince you to list with them if they told you the real value was only $5000.

 

[bizaro86]

They're a listing site that charges huge upfront fees. You can list your TS for any amount you want but they will never ever sell for that amount. All that will happen is you'll be out another $20k.

 

[Divedoggy]

Thanks to all who responded. I suspected that sending money in advance was not a good idea, and you all have confirmed that suspicion, which is very helpful!

 

[dioxide45]

If you really want to get out, Marriott timeshares are pretty easy to either sell or give away. But $86K is a pipe dream.

 

[RX8]

I dislike every single timeshare marketing company out there that charges a significant upfront fee. It is a bad industry and SMTN just happens to be the “best” of the group. That doesn’t mean they are a value for the upfront fee, that just means they are the friendliest great white shark in the tank.

I don’t understand how this Florida company can blatantly get away with violating Florida statute 721.205 which deals with timeshare resale advertising companies. That statute states:

721.205 (2) In the course of offering resale advertising services, a resale advertiser may not:

2. (a). State or imply that the resale advertiser will provide or assist in providing any type of direct sales or resale brokerage services other than the advertising of the consumer resale timeshare interest for sale or rent by the consumer timeshare reseller.

Don’t they violate this by offering closing services?

2. (d). State or imply to a consumer timeshare reseller that the timeshare interest has a specific resale value.

They violate this by having a timeshare valuation form on their website (in which they use their own ASKING prices as part of the valuation) plus, on at least one BBB complaint, a person said SMTN suggested the selling price.

 

[RX8]

We have 5500 Marriott Vacation Club points plus two different timeshare weeks worth 5350 points. Our original cost was $86k. The maintenance fees this year totaled $9640 and they go up every year, so we decided we would like to get out. SMTN says we can list these properties for $80k+ and they will pay any maintenance fees until the properties are sold. The catch? We have to pay $20k in upfront fees, which makes me very nervous. Marriott will let us exit, but they will give us zero dollars. Any suggestions?

Just curious for future knowledge. Did SMTN provide a contract or additional details other than $20K upfront and promising to pay your annual fees until sold? That $20K upfront fee won’t last long if they were going to pay your $9600 annual fees until sold. There must be more to this in order for SMTN to profit from the agreement. Were they going to have access to your roughly 15000 points to rent and keep the proceeds?

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

We have 5500 Marriott Vacation Club points plus two different timeshare weeks worth 5350 points. Our original cost was $86k. The maintenance fees this year totaled $9640 and they go up every year, so we decided we would like to get out. SMTN says we can list these properties for $80k+ and they will pay any maintenance fees until the properties are sold. The catch? We have to pay $20k in upfront fees, which makes me very nervous. Marriott will let us exit, but they will give us zero dollars. Any suggestions?

You aren’t selling those points for $86k or anything near that amount. It’s possible you could get a few dollars per point on the resale market, but a lot of Marriott points contracts are going unsold, too much supply, not enough demand. DO NOT PAY ANYTHING UPFRONT TO SELL YOUR TIMESHARE. That’s a scam. You could try posting yourself on eBay, redweek, tug, etc.

 

[rickandcindy23]

We have 5500 Marriott Vacation Club points plus two different timeshare weeks worth 5350 points. Our original cost was $86k. The maintenance fees this year totaled $9640 and they go up every year, so we decided we would like to get out. SMTN says we can list these properties for $80k+ and they will pay any maintenance fees until the properties are sold. The catch? We have to pay $20k in upfront fees, which makes me very nervous. Marriott will let us exit, but they will give us zero dollars. Any suggestions?

Screams of scam for me, and it should to you as well.

I realize they have a working website, but listings never go away, listings sit there and sit there. I have watched the same listings for one resort we own, so I know listings never sell, never disappear.

 

[echino]

No, you cannot trust SMTN.

SMTN is not in the business of selling timeshares. It's in the business of collecting upfront fees from the sellers.

Even if potential buyers inquire on their overpriced ads, SMTN chases them away with ridiculously inflated additional closing costs charged to the buyer.

 

[TUGBrian]

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[RX8]

...but listings never go away, listings sit there and sit there. I have watched the same listings for one resort we own, so I know listings never sell, never disappear.

That is for sure. Here is a snippet of a BBB complaint from someone who no longer owned the timeshare that was listed on SMTN.

"Further more I asked on several,,, over 10 times,, for the ad to be removed regardless of a refund as it is false representation of a product that doesn't exist. "

 

[vacation911]

I would definitely recommend steering far away from spending 20 k to list with them. They will make you think you can get a bunch of money, but you will not probably recoup the 20 k you spend.

 

[andre10056]

The whole transaction makes no sense. SMTN apparently claimed, "we can list these properties for $80k+ and .... will pay any maintenance fees until the properties are sold." And yet, the maintenance fees are $9640 per year. And at that pricing level they'll theoretically be paying those maintenance fees for the next thousand years. So I suspect that their actual written contract will say nothing about their paying any annual maintenance fees. And the contract will likely very forcefully and clearly say that only the terms that appear in writing in this contract are what was agreed upon by both parties.

If, on the other hand, their actual written contract does indeed set out their having to pay the $9640 per year, I might accept. I would have an attorney review the contract to make sure, but if that's what it promised, heck yeah! $20,000 would be a small price to pay for not having to pay that $9640 annual maintenance fee (or presumably higher maintenance fees in the future) ever again.

 

[vacationtime1]

The whole transaction makes no sense. SMTN apparently claimed, "we can list these properties for $80k+ and .... will pay any maintenance fees until the properties are sold." And yet, the maintenance fees are $9640 per year. And at that pricing level they'll theoretically be paying those maintenance fees for the next thousand years. So I suspect that their actual written contract will say nothing about their paying any annual maintenance fees. And the contract will likely very forcefully and clearly say that only the terms that appear in writing in this contract are what was agreed upon by both parties.

If, on the other hand, their actual written contract does indeed set out their having to pay the $9640 per year, I might accept. I would have an attorney review the contract to make sure, but if that's what it promised, heck yeah! $20,000 would be a small price to pay for not having to pay that $9640 annual maintenance fee (or presumably higher maintenance fees in the future) ever again.

lol.

So you pay to have an attorney to review the contract, both parties sign, and you pay the $20K. What do you do when they don't pay the MF's?

 

[WorldT]

lol.

So you pay to have an attorney to review the contract, both parties sign, and you pay the $20K. What do you do when they don't pay the MF's?

You sue them .
Keeps the lawyers happy

On a more serious note to the OP. My recommendation is stay aware from people who ask you to pay $20k before they can help you list a timeshare for sale. There are no enforceable guarantees here and you will lose.
See what you can sell on the secondary market yourself or deedback and move on. Don't lose any money trying to get some money in this timeshare exit.

 

[andre10056]

lol.

So you pay to have an attorney to review the contract, both parties sign, and you pay the $20K. What do you do when they don't pay the MF's?

When Bobby Bonilla was still playing professional baseball decades ago, the Mets signed a contract in which they agreed to pay him $1.19 million every year on July 1 until the year 2035. He's 62 now and still has a ways to go until he receives his last payment when he's 72. If the Mets ever miss even a single payment, breach of contract lawsuit.

When you send some amount of money to a financial organization that sells annuities, be it $20,000 or $100,000 or whatever, their actuaries figure out how much you should be sent every month for the rest of your lifetime. If that cash flow stream stops coming to you, breach of contract lawsuit.

Obviously, the most important aspect of these kinds of contracts from the recipient's perspective is the financial standing of whomever is making the promise to pay. If it's some homeless guy, I'd steer clear of signing an annuity contract with him. But if it's a multibillion dollar asset financial company with a triple A rating, perhaps then.

So one would hope that the attorney reviewing the totality of an alleged offer to pay $9640 annually, possibly forever, would want to be assured that SMTN has significant deep pockets. Is SMTN operated as an individual proprietorship whose owner owns a palatial mansion on a hundred acres? Or as a corporation with zero assets and three boiler room scammer employees?

But the purpose of my post was to illustrate how crazy and unbelievable such an offer by SMTN was and not to suggest that they're "really" making such an offer. It's not even an offer with an end date, but they're allegedly willing to take on a debt in perpetuity. Seems a tad questionable to me.

 

[dioxide45]

So one would hope that the attorney reviewing the totality of an alleged offer to pay $9640 per month,

Where are you getting $9640 per month? Maintenance fees are paid annually.

 

[tschwa2]

I would imagine you could sell the trust points for around $12,000-$15,000. The 2 deeded weeks resale value totally depends on what they are. A few have value. Many are probably worth $0-$1,500. You aren't going to get $60,000 ($80,000-$20,000) and will likely be out the $20,000 if you go fo this deal. If the deal lets them rent out your properties and keep the profits, sending the 1099 to you, I can imagine they might list and do this for 2-3 year but after that you still will be on the books as the owner to the points and 2 properties and SMTSN likely has some kind of out they can use in the contract they write.