[2007] Uri Fried - TTC Holdings

[Carolinian]

I am confident that no HOA on the OBX would provide a reseller or anyone for that matter with info on who owed back m/f's. I don't imagine that many resorts anywhere would give that info to an outsider.

 

[Jennie]

Senior moments are not pretty.

I followed the TUG threads on Uri Fried in 2004 and made a mental note never to do business with him, especially because of the way he defrauded Steve.

Well guess what--I was the successful bidder (I think!) on one of his auctions two days ago. I didn't realize it was Uri's auction. The seller is listed as "tttimeshares". It should be noted that he has over 500 sales in recent years and has a 99.6% rating. The pages and pages of buyer comments are extremely positive. So I was hoping that all would go well.

I received the traditional Ebay Email congratulating me as the winner. When I went to "My Ebay" page today, it shows that I have won zero auctions in the past 30 days. Yet it says I have one item that needs to be paid. When I click on that, it gives no info whatsoever about what needs to be paid for.

The Email from Ebay said that the seller would contact me within 24 hours. Nothing was received so I called the number of the "closing company" that "must" handle the transaction, per the terms listed on the auction description page. The lady who answered was very friendly and sounded quite experienced and competent. She explained their procedure. They accept the $495. closing fee, 2007 maintenance fee for the unit, a $75. "resort transfer fee" and $100. "RCI transfer fee" by Mastercard or Visa direct, or Amex through PayPal. She also said that the seller should have already sent me this info by Email but she will contact him right away and have him "re-send" it. She confirmed that my name was on her list as the winner of the auction. However, 12 hours have gone by and I have not received the Email yet.

It should be noted that when I google the telephone number of this closing company, it brings me to
http://www.webuytimeshare.com/reducing_foreclosures.asp

The "closing company" is located in Wisconsin. It's in the same area code as the phone number Uri gave me in an Email response, during the auction, when I asked him a particular detail about the ts unit.

The closing company's name is TTC. When I called the resort to check on the ownership and status of the unit I think I've won, they said it is owned by TTC Holdings and that all fees are current. I own other weeks at this resort and feel I got a very good deal on this auction IF it is handled properly. By the way, it is a VRI managed resort. Hmmm, Dani may be onto something.

What do you "guys" think? It's already starting out with some glitches which may be a bad omen. Since I would pay with Mastercard or Visa, do you think this would be enough protection in case I don't get what I should? I really, really want this unit IF....

P.S. I just "googled" Uri Fried and this TUG thread is the 2nd and 3rd hits. It's great to know that if people do not perform as expected, TUG discussions will be a means of warning countless others to proceed with caution.

 

[flexonguy]

Jennie

How did your purchase with Uri Fried turn out?

Thanks

Mike

 

[DeniseM]

Please note that this thread is from 2007.

 

[london]

The Timeshare Company

I recently won an Ebay auction for the Resort on Cocoa Beach, and the closing is going well.

Communication is prompt and accurate. Brandon Fried is one of the contact people.

The ebay listings are well written. I paid via Pay Pal.

 

[Pit]

I recently won an Ebay auction for the Resort on Cocoa Beach, and the closing is going well.

Communication is prompt and accurate. Brandon Fried is one of the contact people.

The ebay listings are well written. I paid via Pay Pal.

What ebay username are they using now?

 

[dude-luv]

Purchased from UF last year on e-Bay

I won an e-Bay auction from Uri Fried for the Kaanapali Beach Club (EOY) this year for $570. Uri wasn't aware that there was a ROFR on the property and he didn't know the view category of the unit (in this case Ocean View). This auction slipped under the radar because of the dumb picture in the ad and the fact that the resort was not mentioned on the opening page.

Thankfully, the sale passed ROFR. Uri's people did the transfer and did not allocate sufficient funds at the Hawaii County Registration Office so the deed had to be resubmitted. Basically, I missed the opportunity to use the week in 2009 because of it. Hardest part of the transaction was trying to get DRI to recognize the transaction. The legal package sent to DRI included transactions for five other sales. I phoned DRI every day to sort things out and this turned out to be a nightmare. I finally got my way and had the transaction recognized from DRI's end.

I suppose Uri already made his money on the transaction and the sale on e-Bay was just added revenue. In the end, I thought it was a good purchase for a reasonable price but knowing the property, I could see the errors or omissions in the ad. The downside risk with this transaction was minimal and I knew to be cautious because I had read other things about Uri on Tug.

 

[deedman]

I am currently closing on a timeshare purchased through ebay from Uri Fried and paid through paypal. MF were originally advertised as $1030 for 154k annual points, and after reading this thread I thought to be thorough and call the timeshare company to verify that the listing was in fact correct. It turns out there was an error in the ebay listing, all the information was correct besides the MF, which are actually only $900 instead of $1030. I received an apology from Wendy for this mix up, and I told her that as long as the mix up saves me money I need no apology. Everything seems to be going smoothly. I would advise all future buyers of the Fried's to verify the listing after you win the auction, and before paying. Because these people mean well, but the fact of the matter is they are flipping sooo many timeshares it is quite easy to have an error once in awhile. From our encounters so far they have been very helpful and professional. :whoopie:

 

[nazclk]

Mistakes

Had a few on mine that i purchased from him as well.

 

[strandlover]

So Far So Good

I purchased a TS from him and all seems OK so far. The deed has been recorded at the county registry.

If you pay with PayPal on ebay, you have that added protection, just in case...

 

[sb2313]

I purchased a poorly titled eBay week at westin kaanapoli villas ocean view 1 bd for 1500 and other than the fact that they initially tried to send the deed to kuaui instead of Maui county, all has gone well.

 

[Robert D]

I bought a Vail ski week from him on Ebay just under a month ago. I was surprised to see that they first transferred the deed from the original owner to an entity called Taylor Tours but that transfer hasn't been made on the HOA's books yet. The deed they sent me transfers ownership from Taylor Tours to me (other resellers I've bought from just transferred the deed from the original owner to me directly) and they say it has been mailed to Eagle County for recording (higher volume closing companies do the transfer electronically which is much faster) but it hasn't been recorded yet. I bought two TS's from VIN (i.e. laman and namal) for the same resort earlier this year and the entire transfer process was done in a little over two weeks but their closing company recorded the deed electronically. The info in the Ebay listing was accurate and they emailed me a copy of the original deed on a timely basis. Looks like it should get done in a reasonable period but I guess I'm just spoiled in dealing with VIN on other transactions. From what I can tell Fried's closing company is part of his operations - I don't think it's an independent closing company.

 

[deedman]

its no secret robert, the closing company is owned by the fried's too. Thats how they make their money, if the winning bid is a $1, and the MF and resort transfer fee go to the resort, all thats left is the closing fee for the Fried's. I don't blame them, the description is not upfront that its them, but the A+ rating from the BBB is enough for me.

 

[Mel]

I bought a Vail ski week from him on Ebay just under a month ago. I was surprised to see that they first transferred the deed from the original owner to an entity called Taylor Tours but that transfer hasn't been made on the HOA's books yet...

From what I can tell Fried's closing company is part of his operations - I don't think it's an independent closing company.

Yes, the closing company is in-house, but I don't really see that as a problem (though it could be). If you think about it, timeshare closings are not the same as closings on "regular" real estate. We're talking about a smaller amount of money, and the players involved are different. I would rather use a closing company affiliated with a reseller than a general closing company that is unfamiliar with timeshares. If you look at the mistakes made by closing companies with timeshares (not knowing about ROFR, for instance), I would expect the number of errors to be higher with a regular closing company.

We purchased a week from them in December, and while there was a small hitch, it was due to a specific situation at our resort. I checked online to see that our deed was recorded, and then contacted the resort to see if they had processed the paperwork. They had it, but there was an issue with the unit number, and a corrective deed had to be sent. By working with the resort and the closing company, all was resolved.

I don't blame them, because the eBay listing showed the (new) correct unit number, but the deed submitted by the original seller was for the original unit number. The deed was recorded with that unit number, because the closing company had nothing indicating otherwise. The resort had not in fact contacted them about the problem yet - but had them on a list of "problem deeds" to deal with. My call just moved my unit to the front of the list.

 

[Robert D]

its no secret robert, the closing company is owned by the fried's too. Thats how they make their money, if the winning bid is a $1, and the MF and resort transfer fee go to the resort, all thats left is the closing fee for the Fried's. I don't blame them, the description is not upfront that its them, but the A+ rating from the BBB is enough for me.

I thought post card companies get paid by owners to take the TS, or is Fried not a post card company? If so anything else they get is gravy.

 

[BevL]

I thought post card companies get paid by owners to take the TS, or is Fried not a post card company? If so anything else they get is gravy.

Unless their modus operandi has changed, they are not a PCC. They've been around a lot longer than the current postcard scammers.

 

[Robert D]

Unless their modus operandi has changed, they are not a PCC. They've been around a lot longer than the current postcard scammers.

How do they get the timeshares they sell?

 

[w.bob]

I purchased a timeshare on HHI back in March of 09 on ebay. The sellers name was "tttimeshare" with a 98.9% positive rating and listed as a member since 11/03.

When I received paperwork the deed stated the grantor was "Jamie Cruises LLC" of WI. The deed was signed by Uri Fried (President) Jamie Cruises LLC. The deed did state that the property conveyed by deed from a husband and wife to Jamie Cruises in Feb of 09.

Everything went well and I received my recorded deed in April 09 along with a letter from the resort congratulating me as a new owner.

 

[deedman]

on my information i received, it stated he (Uri Fried) is president of Francis Trips LLC..

 

[Mel]

Our unit was deede to Francis Trips LLC as well - recorded about a week before the eBay listings.

The PCC's will often have the original owner execute a deed selling the property to them, but they often don't record the deed until they have a buyer. They also don't usually contact the resort and pay the resort tranfer fees either, so the original owners remain the owners of record. In my case there were problems with the paperwork, but it was in fact sitting in the office at the resort (and the transfer fees were paid) also.

 

[w.bob]

Our unit was deede to Francis Trips LLC as well - recorded about a week before the eBay listings.

The PCC's will often have the original owner execute a deed selling the property to them, but they often don't record the deed until they have a buyer. They also don't usually contact the resort and pay the resort tranfer fees either, so the original owners remain the owners of record. In my case there were problems with the paperwork, but it was in fact sitting in the office at the resort (and the transfer fees were paid) also.

Melinda,
after reading your post it made me curious as to what was done in my case so I went back and read my deed and the following was written into the deed. I removed the names of the original owners.

"Derivation: This being a portion of the property conveyed by deed from (removed) to Jamie Cruises, LLC, by deed filed on 2/13/2009 in Book 02809, pages 1893-1895 as Instrumwent No. 2009008270 in the Public Records of Beaufort County, South Carolina."

It appears that they recorded the the transfer from the original owner to Jamie Cruises but I'm sure that is not always the case.

 

[tschwa2]

Mine from HHI from 2008 went through Stephanie Leisure Travel. When I looked up the deed online a bunch of deeds in Beaufort County deeds were listed to Jamie Cruises and Stephanie Leisure Travel.

 

[Robert D]

Mine was transferred from the original owner to Taylor Tours and then to me. Apparently Fried has a lot of different companies that he uses as intermediaries. Could be that each is a different salesman who works for him. I'm still curious as to where he gets the large volume of TS's if he isn't a postcard company.

 

[Patri]

On his website he used to have a form to get a value for your t/s if you want to sell. I'm sure it comes in very low. Don't know how he handles it if people respond.

 

[wcfr1]

I'm still curious as to where he gets the large volume of TS's if he isn't a postcard company.

Just a guess but... Someone Donates their timeshare to some reputable charity.

Charity probably bundles them up and sells a bunch to a group like Uri's for some pittance of say $100 ea.

Charity makes $100 per donation and has no time involved in advertising or selling. A reputable charity will then use that money properly, not like the Veterans group appears to be.

Uri in turn can sell for as little as $1 but you must use his closing company that charges $499. Net profit is then $398 to Uri.

In this way Uri is not a Post Card Company. He actually sells units as opposed to PCC taking your money upfront, promising you 5 figure sales price and never hearing from them again.

This process is totally legal and happens every day on the commodities market. I get a lot of something cheap, bundle it up and sell quantities at a wholesale level to a retailer and the retailer sells it at whatever they can.

I have bought from him previously as well off eBay with no problems. It appears that some peoples problem with Uri is that he either has bad info in his ads that misleads buyers into purchasing or some other error shows up at closing.