Who in Hawaii can do an affordable escrow/closing?

[BJRSanDiego]

I'm wondering if any fellow "tugger" has found an economical way to do a closing on a Hawaii timeshare?

Before someone suggests LT Transfer, they are severely limited (by Hawaii law) from handling escrow.

I spoke with Mary Pless today, one of the principals in LT Transfer. She explained that they sometimes do "soft escrows" (holding and releasing a cashiers check from buyer to seller) but cannot do that for Hawaii. Apparently the Hawaii transfer and escrow people have been able to get the Hawaii laws changed to favor the on-island escrow companies. Actually to give them a monopoly.

LT Transfer can do all of the necessary paperwork for title changes, gifting, trust changes, etc. as long as they do not get involved in any way with holding or handling of any monies. Also, she said that if a buyer and seller are working together and 100% handling their own financial payment details that LT Transfer could do the necessary title transfer work. But they cannot be a part of, or involved in any way with the financial transaction.

So, who have fellow tuggers used recently and roughly what did it cost? An acquaintance of mine got a quote from a Hawaii escrow company for around $1K - - seems like way too much....

Please share your recent experience.....

 

[Braindead]

Timeshare Closing Services LLC
Orlando, Florida
Will do the transfer. Not sure how much they charge.

 

[artringwald]

I'm sad to hear the news that they changed the laws in Hawaii. In Nov 2014 we bought a Hawaii timeshare week and LT Transfer handled everything, including the escrow. The purchase went smoothly and very efficiently.

 

[Dean]

I'm wondering if any fellow "tugger" has found an economical way to do a closing on a Hawaii timeshare?

Before someone suggests LT Transfer, they are severely limited (by Hawaii law) from handling escrow.

I spoke with Mary Pless today, one of the principals in LT Transfer. She explained that they sometimes do "soft escrows" (holding and releasing a cashiers check from buyer to seller) but cannot do that for Hawaii. Apparently the Hawaii transfer and escrow people have been able to get the Hawaii laws changed to favor the on-island escrow companies. Actually to give them a monopoly.

LT Transfer can do all of the necessary paperwork for title changes, gifting, trust changes, etc. as long as they do not get involved in any way with holding or handling of any monies. Also, she said that if a buyer and seller are working together and 100% handling their own financial payment details that LT Transfer could do the necessary title transfer work. But they cannot be a part of, or involved in any way with the financial transaction.

So, who have fellow tuggers used recently and roughly what did it cost? An acquaintance of mine got a quote from a Hawaii escrow company for around $1K - - seems like way too much....

Please share your recent experience.....

Timeshare Transfers in Vero Beach will do HI I believe. Around $500 IIRC for HI.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

Dean and Braindead, thanks for the advice. That is a good starting point.

Anyone else with suggestions?

 

[taterhed]

Sent you a message.....

 

[BJRSanDiego]

It is a shame that LT Transfer can't do the Hawaii closings that involve $ (they can do gifting, title changes and things not involving money). LT Transfer has a very low cost (plus are good to work with). It seems like the alternative firms start at around $500 and go up from there. It is a shame that the Hawaii transfer companies aren't charging something a bit lower....

 

[Maple_Leaf]

It is a shame that the Hawaii transfer companies aren't charging something a bit lower....

I think the Hawaiians probably consider that a feature, not a bug.

 

[dioxide45]

It is a shame that the Hawaii transfer companies aren't charging something a bit lower....

They charge more because they can, they have a limited number of agents authorized to do escrow in Hawaii. There may also be high fees charged by the state to license an escrow agent and those fees have to be passed on to the customer. If someone could charge less, I suppose they would to get a leg up on the competition.

 

[JIMinNC]

We bought our Maui Ocean Club EOY week earlier this year using a mainland broker who used a closing/escrow company in Florida. We did not have to pay for a dedicated Hawaii escrow company. Deed was transferred by Maui County without issue.

 

[Dean]

We bought our Maui Ocean Club EOY week earlier this year using a mainland broker who used a closing/escrow company in Florida. We did not have to pay for a dedicated Hawaii escrow company. Deed was transferred by Maui County without issue.

Normally they liaison with a HI company, this was true even before the recent changes.

 

[JIMinNC]

Normally they liaison with a HI company, this was true even before the recent changes.

Not sure if they did or didn't liaison, but we paid the normal US closing costs of around $500-$600, not the typical $1000 Hawaii closing costs. Our closing was in Feb/Mar.