[2011] Info on Pinnacle Vacations, Ft Myers FL

[shareholder]

Has anyone had experience with this resale company? I have checked the BBB in the area and they are not a member. I am considering giving them a shot, only $39/year for an ad.

Thanks for your feedback,

Keith

 

[ronparise]

Pinnacle Vacations is located in Ft Myers Fl, as am I. Im looking at one of their listings and went to their office to meet them and to get an understanding of what they do

I met Sherry Long, their Managing Director who explained what they do

First and foremost they are a licensed Real Estate brokerage. and they do their marketing online. If you list your property with them they charge $39 to go on their website, and they raise your price by $2000 which is their commission.

Also the buyer is expected to pay closing costs. I was quoted a price of $700 for the week I wanted to buy.

Also this is not an exclusive listing, the seller is free to sell the timeshare themselves

Pinnacle is the only authorized BlueGreen points reseller, and they can pass on to the buyer certain developer benefits that other resellers cant. How much of a benefit that is..I dont know.

This seems to me to be a legit operation, but their main focus is BlueGreen. The $39 advertising fee may be worth a shot, but I think will be money down the drain

There is another tugger more expert than I am regarding timeshare brokerages in general, BlueGreen and Pinnacle in particular, that ought to comment here. With any luck he will see your post.

 

[richardm]

This is a tough subject for me to comment on, since I personally like Sherry and believe she does an incredible job juggling the chainsaws of handling resales while working for a timeshare developer.

One thing I have never understood- is how Bluegreen's resale broker gets away with charging an advance listing fee which is illegal under Florida law..

721.20 Licensing requirements; suspension or revocation of license; exceptions to applicability; collection of advance fees for listings unlawful.—
(1) Any seller of a timeshare plan must be a licensed real estate broker, broker associate, or sales associate as defined in s. 475.01, except as provided in s. 475.011.
(2) Solicitors who engage only in the solicitation of prospective purchasers and any purchaser who refers no more than 20 people to a developer or managing entity per year or who otherwise provides testimonials on behalf of a developer or managing entity are exempt from the provisions of chapter 475.
(3) A solicitor who has violated the provisions of chapter 468, chapter 718, chapter 719, this chapter, or the rules of the division governing timesharing shall be subject to the provisions of s. 721.26. Any developer or other person who supervises, directs, or engages the services of a solicitor shall be liable for any violation of the provisions of chapter 468, chapter 718, chapter 719, this chapter, or the rules of the division governing timesharing committed by such solicitor.
(4) County and municipal governments shall have the authority to adopt codes of conduct and regulations to govern solicitor activity conducted on public property, including providing for the imposition of penalties prescribed by a schedule of fines adopted by ordinance for violations of any such code of conduct or regulation. Any violation of any such adopted code of conduct or regulation shall not constitute a separate violation of this chapter. This subsection is not intended to restrict or invalidate any local code of conduct or regulation.
(5) This section does not apply to those individuals who offer for sale only timeshare interests in timeshare property located outside this state and who do not engage in any sales activity within this state or to timeshare plans which are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For the purposes of this section, both timeshare licenses and timeshare estates are considered to be interests in real property.
(6) It is unlawful for any real estate broker, broker associate, or sales associate to collect any advance fee for the listing of any timeshare estate or timeshare license.
(7) It is unlawful for any broker, salesperson, or broker-salesperson to collect any advance fee for the listing of a personal property timeshare interest.
(8) Subsections (1), (2), and (3) do not apply to persons who offer personal property timeshare plans.
(9)(a) Prior to listing or advertising a timeshare interest for resale, a resale service provider shall provide to the timeshare interest owner a description of any fees or costs relating to the advertising, listing, or sale of the timeshare interest that the timeshare interest owner, or any other person, must pay to the resale service provider or any third party, when such fees or costs are due, and the ratio or percentage of the number of listings of timeshare interests for sale versus the number of timeshare interests sold by the resale service provider for each of the previous 2 calendar years.
(b) Failure to disclose this information in writing constitutes an unfair and deceptive trade practice pursuant to chapter 501. Any contract entered into in violation of this subsection is void and the purchaser is entitled to a full refund of any moneys paid to the resale service provider.


The terms of their listing clearly require the seller to pay a yearly fee of either $39. or $69., which appears to be a direct violation of the law. Click HERE to view.

I have no idea how they get away with this, or how Bluegreen's legal team decided this was acceptable. I assume there must be some loophole that keeps them out of trouble with the state- either that or just a consistent stream of political contributions.. :ignore:

 

[ronparise]

I dont see it as a listing fee, Its an internet marketing fee and sec 9a would apply.

At least that's the argument Id make

 

[rapmarks]

when we first bought at Christmas Mountain, late 80's, then owned by RDI instead of bluegreen, Sherry Long had a big position with their corporate office. Isn't Pinnacle owned by Bluegreen?

 

[ronparise]

I dont know who owns them, but they are as I understand it the only authorized resale agent for BlueGreen and they are able to transfer certain benefits to a new owner, that other resale agents cant

 

[rapmarks]

I know that Pearl, who worked for Pinnacle at the Anna Maria Island locations, considered herself a bluegreen employee.

 

[richardm]

Pinnacle is owned by Bluegreen.

 

[jbeck444]

Success of Pinnacle Vacations?

does Pinnacle Vacations actually sell some time shares that are listed?

 

[ronparise]

does Pinnacle Vacations actually sell some time shares that are listed?

They sold the one I wanted to buy. As usual I cheaped out and wouldnt offer them what it was worth. By the time I decided to give them what they wanted (and what it was worth) they had sold it to someone else...It was a fixed week at a BlueGreen resort. I dont know how they do with other timeshares

 

[JudyS]

....
The terms of their listing clearly require the seller to pay a yearly fee of either $39. or $69., which appears to be a direct violation of the law. Click HERE to view....

I didn't see mention of a $69 fee, just a $39 fee. Where is the $69 fee mentioned?

$39, or even $69, is a reasonable price for a one-year advertisement (assuming the website gets a decent amount of traffic.) I think Redweek charges $50 for a six-month listing. eBay is, I think, $35 to list a timeshare for sale, and listings in the timeshare sales category only last 10 days maximum.

does Pinnacle Vacations actually sell some time shares that are listed?

This is what their listing form states:
The ratio or percentage of the number of listings of timeshare interests for sale vs. the number of timeshare interests sold by Pinnacle Vacations for each of the previous 2 calendar years is: 2011 5% sold; 2012 6% sold.

I actually think 1-in-20 sold isn't that bad, considering that many owners list their weeks for excessive prices. However, Pinnacle specializes in Bluegreen (and as has been mentioned, is owned by Bluegreen), so I'm not sure how effective they'd be for selling a non-Bluegreen timeshare.