Annoyed With Sellers Who Want the Full Year’s MF Midway Into Year

[jebloomquist]

As I look at timeshare listings on eBay, many currently state that the seller has paid part or the year’s entire maintenance fee, and that at the end of the auction, the mf must be paid back to the seller. Some may think that this is fair. I don’t, and here is why.

The seller has had access to the timeshare up until now in the year. He/she just hasn’t chosen to use it. When the listing states “usage begins January 1, 2012” I ask, “Can I use it then on January 1, 2012?” No. I probably won’t have access to the deed until July 2012. The seller chose not to use the property, but still they want me to pay for their choice to not use.

An analogy is as follows. Assume that I lease a car on January 1, 2012. The deal is that I should pay some amount for 12 months and drive no more than 12,000 miles. Fine.

But, if I come in July 1, 2012 and ask for a lease, I would not accept the same dollar deal where even though I get 12,000 miles usage, these miles have to be used between July 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. I wouldn’t have had the use of the car from January 1 through June 30 even though I still get 12,000 miles. Imagine leasing in December and being told that you have the entire 12,000 miles but have to use them all in December.

When buying a timeshare, it is not just the weeks or points, it is also the ability to use the weeks or points. Half way through the year, I am not getting the ability to use the weeks or points anytime during the full year.

Imagine someone selling a timeshare in December, stating that you get all the points for 2012, but still must pay the entire year’s mf. Gee, great, and I have one month to use all those points.

Where is the middle ground? I wouldn’t mind paying for half of the mf that has passed, but not all of it. If I buy now in March, the final deed may not get to me until June or July, at which time I do have usage access. So, I think that the seller should pay for at least 3 of the 6 months that I don’t have access to the timeshare, even though I get all the points. Frankly, I won’t bid on any timeshares where I am required to pay for the entire mf when I cannot have full access to it.

Am I crazy? Are there any other opinions?

 

[DeniseM]

Traditionally, who ever gets the use of the week, pays the MF.

Most resellers can and will make a Resv. for you, during closing, so you don't have to wait until it closes.

 

[Egret1986]

I don't have a problem reimbursing the MF if I'm getting use of the week/points

Also, when I resell and the buyer is getting use of the week/points for the year, I usually expect reimbursement of the year's MF. That is unless it's a "Bargain Deal" and I'm just trying to get rid of the timeshare any way I can.

I just did a Buy It Now on eBay for an Outer Banks summer week directly on the waterfront and the owner is paying all closing and throwing in use of the 2012 week without reimbursement. All I have to pay is the Buy It Now and resort transfer fee. As soon as I saw it, no hesitation to push the button. I think it would have been a smokin' deal if I had to reimburse the MF. No reimbursement is just the whipped cream on top.

If it doesn't make you happy to reimburse a MF and you refuse to buy timeshares that require it, that's definitely your perogative. But I really must be missing something regarding your annoyance with this or do not understand what type of ownership you are referring to.

I'm one of "them". Fair to me if I want to own the timeshare and get use of it for the year the maintenance fee is being reimbursed.

 

[bogey21]

I wouldn’t mind paying for half of the mf that has passed, but not all of it.......Am I crazy? Are there any other opinions?

The convention is that the person who gets to use the Week pays the MF. If you don't like it, you have two choices. Either negotiate a different arrangement with the Seller before you buy or don't buy the Week. If you are the only potential Buyer, getting a Seller to agree to a different arrangement might not be as difficult as you think.

George

 

[ronparise]

the middle ground is wherever you want it to be. if you dont like the offer, dont bid, or adjust your bid so that the total money you commit, is no more than you want to spend...

i look at the whole mess; purchase price, closing costs, past mf, and transfer fees as my out of pocket. Im either comfortable with it and I bid, or Im not and I dont...

as my daddy used to say "dont panic if you miss the bus, just relax, there will be another coming around the corner before you know it

 

[Fern Modena]

You are asking if you are crazy. I can't answer that. But if you are asking if your thinking is reasonable and generally the way business is done in this industry, the answer is no. You may find someone who will do things your way if they are desperate enough, but usually not.

This is not the middle of the year, it is March. Just because the person "could have" used the unit means nothing. Since they did not, the use for the year will transfer to you. With use comes the maintenance fee. That is the way it works. You don't get a free lunch. If the shoe were on the other foot, you wouldn't want to pay a maintenance fee for a week *you* didn't use.

Your analogy with leasing an automobile is not the same. When you lease an automobile, you immediately take possession and begin using it. You don't take possession and park it in your garage and not use it. It isn't the same thing at all. If you make a comparison, you need to compare apples and apples, not apples and Chevrolets.

Good luck, you're going to need it if you continue along the path you are going.

Fern

As I look at timeshare listings on eBay, many currently state that the seller has paid part or the year’s entire maintenance fee, and that at the end of the auction, the mf must be paid back to the seller. Some may think that this is fair. I don’t, and here is why.

The seller has had access to the timeshare up until now in the year. He/she just hasn’t chosen to use it. When the listing states “usage begins January 1, 2012” I ask, “Can I use it then on January 1, 2012?” No. I probably won’t have access to the deed until July 2012. The seller chose not to use the property, but still they want me to pay for their choice to not use.

An analogy is as follows. Assume that I lease a car on January 1, 2012. The deal is that I should pay some amount for 12 months and drive no more than 12,000 miles. Fine.

But, if I come in July 1, 2012 and ask for a lease, I would not accept the same dollar deal where even though I get 12,000 miles usage, these miles have to be used between July 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. I wouldn’t have had the use of the car from January 1 through June 30 even though I still get 12,000 miles. Imagine leasing in December and being told that you have the entire 12,000 miles but have to use them all in December.

When buying a timeshare, it is not just the weeks or points, it is also the ability to use the weeks or points. Half way through the year, I am not getting the ability to use the weeks or points anytime during the full year.

Imagine someone selling a timeshare in December, stating that you get all the points for 2012, but still must pay the entire year’s mf. Gee, great, and I have one month to use all those points.

Where is the middle ground? I wouldn’t mind paying for half of the mf that has passed, but not all of it. If I buy now in March, the final deed may not get to me until June or July, at which time I do have usage access. So, I think that the seller should pay for at least 3 of the 6 months that I don’t have access to the timeshare, even though I get all the points. Frankly, I won’t bid on any timeshares where I am required to pay for the entire mf when I cannot have full access to it.

Am I crazy? Are there any other opinions?

 

[SOS8260456]

Ok, where is that lowballers thread?

 

[ausman]

Am I crazy? Are there any other opinions?

The original poster has a good point, and one I agree with.

Perhaps it was not expressed in the best way.

If you look at his ownerships they are, I think all point based ownerships, he needs to reserve for the Wyndham ownerships 10-8 months in advance of reservation date.

The time has probably passed where he could get meaningful reservations in 2012.

For that reason, paying full MF's for 2012 should be a matter of negotiation.

The same sort of logic applies to weeks based memberships wanting to exchange, because you supposedly can reserve doesn't mean there is anything left there to reserve. Why pay for an empty vessel.

For a fixed week if you get usage you should pay.

In the end everything seems to be negotiable.

 

[ronparise]

The original poster has a good point, and one I agree with.

Perhaps it was not expressed in the best way.

If you look at his ownerships they are, I think all point based ownerships, he needs to reserve for the Wyndham ownerships 10-8 months in advance of reservation date.

The time has probably passed where he could get meaningful reservations in 2012.

For that reason, paying full MF's for 2012 should be a matter of negotiation.

The same sort of logic applies to weeks based memberships wanting to exchange, because you supposedly can reserve doesn't mean there is anything left there to reserve. Why pay for an empty vessel.

For a fixed week if you get usage you should pay.

In the end everything seems to be negotiable.

If you dont think you can use the points, either offer less, or dont bid.

i cant agree with your point that you need 8-10 months to get a good reservation...In the last week I made a reservation for march 30 in new Orleans, at a Wyndham property thats 1.5 miles away from the Superdome where the NCAA final 4 will be playing....and I made 2 reservations for the first week of jazz fest....I expect to pick up several more jazz fest in the next month as we get closer to check in..Life happens and so do cancellations. Mt experience with Wyndham is lthat there are last minute reservations available...some pretty good ones.

 

[beach.bar.bob]

Are there any other opinions?

Simple - don't bid on it.

Is this just a rant or a serious question?

Ours is a free market system. Sellers determine what they are willing to sell and what they will accept for it. As a bidder you are a buyer...buyers are free to determine what they are willing to pay for what the seller is offering to sell. When both parties agree there is an opportunity for a transaction. Details such as include this, don't include that...those are terms of the deal. If the terms are not acceptable to both parties there is no agreement thus no transaction.



bbb

 

[Timeshare Von]

I agree with the practice and would have no issue in paying the MFs for the entire year, even if closing happened midyear, as long as I had access to and use of the points for the current year for which I was paying the MFs.

 

[timeos2]

If the OP doesn't want to pay the fees then they shouldn't expect to get use until the next use period. If they want to pay only part then they get only some of the use points/days. Very simple.

 

[ronparise]

I had another thought on this...the Wyndham system offers the opportunity for monthly payments and a lot of folks take advantage of it..and a years mf is paid on a calender year basis...Jan to Dec. The points contracts however can have different use years..starting in Jan or Mar, or July or Oct.

Look for a contract that has a use year that works for you...I just bought a small July contract. I have to pay fees from Jan of this year, but my first use wont be until after July.....you might think I got screwed...but wait..there is a bonus here...The bonus is that I got the account with most of the July 2011 points in the account.... They expire in four months so I got busy...In the last week I made two reservations that used all but 6000 of those points, I also credit pooled the July 2012 points and will use some of them (before July) with those odd 6000 points to make another reservation....I expect to rent all three and for my small investment (under $500) and by agreeing to pay 3 months back mf, (under $250) Ill put close to $2000 in my pocket.(at least I hope so)

So you see these ebay purcheses can swing both ways,,,You can be taken advantage of or you can take advantage...the difference is in knowing what you are buying before you bid, and bidding accordingly

 

[janej]

I don't think the convention applies to ebay listings. You have to look at the item as a whole package including closing cost and MFs. Most sellers do list what is due at closing. Bid on it if it is a good package with the seller's terms and conditions. Do not bid if you think adding the MF turns it into a bad deal. If no one bid on the listing, many sellers will list it at lower price. You can also contact the seller to make an offer if the item does not sell. If there are others who is willing to bid on it and pay the MF, there is no point complaining about it.