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Any experience with Sierra Rentals and Resales??

trieuj

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Hi,

Recently I was entertained with a Purchase Offer on my Velas Vallarta timeshare in the amount of $15K, by Sierra Rentals & Resales. I was so excited to receive the Purchase Offer. However, they just send me a Transfer Expenses letter and ask for $1195 which will be reimbursed at closing. I'm concerned about send them $1195. Please any feedback or advice is greatly appreciated. Is this Purchase Offer legitimated. Attached is the letter of the transfer expenses.
----------------------

Congratulations on the sale of your property. You are now one step closer to the transfer of your property listed below.
Verification of ownership has determined the following fees required to proceed with transfer:
Property Name: Velas Vallarta
Location: Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico
Size: Studio
Season: Gold
Use: Annual
2010 Maintenance fee: $ 648.18
Title Search: $ 390.00
Title Commitment: $ 390.00
Resort Transfer Fee: $ 100.00
Escrow Fee: $ 275.00
Courier Fees: $ 40.00
Total: $ 1,195.00 (paid for by Seller(s) to be reimbursed at closing)
Purchase Offer: $15,000.00
Proceeds Paid to Seller(s) $16,195.00 USD
Taxes to be paid by Sierra: $ 2,250.00 (to be reimbursed to Sierra at closing)
Total Fees to be paid by Seller(s): $ 1,195.00 to proceed with sale and transfer.
Terms: I). Subject to obtaining title commitment guaranteeing clear title at closing. (This requires 30 - 90 days once closing costs
have been paid)
II). It is the Seller(s) responsibility to maintain the property/membership in good standing by paying any monthly payments
and or maintenance fees that become due throughout the sales process. Any maintenance fees that are paid while in
process of transfer will be added to the Purchaser(s) final purchase price provided the week is available for use by the Purchaser(s).
III). All terms previously agreed to on the “Purchase Offer” agreement
 I / We accept the above offer/terms
 I / We decline the above offer/terms
I acknowledge that my portion of the closing costs to be paid in order proceed with the sale of my interest in the Velas
Vallarta, Fractional Ownership property is $1,195.00 USD. I agree to pay said fee by one of the following means:
Check (US funds)  Please make checks payable to: Sierra Resort Services S.A. de C.V.
Please send checks to: Corporate Sales Division
Sierra Resort Services
848 N. Rainbow Blvd. Suite 2110
Las Vegas, NV 89107
I _______________________ have mailed a check #___________to the above address on _________ ______ , 20______.
 

DeniseM

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Hi and welcome to TUG! :hi:

Reputable resale agents charge commission after the sale and take their fee out of the proceeds...they don't charge the seller.

Some resale companies sell timeshares and some just sell ADVERTISING and have no intention of every actually selling your timeshare.

Here are some warnings signs with these kinds of companies:

1) Do they say that they already have a renter/buyer for your timeshare? (or an established market like people attending conventions.)
2) Are they offering to rent/sell it for far more than the market value?
3) Do they want you to pay a large up front fee?
4) Do they want your credit card number before they send you a contract?​

If you answer yes to any of these questions, then this is the usual scenario:

Once you pay the fee and receive the contract, you discover that the company has only promised to advertise your resort, not to rent/sell it, and they don't mention having a renter/buyer in the contract.

Then, you won't hear anything from them for a long time, and when you contact them, they will tell you that the renter/buyer backed out, but they will advertise your timeshare on their over-priced website.

Finally, when you try to get your money back, they will point out that you signed a contract, and it's only for advertising. When you try to challenge it with your credit card company, they will tell you the same thing.

Please see the articles at the top of the Buying, Selling, Renting page entitled "How to Sell Your Timeshare."

Good luck!
 
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calar74

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Scared Too

I also have received the same exact email and offer and have signed back that I am interested (only difference is I have a villa). They also want me to pay the fees which will be reimbursed. I sent them my credit card information but now they want me to scan the front and back of it along with my ID. Everything else seems to be good. They say it's for a sale... Just feeling scared.:doh:
 
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DeniseM

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I also have received the same exact email and offer and have signed back that I am interested (only difference is I have a villa). They also want to pay the fees which will be reimbursed. I sent them my credit card information but now they want me to scan the front and back of it along with my ID. Everything else seems to be good. They say it's for a sale... Just feeling scared.:doh:

Quite frankly, you should be scared - you are about to lose $1,195 and possibly have your ID stolen.

Did you see my post above?

Reputable resellers charge commission after the sale - not a big upfront fee. Once they have your money, what's their motivation to actually do anything to SELL your timeshare?

You should call them, and your credit card company, and cancel this immediately!
 
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Stefa

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I also have received the same exact email and offer and have signed back that I am interested (only difference is I have a villa). They also want me to pay the fees which will be reimbursed. I sent them my credit card information but now they want me to scan the front and back of it along with my ID. Everything else seems to be good. They say it's for a sale... Just feeling scared.:doh:

This is a scam. They will not sell your timeshare and will not refund your money. They will claim that the buyer backed out.

A competent company can transfer a timeshare for <$400 and these costs are normally paid by the buyer. A title search does not cost anything close to $390, so there is no reason for the seller to put up the money upfront. I have never heard of a "title commitment." There is no reason for this process to take 30-90 days. That is an excuse to keep you hanging until the period to dispute the credit card charges has expired.
 

am1

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With all these scams it really hurts the credability of everyone. I guess it is an easy market to scam people.

My question is how do legitimate sellers make money on selling a worthless timeshare? Seems like money upfront is the only way to make it worthwhile.
 

DeniseM

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It is pointless to use a resale agent to sell a TS with no resale value. It makes even less sense to pay a steep upfront fee! These resellers who ask for upfront fees are selling ADVERTISING not TIMESHARES.

If you have a TS with no resale value the best way to "sell" it is to offer it for $1 on several cheap and free TS websites and offer to pay for a basic legal transfer ($100.)

However, we own at least 3 weeks with little or no resale value, and we get a lot of value out of them by renting, trading, and using them. No resale value doesn't mean they aren't useful.
 

DanCali

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Looks like a scam to me too... $15K for a studio in Mexico doesn't make sense. If I'm loking at the same resort, people on RedWeek are asking less than $10K for 3BR units...
 

Stefa

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Looks like a scam to me too... $15K for a studio in Mexico doesn't make sense. If I'm loking at the same resort, people on RedWeek are asking less than $10K for 3BR units...

I missed the fact that the ts was in Mexico. Now that you mention it, a title search doesn't make sense either since Mexico ts are right to use and not deeded.
 

aliikai2

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You aren't going to want to hear this..

The Velas Vallarta studios have been selling for next to nothing for a few years now. There annual fee is high compared to the other resorts in the area, and many of the newer contracts are AI mandatory, creating a negative value for owners. The resorts management has forced any exchange company to show these all as Mandatory AI, causing the trade value to drop as most exchangers don't want to spend $80-$100 per day on an AI fee while in Puerto Vallarta.

This is a real scam, selling a dream that can't be real, run, don't send them any money, please save yourself the $1195. It is almost enough to pay the AI fee for a week on your next visit to sunny Puerto Vallarta.:whoopie:

Greg

Hi,

Recently I was entertained with a Purchase Offer on my Velas Vallarta timeshare in the amount of $15K, by Sierra Rentals & Resales. I was so excited to receive the Purchase Offer. However, they just send me a Transfer Expenses letter and ask for $1195 which will be reimbursed at closing. I'm concerned about send them $1195. Please any feedback or advice is greatly appreciated. Is this Purchase Offer legitimated. Attached is the letter of the transfer expenses.
----------------------

Congratulations on the sale of your property. You are now one step closer to the transfer of your property listed below.
Verification of ownership has determined the following fees required to proceed with transfer:
Property Name: Velas Vallarta
Location: Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico
Size: Studio
Season: Gold
Use: Annual
2010 Maintenance fee: $ 648.18
Title Search: $ 390.00
Title Commitment: $ 390.00
Resort Transfer Fee: $ 100.00
Escrow Fee: $ 275.00
Courier Fees: $ 40.00
Total: $ 1,195.00 (paid for by Seller(s) to be reimbursed at closing)
Purchase Offer: $15,000.00
Proceeds Paid to Seller(s) $16,195.00 USD
Taxes to be paid by Sierra: $ 2,250.00 (to be reimbursed to Sierra at closing)
Total Fees to be paid by Seller(s): $ 1,195.00 to proceed with sale and transfer.
Terms: I). Subject to obtaining title commitment guaranteeing clear title at closing. (This requires 30 - 90 days once closing costs
have been paid)
II). It is the Seller(s) responsibility to maintain the property/membership in good standing by paying any monthly payments
and or maintenance fees that become due throughout the sales process. Any maintenance fees that are paid while in
process of transfer will be added to the Purchaser(s) final purchase price provided the week is available for use by the Purchaser(s).
III). All terms previously agreed to on the “Purchase Offer” agreement
 I / We accept the above offer/terms
 I / We decline the above offer/terms
I acknowledge that my portion of the closing costs to be paid in order proceed with the sale of my interest in the Velas
Vallarta, Fractional Ownership property is $1,195.00 USD. I agree to pay said fee by one of the following means:
Check (US funds)  Please make checks payable to: Sierra Resort Services S.A. de C.V.
Please send checks to: Corporate Sales Division
Sierra Resort Services
848 N. Rainbow Blvd. Suite 2110
Las Vegas, NV 89107
I _______________________ have mailed a check #___________to the above address on _________ ______ , 20______.
 

trieuj

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wow, I've learned so much from you!

Thanks so much for saving me close to $2K, especially in this bad economy, as I'm currently looking for a job. I did not send them my credit card number. I've learned a lot from you guys. I wonder how do these scammers sleep at night??
Velas Vallarta is my bad mistake in my life. I'd never consider buying another timeshare or fractional timeshare. Now I need to figure out how to get rid of it.
Any idea is greatly appreciated.
Have a happy New Year!
 

BP10

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Sierra Rentals and resorts

I too, have received offers for my Vellas Villa Plus for a good amount of money...I have also had phone calls from James and Bill that work for Sierra Sales. They assure me that this is legit and will be having one of their Lawyers or office Manager call me. As it is a very good offer, I have asked for some signitures from JoyaResidenceClub.com(Purchaser) and Sierra(USA) that this is a valid offer....with the BBB rating of "F", I cannot afford the upfrom 2k to be a scam...More to come as they are getting back to me by Monday 1-11-10
 

DeniseM

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If you can't afford to lose $2K, you shouldn't go through with this deal. Please see what I posted in post #2. Don't do it!
 

Yukon05

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Any Updates on this?

I've received the same offer. I was wondering if anyone has actually gone through with this. Just so you guys understand, the address they list:

Sierra Resort Services
848 N. Rainbow Blvd. Suite 2110
Las Vegas, NV 89107

I think it's just a service they're using at this company:
http://www.maillinkplus.com/

The Suite 2110 acutally is just Box 2110 at this company, which then forwards mail to somewhere else in the US/World.

That's what I've concluded though, but I can't verify this.
 

DeniseM

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No experienced TUG member would do business with a company like this...
 

gomezlor

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Sierra

BP10 - did you ever hear back from Sierra? I'm very interested to hear how things are going for any one else that has taken the leap of faith and gone for their offer.

I am also a big skeptic after the debacle that got me into this position in the first place. So when I received the offer from Sierra to purchase my unit, I had my lawyer review all of the paperwork. He said that it is legitimate and could not find any reason to be concerned. He also encouraged me to make the payment on my AMEX as a precaution so that if anything does get strange, I can deny the charges. Thankfully, AMEX is very good about protecting their customers.

Please do post updates as you get them, and I'll do the same.
 

DeniseM

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5 count 'em - 5 first time posters in this thread...

Be aware that you can only challenge a charge on your credit card for 60 days after your receive the statement. How are you going to know if this "gets strange" within 60 days? Didn't your attorney tell you that????

Don't do it!
 
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king smith

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I would like to join them for volunteering. I have only seen magazine ads from them, and checked their website out. I was just curious if anyone has heard details, or has worked with them before.
 

T_R_Oglodyte

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5 count 'em - 5 first time posters in this thread...

Be aware that you can only challenge a charge on your credit card for 60 days after your receive the statement. How are you going to know if this "gets strange" within 60 days? Didn't your attorney tell you that????

Don't do it!

Yes - and shill-o-meters are jangling. If everything follows the usual shill pattern, at least one of those new posters will be back posting about the wonderful service and how the company did everything they said they would and they are so happy to have their check and how they can't recommend the company highly enough.
 

DeniseM

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#6 - kings smith's post makes no sense - he's just setting up to spam us.
 
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gomezlor

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Hospitality

Wow.....for a first time poster, I don't feel very welcome. I'm just sharing what my attorney said, and now I'm being mocked for it. Isn't this a forum where I should be able to come for advice and support? I'm sure you have your fair share of "shills" on here, but it would be nice if you gave your new posters the benefit of the doubt before discounting anything they say. Feel free to check me out if you want to.
 

DeniseM

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I'm just sharing what my attorney said, and now I'm being mocked for it.

It's very, very hard to believe that an attorney advised you to take this deal. What are you going to do after the 60 days is up and you no longer have the right to dispute the charge with the credit card company? Any attorney should have known that.... In fact, anyone who has a credit card should know that!

Isn't this a forum where I should be able to come for advice and support?

Yes - and my advice is that you should get out of this deal immediately! We hear this story every day and it never has a happy ending! Please read post #2 in this thread.
 
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Stefa

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Wow.....for a first time poster, I don't feel very welcome. I'm just sharing what my attorney said, and now I'm being mocked for it. Isn't this a forum where I should be able to come for advice and support? I'm sure you have your fair share of "shills" on here, but it would be nice if you gave your new posters the benefit of the doubt before discounting anything they say. Feel free to check me out if you want to.

They have an "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau. Due in part to the fact that they don't honor their contracts and don't respond to customer complaints. They also failed to provide the BBB with proof that they have the proper licensing.
 

gomezlor

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Thank you Stefa. I'll certainly take this up with them, as it does concern me greatly.....
 
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