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Buying a Resale WKV from WantedWeeks/Ebay

F

fresca

TUG Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2008
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Location
Oakland, CA
I found a disturbing thread about WantedWeeks AFTER winning a Starwood Westin Kierland Villas on Ebay....
Having read Denise's comments on Starwood generally, I wanted a mandatory 148,100 point unit with the cheapest MF. It looks like the 2BR lockout platinums are usually going for $20-22,000. I won for $13,500 plus $395 "closing" plus $100 "transfer fees from resort" plus next years maintenance of $1100.
The next day (today) I did receive a nicely organized PDF with the sales agreement. It specifies the sellers and week (floating week#9), but not a contract# or unit number. Looking on Maricopa County recorder of deeds, I see the sellers bought from Starwood about 5 years ago for $26,900.
My question is, how do I protect myself? WantedWeeks is asking for money now, preferably Cashiers check/money order. I would consider CC or Paypal. Should I call Starwood and check out the status of this unit (do I need a contract number other than what's on the deed?)
Before I send CC info, is there any other diligence I should do?

thanks for your helpful advice
 
First, do NOT send money directly to a seller. You should only send money to the closing company.

Second, week # 9 is within the Platinum season (weeks 1-21, 50-52). Even so, you may want the closing company to write in "Platinum" on the transfer to make this abundantly clear.

I'm sure others will chime in on other ways to protect yourself. There are a number of threads here about this issue, so search and read a bit. Ask the closing company questions until you're satisfied.

I found the auction and it appears to be an annual week. This is an incredible deal and you will be glad of this purchase for years. Congratulations!

You may ask the seller to make reservations for you immediately for 2009, especially if you want a hard to get resort later in the year (8 months out).
 
Well, the good news is that I recall WKV selling in 2003 for about that price for Platinum, so that might be a good sign :).

Awesome price!!!!

It's great that you have the owner's name and could look up the deed yourself. That deed will tell you a lot about the unit number(s), week (9 would be Platinum), and whether it is annual or biennial.

You should check out whether the maintenance fees are paid up and whether there is a mortgage still. There should be a contract number on the deed, but I don't know if Starwood will provide any information to you unless you have authorization to inquire about the account status. Check with Wanted Weeks to make sure that they have their signed and recorded Limited Power of Attorney which should give them the right to sell the week on behalf of the owners. Did you see an Estoppel letter? For an expensive purchase, you may want to consider a title search or title insurance.
 
Great point. I would definitely get title insurance on this one.
 
peatman, ... The price is great, but you should not sign any agreement that omits the unit numbers and the contract number. BTW, less than a year ago, the eBay record low for a 2br Platinum at WKV was $20K. The economy is killing prices - even on good timeshares, like WKV.

Since you have access to the original deed, make a copy and attach a Rider to the agreement which contains a legal description that matches exactly the rather long legal description on the original deed. The unit numbers and (I think) the contract number are part of the legal description in the original deed.

Include in the Rider that the proceeds in the escrow will not be disbursed until the recorded deed is returned to you and the Kierland HOA (or its manager, Starwood) verifies that it has changed the association's records about who is the owner and that the currrent owner (name is on the agreement) is no longer the seller and you are.

Then, talk directly to the transfer agent about the price of title insurance from a reliable title insurance company, like CT&T. Then, buy the title insurance and include in the Rider that the proceeds will not be disbursed unless and until the title insurance policy is ready to be issued to you.

And, good luck. If this one closes at that price, you have done very well. ... eom :)
 
That is a great price if it holds up to be true - and the good news is that SVO does not have a ROFR for WKV.

Even with the great price - I would not send money to the seller or broker representing them from eBay or anywhere else - not worth the risk. Insist on a known Title Co and escrow (you are paying for closing costs afterall) - and inform them that this is standard for real estate transactions as it protects you as the Buyer.

The purchase agreement must have the unit #s and week - along with the designation 'AF' - which stands for annual float.

Has the week in 2009 been reserved? The Platinum season has past the Owners reservation window except for the very end of next year.

Can you supply a link to the eBay auction? I do not recall seeing it.
 
One more note - timeshare bids on ebay are NOT binding. If the seller does not cooperate, you can walk away with no consequences. Don't be bullied into doing something you aren't comfortable with. Make sure you have all the facts before sending any money and only send money to a closing/escrow company.

If you can post a link to the Ad, we can look it over.
 
I also wouldn't pay the 2009 MFs until you actually own the unit and then pay then directly to Starwood. There is no guarantee they would get applied properly otherwise. So ask for an updated contract without the MFs.

The current owner should be willing to reserve a 2009 week for you, if one is not already reserved and you want to use your week at WKV (instead of the options for another location). As someone else mentioned, find out if a week is already reserved and what week it is. If it's not a week you want, have the current owner change the week to the week you want (you may have to be flexible).
 
Last edited:
Agree - unless they have paid the 2009 MFs (unlikely since they were just billed) - why would you pay to them instead of Starwood? An issue is that they are coming due soon - so that will need to be worked out via a well-written purcahse agreement that the Title Company will insure gets completed before transfer.

Title Insurance is only as good as the Title Insurer - I am not sure if this is worth it.

Another issue is whether this unit was financed (likely via Starwod) - you will need to make sure no loan is out on this unit. Both of the WKV resales I bought had existing SVO loans that needed to be cleared before Title transfered.

If you can find the deed on the Maricopa site you can get the Deed info - the key will be the unit identifier - something like "B#-unit#s-week-type"
 
peatman said:
I found a disturbing thread about WantedWeeks AFTER winning a Starwood Westin Kierland Villas on Ebay....
Having read Denise's comments on Starwood generally, I wanted a mandatory 148,100 point unit with the cheapest MF. It looks like the 2BR lockout platinums are usually going for $20-22,000. I won for $13,500 plus $395 "closing" plus $100 "transfer fees from resort" plus next years maintenance of $1100.
The next day (today) I did receive a nicely organized PDF with the sales agreement. It specifies the sellers and week (floating week#9), but not a contract# or unit number. Looking on Maricopa County recorder of deeds, I see the sellers bought from Starwood about 5 years ago for $26,900.
My question is, how do I protect myself? WantedWeeks is asking for money now, preferably Cashiers check/money order. I would consider CC or Paypal. Should I call Starwood and check out the status of this unit (do I need a contract number other than what's on the deed?)
Before I send CC info, is there any other diligence I should do?

thanks for your helpful advice
Click to expand...

Absolutely get the week and unit number. At this price, I would be concerned that the ownership is for an EOY versus an Annual.

Sending money to the title company is the best policy. Also, I am confused as to why there is a $100 transfer fee....is this payable to Starwood or the company that you are doing business with? Starwood does not have a transfer fee for this resort.
 
Wanted Weeks uses an internal closing company Resort Transfer Services. They are very problematic. They also do not put your money into escrow. I would call WW and tell them you want to use another closing company with escrow. Other users have posted that WW has waived the transfer fee because as James stated, Starwood doesn't charge a fee for this resort.
 
Wanted Weeks

tlpnet said:
Wanted Weeks uses an internal closing company Resort Transfer Services. They are very problematic. They also do not put your money into escrow. I would call WW and tell them you want to use another closing company with escrow. Other users have posted that WW has waived the transfer fee because as James stated, Starwood doesn't charge a fee for this resort.
Click to expand...

We have purchased 3 weeks of timeshare (separate contracts) for the Resort on Cocoa Beach in the last 4 months.

All have closed satisfactorily, with deeds recorded, and resort recognizing us at the owners.

I agree that with a cost of $13,500.00, you want to make sure all the details are covered, and your money is in escrow.
 
tlpnet said:
Wanted Weeks uses an internal closing company Resort Transfer Services. They are very problematic. They also do not put your money into escrow. I would call WW and tell them you want to use another closing company with escrow....
Click to expand...

This won't fly. Wanted Weeks probably does business just like Intervalmax, a company I am purchasing a Marriott week through. Most likely their response is to take it or leave it. I had to make the exact same decision after questioning Intervalmax about using an outside closing company.

It is your call, but it is all built in to your purchase price. I wanted more protection than Paypal would offer, so I called Intervalmax and made a direct payment to them over the phone using a Visa card. To date I have had no problems, and they have been responsive to my calls and emails. My Marriott deed is now completed and has been sent to Broward County for recording.

You have a great resort for a bargain price, but remember, you generally get what you pay for. - IMHO

Terry
 
PayPal will not protect you - carefully read their policy on this.
 
DavidnRobin said:
PayPal will not protect you - carefully read their policy on this.
Click to expand...

I agree.

What I was referencing is the fact that you will little protection from your Visa when using it through Paypal. Paypal becomes sort of a buffer. By using Visa direct you will have some protection.

Terry
 
I love the verbiage used in this ad......

DO NOT BID ON THIS AUCTION if you do not intend to honor your winning bid. We work hard to ensure the quality of our listing and are available to answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to contact us via email at support@wantedweeks.com. Again, all bids are final. Do NOT bid unless you intend to follow through with the purchase or negative feedback will be left.

***148,100 Star Option Points***Floates Weeks 1-52***

I am still skeptical as to whether or not this is a 148,100 StarOption ownership. Why don't they have the week and unit number in the ad?
 
James1975NY said:
I love the verbiage used in this ad......

DO NOT BID ON THIS AUCTION if you do not intend to honor your winning bid. We work hard to ensure the quality of our listing and are available to answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to contact us via email at support@wantedweeks.com. Again, all bids are final. Do NOT bid unless you intend to follow through with the purchase or negative feedback will be left.

***148,100 Star Option Points***Floates Weeks 1-52***

I am still skeptical as to whether or not this is a 148,100 StarOption ownership. Why don't they have the week and unit number in the ad?
Click to expand...

They worked pretty hard to get the accuracy of the ad....
- RCI?
- $1100 Maintenance and Taxes?
- What is the week and unit number?
- Is this an annual or every other year?
 
James1975NY said:
They worked pretty hard to get the accuracy of the ad....
- RCI?
- $1100 Maintenance and Taxes?
- What is the week and unit number?
- Is this an annual or every other year?
Click to expand...

LOL, that's for sure.

I've seen other ads from them and they are all incomplete and full of errors. The $100 transfer fee is listed for most of their auctions, even for Marriotts where the fee is actually $120. They obviously know nothing about what they are selling...
 
Story continues

I called Starwood title. The friendly man confirmed the week and unit on the deed I found through Maricioa Co match the current owner, and that it is a platinum, annual usage.

I called WW and spoke with someone who checked and said I could write the unit number on the contract before I send it back. He confirmed the unit and week. I asked to send the money to the transfer company. Resort Transfer Services then sent me the Escrow agreement and Wells Fargo account called RTS Escrow. So that seems a promising sign, especially if I can fund it by CC or Paypal.

Starwood Title said I shouldn't need Title search or insurance, since I see the original deed from Starwood to the current owners. He wouldn't say if they owe money still, and implied they have not paid 2009 MF.

So my questions are whether I should try to withhold the MF and pay SVO directly (I would be fine paying it into the escrow, since it is due in the next couple if weeks). When is the estoppel letter generated, and is that important. The $100 transfer fee is bogus, but I am willing to pay it, since the quoted MF are lower than reality by $150.

I know WW has a checkered past, but in the 200+ posts on another thread, I have not seen anyone claim they had money stolen from them. Any thoughts?

Again, I appreciate the support and intel from TUG.:)
 
Wanted Weeks Payments

In our three purchases with wanted weeks, we used our Visa card.

No problems were encountered, and the deeds were recorded and resort notified in 4 to 6 weeks.

Shaun Fletcher was responsive to all emails.

We now own 3 more floating weeks at the Resort on Cocoa Beach.
 
ebay seller said:
Do NOT bid unless you intend to follow through with the purchase or negative feedback will be left.
Click to expand...

From ebay:

Important changes to Feedback
Buyers, you can no longer receive negative or neutral Feedback from sellers.
You should leave honest and accurate Feedback without the fear of receiving negative or neutral ratings.

:)
 
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