Century 21 in Florida

[Grand Vic]

Has anyone used the Century 21 in Florida that advertises on the main page for selling their timeshare? I talked to Courtland Young tonight and of course they want $450.00 upfront for web site advertising. I said no to the upfront and she talked really fast and I didn't catch half of what she was saying- but I did get that she would pay $100 of the upfront if the money was a problem. Is she legit?

 

[KenK]

C21 is legit. Asking for an upfront fee isn't.

 

[KenK]

This:

"Q...I have been contacted by several companies that promise they can sell my timeshare week for me, if I pay them a fee in advance. Some companies call their advance fee an "appraisal fee," others say it’s an "advertising fee." Are these fees legal?..."

"...Florida law, under section 721.20(6), F.S., prohibits a real estate broker or salesperson from collecting any advance fee for listing a Florida timeshare week for resale. However, there are many different kinds of companies in existence that claim they can sell your timeshare for you, if you pay them in advance. Some resale companies may provide "legitimate" resale services, while many do not. The advance fee may be called an "appraisal fee," an "advertising fee," an "Internet fee," or an "exchange fee," among other terms. The fees charged by these companies range anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars. Payment is often collected by credit card. Consumers need to be aware that once they pay an up-front fee, even if the fee turns out to be a violation of Florida’s advance fee law, there is no guarantee that the money can ever be recovered if your timeshare is not sold..."

(I added red)

came from here:

http://www.myflorida.com/dbpr/lsc/timeshare/information/faq_resale.shtml


If she is a real Real Estate agent...maybe she didn't study enough.

BUT if not a RE agency.....this can be called an Advertising fee.

I found an old NY Times article stating that in 1990, no up front fees for any T/S or othe RE sales were allowed in Fl, incuding advertising fees....but it appears they watered down the rules.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Century 21's Orlando Billboard Turned Us On To Timeshare Resales.

I wanted to make it up to The Chief Of Staff for being such a grump when she signed us up for an Atlantic City NJ timeshare tour (for freebies, mainly) back in the 1970s. So when she got us a "vacation package" involving timeshare tours in Orlando FL & Ft. Lauderdale FL & Las Vegas NV a few years ago, I was not only ready to go, I was also on best behavior.

We flew to Ft. Lauderdale & drove straight to Orlando (via Rockledge FL, to visit my aunt & my cousin), found our motel way out by the corner of I-4 & Rt. 27, checked in, & picked up our welcome package for the next morning's timeshare tour -- at Vacation Village At Parkway. We showed up & enjoyed complimentary breakfast at Columbia restaurant over in Celebration, courtesy of the sales guy who accompanied us all the way.

Back at the sales room after breakfast, we were given the developers' version of Timeshare 101, then shown the model condos, which back then were not in actual condo buildings on site where people stayed, but in specially constructed temporary buildings strictly for show. They were gorgeous, with a strong wow factor, & opened our eyes to the desirably of staying in nice vacation condos instead of dinky motel rooms. (With regard to the motel where were staying, the contrast was extreme.) In retrospect I believe we caught the timeshare bug right then.

However that may be, the (developer) price was way more than we were willing to pay, so we pretty much dismissed the idea of buying an Orlando timeshare week, until...

...until, driving back to our motel right after the timeshare tour, we spied a big Century 21 billboard that said:

Timeshares!
Buy Resale!
Save Thousands!​

​

​

(or words to that effect).​

In a flash, right then, we caught on. With that idea percolating through our grey matter, we checked out of our dinky Orlando motel, drove our rental car down Rt. 27 & over to Ft. Lauderdale, took another timeshare tour (Vacation Village At Weston, I think), were wowed again but didn't buy, completed our vacation, & flew back home.

Before long we called the toll-free number that we jotted down off that Century 21 Orlando billboard & came close to buying a nice 2BR every-year resale week at Isle Of Bali Ron Jon Liki Tiki Village, sight unseen, for $5,000 or so. By & by we discovered TUG & TUG classified ads & instead bought (sight unseen) an every-year Floating Diamond 3BR lock-off Orlando timeshare week -- & the rest is history.

So even if Century 21's timeshare resale division is not the same as its straight real estate operation, & even if there are upfront "appraisal fees" or "advertising fees" or "Internet fees" or "exchange fees" or "market analysis fees" involved, we still are grateful to their big billboard down in Orlando that opened our eyes that day to the reality that in the timeshare biz there is virtually no difference between buying new & buying used.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Dave M]

In another thread, you were guided to an article that strongly (repeat: strongly) advised you to avoid paying upfront fees. Based on experiences of others as reported here, that applies to all upfront fees (other than nominal $15-$40 ad fees), including the one you are asking about.