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Elite Equity Title Transfer - Is this a Scam?

CznDry

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We recently purchased a timeshare in Hilton Head. We received a deduction on the purchase price using our Florida timeshare as a trade in. The purchase documents only show the reduced purchase price. We signed a Timeshare Transfer Agreement with Elite Equity Transfers where we agreed to transfer title of our Florida timeshare to them or "any other entity or person as may be assigned", for a fee of $375 + our resort's transfer fee of $150. They have contacted us requesting payment before the process can begin. I spoke with them on the phone and they say they do not sell timeshares but handle the transfer paperwork ie estoppel letter, court costs, recordation fees etc. I questioned the sales manager at the resort and he said that this was a straight transfer (not a sell of our Florida timeshare in order to recoup money to purchase the new timeshare) and as along as the title was clear and the maintenance fees where paid there would be no issues.

Does this sound like a scam? We have not paid any fees yet.
 

LannyPC

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Did you buy from the developer or a private resale? If you bought from the developer, I think your bigger issue right now is to rescind your purchase.

A lot of these timeshare sales people have been using that line on people who already own a TS elsewhere. They claim that they will take your current timeshare if you buy from them. That is usually a lie.

You are fortunate that you have not paid any fees. You are even more fortunate if you are still in your rescission period.
 

theo

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I hear a familiar old Mexican tune playing here...

We recently purchased a timeshare in Hilton Head. We received a deduction on the purchase price using our Florida timeshare as a trade in. The purchase documents only show the reduced purchase price. We signed a Timeshare Transfer Agreement with Elite Equity Transfers where we agreed to transfer title of our Florida timeshare to them or "any other entity or person as may be assigned", for a fee of $375 + our resort's transfer fee of $150. They have contacted us requesting payment before the process can begin. I spoke with them on the phone and they say they do not sell timeshares but handle the transfer paperwork ie estoppel letter, court costs, recordation fees etc. I questioned the sales manager at the resort and he said that this was a straight transfer (not a sell of our Florida timeshare in order to recoup money to purchase the new timeshare) and as along as the title was clear and the maintenance fees where paid there would be no issues.

Does this sound like a scam? We have not paid any fees yet.

"Scam" is not really the right word, it's really more just a consequence of a legal marketing and sales ploy.
In essence, you overpaid for whatever it is that you bought from the developer. The contrived and entirely bogus "trade in value" was just a marketing lure; they gave you nothing for that "trade in" week (...which, in all fairness, might be exactly what it is worth in today's resale market anyhow). They "reeled you in" by taking the unwanted week off your hands, merely adjusting their (already inflated) developer sales figure accordingly to still ensure a comfortable profit on the developer sale. Similar practices occur in new car dealer showrooms every day. At least with new cars (unlike w/ developer-sold timeshares) there are other, independent sources available (e.g., Consumer Reports) to pre-determine the real bottom line dealer cost.

Grupo Mayan plays this same "timeshare trade-in" game in Mexico. In your HHI case (unlike the GM Mexican version) you apparently get to pay the deed transfer costs out of your own pocket :eek:. Your "trade in" is almost surely destined to be a "no reserve" PCC ebay auction item in the very near future. Even if it sells there for just a penny, the closing costs you are about to pay ensure some profit for the closing entity; they may well also charge the "new eBay buyer-to-be" closing costs too, thereby further increasing their profit.

There is little doubt that you should rescind the overpriced developer purchase if you are still within the SC state law rescission period to be able to do so; your post only dates your purchase as being "recently").
Without knowing the contractual language of your purchase, I'm not sure if you would also need to do anything more (or separately) to halt and reverse halt the "trade-n / transfer" process.
=========================================================================

P.S. On further reflection, if your "trade-in" is already in the hands of a separate entity for "processing", I must assume that you are actually already well past the SC rescission period. If so, this is already a "done deal" and you now own a Hilton Head timeshare and the "trade in transfer" process is already underway --- with you pre-paying for future "closing services" (I'm betting that your developer sales contract somewhere allows for that to occur). If that's the case, all you can likely do now is "pony up" and let them exercise what is likley a "power of attorney" you have already executed, enabling them (and / or any other entity they may work with) to ultimately move your "trade in" into someone else's legal ownership.
 
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CznDry

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Thanks for the info. Yes the rescission period has passed. The sales contract reflects the discounted purchase price - no mention of a trade in. Although we signed the transfer agreement and limited power of attorney, they will not proceed until we send the money and we have not sent them anything. Our Florida resort (Oak Plantation) is worthless in my opinion . . . RCI recently suspended exchange privileges. . . was a nice resort (gold crown) when we bought it 11 years ago. I thought the trade in was too good to be true so I did some research before paying anything. Like many before me, I wish I had found this site before we purchased. Live and learn.
 

CznDry

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I received a follow up letter on the transfer of our timeshare. See below their response to my reply:

"I most certainly understand your reluctance to move forward with the transfer. You have submitted a Timeshare Transfer Agreement agreeing to relinquish your said property as it is to be used as equity toward your recent purchase with Coral Resorts. Per this arrangement, your property will be re-deeded to an assigned trustee. By law, timeshare properties cannot be transferred to businesses. For this reason, we assist the resort by providing a determined grantee to ensure responsibility of the property.
If for any reason the deed or points cannot be transferred, which is rarely the case, you will be refunded in full for all fees paid to Elite Equity Transfers. You will be kept abreast throughout the transfer process and provided a letter a completion when the transfer is finalized.
Furthermore, I invite you to research our company history with the Better Business Bureau. I hope this email has addressed your concerns. Please contact me directly for additional assistance."

What is a "assigned trustee" and a "determined grantee"?
 

dbmarch

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what a mess. you now have 2 timeshares. you probably need to take the chance and pay them to transfer the old one. Hope they get it out of your name.
 

CznDry

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Title Transfer Question

...and the saga continues. We decided to take a chance and went ahead with the transfer. We received a General Warranty Deed from Elite Equity Transfer for signatures. The wording on this deed is exactly the same as the wording on the original Special Warranty deed when we purchased it from the resort. The deed shows us as the grantor and Elite as the grantee. Elite will in turn transfer the timeshare to someone else. Per their processing person, they will notify the resort with the appropriate documentation, and have the ownership transferred out of our names.

Has anyone had experience with this process? Any pitfalls? I am considering having a lawyer review this before signing anything.
 

carl2591

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sounds like a slippery slope and you are flying down it as we speak.. no good outcome to this ordeal it seems. You signed the deal and now the resig period is past, bummer dude..

I hope for the best for you.
 

theo

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Or so you hope...

<snip> Elite will in turn transfer the timeshare to someone else. Per their processing person, they will notify the resort with the appropriate documentation, and have the ownership transferred out of our names.

This seems like a real mess to me all in all, quite frankly, but a question nonetheless comes promptly to mind:

If "Elite Equity Transfers" allegedly has some other prospective grantee on hand to take ownership, they could presumably exercise the power of attorney you apparently executed previously. The question then arises --- why are they even bothering to create a need for multiple deeds (...one into their name now and another later into another name, which seems completely unnecessary if they already have your power of attorney anyhow?) :shrug: Asked another way, why wouldn't "Elite" just prepare one new deed with the new intended recipient as grantee, rather than create this extra deed prep and recording step into their name first? And why has it taken them several months to prepare a new deed if it's now evidently only going right into their own name anyhow? :shrug: :confused: :shrug:

I guess what I'm really asking, albeit a bit indirectly, is what assurance do you have that "Elite" actually intends to officially record this new deed making them the new owner? :shrug: If they fail to record this new deed making themselves the new owner, take a wild guess who still legally owns that week (as of right now and until such time as a new, valid deed actually gets recorded in a owner name other than yours)...
 
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timeos2

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This is a classic example of why none of the transfer/PCC/Relief groups that want your money upfront cannot be relied on. You have no leverage once your money is in their hands and more times than not what you paid for is never actually done.

Avoid them all. Do the work yourself and save thousands & be sure it's legally owned by someone new. Other wise you are wasting more money than you already did.
 

EET Mgmt

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Response from Elite Equity Transfers Mgmt

We were concerned after locating and reading this thread and felt it was important that we post a response. Elite Equity Transfers is a very reliable, responsible and reputable title agency. We have been in business for three years with zero unresolved concerns or complaints from our customers. Our team of title professionals have been completing property transfers for over 12 years for resort developers and vacation club operators who wish to re-deed properties that are used as equity for a new vacation ownership purchase. It sounds as though many of the posts are not from those who have used our services but instead have had bad experiences with timeshare assumption companies that were not responsible in handling the transaction. We take our responsibilities very seriously and encourage any person(s) that may have concerns or questions about our Company or its services to contact us directly at 1-888-310-9898. In addition, if you were contacted by an entity representing themselves as authorized personnel of EET we would encourage you to contact us directly at the number to confirm the authenticity.
 

richardm

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Amen!

This is a classic example of why none of the transfer/PCC/Relief groups that want your money upfront cannot be relied on. You have no leverage once your money is in their hands and more times than not what you paid for is never actually done.

Avoid them all. Do the work yourself and save thousands & be sure it's legally owned by someone new. Other wise you are wasting more money than you already did.

Great advice.. However I don't think anybody will listen.. It's the classic mindset "that won't happen to me" that keeps leading the lemmings over the ledge.
 

ttt

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...and the saga continues. We decided to take a chance and went ahead with the transfer. We received a General Warranty Deed from Elite Equity Transfer for signatures. The wording on this deed is exactly the same as the wording on the original Special Warranty deed when we purchased it from the resort. The deed shows us as the grantor and Elite as the grantee. Elite will in turn transfer the timeshare to someone else. Per their processing person, they will notify the resort with the appropriate documentation, and have the ownership transferred out of our names.

Has anyone had experience with this process? Any pitfalls? I am considering having a lawyer review this before signing anything.
I have had experience dealing with trade in companies such as the one you are dealing with. I don't think you have anything to worry about. You just need to follow through and make sure the transfer is completed. These trade in companies will try to sell or give away your ownership or they may let the property go into forclosure, but all you need be concerned about is that you are no longer the owner. In better times, these properties were resold, but today few are. If they can be sold within a year or 2, the trade in company will pay the back fees and process ownership to the new owner otherwise, they will be offered as a "deed-back" to the resort or they will just die in unpaid inventory. I bet if you ask, they will let you keep your traded in property for free......
 

carl2591

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I have had experience dealing with trade in companies such as the one you are dealing with. I don't think you have anything to worry about. You just need to follow through and make sure the transfer is completed. These trade in companies will try to sell or give away your ownership or they may let the property go into forclosure, but all you need be concerned about is that you are no longer the owner. In better times, these properties were resold, but today few are. If they can be sold within a year or 2, the trade in company will pay the back fees and process ownership to the new owner otherwise, they will be offered as a "deed-back" to the resort or they will just die in unpaid inventory. I bet if you ask, they will let you keep your traded in property for free......

while you might have had a good experience with another transfer company you have not dealt with this company. We all here on tug have seen the poster come here and talk about a company that had all this great info, good reviews and still lost their money and have the MF to deal with.

How about instead of money up front you collect when the deed has been cleared out of the current owners name..

guess that would go against the scam operation and you might loose money.
justsayin.

Oh another thing to remember, if or when this company transfers the title to a empty shell, Trojan ship company and it folds, that leaves all the other owners, some you might know, holding a burning stick.

the whole deal smells to me.
 

pacodemountainside

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Kinda reminds me of car dealers offering push, pull, drag guaranteed $4K trade in.

TV trouble shooter had loosy, goosy swinging chick and her boy friend drag a clunker behind his car they had picked up a junk yard for $100 to car dealer.

They handed her an offical $4K trade in certificate. She selected a nice fire engine red suppersudser and salesman said $29,995 less voucher just $25,995.

She passed and they told her to haul her junk heap off lot even though she offered to give to them.

That afternoon they had used car saleman go in and select same car. Was quoted $29,995 cash. He hung tough and price dropped to $25,495.

Ipso facto! Large trade ins on worthess junk are scams!
 

TUGBrian

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