Finn Law Group

[JudyMesko]

Has anyone used Finn Law Group to cancel a timeshare contract?
What was the result? Are they legitimate?

 

[Passepartout]

Do not pay any exit company! No one can magically cancel a contract you bought freely. If it is paid off, you can give it away. If not, either quit paying, or bankrupt out of it. Either way, your credit may be affected.

Just don't add to it by signing up to pay more

 

[JudyMesko]

Do not pay any exit company! No one can magically cancel a contract you bought freely. If it is paid off, you can give it away. If not, either quit paying, or bankrupt out of it. Either way, your credit may be affected.

Just don't add to it by signing up to pay more

Ok thanks

 

[JudyMesko]

Ok thanks

Can they sue me for non performance? and force me to pay or garnish my bank account?

 

[Passepartout]

Can they sue me for non performance? and force me to pay or garnish my bank account?

It depends on the state where the TS (and default) is. You would have plenty of warning- late notices, legal proceedings relating to foreclosure, etc. @Grammarhero has kept up with these things. Then again, some TS outfits will simply make you an offer to take back the deed (for a price) with no repercussions. There is no hard & fast rule.

Jim

 

[JudyMesko]

It depends on the state where the TS (and default) is. You would have plenty of warning- late notices, legal proceedings relating to foreclosure, etc. @Grammarhero has kept up with these things. Then again, some TS outfits will simply make you an offer to take back the deed (for a price) with no repercussions. There is no hard & fast rule.

Jim

Do you happen to know about the state of Florida?

 

[LannyPC]

Do you happen to know about the state of Florida?

https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/links-to-official-state-timeshare-laws-and-guides-manuals.298554/

 

[LannyPC]

Can they sue me for non performance? and force me to pay or garnish my bank account?

https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/2020-timeshare-default-credit-report-collection-tracking.304138/

 

[dioxide45]

Most of these timeshare exit outfits will do several things, most of which you can do for free.

1. They will send off a form letter to your developer claiming fraud and misrepresentations at the sales presentation. But unless they have enough to file suit, it won't go further as the developer will just ignore it. They do this to pretend they are doing something for the thousands you spent.
2. They will have you stop making payments on loans and maintenance fees. This will ultimately result in foreclosure and a possible hit to your credit. You could do this yourself for free with no help from a timeshare exit outfit. Depending on the state and if the developer had recourse on the debt, they could send a 1099-C to the IRS which makes the write off potentially taxable.

This isn't legal advice, I am not a lawyer, so take this as you will. You already stated that it is in Florida. That is good because they have non judicial foreclosure and anti-deficiency. Meaning if you don't object to the foreclosure going through anon judicial process, they can't collect any debt beyond simply taking back the timeshare. So if they foreclose, they take the timeshare back and you are done. That of course doesn't absolve you of any credit related issues. Since it is anti deficiency, I don't think they can send a 1099-C.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

Can they sue me for non performance? and force me to pay or garnish my bank account?

Why bother with this hassle? Why not just give it away here on TUG in the Timeshare Giveaway Forum?

I think someone may be interested in taking the Title off your hands and get you off the hook quickly and easily.

Best of luck!




.

 

[JudyMesko]

Why bother with this hassle? Why not just give it away here on TUG in the Timeshare Giveaway Forum?

I think someone may be interested in taking the Title off your hands and get you off the hook quickly and easily.

Best of luck!




.

I have it listed for sale for $1 Palm Beach Shores Vacation Villas.

 

[pedro47]

What state does this law firm practice in ?
Have you check this law firm staff members and what does this law firn specialize in?

 

[JudyMesko]

What state does this law firm practice in ?
Have you check this law firm staff members and what does this law firn specialize in?

They practice in Florida. They said they specialize in timeshare law.

 

[Passepartout]

They practice in Florida. They said they specialize in timeshare law.

What, pray tell, is 'timeshare law'? I think this is just another upfront fee exit scammer. To them, a foreclosure is a successful exit. Make your ad attractive. Include pictures of people having fun there. Perhaps offer a few hundred $$ gift card to the new owner on closing, and reserving them a nice week while the transfer is in process. It will find a new home. Simply offering it for a buck doesn't make it seem more than damaged goods to those not specifically looking for this particular interval.

Good Luck!

Jim

 

[HudsHut]

The resort's website has some wonderful photos.

Palm Beach Shores Resort

Palm Beach Shores Resort & Vacation Villas. Surrounded by properties catering to the wealthy, we offer affordable luxury on one of the world's most beautiful beaches.

pbsr.com

The resort trades via RCI:

RCI - the largest timeshare vacation exchange network in the world

Here are the current Redweek for sale ads:

Palm Beach Shores Resort and Vacation Villas Timeshares For Sale | RedWeek

Buy a timeshare directly from Palm Beach Shores Resort and Vacation Villas owners. Resales are almost always 30 - 50% cheaper than buying the same unit from the resort!

www.redweek.com

Good Luck!

 

[TUGBrian]

you should do a few things to improve your sale chances LONG before you even consider forking out hundreds if not thousands to a company making claims about helping you.

1. offer to pay closing costs as the seller, mention this in an obvious place on the ad (like the title)
2. mention its already enrolled in RCI points.
3. also post it in the bargain deals section of the forum.

anyone who fails to do some or all of these has not even put forth the bare minimum of effort to actually attract a legitimate buyer for a Timeshare.

these steps take no more than a few short minutes of your time and probably double or even triple the attractiveness of your timeshare on the resale market to a potential buyer.

 

[RX8]

Has anyone used Finn Law Group to cancel a timeshare contract?
What was the result? Are they legitimate?

Are you thinking of using an exit company? | Timeshare Users Group Discussion Forums (tugbbs.com)

While there is a real attorney behind this Finn Law Group that doesn't make them a great deal. They are going to charge thousands of dollars and find the easiest way out of your timeshare, even if that means a deed back (which is an owner option at some resorts that the exit companies don't want you to know about) or foreclosure (who needs to pay someone thousands of dollars to get foreclosed on?). That business model isn't any different than the less scrupulous exit companies.

Two cases in point are below that Finn Law Group considers foreclosure an exceptable result in return for your thousands of dollars (first two reviews). The last review is from someone who paid $5,000 for a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. Something that the owner very likely could have requested themselves for free.

BBB Review:
"Finn Law group is relentless in fighting companies that look to prey upon innocent consumers. I am thankful that we chose to work with them and that they agreed to work with us. The time share payments are done, contract cancelled, account closed. However, we are working with Finn Law to have the derogatory information removed from our credit reports. The timeshare is reporting the we were late with the payments and that the account is charged off/written off."

Google Review:
"Run, do not walk, away from your decision to hire these guys. They will tell you that your credit will not be effected (sic) and that they can get you out of your agreement without long term issues. This is simply not true. After paying $10k, we now have in essence a foreclosure on our credit that we will deal with for years. ...Once it was over and I complained about this issue, the email responses were filled with comments like "you should be grateful and appreciative" for what they had done. ...They deal online and have plenty of clients that just pull them up out of desperation. Dont be one of them. Find someone else, negotiate with your timeshare company, etc. This was a nightmare that we will deal with for years. Not to mention it took between 12-18 months to complete in the first place with zero updates unless we called to see where we were. Once they had the money, we were the only ones driving the communication. Again, run...dont walk.....away!"

Google Review
"My family used the Finn Law Firm to assist in existing our time share. In the beginning of the process, promises were made but never kept. We paid over $5,000.00 for representation and all we received from this firm was a letter sent to the time share company. For almost two years we had been trying to speak with the attorney and only spoke with the paralegals. I called and asked for the name of the attorney that was actually handling our case and again I received a paralegal. Finally, the attorney representing the time share company sent the Finn Law Group a letter for Deed in Lieu which they forwarded to us. I took it upon myself to call the attorney to find out exactly what was going on, only to find out that the Finn Law Group did absolutely NOTHING besides send a letter of representation. The Deed in Lieu is normal process for property that is going to foreclosure. This is something that we could have done ourselves. It’s enough that we lost $18,000.00 for a time share that was never available for use, we also lost $5,000.00 to this law firm that took advantage of my family!!!!!! "

There are many positive reviews, but I wonder how many of those are unsuspecting owners who simply did not realize that they had options themselves that would have been at a fraction of the many thousands paid to Finn Law Group.

 

[theo]

Has anyone used Finn Law Group to cancel a timeshare contract?
What was the result? Are they legitimate?

This response is certainly not an "endorsement" of any kind --- not in any way shape or form.

That clearly stated, Michael Finn is indeed a licensed and legitimate Floriday attorney who apparently represents (...for a fee) people willing to "go to the hip" to battle with timeshare developers over contracts. I met Finn about 10-12 years ago when he spoke at a meeting (in Sarasota, iirc) of the now defunct Florida Timeshare Owners Group, which was overseen by a fellow named Frank DeBar. Finn seemed like a nice enough guy, was entertaining and articulate; self-described as a real PITA to various timeshare developers in Florida. Finn was not at the FTOG meeting to peddle his services (wrong audience for that), but I frankly don't recall (a decade later) the topics he addressed.

At the end of the day, there are no "magical escapes", unilateral cancellations or "secret exits" from a lawful and valid contract, freely and voluntarily executed. Accordingly I have no idea what Mike Finn (or any other attorney) could or would purport to be able to do to extract people from voluntarily undertaken contractual obligations.

All that said, you don't need to pay any attorney a dime to ultimately get foreclosed upon if / when your resort refuses to voluntarily accept a deedback, if it turns out that you cannout even give the timeshare away for free (...maybe also offering to pay the closing costs and any applicable transfer fees yourself).

 

[LannyPC]

Has anyone used Finn Law Group to cancel a timeshare contract?
What was the result? Are they legitimate?

For future reference, we recommend people use the Search function here on TUG which will likely direct you to other threads already posted about a company. If you had used the Search feature at the beginning, you would've come across this plethora of threads discussing FLG:

https://tugbbs.com/forums/search/371027/?q=Finn+Law+Group&c[title_only]=1&o=date

Much was said and much advice was given about this company in these threads. Very little positive was said. In the end, basically all that was said (as is being said in this thread) is that this company is going to charge you thousands of dollars to do something you can do yourself for a lot less money.

 

[Joe703b]

I just used them to get out of my Massanutten, and it was not hard at all: $3500!

 

[davidvel]

I just used them to get out of my Massanutten, and it was not hard at all: $3500!

Please give us all the details of how the process worked.

 

[Joe703b]

It looks like they need to make sure they know who the main company is. Like the actual owners, I didn't pay my dues; they sent out paperwork saying they were representing me. to send all further info to them, and now, 8 months later, I got something in the main form with Massanutten letterhead saying they will be doing all kinds of legal mubo jumbo and taking the deed back in a non-judicial format. I paid half up front and have been making payments since February. Any time I call, I get people, and they answer my questions. I am super happy. I am sure there might be a way to do this with a normal lawyer if you have a friend or one that you like, but it seems you don't pay next year's dues and get them to send paper work in. But it seems like they need to know the firm and how they work on the inside.
This COULD be something motivated people can do on their own, but it depends on the laws. It turns out that some of these owners are "nonprofits," and as long as they don't hire a third party, it might go over easily. I am just happy to be done.

 

[dioxide45]

It looks like they need to make sure they know who the main company is. Like the actual owners, I didn't pay my dues; they sent out paperwork saying they were representing me. to send all further info to them, and now, 8 months later, I got something in the main form with Massanutten letterhead saying they will be doing all kinds of legal mubo jumbo and taking the deed back in a non-judicial format. I paid half up front and have been making payments since February. Any time I call, I get people, and they answer my questions. I am super happy. I am sure there might be a way to do this with a normal lawyer if you have a friend or one that you like, but it seems you don't pay next year's dues and get them to send paper work in. But it seems like they need to know the firm and how they work on the inside.
This COULD be something motivated people can do on their own, but it depends on the laws. It turns out that some of these owners are "nonprofits," and as long as they don't hire a third party, it might go over easily. I am just happy to be done.

You realize you could have just stopped paying on your own without paying them thousands of dollars. That is the ripoff with these outfits.

 

[TUGBrian]

yea that is certainly frustrating especially when you were warned of this exact scenario back in december. 3500 seems like a whole lot of money to simply default on your own timeshare.

 

[Joe703b]

You realize you could have just stopped paying on your own without paying them thousands of dollars. That is the ripoff with these outfits.

Maybe.. id loves someone else to try it and see what way works out for them with no dings to credit or harassing or it taking years to do.