I'm one of the real estate litigation attorneys (NYS Bar #4986634) who founded GeniusExit, and I'd like a chance to clear a few things up, if you'd allow me. Before I do, let me give you some background on me. I'm a trial and appellate litigator by trade, and an expert in real property law. I have over 50 published judicial opinions citing me as counsel of record, and here is my most recent appellate win, reversing the trial court (on an issue of fact, following a hearing!!!!!),
http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2021/2021_02562.htm. I'd still be perfecting appeals, but-for Covid, and yet instead I was able to join forces with a legal tech company, GeniusLaw.
GeniusLaw's primary focus is aiding in the delivery of unbundled legal services for mortgage foreclosure defense, and facilitating loss mitigation efforts. We began to notice an influx of people looking for relief from their timeshare, so we investigated the industry and learned what people here already know: most exit companies are scams that do nothing for their clients except take their money and ruin their credit. At the same time, the perils of timeshare ownership may be relieved with a simple transfer of title. Thus, less than a year ago, we partitioned our timeshare resolution operations under GeniusExit as a direct subsidiary of GeniusLaw.
We know we're not winning anyone over on this forum. Many people here truly love their timeshare, and companies like GeniusExit make it more expensive, as each owner we exit increases the yearly fee for everyone left owning it. That's right: we use the Viking Ship model, which means, if your resort won't take it back, we'll exit your paid-off timeshare by transferring it out of your name. You can read
@TUGBrian's critique of it here,
https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/story-on-viking-ship-llc-companies.218629/#post-1688020, as he explains that the only problems he has with the Viking Ship model are that (1) that the exit companies lie about it, or (2) they take your money without doing the work. We're honest about being a Viking Ship, and we do the work (transferring a deed after reviewing CC&R et al. is child's play for someone who knows what they're doing).
It's a fact that many (if not most) in the "exit industry" simply don't do the work. Please, stay skeptical of exit companies. This industry is completely unregulated and overrun by bad actors. More to the point, we agree that the exit industry SHOULD NOT exist. It is an insult and slap in the face to both resorts and timeshare owners. We agree with Brian, in that resorts should accept paid-off timeshares, without question or objection, and without a "transfer" fee. If they did that, no one would think about paying thousands to exit a timeshare.
That being said, the fact that the exit industry exists speaks to the difficulty, if not utter impossibility, in exiting a timeshare by yourself. To be sure, if it was as simple as giving a timeshare away, who in their right mind would pay $3000 or more to help them "exit?" Nearly every client of ours tried on their own to get out, but was unable.
Nevertheless, allow me to be emphatic: before you contact GeniusExit or anyone about getting rid of your timeshare, call your resort, as there's a chance they will treat you with the respect you deserve, and take your deed back without any hassle. If that fails and you want to waste some more time, please feel free to try to resell it. When that doesn't work, meaning when the resort won't take it back and you can't give it away, then consider giving us a call. Here's the thing, most timeshares are worthless and can't be given away, but so long as you own it, they have you on the hook for maintenance fees and more. At that point, if you're not keeping it, you must either incorporate your own legal entity to accept the title, pull the land records to comply with the CC&R, draft real property instruments in recordable form, and file them with the appropriate clerk, or you hire GeniusExit to do it for you.
Sorry, my friend, but that's not how inheritance or real property law works. As all first-year law school are taught: there's no such thing as real property without an owner. If you own it at the time of your demise, it devolves to your heirs at law, automatically and immediately at the moment of death via the rules of intestacy, unless addressed in a will. This is a fancy way of saying, whether it's a farm, cottage, or timeshare ownership, any real property interest that remains in your name when you die automatically passes to your heirs (absent a will). That's just how the law works. Can you pay an attorney to handle it, instead of GeniusExit? Sure, for a mere $400+ an hour, but, either way, you still have to address the automatic vesting of that real property interest, attorney or not.
As an attorney, I completely agree with your advice to consult an attorney (and I appreciate the job assurance which attends such advice). If they can do it for less, hire the attorney (of course, you'd need to pay 100% upfront via a retainer). Moreover, we could not agree more: there is no "secret recipe" for exiting a timeshare. It takes tenacity and resilience, not good luck or a silver bullet. We tell our clients that they could do it themselves, likely, it just is apt to take a lot of work. That's what we get paid to do: the work to get you out. We make dozens and dozens of calls in order to fight through the gatekeepers to a decision-maker with the power and authority to napprove an exit. Our team excels at getting positive results, but perhaps only as we have the resources and competence to back it up via the Viking Ship exit.
We haven't helped thousands of people exit their timeshares, nor have we claimed to: we haven't been in business for more than a year. We have extensive experience assisting consumers fight institutions for financial equity, with our team having helped thousands, but it will take a little time before we may boast of helping "thousands exit their timeshares." That being said, the methodology we rely on is tested and true, and we have the expertise to make quick work of it.
As for the balance... I registered the domain name, myself, using a standard provider, and all domain names are registered via private third parties (we can't all be ICANN). People stopped leaving personal details on whois registries during the late 90's, given that no one (who isn't trying to spam you) gets your contact details from a domain whois query.
