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Getting rid of a time-share

mporfido

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Has anyone heard of, or have any experience with, Transfer Smart?
They claim they'll take possesion of a time-share with no fees whatsoever.

At this point I'd just as soon give the thing away than have to pay another year's maintenance fee.
 

DeniseM

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These companies only take timeshares for free if they have genuine resale value, and they can flip them for a quick profit. If your timeshare has resale value - you should sell it yourself, and keep the money yourself.

If it doesn't have any resale value, there will be a fee - often $2,000 - $3,000. Many times, they don't disclose the fee upfront.

To see what your timeshare is selling for on the resale market, log into ebay, search for the timeshare by name, and then click on "completed auctions" in the menu at the left to see the most recent selling prices. That's all that counts - not asking prices which can be completely unrealistic.
 
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kaio

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They claim they'll take possesion of a time-share with no fees whatsoever.

That is definitely a lie. They will charge you a large upfront fee. Use the search tool to find more info on this company.
 

theo

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Just another PostCard Company...

Has anyone heard of, or have any experience with, Transfer Smart?
They claim they'll take possesion of a time-share with no fees whatsoever.

At this point I'd just as soon give the thing away than have to pay another year's maintenance fee.

1. Based in Torrance, CA, likely a "rebranding" or a "spin off" of Timeshare Relief (another PostCard Company), oddly also based in Torrance, CA.

2. There will indeed be costs to you, likely several thousand dollars worth. They are playing semantics if they are claiming "no fees whatsoever". You would have to pay them the monetary equivalent of several years' worth of your annual maintenance costs. Whether that cost is described as a "fee" matters not to you --- it's still several thousand diollars out of your pocket and into theirs.

If you want to give your timeshare away, then you can and perhaps should (and may well have to) do so, but the PostCard Company (this PCC, or any other PCC) route is not the way to go...
 

rickandcindy23

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If you are wanting to give it away, list it here on TUG under Buying, Selling, Renting, and enter it under Bargain Deals for free. Someone may want your week.
 

funtime

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These transfer companies are giving timeshares a worse name than they already had! I do not know what type of timeshare you have and undoubtedly the value is lower than you would like to see. If you do not want to try our Tug Bargain Board, then with a little "elbow grease" you can learn how to use it more effecitvely. First - pay next year's maintenace fees and snag a really good week - hopefully one that will rent if you do not sell it as that will help sales. Also, if it has any value - most likely has to be a "name brand" use Redweek which brings higher prices (but is slower) than ebay. Ebay sales are for the desparate - which may be you. Also, learn how to use your week. You can potentially rent if for more than the maintenance fee to wipe out your maintenance fees if you snag a good week. While it takes some effort to lean the ins and outs and also get involved in renting on Redweek - yes and even on Craig's List - a little "sweat equity can help you with maintenance fees until this economy turns around and is really not that hard. Funtime
 

Rev1442

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Has anyone heard of, or have any experience with, Transfer Smart?
They claim they'll take possesion of a time-share with no fees whatsoever.

At this point I'd just as soon give the thing away than have to pay another year's maintenance fee.

They are a legit company that do what they say...for a fee. AKA Timeshare Relief, Transfer America. Regardless, if you want out of something no one else wants, it will cost you. Let me know the details of your ownership, and I will try to steer you in the right direction.
 

desert oasis

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These companies only take timeshares for free if they have genuine resale value, and they can flip them for a quick profit. If your timeshare has resale value - you should sell it yourself, and keep the money yourself.

If it doesn't have any resale value, there will be a fee - often $2,000 - $3,000. Many times, they don't disclose the fee upfront.

To see what your timeshare is selling for on the resale market, log into ebay, search for the timeshare by name, and then click on "completed auctions" in the menu at the left to see the most recent selling prices. That's all that counts - not asking prices which can be completely unrealistic.

I'm in London, UK but want to sell my week in Sedona (was Premiere Vacation Club/ILX, now taken over by Diamond Resorts International). Timeshare Luxury want a fee but say it will be held in escrow until the timeshare is sold & if it isn't sold, they'll return the fee. I'm not sure what "escrow" means (not something we have in UK). Any advice?
 

DeniseM

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I'm in London, UK but want to sell my week in Sedona (was Premiere Vacation Club/ILX, now taken over by Diamond Resorts International). Timeshare Luxury want a fee but say it will be held in escrow until the timeshare is sold & if it isn't sold, they'll return the fee. I'm not sure what "escrow" means (not something we have in UK). Any advice?

There is a simple rule about timeshare business offers:

NEVER pay a large upfront fee - REPUTABLE brokers charge a fee AFTER the sale. Don't do it!
 

vacationtime1

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I'm in London, UK but want to sell my week in Sedona (was Premiere Vacation Club/ILX, now taken over by Diamond Resorts International). Timeshare Luxury want a fee but say it will be held in escrow until the timeshare is sold & if it isn't sold, they'll return the fee. I'm not sure what "escrow" means (not something we have in UK). Any advice?

In this context, "escrow" should be a neutral third party to hold the funds.

What will happen in this case is that the "escrow" will be an affiliate of Timeshare Luxury, that person will pay over the funds to Timeshare Luxury, and you will be unprotected.

If you want to test this hypothesis, suggest that a major U.S. title company (e.g. Chicago Title, First American Title, etc.) act as the escrow agent. Timeshare Luxury will lose interest because there is no buyer and they will not be able to steal your escrow "deposit".

Run from these people.
 

desert oasis

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In this context, "escrow" should be a neutral third party to hold the funds.

What will happen in this case is that the "escrow" will be an affiliate of Timeshare Luxury, that person will pay over the funds to Timeshare Luxury, and you will be unprotected.

If you want to test this hypothesis, suggest that a major U.S. title company (e.g. Chicago Title, First American Title, etc.) act as the escrow agent. Timeshare Luxury will lose interest because there is no buyer and they will not be able to steal your escrow "deposit".

Run from these people.

Thanks. I am due to talk to the TimeshareLuxury Consumer Adviser later today . I'll do that & see what happens.
 

mporfido

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BB Response

They are a legit company that do what they say...for a fee. AKA Timeshare Relief, Transfer America. Regardless, if you want out of something no one else wants, it will cost you. Let me know the details of your ownership, and I will try to steer you in the right direction.

Hi,

I have one floating week at the Manhattan Club in NYC. The unit is an executive suite.
Let me know what other details you'd like to know.
 

theo

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Good advice; you'd be wise to follow it...

Run from these people.

In regard to "Timeshare Luxury", that's enough said, right there. You certainly don't need to waste your time on any phone conversations with their "consumer advisors" (a.k.a. "professional closers").

If you ultimately have to just give away your timeshare for free to be rid of it (a distinct and real possibility), so be it, but please don't get yourself involved with any of these unknown upfront fee parasites. They will just simply take your money and then do nothing for you (...and why would they? --- after all, they would already have your money). Worse, you'd be "out" whatever money paid and yet still own the timeshare. :eek:
 
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DeniseM

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Hi,

I have one floating week at the Manhattan Club in NYC. The unit is an executive suite.
Let me know what other details you'd like to know.

You may want to re-read Rev1442's post above - He is directing you to an upfront fee company.

Please consider giving your timeshare away to a private individual who would like to own it, before you spend a cent with a company like this.

Why?
-You can give it away yourself for nearly no cost.
-You can control the transfer process to make sure it is truly transferred out of your name.
-You won't have to deal with companies that may or may not be Legit.
-You can transfer it to a private individual who will be happy to have it for their own use.
-You will have the satisfaction of knowing that you ended your ownership legally and ethically.

There are two places on TUG where you can give away your TS's for free (no charge for the Ads.) There are other cheap and free sites on the internet, as well.

TUG Marketplace - the only cost is your TUG membership - $15 (List it for $1 and it will automatically go in the Bargain Basement Ads.)

Bargain Deals - Totally FREE! - just write a simple post with all the pertinent info. In your post, include the following info.:
-resort name
-unit size
-season owned
-maintenance fee
-current reservations​

To make it more attractive I would:

1) Pay 2011/12 maintenance fees and don't ask for reimbursement.

2) Pay for the title transfer (you can get a simple title transfer with no escrow or title search for about $100.) Many people have used Tugger TTT (Alan) at Time Travel Traders for this service in the past, but he is retired and is referring most business to Lisa Short for this service - 1.706.969.8906 readylegal@gmail.com Lisa has been receiving good reviews on TUG.

3) Reserve a popular holiday week in 2012 for the new owner​

Good luck!
 

timeos2

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Thanks. I am due to talk to the TimeshareLuxury Consumer Adviser later today . I'll do that & see what happens.

VERY dangerous to even talk to these people. The "good" ones have an answer for every issue - and you can find yourself talked into a very bad decision you know you shouldn't make. Best to simply forget that they called you (one of the many signs of an operation just looking for those upfront fees they invariably are asking for) and find a new taker for your week even if you have to pay some costs to get it accepted. Still far cheaper than these ripoff groups will hit you up for. And by handling it without them you are assured the transfer is actually made. Often times these companies will take your fees and then do nothing to actually transfer the ownership. You may not even know until much later when penalties & interest have piled up & YOUR credit report is hit as a delinquent.

Forget them & save your money. Look to the options like Denise has outlined.
 

desert oasis

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Thanks for all the advice. It's really helped me to decide not to use the company I mentioned. Further research today has revealed that the escrow agent with whom they wanted me to put almost $4,000 is affiliated to their parent company.
 

Rev1442

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Hi,

I have one floating week at the Manhattan Club in NYC. The unit is an executive suite.
Let me know what other details you'd like to know.

Manhattan Club has the First Right of Refusal on all sales. With the amount it costs to get a transfer done, your first step is to send a purchase contract stating that you have sold your ownership for $1.00 to (Insert fictitious person here). At that point, they will decide if they want to take it back or not (pray they do).

If they don't, then you are looking at coming out of pocket to get out of it. Everyone can tell you eBay, as much as they want, but, even then, you will be coming out of pocket. The same goes for "Giving it away", as well.

Why?

Manhattan Club charges a $1,000 transfer fee. On top of that, you will have to deal with the recording of the deed in the City of New York, where the recording fee will run around $400 (not inclusive of closing costs). The cost of the transfer is already at $1400 prior to any third party company getting their piece of the action. Tag on another $300 min. in closing costs, depending on who you go through and you're at $1700 for the transfer. Who do you think is going to be responsible for that? The buyer? Good luck with even splitting that down the middle. For every eBay auction you see go down, you're looking at a good chance of a NPB strike against the buyer.

Then there's the use year problem. Manhattan Club doesn't run on a calendar use year program. There are several different use years that are reflective of when maintenance fees are due. Reservations are booked pretty solid through June and, probably will be even longer by the time the transfer is ready to be completed. So, who's going to want to pay the $1,800+ maintenance fee and not even be guaranteed a week they can use. So, now you're looking at maybe eating your maintenance fee for 2012. Ugh...you can see where this is going, now.

At any rate, start with the First Right of Refusal. If you need any help, please feel free to send me a Private Message and I can give you the information needed for to get you started. For all the naysayers out there, no, my information doesn't cost a dime.

Good luck.
 

DeniseM

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If you need any help, please feel free to send me a Private Message and I can give you the information needed for to get you started. For all the naysayers out there, no, my information doesn't cost a dime.

Rev1442 - Since you work in the industry, please do not continue to ask posters to contact you privately. It is a violation of the TUG Posting rules.
If you are a broker or salesperson, or work in an allied field, we welcome your participation on the board. We value your industry perspective and valuable insights. We do not appreciate, however, attempts to use our bbs for direct commercial purposes. We do not, for instance, welcome your adding tag lines promoting your business, such as "Call me for more information." Use the board as a way to be helpful and build your reputation, not as a direct sales tool, please. Due to flagrant commercial violations by some abusers in the past, we have found it necessary to be very strict about this.
 
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Rev1442

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Rev1442 - Since you work in the industry, please do not continue to ask posters to contact you privately. It is a violation of the TUG Posting rules.

Fine, contact me publicly, I certainly have nothing to hide. Like I said Naysayers, my information doesn't cost a dime. Where's the agenda in that. So, sorry for trying to help.
 
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DeniseM

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Rev1442 - I am not a "Naysayer." I am a TUG Moderator enforcing the posting rules that you agreed to when you signed up as a guest on TUG. Please read the posting rule I quoted above, and the reason for the rule should be very clear to you.

Per TUG posting rules, if you have any more questions about the rules, please contact me privately.
 
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Carolinian

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They are a legit company that do what they say...for a fee. AKA Timeshare Relief, Transfer America. Regardless, if you want out of something no one else wants, it will cost you. Let me know the details of your ownership, and I will try to steer you in the right direction.

There is NO ''right direction''. These guys are scammers. If the timeshare has value, they will want you to pay them so that they can then turn around and sell it for a profit. If it does not and it is from a resort where the HOA will take deedbacks, they will charge you ~$3K for them to do the simple deedback that you could have done yourself for a tiny fraction of that.

If the week has no value and is from a resort that does not take deedbacks, they will park it in an LLC which has no assets except such timeshares and let it vegitate there. That does screws the HOA and your fellow owners, who will have to pay more to get it foreclosed on.

Some of the independent management companies are now telling timeshare members at their resorts, that if a member deeds through a PCC to its LLC, then the HOA will sue both the PCC and the timeshare member for fraudulent conveyance. So what the member will have bought with his ~$3K fee will be a large defense lawyers bill or a large judgment that the HOA will them come after them to pay or both. There was an article recently in Timesharing Today about this pushback against the PCC's. It is about time. I hope more HOA's go after those who try to welch on their fellow members.

And can we forget the state Attorney Generals who have investigated PCC's and forced many of them to reimburse money to their clients.

PCC's are some of the worst slime in the timeshare industry.
 

Rev1442

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There is NO ''right direction''.

Pretty sure letting the Resort take it back on the First Right of Refusal is the right direction (If they will). Just because something isn't your cup of tea, doesn't mean that an individual shouldn't have all the options presented to them. That way one can make a sound, educated decision about what is best for one's self. I'm just tired of hearing everyone say "Try eBay" or "Try to give it away" (which everyone should try first) and then offering nothing else beyond that. Where does one turn after those two options fail? I'd love to hear.
 

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Has anyone heard of, or have any experience with, Transfer Smart?
They claim they'll take possesion of a time-share with no fees whatsoever.

At this point I'd just as soon give the thing away than have to pay another year's maintenance fee.

If you want to walk away from your TS, list it for sell here or on ebay Offer to pay the closing and be done with it. I listed here and on ebay for .99. Sold it for $455. I use a closing agent, legaltimesharetransfers.com. They charged me $79.00 and the transfer fee from the TS was $100.00. I was able to cover the closing costs with the sale proceeds. Case closed, no more MFs.
 
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kaio

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Where does one turn after those two options fail? I'd love to hear.

Well trying to give it away doesn't 'fail'... just takes some patience and creative marketing... always someone that may want it at some point in time, as the owner did.

otherwise, if desperate... we all know what a 3rd option is. (if handled intelligently and delicately)
 
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