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Help me decide if this is legit and what I should ask.

D

Dspud2006

Guest
Joined
Jun 4, 2024
Messages
21
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3
Resorts Owned
HGV
Just purchased a 11,200 points deal on eBay for Orlando Seaworld resort. Never purchased resale off eBay before. Is there anything I should watch for before committing money to this in case it’s a scam? I feel I got a pretty good deal on the points. I figured worst case scenario if I pay with credit card I can just dispute it if something goes bad..

Things I can tell you is, I have talked to seller on the phone. His name comes back to a legit person. The number is verified though my cell carrier so it’s likely not scammed. When I google the number I find the name of the person selling me the contract on LinkedIn and several sites. The contract owners, based on the sales contract, are legitimate people and the address for them appears correct (again through Google search). I even found a news video of the owner complaining about a local project in his town.

The seller does not seem to be a broker, as he does not have history of selling these on eBay in the past. He has an old account, but no real reviews in the last year. Only one, and even then he was the buyer.

The seller has not been pushy at all but has asked how I was paying and I told him likely a credit card. He later sent me a Venmo request. I told him I was not comfortable with that quite yet as this has not gone through ROFR yet . He was not pushy about getting the money right away when I talked to him on the phone.

What is reasonable to ask the seller for before I commit any money to this purchase? I have signed a contract that has the HGVC contract number and all the required info on it. I am just trying to lessen the chance of me having to call my credit card and having them dispute the charge from being scammed.
 
Request the estoppel and who the closing company is.
 
Is t
TheTimeTraveler said:
Tell the seller you want to use your own closer. Suggest using www.LTTransfers.com

A closer who represents you won't release your funds unless the deed is legit and transferred.









Is this something that is common? For the price I’m getting this I don’t mind paying a bit to have someone on my side. I just don’t want to jeopardize the sale.
Click to expand...
 
I totally agree with @TheTimeTraveler. Only do the deal with a transfer company. Being you don't know the seller it is the only way to 100% protect yourself.
 
You can ask about the seller on this website.

People here know ALOT!

Also, its probably not a huge amount of money. There are times you just risk it....
 
4TimeAway said:
You can ask about the seller on this website.

People here know ALOT!

Also, it’s probably not a huge amount of money. There are times you just risk it....
Click to expand...
This is the listing. Sellers name is Jeffrey Kitchen.

www.ebay.com

11,200 PLATINUM HGVC Points At Hilton Grand Vacations Club At SeaWorld | eBay

11,200 HGVC Points Renews Annually on Janurary 1st. HGVC Reserves the Right of First Refusal on This Property/Points . 11,200 Hilton Grand Vacations Club Points at SeaWorld. Hilton Grand Vacations Club at SeaWorld.
www.ebay.com
 
I assume that if the Buyer I requesting a formal closing company for a Points account they will pay the fees for that service.
 
I’m the buyer. I haven’t. But I may. Never bought resale before so I’m learning as I go along.
 
And many of these eBay sellers have a closing company they use, which very well could be their cousin working in the room next door to the seller.
 
Looks like only thing sold in a year. They may not know what they are doing either. I'd use the Time Traveler’s advice to use www.LTTransfers.com (or other TUG reviewed service). Working with an experienced team is so worth it.

Also, it can take a couple of months so recourse on the credit card can be impossible. Then again, its $1,500 and will make for a great story regardless of the outcome, but you should have no issues.

Beware you will start to collect these timeshares and enjoy more and better vacations. Then you will want to optimize your collection and you might become a reseller also. That might be too much self-reflection and disclosure in public. First step is I admitting I have timeshare addition…

Not sure TUG really helps me in my recovery! 😊
 
4TimeAway said:
Looks like only thing sold in a year. They may not know what they are doing either. I'd use the Time Traveler’s advice to use www.LTTransfers.com (or other TUG reviewed service). Working with an experienced team is so worth it.

Also, it can take a couple of months so recourse on the credit card can be impossible. Then again, its $1,500 and will make for a great story regardless of the outcome, but you should have no issues.

Beware you will start to collect these timeshares and enjoy more and better vacations. Then you will want to optimize your collection and you might become a reseller also. That might be too much self-reflection and disclosure in public. First step is I admitting I have timeshare addition…

Not sure TUG really helps me in my recovery! 😊
Click to expand...
Ha thanks! Ditching $1500 on a scam would give me a story to tell, but not sure one I would want to tell people😂
 
Dspud2006 said:
The seller has not been pushy at all but has asked how I was paying and I told him likely a credit card. He later sent me a Venmo request. I told him I was not comfortable with that quite yet as this has not gone through ROFR yet . He was not pushy about getting the money right away when I talked to him on the phone.
Click to expand...

You can pay VenMo (or PayPal) with a credit card. There is a fee, but it does add the CC protection.

Cheers.
 
Ok update. I went ahead and risked it and sent him the money via PayPal. That same day, an email was written to grandvacationstitle@hgv.com asking to a title name change with a HGV title change form and our signed contract. This was on July 10 2024. Everything looked legit. Not sure what to expect next. Does this sound correct to this point?
 
HuskerATL said:
Request the estoppel and who the closing company is.
Click to expand...
Did you see the estoppel? Looks like you are also skipping using a closing company such as LT Transfer.
 
GT75 said:
Did you see the estoppel? Looks like you are also skipping using a closing company such as LT Transfer.
Click to expand...
I did not. I did call HGV and confirmed the contract exists and was up to date and owned by the sellers on the contract. (the lady I got might have told me some stuff she shouldn’t have, but she was very helpful).

I also called my credit card fraud department and told them the situation and they told me if I determined it was fraud I could dispute it. Right now I really don’t think it is, just probably not sold the most safe way.

I called the HGV title company today and they told me once they review the request I should hear back from them, but it might take a week or two. So ASSUMING I didnt get frauded, I think it’s going to go ok. The only thing I didn’t understand is that on the title change form to HGV they marked Gift transfer, but they did identify me as the purchaser.
 
Dspud2006 said:
The only thing I didn’t understand is that on the title change form to HGV they marked Gift transfer, but they did identify me as the purchaser.
Click to expand...
Gift transfer is actual suppose to be free and then wouldn't require ROFR.
 
GT75 said:
Gift transfer is actual suppose to be free and then wouldn't require ROFR.
Click to expand...
Interesting. Well they sent my contract with the seller in with the title name change form. And put me down as purchaser as the relationship with the seller. Guess we will see how it goes.
 
Dspud2006 said:
Interesting. Well they sent my contract with the seller in with the title name change form. And put me down as purchaser as the relationship with the seller. Guess we will see how it goes.
Click to expand...
Well, HGVC isn't exercising ROFR on anything except for SC properties from what I have observed. And actually the developer (Strand) is the entity exercising ROFR on the SC properties. So that certainly won't be an issue. But HGVC might go through the ROFR process (IDK).

Personally, next time I would request an estoppel which is the legal document that there is no loan, all fees paid and number of points and MFs. But that sounds like what the person at HGV gave you (I am also surprised that you obtained that information). Secondly, I would also next time suggest using a closing company such as LT Transfer.

That is all water over the dam now.
 
Wouldn’t the deed need to be refiled with the county? I’ve never bought in FL, so please correct me if the process is different there.
 
GT75 said:
Well, HGVC isn't exercising ROFR on anything except for SC properties from what I have observed. And actually the developer (Strand) is the entity exercising ROFR on the SC properties. So that certainly won't be an issue. But HGVC might go through the ROFR process (IDK).

Personally, next time I would request an estoppel which is the legal document that there is no loan, all fees paid and number of points and MFs. But that sounds like what the person at HGV gave you (I am also surprised that you obtained that information). Secondly, I would also next time suggest using a closing company such as LT Transfer.

That is all water over the dam now.
Click to expand...
Yeah this was kind of a last minute deal. I figured it’s low risk. The paperwork should be at HGV now so I’ll call next week. Just wondering what I should ask for or expect next
 
Dspud2006 said:
Yeah this was kind of a last minute deal. I figured it’s low risk. The paperwork should be at HGV now so I’ll call next week. Just wondering what I should ask for or expect next
Click to expand...
I guess the question is, what paperwork is at HGV? HGV doesn't prepare a deed or get it recorded. That is something that either the owner could do themselves via DIY or a timeshare closing company would handle. It seems the seller on your transaction is the owner and not overly familiar with how to do things?
 
The seller is not the owner. He’s definitely brokering it for them. But not sure why. The paperwork he sent to HGV is the Title Name Change form and the contract I signed with the owner for the purchase of points.
 
Here is what was sent to HGV. The files are the title name change form and our contract.
 

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Dspud2006 said:
Here is what was sent to HGV. The files are the title name change form and our contract.
Click to expand...
Perhaps this is just to start the process on ROFR? They can't change title without a new deed conveying ownership to you.
 
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