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how to tell if a closing company if legit?

kembjkk

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We recently purchased a 2 br at Orange Lake week 10 for $2 off Ebay. They are now asking us to close the deal of course, and asking for ID etc. How do you know if a company is legitimate? The company is VacationServices2, anyone heard of them?
Thanks.
 

theo

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Roll them dice...

We recently purchased a 2 br at Orange Lake week 10 for $2 off Ebay. They are now asking us to close the deal of course, and asking for ID etc. How do you know if a company is legitimate? The company is VacationServices2, anyone heard of them?
Thanks.

Personally, I've never heard this name before as a reseller or as a known closing entity, but neither do I choose to ever conduct timeshare transactions vis eBay.

Many eBay resellers require use of their own mandated closing entity, with no other choice or option available to the buyer. Precious few (...if any) of these "mandatory" closers are excellent, despite often charging more money for closing fees than even the best professional timeshare closing companies in the business. Many are only marginally competent (...on a good day) and some are just outright inept (...every day). In some instances, the seller and the "closer" are actually just the very same people anyhow, merely donning different hats for different parts of the transaction. Unfortunately, it's often a real roll of the dice with many eBay resellers regarding even the accurate identification of the listed product in the first place, let alone competent and reasonably priced closing services later.

I hope that your luck is good in rolling the dice on this, although a two dollar bet for a fixed week 10 in Florida certainly seems to be a decent bet with minimal risk, assuming that the listing is even factually accurate in the first place (...a very big assumption with many bumbling eBay resellers). I would respectfully suggest demanding a recently dated copy of estoppel documentation issued by the resort (i.e., not one "created" by the reseller) for verification of the product and owners' account status.
 
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Passepartout

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I think you'd be on good grounds to ask for references at least, but with $2 at risk, you don't have much at stake. Really.
 

BevL

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I read your question as basically, "How can I make sure my personal information is not going to be misused by this closing company?" If it was a part of the auction that you use their closing company because they're paying the freight, with the greatest of respect, the time to ask questions about that procedure was before you bought.

You also said that they are "asking" to close the sale. If you're paying for closing, again, unless it was specified as a term of the purchase that you use their company, I'd think you could use who you like.

But again, it's two bucks. If you get a bad vibe and don't want to go through with it, that's certainly an option for you.

I'd also be looking at the feedback for the seller. Are there comments in the feedback about it taking a long time to close or problems with the closing?
 

csxjohn

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If you post a link to the auction you won we could look it over and maybe could help a little.
 

csxjohn

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Thank you.


We recently purchased a 2 br at Orange Lake week 10 for $2 off Ebay. They are now asking us to close the deal of course, and asking for ID etc. How do you know if a company is legitimate? The company is VacationServices2, anyone heard of them?
Thanks.

They are not asking for anything unusual here. Providing proof of who you are is common in real estate transactions.

Also, here is part of what you agreed to when you placed your bid.

"After our legal department gathers and prepares the transfer documentation; we will deliver your deed to the appropriate county clerk or court to be recorded. Lastly, a written notification of the transfer, and a copy of the recorded deed are delivered to the resort."

The questions you are asking probably should have been asked before you bid. Keep in mind that real estate auctions on eBay are non binding so if you don't want to follow through you don't have to.
 

Ty1on

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Thank you.




They are not asking for anything unusual here. Providing proof of who you are is common in real estate transactions.

Also, here is part of what you agreed to when you placed your bid.

"After our legal department gathers and prepares the transfer documentation; we will deliver your deed to the appropriate county clerk or court to be recorded. Lastly, a written notification of the transfer, and a copy of the recorded deed are delivered to the resort."

The questions you are asking probably should have been asked before you bid. Keep in mind that real estate auctions on eBay are non binding so if you don't want to follow through you don't have to.

acobbfan will still report you to EBay as a non-payer so he can get relisted free. I'm not sure that non-payer badge is that harmful, though.
 

TUGBrian

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any legitimate closing company should be licensed in the state the timeshare deed exists in.

verification that license exists, and is valid is just a perfectly acceptable request from a buyer (or seller).
 

csxjohn

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acobbfan will still report you to EBay as a non-payer so he can get relisted free. I'm not sure that non-payer badge is that harmful, though.

You can get that off your eBay "record" by pointing out that it was non binding real estate deal you backed out of. I've never done it but others have reported that process on these pages.
 

kembjkk

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Thanks everyone. We just saw the auction with 30 minutes to close, and tried to do some research on the closing company but didn't find anything. Yes, I realize it's important to do due diligence beforehand, that is usually preferable, LOL. Thanks for posting the link Ty1on, and thanks BevL, yes it's always a concern how much info you give to strangers. I will try to find out if they are licensed brokers. Thanks for the help. If it goes through, looking forward to some nice vacations.
 

MPERL

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Very curious

This seller has 155 current timeshares for sale on Ebay for next to nothing, and he/she has only 2 feedback.
 

theo

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This seller has 155 current timeshares for sale on Ebay for next to nothing, and he/she has only 2 feedback.

I don't (and won't) conduct timeshare transactions with any eBay timeshare reseller, but I think it's entirely possible that a eBay timeshare reseller with a bad name and bad track record (I could name a few right off the top of my head, but I won't) can simply change their eBay seller name, thereby still having all of their "inventory" to list but yet magically "wiping clean" all of their previous sullied history and / or extensive customer (dis)satisfaction record, merely by establishing a brand new "handle".

I dunno; just speculating on one possibility. To me, any and all eBay resellers with a mandatory closing entity are just non-starters anyhow. No thank you.
If I'm paying for a timeshare and paying the associated closing costs, then I'll only use a timeshare closing entity of my own choosing --- or there is no deal.
 
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