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Just won an Ebay auction for Ocean Pointe! Help!

C

chkvtzn

TUG Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2005
Messages
125
Reaction score
1
Location
River Forest, Illinois
I just won and I am concerned about how to proceed.

What's happens if Marriott exercises ROFR? Will this cost me anything?

What closing/title company should I use?

Any advice is welcome. Thanks
 
Who was the eBay seller? If it was one of the larger resellers (tochoa, timeshareconsultants, etc.) then they will have their own captive or preferred closing department and you won't have any choice over the closing company. They are generally efficient and competent, so I wouldn't worry about it. If you bought from a private party and the closing company isn't set, LT Transfers is a great, low-cost option. https://www.lttransfers.com/ But do you want title insurance? You're probably paying a fair amount for this week, so you might want to have that protection. Others can opine but I don't believe you can get title insurance through LT Transfers. You might need to go through a title company. Fidelity and First American have timeshare programs.

If Marriott exercises ROFR it will cost you nothing other than your time and effort in putting together the purchase agreement.

Make sure you have the seller request two estoppels from Marriott: a usage estoppel (tells you what unit, season, etc. the week can book) and a financial estoppel (tells you how much the maintenance fee is, how often paid, and whether it's current). You want Marriott to tell you what you're buying, and not just trust the seller.
 
Search the name of your seller on Tug to see what others say about your seller
There are reliable sellers and there are what are apparently crooks
 
I hope it's not travel4you5 - they are scammers.
 
Dean said:
It it's This Listing I think you should have significant concern.
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Why would anyone cap the auction at that price? Highly unlikely that would pass ROFR. Seems VERY low for a Platinum week. (Just a side, I know very little about eBay).
 
Quilter said:
Why would anyone cap the auction at that price? Highly unlikely that would pass ROFR. Seems VERY low for a Platinum week. (Just a side, I know very little about eBay).
Click to expand...

There is no timeshare, this is a 100% scam. They will not allow using any outside closing company, they will demand 100% upfront payment, then they will delay for many months saying it's in process / submitted for ROFR / etc, until all chargeback and negative feedback deadlines pass, and then you will be out the money with no timeshare and no recourse.
 
echino said:
There is no timeshare, this is a 100% scam. They will not allow using any outside closing company, they will demand 100% upfront payment, then they will delay for many months saying it's in process / submitted for ROFR / etc, until all chargeback and negative feedback deadlines pass, and then you will be out the money with no timeshare and no recourse.
Click to expand...

Got it. Thanks.
 
PPAES said:
Interesting to see 99.8% positive feedback for this seller on eBay
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eBay feedback is easily manipulated. All of their positive feedback (except one) is for buying and selling low priced items like baseball cards.

One positive timeshare feedback "Disney Animal Kingdom Villas Resort 200 Points Annual Orlando Florida Timeshare (354494279069) - we paid in full mid Jan22 and hoping it passes Disney ROFR and deed records quickly, today is 2/10/2023" - I feel sorry for that buyer who got scammed, but not realized it yet and left a positive feedback.

If someone realizes being scammed and leaves a negative feedback, they immediately file a non-paying bidder dispute, and eBay removes the negative feedback right away.
 
PPAES said:
Interesting to see 99.8% positive feedback for this seller on eBay
Click to expand...


Most of that feedback has nothing to do with Timeshare transactions. Take a look at all the other stuff they buy and sell, and that is where they get their feedback.



.
 
echino said:
eBay feedback is easily manipulated. All of their positive feedback (except one) is for buying and selling low priced items like baseball cards.

One positive timeshare feedback "Disney Animal Kingdom Villas Resort 200 Points Annual Orlando Florida Timeshare (354494279069) - we paid in full mid Jan22 and hoping it passes Disney ROFR and deed records quickly, today is 2/10/2023" - I feel sorry for that buyer who got scammed, but not realized it yet and left a positive feedback.

If someone realizes being scammed and leaves a negative feedback, they immediately file a non-paying bidder dispute, and eBay removes the negative feedback right away.
Click to expand...
Excellent point. Based on the seller’s name, I thought the primary business was TSs resale market. After reading the feedback, you are absolutely right.
 
PPAES said:
Interesting to see 99.8% positive feedback for this seller on eBay
Click to expand...
That is because of Ebay's useless feedback rating system when it comes to real estate transactions. By the time the buyer realizes the scam, it is too late to provide feedback.
 
TheTimeTraveler said:
Most of that feedback has nothing to do with Timeshare transactions. Take a look at all the other stuff they buy and sell, and that is where they get their feedback.



.
Click to expand...
I wonder if they don't somehow go out and buy stolen/compromised Ebay accounts on the black market (dark web).
 
I have reported this scam seller to eBay multiple times- and they do absolutely nothing about it.
 
I have reported this scam seller to eBay multiple times- and they do absolutely nothing about it.
 
Thank you everyone for your replies and advice. Yes... I did 'win' from travel4you5. Looks like I won't be owning this TS. FYI... I bid higher than my winning price of $4050, but the next highest bid was $4000, so Ebay only betters my price by $50 over.

I only "won" yesterday afternoon. What do I do now? Ignore and allow my rating to be affected. They did list the maintenance fees too low.
 
chkvtzn said:
Thank you everyone for your replies and advice. Yes... I did 'win' from travel4you5. Looks like I won't be owning this TS. FYI... I bid higher than my winning price of $4050, but the next highest bid was $4000, so Ebay only betters my price by $50 over.

I only "won" yesterday afternoon. What do I do now? Ignore and allow my rating to be affected. They did list the maintenance fees too low.
Click to expand...
Even if you get dinged for non payment...does anyone pay attention to ebay ratings anymore? Not trying to minimize your concern...sincerely asking. Are you an active ebay seller? I believe a call into ebay for this specific transaction and reporting your concerns over this fraudulent seller would get you in the clear.
 
Wow... what a coincidence that they want to use a title Co located in their home town in TN (sarcasm). The seller claims they're the best one around and they won't use anyone else.
 
This is their response to me:

Hi,
National resort title will be handling the transfer for this property. They will hold escrow until transfer is complete and we have used them for years now. I will be happy to send you copy of estoppel letter but it will be with all the owners information blackened out. We will not use any other title company and NRT is the fastest one out there today. So let me know if you want me to send you the estoppel letter so you can fill out your contract and send it back today. Or if you want to just cancel this purchase.
Thanks
Josh
 
Real estate auctions on ebay are not binding. Just tell the seller you are cancelling.

As an aside: It is likely that the bidding ended so low because many prospective bidders sniffed out the scam before bidding---and someone doing due diligence by checking how the feedback was earned would spot the pattern quickly.
 
I would ask for the estoppel letter personally just to see what it is they send you!

I asked them to provide me one once and they refused.

File a complaint with eBay! I have done it several times to no avail but maybe if they keep getting them on this seller they will be forced to put an end to this nonsense.
 
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