[May '08 Thread] wanted weeks.com anybody heard of them?

[thoscook1]

Wantedweeks.com

I think the closing fees are in actuality their commission for selling the property since they handle it themselves. If the price is cheap enough (many go for $1)and the total risk is not more than you can tolerate you can still get good deals. If you are getting a TS for $1 and $500 closing & transfer fees you really can't lose much. On the other hand if it involves several thousand dollars, I probably would want a separate closing company but that probably would not be acceptable to them if the closing fee is their commission. I currently have one closing in process and will let you know how things go-I would speculate it might be a little slower than normal but only time will tell.

Tom

 

[pammex]

Will be interesting to see how this turns out....I have been hesitant to bid on theri auctions due to many discrepancies on listed mexico resorts and such.....

I have learned from TUG do your due diligence...and it has worked. I have bought 3 resales all same seller namal ( Mike Saylor) and have not one complaint. Even had one after winning, called resort and listing stated 2 bathrooms but unit only had one. The seller worked with me intensely, offering better deals, bigger units, and finally reduced closing costs...I feel he was very professional and went over backwards to make me a happy buyer.

So I am leary of this new seller, even though some of the deals sound good...Will keep watching to see how you all mkae out...keep us informed..

 

[sernow]

There are too many errors and omissions in their listings to give me any confidence in them.

 

[kzewill]

Buyer beware

Earlier this week I won a Marriott Manor Club auction for $0.99, partly I think because the title of the ad said nothing about Marriott, so a search for Marriott auctions would not have returned this item. It was just Manor Club at Ford's Colony. There was nothing in the listing about the ROFR either, which I believe Marriott charges $90 to process.

Separately I've seen a Sheraton Desert Oasis auction listed by WantedWeeks as 'Sheridan' Desert Oasis. It certainly doesn't leave you confident in the operation. I also find it troublesome that they claim Paypal as an accepted payment method, but have no verified PayPal account.

Does anyone have a completed purchase from WantedWeeks, with a recorded deed and confirmation from the resort??

 

[bocamike]

half of what you bought

Was the winning bidder (the only bidder) the other day for what the ad clearly stated as an "annual use starting in 2009" supplied contract information and promptly received contract. So contract reads biennial starting in 2010. I promptly contacted them and asked them to read there ad, and which is it. So its whats in the contract, while being very apologetic, claiming there fault for the "typo", I will not go through with the purchase. Even though the winning bid was only .99. I bid on it because of annual use, and also don't want half of what I thought I was buying. Also there was a resort transfer fee in the ad of $100., daily management does not have a resort transfer fee. It certainly seems to me if you have accurate information to put in the contract, that information was available to you, so was it a mistake? . In conclusion, IMHO sloppy ads will cause troubled deals!
Mike

 

[Twinkstarr]

Was the winning bidder (the only bidder) the other day for what the ad clearly stated as an "annual use starting in 2009" supplied contract information and promptly received contract. So contract reads biennial starting in 2010. I promptly contacted them and asked them to read there ad, and which is it. So its whats in the contract, while being very apologetic, claiming there fault for the "typo", I will not go through with the purchase. Even though the winning bid was only .99. I bid on it because of annual use, and also don't want half of what I thought I was buying. Also there was a resort transfer fee in the ad of $100., daily management does not have a resort transfer fee. It certainly seems to me if you have accurate information to put in the contract, that information was available to you, so was it a mistake? . In conclusion, IMHO sloppy ads will cause troubled deals!
Mike

I think they have a Sheraton BP up for now, it's a mess. I think they have an SDO one up too.

 

[huddleston]

Update on my purchase: [FONT=&quot]Received a VM that my deed has been recorded and it is time to send the transfer fee, 2008 MF, and transfer notice to the Resort. I left VM that I want to see the Estoppel Letter and LPOA used to execute the deed to me. I think this is going to work out fine.
Brian
[/FONT]

 

[jadejar]

Brian,
How long did they take to get to this point? How long ago did you win your auction?

 

[kzewill]

If you check out the new ads from wantedweeks, they now show SquareTrade verification ID. I queried SquareTrade, and the seller was indeed recognized. This seems a step in the right direction.

Separately on the Marriott Manor Club auction that I won earlier, I requested that we use escrow.com, and gave wantedweeks the necessary information to contact Marriott Owner Services so that the ROFR can be performed. We'll see what happens there...but if they follow through, it will be a pretty good indication that they're on the up-and-up.

 

[Aussiedog]

I tried to find their closing company online with the Colorado Secretary of State but no luck. No listing that I could find for Resort Transfer Services, Inc.

I am also watching the SBP auction. I have a TS there and know that the deeded week is unrelated to the season (this was covered in a thread last year), and so you can't assume that a summer deeded week results in a platinum float season week (they don't have fixed weeks). Out of curiosity, I asked the seller to confirm the season - no word.

I hope the bidders have more luck than I did in getting some comfort about this auction!!

Ann

 

[sjuhawk_jd]

Really?

You guessed it.

He's embarrassed and will understand if I don't want follow through on the purchase.

No Marriott

The same timeshare is listed again by wantedweeks.com (again as Marriott Grand Lakes Resort in Orlando, Florida). This is getting to be beyond stupidity...

 

[vybert]

...but if they follow through, it will be a pretty good indication that they're on the up-and-up.

My feel based on my experience so far and what I have read is that they are sort of on the up and up but don't really know what the heck they are doing.

 

[shawman2000]

Wanted Weeks

I won two weeks with these guys. In my research, they said they use RCI to close. I was taking that as Resorts Closing Inc and not actually RCI. My two timeshares are a bit higher priced (Pueblo Sunset Super Presidential - $9K+ and JS at Emerald Bay (under 1K)). I am assuming from the postings here that they don't have a legit escrow. I am not as concerned about Estoppel since Mexican timeshares are membership based and can't be transfered without dues paid and lean paid.

Would you really give them a CC #?


Will likely push to use escrow at least via a 3rd party from this end.

Thanks.
Chris.

 

[richardm]

Amazing and Sad!

This is one of the saddest threads I've ever seen! I can't tell you how many threads I've read on this forum that blast the PCC business models- but what a strong support group this forum seems to be for them! Even with all the warning flags and ridiculous errors on these particular ebay ads- people seem to be lining up to support this PCC by buying the properties on eBay!

Does anyone even look at the TUG classifieds where all the sellers are sent- or is it just a stall tactic until the seller gets ripped by the PCC and a TUG member can then buy it for $1. on eBay!

Congrats on your "great" buys!

 

[tombo]

I sell my weeks on places like Red week and Tug to get a higher price. I tell all TUGGERs to do the same. I buy weeks on e-bay because it is the lowest price place to get weeks. I advise TUGGERs to buy cheap on e-bay also. By being a member of TUG we educate our members on how to buy low and sell high.

I would never tell anyone to try and sell their week using a PCC. However many uneducated, desperate timeshare owners do that each and every day. They want to get rid of their weeks at any cost, so they pay the PCCs because it is the only option they know of. Those people have spent a lot of money and it is too late to save them from the PCC's.

Now that the PCC has the week, they are going to sell it for whatever they can get. TUGGERs simply try to advise each other on which sellers and closing companies are likely to deliver a week that is as advertised.

The real travesty on E-bay is that the developers won't even attempt to place a bid on an auction, but they simply wait until the auction ends and steal the week if it sold for a good price by using ROFR. I would much rather see a TUG member end up with the cheap weeks than have the resorts steal them from the rightful buyer using ROFR. That is the stall tactic that is disgusting. For the developer to wait until weeks after the auction ends to decide if they can resell it for a huge profit, and then exercise ROFR only if it benefits them (to the detriment of the rightful owner) is possibly more outrageous than what the PPCs do.

If the PCC's went away the prices we could sell our weeks for would go up. The problem with that is that they aren't going away. If people are going to buy weeks for extremelly low prices from the PCCs on E-bay, the people getting the bargains might as well be TUG members.

 

[abdibile]

I won a week from wantedweeks and got my contract.

It stated a completely other week and amount, so they even make copy-paste errors in their contracts.

After some eMails they "corrected" the contract to the advertised week, but still the sellers name and the total amount due was from the other week.

SOme people there seem to work not really focused on what they are doing...

 

[JudyS]

... I've seen a Sheraton Desert Oasis auction listed by WantedWeeks as 'Sheridan' Desert Oasis.....

:hysterical:

.... Also there was a resort transfer fee in the ad of $100., daily management does not have a resort transfer fee....

I see that this sellers currently has an Eagle Point week listed, with a resort transfer fee of $100. I believe the resort transfer fee at Eagle Point is $25; it's certainly less than $100. It looks like the seller adds a "$100 resort transfer fee" just because he can get away with it.

The same timeshare is listed again by wantedweeks.com (again as Marriott Grand Lakes Resort in Orlando, Florida). This is getting to be beyond stupidity...

By the way, this seller scared me as soon as I saw the banner on each auction. I think it's supposed to be an ecstatic couple who just bought a timeshare, with the guy lifting the woman up. But, it looks more to me like something from a horror movie, where the monster is carrying away the heroine and she's fainted. Perhaps that's unintentionally appropriate for this seller?

 

[JMAESD84]

I will be calling at the end of the week (5/30) for an update.

GrayFal,

Can you update us on your closing?

 

[Aussiedog]

This seller currently has 259 listings on EBay!!

Ann

 

[tlsbooks]

I put this on another wanted-weeks thread but am putting it here as well. I live in Scottsdale and am amazed. Completely amazed.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sonoran-Villas-...ryZ15897QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

There is no timeshare by this name. The company named puts together lodging/golf packages. The lodging is in a residential condo complex (a very nice one BTW). I even called them to verify that they aren't a timeshare. The guy answering the phone laughed at the idea.

How did wanted-weeks get this as a timeshare listing? How is this even supposed to work? There's no deed, no points, nothing to trade into or with?

Emailed wanted-weeks yesterday. No reply. I'm tempted to bid on it just to see what he will come up with as a product.

 

[huddleston]

I now have my estoppel letter/fax from Wyndham, copy of the recorded deed, and Wanted Weeks says that they have sent notice to the resort that the timeshare has changed hands! I think this deal is going to close as planned.

One thing that I was not expecting was a Quit Claim Deed signed by an agent of the owners using a limited power of attorney. However, I am familiar with QCDs and, as long as the owners have good title, I will have good title.

An unexpected benefit of my deal was that the estoppel said that the monthly MF were current to date. Thus, I did not have to pay the estimated 6 months MF listed in the EBay offering and the timeshare sales contract I signed.

As soon as I get my notice from the resort that my points are on the FSP system, I am going to give WW a great review on Ebay.
Brian Huddleston

 

[abdibile]

Is a QUIT CLAIM deed only signed by an AGENT with power of attorney (can that be done for real estate transactions??) really OK?

I do not really have a clue, but my feeling would suggest, that you have to sign your deeds personally....

Anyone knows for sure?

Thanks!

 

[Dave H]

Is a QUIT CLAIM deed only signed by an AGENT with power of attorney (can that be done for real estate transactions??) really OK?

I do not really have a clue, but my feeling would suggest, that you have to sign your deeds personally....

Anyone knows for sure?

Thanks!

My biiger questions is this, was it a valid power of attorney with proper witnesses etc. If not nothing is anygood execpt the fact that the sellers POA conveyed any interest he/she might have, that is all a quit claim does.

 

[sernow]

"signed by an AGENT with power of attorney (can that be done for real estate transactions??) really OK?"

Done all the time, is ok.

My greater concern would be being conveyed a defective title that has the potential to be difficult to resell or expensive and time-consuming to correct.

 

[Gwen60]

Signing a QCD w/POW is okay, as long as POA is recorded along with QCD. Otherwise, when the buyer/grantee sells, there will be a break in the chain of title.

Although I'm new to the world of timeshares and still learning, I have over 25 years of experience doing real estate closings, so in that area, I know my stuff.

As far as title searches, I have no idea if it's the normal thing to do when one is buying a TS, but if it is, anyone who doesn't have a title search done is taking a risk.