New Purchase-How do I know what I am getting?

[neospecialist]

I recently purchased a TS on e-bay. What legal documents beside the deed itself assure me that I am receiving what the description on EBAY referred to eg: float weeks, lock-off feature, annual access, etc. Are there documents or assurances that I should be pursuing while this transaction is in escrow?

 

[gmarine]

You should verify everything with the resort directly. Some resorts will require the seller to list you on the account as authorized for them to speak to you about the account info. All it takes is for the seller to call the resort and give your name etc.

 

[Syed]

Consider using a licensed closing agent, specializing in timeshares. Ask them if they get written verification from the resort on current owner's unit size, type, maint fee status, next use week available, whether upcoming weeks have been banked, title insurance, how long does the transfer process take.

 

[pammex]

I suggest even with a licensed closing agent you do your due diligence with the resort themselves regardign the specific contract.

I call the resort with the contract number and owners name supplied by seller and verify everything before I sent a dime.

Best Wishes.

 

[cchu]

buying TS from resellers

Hi,

I am a newbie too, and I plan to buy a TS from reseller. where should I buy? From licensed broker or from eBay?
I followed the advices from TUG, and checked the eBay, but the price looks too cheap to be true. And when I check the some bid history, it looks same person (the first and last letter is same) made several bids, to push up the bids without any other bidder.

Also, if I decided to buy from reseller, mostly likely, I will buy from licensed broker, and the broker said that the deed is clean, how do I find it our? get a title insurance? If brokers said that they own the deed, does it means I don't need the title insurance?

what about buying from charities?

thanks!

 

[DeniseM]

cchu - Welcome to TUG!

1) Your best protection is to wait 6 months before you buy anything and do your homework on TUG so that you are an educated consumer before you buy.

2) Then, use a reputable, licensed, closing/escrow company to do the closing - it's their JOB to make sure you get what you paid for.

Ebay is definitely has the cheapest prices - it's a great place to buy a TS, as long as you follow the 2 pieces of advice above. (I've bought 4 timeshares on ebay.)

 

[AwayWeGo]

eBay All The Way.

We get "used" (i.e., resale) timeshares for nickels on the full-freight dollar via eBay. No problem.

We try to make sure what the timeshares actually are before we bid on'm, however -- except 1 time in 2003 when the eBay seller goofed up the item description, going in the title with the name of the timeshare we wanted to buy but going in the reading material with a description of a completely different timeshare 2 miles down the street.

The confusion that the notorious eBay seller created that way might have discouraged other prospective bidders & helped hold down the bid amounts, I don't know. (We never had any indication that that particular eBay seller was all that notorious till years later. Who knew?)

After a little Internet checking, we decided we'd be happy with either timeshare if we got it at a low price. So in the closing seconds of the auction we sniped in a ("proxy") bid of $3,500 or so & when the dust settled we won by beating out all the other bidders with our winning bid of $1,925.

That $3,500 limit was not arbitrary. That was how much we paid for our 1st (non-eBay) resale timeshare in 2002 & how much we got for selling it off again a year later. In essence, we got $1,500 or so back for trading in our 1st timeshare for a slightly newer & slightly larger (eBay) 2nd timeshare. The rest is history.

Click here for all the details & then some -- more than most folks will want to know.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[cchu]

cchu - Welcome to TUG!

1) Your best protection is to wait 6 months before you buy anything and do your homework on TUG so that you are an educated consumer before you buy.

2) Then, use a reputable, licensed, closing/escrow company to do the closing - it's their JOB to make sure you get what you paid for.

Ebay is definitely has the cheapest prices - it's a great place to buy a TS, as long as you follow the 2 pieces of advice above. (I've bought 4 timeshares on ebay.)

Denise,

thanks for your reply. why 6 months?
If I bid on eBay, and hired a closing company, and found out the title is bogus, or the resort choose FROR, would I lose the closing cost?

Also, how did you decide to make your bid of your 4 purchase?

thanks!

 

[DeniseM]

Denise,

thanks for your reply. why 6 months?

Because it takes at least 6 mos. to have a good understanding of the TS market and to really know what the best purchase is for you. Buying a TS is kind of like marriage - cheap and easy to get into, expensive and difficult to get out of!

If I bid on eBay, and hired a closing company, and found out the title is bogus, or the resort choose FROR, would I lose the closing cost?

Do you mean ROFR? In either case, you would get all your money back.

Also, how did you decide to make your bid of your 4 purchase?

Lots of research: reading reviews, talking to owners, following the resort on TUG, and researching the market.
More info. - http://tug2.net/advice/Timeshare_Buying_Tips.htm

 

[cchu]

good closing company

For Denise and AwayWeGo, since you said that you bought several TS from ebay, do you have some names of good and fast company to do the closing? or is there a thread that discuss these info?

thanks for your time and advices.

 

[Talent312]

You could/should ask the seller to formalize the deal with a written contract. Most states have what is commonly known as a "Statute of Frauds" to the effect that no contract for the transfer of real estate is enforcable unless in writing and signed by all parties. Even if otherwise provable, the better practice to reduce the essential terms of any contract to a signed, written document.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Hiring The Pros.

For Denise and AwayWeGo, since you said that you bought several TS from ebay, do you have some names of good and fast company to do the closing?

We have been satisfied with Timeshare Transfer Inc. & Timeshare Closing Services Inc. on several of our resale timeshare purchases. I have also heard good reports about JRA Services Inc. & would be willing to give that company a try some time in the (semi-unlikely) event we ever buy another resale timeshare. (But 1 never know, do 1?)

or is there a thread that discuss these info?

For sure.

The topic of timeshare closing service agencies comes up again & again on TUG-BBS, so it should be easy to find some of those past lines of discussion for reference.

BTW, fast is in the eye of the beholder. Closing services on all 5 of our (resale) timeshare purchases & our 1 & only sale of a "used" timeshare went through with minimal delay. The only 1 that ran into a snag of sorts was the 1st, in 2002. The issue was that the owner, a foreigner, owed money for back fees that had not been paid. He had plenty of money, but he was blocked by the laws of his country from sending it to the USA to pay his timeshare fees. Also, there was a difference of opinion between the timeshare & the seller as to exactly how much he had to pony up to clear his balance owed.

We suggested to the closing services agency that they cash our check & go ahead with getting our new deed signed & recorded, then take whatever time they needed to get the fees issue squared away between the timeshare & the former owner, because that part of it was mox nix to us. All they needed to determine was how much of our purchase money was to go to the resort for back & how much was to go to the seller, & for that there was no reason they couldn't go ahead with completing our part of the timeshare closing (although the resort had to have official assurance of some kind that the overdue fees were covered, otherwise they would not have allowed the owner -- old or new -- to show up & check in). As I recall, we committed to the purchase in March or April of 2002 & we took our 1st timeshare vacation as owners in September 2002 -- had a wonderful time.

Full Disclosure: On 2 of our timeshare purchases (including 1 via eBay), we didn't get to pick our own timeshare closing services agency. But we knew that in advance, before we reached the point of no return on going through with our purchases or letting'm go. That is, if we weren't OK with the stated terms & conditions for those particular timeshare purchases, we didn't have to go through with'm. We went ahead & everything turned out OK -- completely trouble-free, in fact.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[jbcoug]

"New Purchase-How do I know what I am getting?"

Actually, the key is knowing what you would be getting before you make a new purchase.

John

 

[calgarygary]

Don't be surprised if many eBay listings will not allow you to choose a closing company. Many, if not most, eBay listings are from what we refer to as PCC's (Post card companies) that have been paid large sums to take a timeshare off of an ill informed consumers hands. When they in turn list the timeshare on eBay, they utilize a closing company that is often not at arm's length but mandate in the listing that said closing company be used. You can either choose to bid or not.