Owner wants to use escrow for timeshare rental

[DeniseM]

Of course Redweek recommends it - I'm sure they get a cut!

 

[richardm]

Denise- I'm afraid you are spouting foolishness again as you are publishing a statement saying that a major title company is breaking the law! RESPA violations are something that legitimate closing companies such as First American take very seriously.. Do you honestly believe that they would risk that for a few rental transactions?

Perhaps you intended the comment as a joke and I simply read it wrong....

I don't pretend to speak for Maurice, but my opinion is based on the conversations we have had in the past about how the website operates. The reason Redweek recommends "rental escrow" is because it is the safest way for both parties to proceed with a transaction.

I hope this particular timeshare owner doesn't even think about visiting Tug to learn more about the industry- as I don't think the regulars here would make her feel very welcome. It always amazes me how many Tuggers forget what it was like to be new to the secondary market- with vultures pouncing on you at every opportunity and scams ringing your phone off the hook.. To bash a timeshare owner for being cautious is pretentious at best- and to make a statement that she has no business renting her week is even worse.. No matter who makes it.

 

[DeniseM]

So Richard, a major title company can't pay Redweek a healthy fee for advertising? I'm quite sure that's a very legitimate business expense.

Do you honestly believe that Redweek choose American Title out of the goodness of their hearts?

It would be rude and a violation of the TUG posting rules for me to say you are spouting foolishness again, so I will just say that if you believe that, you are naive.

BTW - your response was REALLY over the top - does this have anything to do with your post that I had to edit recently? I've noticed that after I have to edit one of your out-of-compliant posts, that I can expect retribution in the near future.

 

[funtime]

We have sometimes had to exchange 10 or 12 emails with a party before they would trust us to rent our unit. There is a sense of distrust with Craigs List which is perhaps warranted. I concur with the previous suggestions of using your ebay rep a a reference. This has worked several times with us. We have a good ebay rep and have invited prospects to work with us on ebay if they will pay the listing fees. Or for free they can check out our feedback. One prospect even emailed me thru ebay to make sure my ebay account really belonged to me!

A lot of it depends on how motivated you are. If you call the person and talk on the telephone the trust goes up quite a bit. We do not like to give out our phone number, but sometimes we just have to. If you are motivated you should call her. Explain that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. You could also ask one of your other party members to rent the room and protest about the $100.

Working with an escrow on a rental is very annoying. We are mostly sellers, not buyers of rental weeks. We have never agreed to an escrow account. I wish Redweek would not recommend that.

We have had a tenant dispute us thru the pay pal resolution system and we prevailed, even though she thought we were scamming her. So in the future we have been very diligent in clearly explaining the rental terms.

 

[brucecz]

We have sometimes had to exchange 10 or 12 emails with a party before they would trust us to rent our unit. There is a sense of distrust with Craigs List which is perhaps warranted. I concur with the previous suggestions of using your ebay rep a a reference. This has worked several times with us. We have a good ebay rep and have invited prospects to work with us on ebay if they will pay the listing fees. Or for free they can check out our feedback. One prospect even emailed me thru ebay to make sure my ebay account really belonged to me!

A lot of it depends on how motivated you are. If you call the person and talk on the telephone the trust goes up quite a bit. We do not like to give out our phone number, but sometimes we just have to. If you are motivated you should call her. Explain that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. You could also ask one of your other party members to rent the room and protest about the $100.

Working with an escrow on a rental is very annoying. We are mostly sellers, not buyers of rental weeks. We have never agreed to an escrow account. I wish Redweek would not recommend that.

We have had a tenant dispute us thru the pay pal resolution system and we prevailed, even though she thought we were scamming her. So in the future we have been very diligent in clearly explaining the rental terms.

Yes, I direct renters or buyers to our ebay rating of 100% plus another rental website were we also have a 100% rating.

I mention that ebay rating in some of my ads and my ebay name is simple and straightfoward it is the first letters of my first and middle names and my full last name, bfczajkowski.

I also put my home phone and phone number which seems to work very well for me.

I would say about 90% of the craigs list inquiries I get are spam and from would be rip off's.

Bruce

 

[Rent_Share]

As a renter and a rentor I have found the phone conversation goes a long way to taking care of the distrust and increasing the comfort level

My issue with the subject was that she/he changed the terms after the renter showed interest, period, she/he's just not ready to/for rentals

 

[molemay]

I have emailed her my phone number and she never gave me hers, so I cannot call her.

I am also skeptical about the escrow in the sense that they want your money up front and I'm not sure if they check to guarantee it is a legitimate rental. How do I know it isn't an exchange week? Once the escrow company has your money it is non-refundable.

I'm afraid this owner won't be willing to prove to me that she actually has a reservation before escrow.

Monika

 

[brucecz]

I have emailed her my phone number and she never gave me hers, so I cannot call her.

I am also skeptical about the escrow in the sense that they want your money up front and I'm not sure if they check to guarantee it is a legitimate rental. How do I know it isn't an exchange week? Once the escrow company has your money it is non-refundable.

I'm afraid this owner won't be willing to prove to me that she actually has a reservation before escrow.

Monika

Ask them to send you a copy of the confirmed reseveration with the account number and reservation removed and a formal rental agreement that contants ALL of the terms of the rental.

That is what I do for renters if requested. In fact on some ads were there is room I post a copy of the reservation.

Also on most of my ads were space permitts and if allowed I post not only my home phone number, my home address and email address.

Now ebay no longer will permitt sellers to post their email adresses.


Bruce

 

[Ron98GT]

Once the escrow company has your money it is non-refundable. Are you sure amout this?

I'm afraid this owner won't be willing to prove to me that she actually has a reservation before escrow. That's the purpose of the escrow. If she doesn't perform, he gets his money back. If he doesn't perform, she gets the money in escrow. - Although you lose the week and you lose your vacation.
Monika

If the title company and Redweek both make money off this, I'd clarify in writing who is paying them.

 

[molemay]

I'm stating that the escrow fee is non-refundable, not the rental fee. They want their money before they do any work.

I sent two emails to the escrow service to clarify this. We'll see what the answers are.

 

[Ron98GT]

Denise- I'm afraid you are spouting foolishness again as you are publishing a statement saying that a major title company is breaking the law! RESPA violations are something that legitimate closing companies such as First American take very seriously.. Do you honestly believe that they would risk that for a few rental transactions?

What? Of course the title/escrow company is going to get a cut, it's called an escrow fee. They aren't going to open, maintain, and close the escrow account for nothing.


RESPA Violation? Where is the loan? This is RESPA:

"The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) insures that consumers throughout the nation are provided with more helpful information about the cost of the mortgage settlement and protected from unnecessarily high settlement charges caused by certain abusive practices.

The most recent RESPA Rule makes obtaining mortgage financing clearer and, ultimately, cheaper for consumers. The new Rule includes a required, standardized Good Faith Estimate (GFE) to facilitate shopping among settlement service providers and to improve disclosure of settlement costs and interest rate related terms. The HUD-1 was improved to help consumers determine if their actual closing costs were within established tolerance requirements."

 

[Ron98GT]

I'm stating that the escrow fee is non-refundable, not the rental fee. They want their money before they do any work.

I sent two emails to the escrow service to clarify this.

Ouch, no way. Could they collect the escrow fee from both parties? If there is a non-performer, that party pays. If both parties perform, you pay.

 

[molemay]

That's an interesting idea. But, once they have my money, will they really want to get it from the other party and return my payment?

 

[richardm]

A title company cannot pay a referral fee..

So Richard, a major title company can't pay Redweek a healthy fee for advertising? I'm quite sure that's a very legitimate business expense.

Do you honestly believe that Redweek choose American Title out of the goodness of their hearts?

It would be rude and a violation of the TUG posting rules for me to say you are spouting foolishness again, so I will just say that if you believe that, you are naive.

BTW - your response was REALLY over the top - does this have anything to do with your post that I had to edit recently? I've noticed that after I have to edit one of your out-of-compliant posts, that I can expect retribution in the near future.

No. Title companies cannot directly or indirectly give anything of value to someone who's in a position to refer or influence the referral of title business to title companies. They can pay for advertising, but must be able to prove that they paid no more than market rate.. Same rules apply to leasing space from a brokerage (for example if the closing agent wanted to have a presence in the specific place of business).. A title company can pay market rate for a specific service, for example if a brokerage obtains an estoppels and there is a specific dollar amount specified for that service. However, again- this is a very slippery slope and they must be able to provide documentation showing that they are not "overpaying" for such a service in order to obtain business.

This is Real Estate 101 information.. So it shouldn't surprise anybody... Perhaps an attorney or legitimate title agent will see this and confirm the info..

Do I honestly believe that Redweek choose First American for any specific reason? Yes.. I believe that they have a long standing relationship and familiarity developed over years of sponsoring and attending the same ARDA events. Brian can explain to you how networks and friendships develop at those meetings..

I believe that both companies have a good reputation in the industry.. And I believe that Chris Hermann (who now works with Stuart Title) had the foresight to approach Randy, Maurice, and John years ago and convince them that offering a branded escrow service for their clients was a smart thing to do. It reduced liability, provided a service for Redweek's clients, and also provided additional credibility to their website by showing a partnership with one of the world's largest title providers.

Why is the relationship still there? Because it still provides the same benefits as before, and there is no financial benefit to changing providers.

As to any censorship that you have done lately, it's not really something that I pay any attention to since posters have no recourse if we believe you were wrong in your actions. Censorship and egos have always been a subject about Tug that creates a lively discussion in other circles.. I learned long ago that deletions just go with the territory if you are not scared to disagree with a bulletin board moderator..

When I am wrong, I admit it and apologize- and then move on.. When I'm right, I just hope someone benefited before the information is taken down..

We've now taken this thread far from the original discussion.. Can we now try to let it get back on track!

 

[Ron98GT]

That's an interesting idea. But, once they have my money, will they really want to get it from the other party and return my payment?

They would have to have the escrow fee from both parties, thereby, hopefully, forcing both parties to perform. As long as she performs, she has nothing to lose since she will get her deposited escrow fee back along with the weekly rent, but they will keep yours.

Is she requiring a security/damage deposit also?

 

[richardm]

The resort will most likely do this...

Is she requiring a security/damage deposit also?

The vast majority of resorts will obtain a credit card authorization from the renter at check in, which is used for room charges as well as minor damage. There are a few resorts which do not do this (New Orleans has two that I'm aware of) so if you are the property owner you will want to confirm the check in process before renting..

The risk to an owner is if there is major damage to the villa. In this event, if the resort management company is unable to collect from the renter- they would likely hold the owner of record liable..

For owners who routinely rent, I often recommend a simple umbrella personal liability policy to provide financial protection.. You have to speak with your insurance agent, however- to verify that the coverage would apply to your rental.

 

[DeniseM]

Richard - for clarification, the edit I'm talking about is removing a link to your business from the text of your post last week - not censorship, or disagreeing with a moderator.

You absolutely do have recourse - you are welcome to contact Brian Rogers and ask him for an exception to the posting rules.

 

[Ron98GT]

No. Title companies cannot directly or indirectly give anything of value to someone who's in a position

HuH? I didn't read anymore than this since your rambling respone to my post has NOTHING, NOTHING, to do with what I wrote.

Like you said, time to move on.

 

[chapjim]

RedWeek.com Escrow

As one who posts weeks on RedWeek.com fairly often, I never suggest use of the escrow service. I will consent to its use if the buyer wants but will not pay any portion of the fee (which I consider to be outrageous).

I had one renter recently who wanted to use the escrow service for $150, which she was willing to pay. I told her I would agree but suggested we split the $150. Instead of her cost being the rental plus $150, her cost became rental plus $50. She saved $100 and I got $50 more than my listed price. She readily agreed and the transaction went off with no problems.

I had another who was concerned about giving her money to a stranger and wanted to use the escrow service. I told her that if I wasn't going to get the money until ten days after check-out, it didn't matter if it came from the escrow service or from the renter and again suggested splitting the escrow fee as above. She agreed and made the payment almost immediately after check-in.

Sooner or later I'll get burned, after which I'll quit being so agreeable.