Private TS Purchase without full disclosure of outstanding fees

[webgriffins]

:annoyed:I purchased a TS on EBay for the Buy it Now price (875.00) plus closing, rather than the bid method. The ad stated that the 2015 Maint fees were paid and the unit could be used or rented this year, by the buyer, and that the closing costs were to be determined. All is fine so far. The following day I received an email from the owner/poster of the ad/unit, stating that the Resort had an assessment and that it was still outstanding, with no indication of how much the assessment was or how much was still outstanding.
I responded asking how could the unit be used or transferred with this outstanding assessment unpaid.
The seller replied “None of the assessment has been pd--transfer would be allowed, I assume, if assessment is pd at closing. We have been allowed to hold payment back so we are not in arrears but low price assumes you'd pay the assessment to have clear title or work out a payment plan with mgt co.”
I did some research to find out that the Resort had the assessment in 2013, and the owners were allowed to pay it over time making an installment payment in 2013, 1 installment payment in 2014 and the final installment in 2015. The seller claims that he is not in arrears as he made a special agreement with the mgt company.
Of course this came as a big surprise to us as there was no mention of assessment or any outstanding fees as part of the transaction in the EBay ad.
The seller never disclosed how much the assessment was, but I have called the resort, the person I spoke to could only tell me that the assessment was over $1700.00.
I plan on calling tomorrow morning when the office staff will be present.
All suggestions or comments welcome. Thank You for your time.

 

[Passepartout]

I would walk.

 

[traveldaddy]

Actually, I would run.

Don't waste your time, plenty of other TS will come along. Disclosure is fundamental.

 

[ace2000]

I'd jump also. I'd guess the OP has probably already paid for the item. If so, just file a dispute and give the reason as "I received an item that does not match the seller's description". You'll get your refund.

 

[BevL]

Presumably you'll contact the seller and cancel the sale. Leave bad feedback if you choose to, I suppose, and you've posted it here but I don't see what other course you can take.

I guess alternatively you can pay the balance of the assessment.

AFAIK, real estate transactions on Ebay are not legal contracts, so you don't have any leverage to insist that the vendor pay the outstanding assessment.

I sympathize with the waste of time and effort on your part but it seems the choices are pretty clear, I think.

Hopefully your next purchase will be better.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

Ebay bids on timeshares (or real estate) are not binding, therefore you can legally terminate the transaction without any consequences.




.

 

[tschwa2]

Not to mention you live in FL and I believe even if the TS isn't in FL but one of the parties, buyer, seller, or transfer company is located in FL and let's say you even signed a purchase agreement, you would still have 10 days to rescind (even resale).

 

[webgriffins]

Thanks for all the input.
I hoping that I can get my money back from EBay since the item does not match the seller's description, and I thought that an Ebay purchase was binding. I have never tried to get my money back before.
Guess I will start there, but I am still going to call the resort just to let them know what this person is attempting to do, but, it may not matter to them. But then again, if they made a special agreement just for him, to pay late, and have use without paying the installments along the way, and then he begins to throw everyone else under the bus, it just might.

Have a great day all.

 

[Rent_Share]

Vehicles and Real Estate are none binding, All others are

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/non-binding-bid.html

many bulk resellers ad language implying they are . . . . .

 

[ace2000]

If it was binding or non-binding, it doesn't matter in this case. The item still has to be described properly. Leaving out the SA is a significant detail.

Login to your eBay account and start here...

http://resolutioncenter.ebay.com/

 

[webgriffins]

Thanks I really appreciate all of your help.
I feel better now.

 

[DeniseM]

Thanks for all the input.
I hoping that I can get my money back from EBay since the item does not match the seller's description, and I thought that an Ebay purchase was binding. I have never tried to get my money back before.
Guess I will start there, but I am still going to call the resort just to let them know what this person is attempting to do, but, it may not matter to them. But then again, if they made a special agreement just for him, to pay late, and have use without paying the installments along the way, and then he begins to throw everyone else under the bus, it just might.

Have a great day all.

I don't think there is any reason to involve the resort.

You should dispute the Payment with ebay and your credit card and/or Paypal immediately. I hope you didn't send a check.

 

[sjsharkie]

Agree with others to walk away.

I assume you didn't sign a contract. If no contract was signed, there is nothing to support the payment as eBay real estate auctions are non-binding. Generally a written contract needs to exist for any real estate contract.

I'd try to work it out with the seller first -- that's the easiest route. You should be good though -- go ahead and dispute the charge with the cc company.

-ryan

 

[cubigbird]

Who was the seller??

 

[DeniseM]

One more point - this is why it's always a good idea to get an estoppel letter from the resort - it would have disclosed any pending special assessment.

 

[Passepartout]

The whole situation could be overcome if the seller would actually do as they said, and pay the SA. actually bring everything up to date as they said it was. I'd probably still walk, just because this seller tried to obfuscate the facts, but that's me.

 

[55plus]

How did you pay for it was with a credit card then dispute it. Even if you used PayPal and paid PayPal with a credit card dispute it. Either way, walk away...

 

[TUGBrian]

is a buyers market, is absolutely no reason to risk a nightmare of a transaction or additional "undisclosed problems" that may pop up down the road.

 

[dioxide45]

The OP can't really walk away. The seller, or the sellers agent, or the PCC, or whatever it is has their money. So walking isn't an option. They need to get their money back before they can walk away.

 

[TUGBrian]

Id certainly make every effort to cancel your payment...doesn't sound like its been very long since you made the payment.

 

[csxjohn]

Not to mention you live in FL and I believe even if the TS isn't in FL but one of the parties, buyer, seller, or transfer company is located in FL and let's say you even signed a purchase agreement, you would still have 10 days to rescind (even resale).

And if the 10 day recession period is not stated in the contract you have one year to rescind and get all your money back.

This sounds like an individual seller, the big boys know better.

Please post a link to the auction you won so we can look it over. You definitely should not have sent any money without a purchase agreement signed by both of you and a good PA would spell out all the details.

 

[artringwald]

You didn't say who the timeshare company is, but when I bought a Diamond Resorts resale week, there was an special assessment with payments spread out over 5 years. The seller had made all the payments for the current year, but there was still a balance left on the SA, which I knew about before the sale. However, Diamond Resorts would not transfer ownership until the SA was paid in full. Worse yet, they sat on the transfer for over 2 months without letting anyone know why they were holding it up. I wouldn't buy another timeshare without an estoppel letter that showed everything had been paid in full.

 

[theo]

My $0.02 worth...

I purchased a TS on EBay for the Buy it Now price (875.00) plus closing, rather than the bid method. The ad stated that the 2015 Maint fees were paid and the unit could be used or rented this year, by the buyer, and that the closing costs were to be determined. All is fine so far. The following day I received an email from the owner/poster of the ad/unit, stating that the Resort had an assessment and that it was still outstanding, with no indication of how much the assessment was or how much was still outstanding.
I responded asking how could the unit be used or transferred with this outstanding assessment unpaid.
The seller replied “None of the assessment has been pd--transfer would be allowed, I assume, if assessment is pd at closing. We have been allowed to hold payment back so we are not in arrears but low price assumes you'd pay the assessment to have clear title or work out a payment plan with mgt co.”
I did some research to find out that the Resort had the assessment in 2013, and the owners were allowed to pay it over time making an installment payment in 2013, 1 installment payment in 2014 and the final installment in 2015. The seller claims that he is not in arrears as he made a special agreement with the mgt company.
Of course this came as a big surprise to us as there was no mention of assessment or any outstanding fees as part of the transaction in the EBay ad.
The seller never disclosed how much the assessment was, but I have called the resort, the person I spoke to could only tell me that the assessment was over $1700.00.
I plan on calling tomorrow morning when the office staff will be present.
All suggestions or comments welcome. Thank You for your time.

It seems to me that the discussion should appropriately begin with you first clearly deciding for yourself just how much you really want this particular timeshare. If you're lukewarm about it and are just acquiring it because it seemed like a "deal" at the time, I'd demand an immediate 100% refund of any and all money paid. Formally dispute the charge with your credit card issuer too, citing the misrepresentation. You are plainly entitled to cancel with full refund of any and all monies paid in the face of such obvious and egregious misrepresentation by omission of known, directly pertinent facts.

Otoh, if this week is one in which you are genuinely interested and really want and the original purchase price was less than a thousand dollars to begin with (as appears to be the case), maybe "eating" the surprise, as-yet unpaid SA is ultimately worth it to you. Only you can make that determination and decision for yourself.

Personally, I avoid eBay like a contagious disease when it comes to timeshares, fully expecting ownership and usage inaccuracies and / or assorted factual misrepresentations or omissions (as in this instance) from eBay's too often inept, clueless (and / or outright dishonest) resellers. Nonetheless, you're already into this situation now and it may or may not be worth trying to salvage, depending on your real level of interest in the week.

A huge concern at this juncture would (to me, anyhow) be whether the as yet unidentified "closer" is sufficiently trustworthy to ever even forward the SA money on to the resort at all --- if you ultimately chose to pony it up in the first place. That observation leads directly and inevitably to the question, who is selecting the closer? If it's the customary eBay "we choose, but you pay" arrangement, I would tell the seller to refund 100% of my money right now and go straight to Hades later, at their convenience. If you can choose and use your own closer (...since you are paying the closing costs anyhow), the situation might still be salvageable via a known and trustworthy closer using proper escrow, if you are willing to pay this unexpected and unwelcome SA in the first place to acquire this timeshare. It seems that the seller has no plans to pay it if the SA originated in 2013 but none of the 3 divided payments has ever been made since the SA was imposed. Again, how much do you really want this particular timeshare?

You've mentioned plans to call the resort. However, be aware that in the interest of owner privacy protection, the resort office personnel will be ( quite appropriately) reluctant to disclose any specific owner account information to you as a mere unknown prospective buyer. Assuming just for the moment that you may want to salvage the transaction, despite this cagey seller, you might consider having a "3 way" phone conversation with the cagey current owner right there on the line to overtly authorize the full disclosure of all pertinent account information and details directly to you, rather than operating in the dark with a already "less than forthcoming" seller and have to make any more decisions with insufficient facts and information. On the other hand, you might (understandably) just be sufficiently put off by this cagey and "less than forthcoming" seller that you just plain want your money back and bid them adieu.

It's your money, it's your call...

 

[theo]

Not to mention you live in FL and I believe even if the TS isn't in FL but one of the parties, buyer, seller, or transfer company is located in FL and let's say you even signed a purchase agreement, you would still have 10 days to rescind (even resale).

I'm not sure that transfer agent location is actually relevant, but the fact that the OP lives in Florida provides 10 days to rescind and in the absence of the seller or closing agent having provided the buyer with formal notice of the 10 days rescission rights in FL, that time frame then becomes 12 months instead under applicable (revised in very recent years) FL law, as I understand same.

I'd be willing to bet that this fact-withholding seller either does not know (or knew, but willfully neglected to mention) Florida's 10 days rescission period, which applies even to resales (a feature unique to Florida's applicable law and not in effect anywhere else, to the best of my knowledge). If so, the seller's failure to comply with the FL law (whether knowingly or not) has the left the "exit" door wide open for the OP, involuntarily stretching the available rescission period from 10 days out to 12 months.