Redweek4less -- American Timeshare Closing Company

[Politico]

I am currently ina closing with Redweek4less. They use American Timeshare Closing. I read some negative reviews about American Timeshare Closing on TUG, but decided to proceed with the purchase because the price was great and other Tuggers had decent experiences.

Well, things have not reached the awful point yet, but they have not been perfect. Shelley Cox, my closer, seems to be in over her head and is generally non-responsive to emails and telephone calls. Most disturbing, is that she purportedly mailed out the necessary documents to the county a few weeks ago. She said she would provide me with tracking numbers for the mailing. Of course, she never did and I had to call her to get them. When I finally got in touch with her, she did provide me with a tracking number, but it was invalid. When I asked her to provide a valid number, she could not, explaining, "this sometimes happens with USPS." Needless to say, I'm disappointed. This wouldn't be a huge deal, except that for a myraid of reasons we need this to close relatively quickly.

Does anyone have any advice? Does anyone have management contacts at American Timeshare Closing LLC that I might escalate this issue or get someone senior to pay attention to the progress of my closing.

Thanks

 

[Politico]

Also, would love it if a moderator could fix mis-spelling of "closing" in the thread name.

 

[richardm]

I think perhaps you need to go back and re-read those other threads you mentioned. Not sure how you missed some of the warnings there- but take another peak at them and it may explain why you are experiencing "difficulties"..

As with most things in life, competent service normally comes with a price.. You've closed your eyes, reached into a dirty old barrel of apples, and taken a big bite! If your luck was bad and you grabbed a piece of rotten fruit- I guess your options are to either try and spit it out, or just swallow it and hope for the best..

Of course, I do remember someone once telling me a parable about how one bad apple spoils.. Oops- the rest of that story has just slipped my mind.......

In all seriousness- I'm sorry for your frustration.. You'll find a myriad of names in those threads about individuals others have dealt with- perhaps one of those names will be of some help to you.

Good luck!

 

[BocaBum99]

I am currently ina closing with Redweek4less. They use American Timeshare Closing. I read some negative reviews about American Timeshare Closing on TUG, but decided to proceed with the purchase because the price was great and other Tuggers had decent experiences.

You were informed of the potential issues and you proceeded anyway to get the great price. Just bite the bullet and let it play itself out.

 

[kingjer]

I'm dealing with them now too before reading all that stuff. Guess it all makes sense. We're not in escrow yet. I contacted them and said I would prefer not to use their own closing company. Their response when I questioned them was something to the effect that they have a close relationship with American Timeshare Closing and they treat their customers very well.

I told IA Vacations if they won't let me use First American or Chicago Title for escrow that I'm not interested and we can cancel the transaction. Haven't heard back yet but I think they will probably cancel it. Unfortunate, but we'll see what happens. I do really want the unit but won't go forward with ATC no matter what.

 

[kingjer]

Just as I posted this I received another email from them that they would charge $105 if I cancel. I replied that not only is it illegal for sellers of real property to stipulate closing companies, it is also not mentioned in their auction that they mandate use of their own closing company.

Wow, people must really fall for this. I told them either we mutually cancel and go our own ways or we can close with a 3rd party. They threatened to file a non paying bidder complaint with eBay if I don't pay the fee. I'm a powerseller on eBay for non real estate stuff so this should be a fun dispute if they pursue.

 

[DavidnRobin]

They have no case - the bid clearly states...
"By participating, you are not entering into a contract to purchase this property. You are, however, expressing serious interest in the property and in pursuing contract discussions. "

 

[kingjer]

I know. That's why I'm not sweating it. They are just being obnoxious. I told them if they want to file a mutual cancellation with eBay that's fine, but I won't agree to a NPB strike.

First warning sign of any real estate deal for any type of property is if the seller mandates use of a closing agent. Kind of puts the whole checks and balances thing in question and you have to wonder if that 3rd party is really neutral. I don't have a problem with it generally if it is a large and licensed company like Chicago, First American, Fidelity, etc. but for a company everyone has written bad things about I'm not so interested!

 

[Dave H]

I know. That's why I'm not sweating it. They are just being obnoxious. I told them if they want to file a mutual cancellation with eBay that's fine, but I won't agree to a NPB strike.

First warning sign of any real estate deal for any type of property is if the seller mandates use of a closing agent. Kind of puts the whole checks and balances thing in question and you have to wonder if that 3rd party is really neutral. I don't have a problem with it generally if it is a large and licensed company like Chicago, First American, Fidelity, etc. but for a company everyone has written bad things about I'm not so interested!

Better yet ask them for their license by the Tennesse Department of Insurance authorizing them to act as a closing agent in that state... I know from looking on the State Department of Insurance they do not appear to have the proper credentials. But then there is always the standard buyer beware clauses by me...

Dave

 

[Jennie]

What a jerk!

Here's another complaint about Ebay seller redweek4less.

They have a current auction in progress for Wyndham Points at Sea Gardens in Pompano Beach, Florida (130303287981). The long rambling description lacks essential details. This has been a recurrent problem with many of their past auctions, including Wyndham Points. I have had to Email them each time requesting the missing info. This time my Email was rather curt because I'm fed up with people who conduct business in such a careless, incompetent manner (or maybe it's a deliberate attempt to withhold information that would make the item less valuable).

Here' what I wrote:

Dear redweek4less,

Really, you should know by now that the few people interested in buying a timeshare week or Points on Ebay during these tough economic times are experienced, sophisticated people who need your auction description to contain basic accurate information. They'll pass over a listing like yours because it does not specify if this was a fixed week converted to Points, or was sold as a UDI. If it was previously a fixed week, the week and unit number need to be stated.

You need to also state whether the maintenance fees listed include the real estate taxes, and if not, what the the taxes are. These factors make a big difference in terms of reservation privileges and and determining the true value of the item.

Also you have failed to state which closing company will be handling the deal. It is this lack of attention to detail, and past mistakes and slow service on your end, that has caused you to have a poor reputation at the Timeshare Users Group website. And these are the people most likely to bid on your auctions".

Here's the entire reply I received from "redweek":
"Please feel free to not bid on any of our properties!"

And my answer back:
"What a dumb reply! I was trying to offer you some helpful advice. Certainly I would not bid on an auction that lacks essential details about what is being auctioned. If no one else bids, maybe you'll connect the dots and figure out why".

I just checked the auction. It has been up for about 3 days, with a minimum starting bid of $1.00 . Gee, no bids have been received yet. I wonder why!

 

[richardm]

I think you've made a great decision, and I hope others will follow your lead!

 

[josh2268]

Does any have recommendations on the best sites / companies to by resales from? I was thinking of buying on ebay, but reconsidering after some of the posts.

 

[richardm]

I sent you a private message with some referrals.

 

[josh2268]

most appreciated, thank you