Same Resale Company - Different Websites & My Experience

[gnorth16]

My wife and I want to acquire more HGVC points to add to the 8000 points we already have and I came across something interesting when researching resales. I replied to a for sale by owner ad on SMTN (sellmytimeshare.com) for a timeshare for $50. Three weeks go by with no response, so I figured it was an old ad and I moved on. On Friday I received a reply from a real estate broker named Mark Goolsby, but he was from Timeshare Broker Services. I was curious how he got my name and email as I only responded to the one ad on SMTN. It turns out that "HGVCresales", Sell My Timeshare Now and Timeshare Broker Services are all different sites to the exact same inventory. Regardless of how we connected, I offered the $50 for the 1BR Plus Biennial (Even - No MF's due until 2026) worth 8800 points and asked what the fees would be. Here was his response.

Ryan, great news the one you are looking it is only $50 so below I am including the total breakdown

Purchase Price = $50
Closing = $2351
Broker Fee = $1500-$500 (closing credit paid back at closing) = $1000
Total = $3901-$500(closing credit paid back at closing) = $3401

I've never seen a broker fee being applied to the purchaser or closing costs that high. What baffles me is I thought I would be dealing with a private seller that was "highly motivated", not a broker.

Feel free to google Mark Goolsby + Timeshare and see what pops up. I'm going to start looking elsewhere.

 

[vacation911]

My wife and I want to acquire more HGVC points to add to the 8000 points we already have and I came across something interesting when researching resales. I replied to a for sale by owner ad on SMTN (sellmytimeshare.com) for a timeshare for $50. Three weeks go by with no response, so I figured it was an old ad and I moved on. On Friday I received a reply from a real estate broker named Mark Goolsby, but he was from Timeshare Broker Services. I was curious how he got my name and email as I only responded to the one ad on SMTN. It turns out that "HGVCresales", Sell My Timeshare Now and Timeshare Broker Services are all different sites to the exact same inventory. Regardless of how we connected, I offered the $50 for the 1BR Plus Biennial (Even - No MF's due until 2026) worth 8800 points and asked what the fees would be. Here was his response.

Ryan, great news the one you are looking it is only $50 so below I am including the total breakdown

Purchase Price = $50
Closing = $2351
Broker Fee = $1500-$500 (closing credit paid back at closing) = $1000
Total = $3901-$500(closing credit paid back at closing) = $3401

I've never seen a broker fee being applied to the purchaser or closing costs that high. What baffles me is I thought I would be dealing with a private seller that was "highly motivated", not a broker.

Feel free to google Mark Goolsby + Timeshare and see what pops up. I'm going to start looking elsewhere.

Regardless of who pays them thoise are some insane fees. I thought SMTN usually charges the seller those fees. I wonder if they are charging those fees to both buyer and seller. Thats nuts.

 

[WorldT]

My wife and I want to acquire more HGVC points to add to the 8000 points we already have and I came across something interesting when researching resales. I replied to a for sale by owner ad on SMTN (sellmytimeshare.com) for a timeshare for $50. Three weeks go by with no response, so I figured it was an old ad and I moved on. On Friday I received a reply from a real estate broker named Mark Goolsby, but he was from Timeshare Broker Services. I was curious how he got my name and email as I only responded to the one ad on SMTN. It turns out that "HGVCresales", Sell My Timeshare Now and Timeshare Broker Services are all different sites to the exact same inventory. Regardless of how we connected, I offered the $50 for the 1BR Plus Biennial (Even - No MF's due until 2026) worth 8800 points and asked what the fees would be. Here was his response.

Ryan, great news the one you are looking it is only $50 so below I am including the total breakdown

Purchase Price = $50
Closing = $2351
Broker Fee = $1500-$500 (closing credit paid back at closing) = $1000
Total = $3901-$500(closing credit paid back at closing) = $3401

I've never seen a broker fee being applied to the purchaser or closing costs that high. What baffles me is I thought I would be dealing with a private seller that was "highly motivated", not a broker.

Feel free to google Mark Goolsby + Timeshare and see what pops up. I'm going to start looking elsewhere.

Did you ask him to ask the seller if they will cover the fees. I believe the seller is already charged a fee.

 

[jeffox]

The seller is paying $1000 or more in fess for the $50 sale, SMTN or whatever they call themselves are a high fee organization.

 

[dioxide45]

Basically the seller doesn't want to pay the broker fees out of pocket after already paying SMTN a high listing fee. So they are trying to get the buyer to pay the broker fee.

 

[WorldT]

Basically the seller doesn't want to pay the broker fees out of pocket after already paying SMTN a high listing fee. So they are trying to get the buyer to pay the broker fee.

I bet they didn't tell the seller they will try to charge the buyer $3400 in addition to the listing fee (isn't this the same as broker fee?).
I wonder if anyone has had success telling them you want to use a different closing company.

 

[Shiba]

Do you think that has anything to do with the new real estate laws with both buyer and seller having to pay the agent/broker fees? I know this isn’t typical real estate, but did SMTN apply it here?

 

[dioxide45]

Do you think that has anything to do with the new real estate laws with both buyer and seller having to pay the agent/broker fees? I know this isn’t typical real estate, but did SMTN apply it here?

No, its just a money grab by SMTN trying to get money from both parties of the transaction.

 

[WorldT]

Do you think that has anything to do with the new real estate laws with both buyer and seller having to pay the agent/broker fees? I know this isn’t typical real estate, but did SMTN apply it here?

Just to be clear, there is no new real estate law. In addition, the lawsuit does not prevent a seller from paying the fee for the buyer's agent/broker. Prior to the lawsuit, the seller was compelled to pay for the buyer's agent before their house could be accepted for listing on the MLS and worse, the seller was not made aware that the 6% fee was arbitrary and could be negotiated.
That being said, @dioxide45 answer above is correct. SMTN could simply accept the $1000 (or more?) fee the seller has already paid as the full payment to complete the transfer. That is what some other companies do.

 

[vacation911]

I bet they didn't tell the seller they will try to charge the buyer $3400 in addition to the listing fee (isn't this the same as broker fee?).
I wonder if anyone has had success telling them you want to use a different closing company.

I suggested to use a different company on a closing, and they stopped communicating with me. I offered to use First American Title which is still far less cost than what they charge. Crickets. I doubt they are interested in using another outside agency as using their company is how they make money. Why they have to be that greedy I do not know.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Does SMTN actually ever sell any timeshares ever? I can’t imagine any resale purchasers would go through them given those fees.

 

[vacation911]

Does SMTN actually ever sell any timeshares ever? I can’t imagine any resale purchasers would go through them given those fees.

I believe the primary revenue stream for these platforms comes from the listing fees they charge sellers. What surprises me, however, is their decision to impose high fees on buyers as well. It’s concerning to see such substantial fees being levied on both sides of the transaction. It seems rare that these items actually sell at the listed prices.

I’ve noticed that many items are listed at excessively high prices. In my opinion, it often takes a significant price reduction, sometimes to an almost giveaway level, before a sale occurs. I suspect this is due to platforms like SMTN convincing sellers their listings are worth much more than they ultimately are, all in an effort to collect the initial listing fee.

 

[gnorth16]

I suggested to use a different company on a closing, and they stopped communicating with me. I offered to use First American Title which is still far less cost than what they charge. Crickets. I doubt they are interested in using another outside agency as using their company is how they make money. Why they have to be that greedy I do not know.

The agent owns his own closing company - Timeshare Closing Services. I knew he wasn’t going to let me use a different company.

As for asking the seller to eat the fees, I’m going to reach out one more time via the ad and hopefully get a direct response. I didn’t the first time, yet the broker implied he was in contact with them. I figured a For Sale By Owner ad, they would reply to a direct inquiry.

 

[vacation911]

The agent owns his own closing company - Timeshare Closing Services. I knew he wasn’t going to let me use a different company.

As for asking the seller to eat the fees, I’m going to reach out one more time via the ad and hopefully get a direct response. I didn’t the first time, yet the broker implied he was in contact with them. I figured a For Sale By Owner ad, they would reply to a direct inquiry.

Interesting I did not know SMTN used Timeshare Closing Services. Good luck, I hope it works out for you. It may be tough since the seller also paid simalar fees to list and its only a $50 purchase price. People pay that much to get out all the time. Best of Luck.

 

[alwysonvac]

If you're simply trying to get a HGVC two bedroom gold equivalent , don't go through SMTN. Just search TUG. They are known for their crazy fees.
You'll pay less overall with the timeshare ads on TUG or one of the recommended brokers (see below)

From TUG's marketplace (link)

From Dana/Judi from Remax (link)

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[dioxide45]

Does SMTN actually ever sell any timeshares ever? I can’t imagine any resale purchasers would go through them given those fees.

I think they do, but it also depends. How savy is the buyer. Are they interested in hunting down something they really want that might be available somewhere else for less. SMTN does a lot of promotion and SEO to make sure they are at the top of Google search results. Not everyone is like us on TUG and if they find something that is cheaper than they were pitched by the developer they may jump on it. That $8000 timeshare on SMTN sounds like a deal compared to the $30,000 one they were pitched at the timeshare presentation.

I recently got an email from SMTN because I expressed interest in a specific timeshare in the past. they are trying to sell it for about $8000 + $1000 in closing costs for a timeshare that might be worth $1000. I wouldn't buy it, but I suspect they may be able to sell it at some point if they find the right buyer.

 

[RX8]

It certainly appears that Sell My Timeshare Now, Timeshare Broker Services and HGVCResales may be acting as a broker. However, none of these companies are licensed as a broker in the state of Florida. There is a Mark Allan Goolsby with an active Florida real estate broker license.

There is also a Mark Allan Goolsby, manager of International Resort Sellers, LLC in Orlando, who was arrested in 2010 for unlawful timeshare commercial sales.

Florida Cracks Down on Timeshare Fraud | Sunshine State News | Florida Political News

sunshinestatenews.com

Here is a 2007 article in which a Mark Goolsby was mentioned as owner of Resorts International and Travel LLC, a timeshare advertising company and a complaint alleges that they guaranteed the timeshare would sell in 180 days (surprise, it didn't sell).

COMPANY PROMISES A FREE FILTER CHANGE

Q: My dilemma involves Water Express Corp. My contract states that I get a free filter change. What I received, by UPS, was a package containing the filters.

www.tampabay.com

There is a Facebook page called Timeshare Sales People and a Mark Goolsby responds to a post of someone selling 3500 Hilton and Marriot leads for $55.

A Mark Goolsby from Orlando was sentenced to a two-year prison term for tax fraud. Not sure if this is the same Mark Goolsby (no middle name).

Orlando Man Sentenced To Prison For Tax Fraud

Orlando, Florida –U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger has sentenced Mark Goolsby to two years in federal prison for filing a false claim for a tax refund. The court also ordered Goolsby to pay $420,288 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

www.justice.gov

The whole thing around Sell My Timeshare Now just seems shady. They don't appear to be licensed as a broker, they offer pricing valuation which is in violation of Florida statute, they wait three weeks to respond to an offer, and the broker who responds is the same person, or shares an uncommon name with another, that has a history of questionable timeshare activities.

 

[gnorth16]

If you're simply trying to get a HGVC two bedroom gold equivalent , don't go through SMTN. Just search TUG. They are known for their crazy fees.
You'll pay less overall with the timeshare ads on TUG or one of the recommended brokers (see below)

From TUG's marketplace (link)

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View attachment 106812​

From Dana/Judi from Remax (link)

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Thanks for the links!
I’m looking at lowering my MF’s/point ratio. I already own 8000 points on the boulevard, which is good, not great. That specific listing was a good ratio at very little cost.

 

[vacation911]

Thanks for the links!
I’m looking at lowering my MF’s/point ratio. I already own 8000 points on the boulevard, which is good, not great. That specific listing was a good ratio at very little cost.

Let us know what you decide to do and how it goes. Good luck.