SMTN

[cheech]

Fairly quick and simple, I searched and didn't find much that fit my scenario. I typically purchase resales from ebay, timesharenation or sumday however I've been in the market and looking for quite some time for a particular resort. Nevertheless, I found what I was looking for in the price range on SMTN and put in an offer, not a lowball either (Seller was looking for $1500, I offered $1250). The guy from SMTN was very communicative up until I said go ahead and submit my offer to the seller, now for the past week crickets. No response whatsoever. He even said it was a decent offer. Fast forward, I figured a few days ago I would try my luck with another in the same complex/price range, SMTN responded, I said go ahead and submit it to the seller, since then...nothing. No response from SMTN on any emails at all.

Now to my question, I know this is an upfront fee joint, so am I to assume people throw money at these folks and then never follow through? Are these legitimate listings or just a ploy to get you baited and send them mail? Made up listings? Any clues?

 

[HenryT]

I purchased a unit from SMTN a year ago without problems. Their closing costs are high but as long as you are happy with the total purchase price it should be okay.

They do charge a high upfront fee to sellers but that's not an issue for the buyer.

They may be waiting to hear back from the seller before they respond back to you.

 

[CPNY]

Fairly quick and simple, I searched and didn't find much that fit my scenario. I typically purchase resales from ebay, timesharenation or sumday however I've been in the market and looking for quite some time for a particular resort. Nevertheless, I found what I was looking for in the price range on SMTN and put in an offer, not a lowball either (Seller was looking for $1500, I offered $1250). The guy from SMTN was very communicative up until I said go ahead and submit my offer to the seller, now for the past week crickets. No response whatsoever. He even said it was a decent offer. Fast forward, I figured a few days ago I would try my luck with another in the same complex/price range, SMTN responded, I said go ahead and submit it to the seller, since then...nothing. No response from SMTN on any emails at all.

Now to my question, I know this is an upfront fee joint, so am I to assume people throw money at these folks and then never follow through? Are these legitimate listings or just a ploy to get you baited and send them mail? Made up listings? Any clues?

So SMTN is a shell company and it operates under different names. The request goes to a broker and then once you submit an offer they contact the owner who’s listing it is. They have a directory of listings and owners. Sometimes the unit isn’t available anymore and they will keep searching owners with the same listings. A lot of times owners just don’t respond. I have purchased two units from them in the past and went back and forth, paying thinking we had the unit and out of no where they needed to find a new seller. I was demanding a refund but then in the process we found another owner and moved along with the sale. They have a large network of sellers so you should be fine. I’m the meantime keep looking

 

[cheech]

I purchased a unit from SMTN a year ago without problems. Their closing costs are high but as long as you are happy with the total purchase price it should be okay.

They do charge a high upfront fee to sellers but that's not an issue for the buyer.

They may be waiting to hear back from the seller before they respond back to you.

Like how high we talking? Feel free to send via message if you are comfortable.

 

[CPNY]

Like how high we talking? Feel free to send via message if you are comfortable.

They wanted to charge 999 for closing. I had previous purchase from them so they knocked a few hundred off. It was still high! But I used that to negotiate the purchase price and all in paid exactly what other listings would have been with closing and transfer. I will say, closing was fast and accurate.

 

[RLS50]

I have found that one's experiences with SMTN can vary greatly depending on the agent one works with. I had some early negative experiences with SMTN, but then I discovered that SMTN had some not so good agents and some excellent agents. When you are working with one of the good agents, SMTN can be one of the best companies out there to work with from beginning to end. Although they do charge a lot for their closing services, I have never had a negative experience on a purchase with them. I would certainly use them again if they had a week listed I was interested in purchasing.

And to your particular concern, sometimes it takes days for your SMTN agent to get a response back from the original seller. Sometimes SMTN is even waiting to hear back from the seller's broker since SMTN is a clearing house of listings from all over. As CPNY alluded to SMTN also has other websites under different names with the same listings. Again it is a clearing house of all the possible listings out there. So not every listing you see on the website is still valid or still available. For some of those listings the sellers may have already sold. For some of those listings the sellers may have taken their listing off the market. For some of those listings the sellers may have been foreclosed on. And then for some of those listings the sellers actually can be contacted so SMTN can negotiate and try to broker a deal between you and the seller (or seller's agent).

 

[SteelerGal]

Has anyone used SMTN for rentals?

 

[cheech]

Well here's my follow up to this. SMTN finally responded and said they have been in communication with the seller (he is an "attorney and in court trying a case this week"-lol insert eyeroll). Anyway, he was unaware he (seller) had listed it for $1500 and it should have been $15000 and must have been a misprint, however the seller is willing to negotiate. I kindly passed as I knew the direction this was going to go.

End result for me, SMTN was a bust. Won't attempt it again, lesson learned.

 

[klpca]

Well here's my follow up to this. SMTN finally responded and said they have been in communication with the seller (he is an "attorney and in court trying a case this week"-lol insert eyeroll). Anyway, he was unaware he (seller) had listed it for $1500 and it should have been $15000 and must have been a misprint, however the seller is willing to negotiate. I kindly passed as I knew the direction this was going to go.

End result for me, SMTN was a bust. Won't attempt it again, lesson learned.

Yeah, no point trying to negotiate with someone who has no idea of the true market value of their unit. I made two offers (months apart) on a unit listed on Redweek. My offers were fair and I showed them the recent comps to back them up. I was told by the broker that the owner not only rejected my offers, they were offended by them and asked that I not submit any more. They honestly probably did me a service because I certainly don't need any additional timeshares, but dealing with someone who doesn't want to face reality is just a waste of time.

 

[CPNY]

Well here's my follow up to this. SMTN finally responded and said they have been in communication with the seller (he is an "attorney and in court trying a case this week"-lol insert eyeroll). Anyway, he was unaware he (seller) had listed it for $1500 and it should have been $15000 and must have been a misprint, however the seller is willing to negotiate. I kindly passed as I knew the direction this was going to go.

End result for me, SMTN was a bust. Won't attempt it again, lesson learned.

What were you trying to buy?

 

[chapjim]

Has anyone used SMTN for rentals?

Maybe start a new thread instead of highjacking this one?

 

[cheech]

What were you trying to buy?

Palace Resorts Membership

 

[CPNY]

Maybe start a new thread instead of highjacking this one?

I think it’s warranted here. The title is just SMTN, so we can discuss anything from sales, to rentals, to their ridiculous closing costs lol.