Timeshare closed w/o past dues being paid by escrow company

[funtime]

We had an escrow close with Timeshare closing services and when we got this year's assessment there was $851 owing on last year's dues. Our contract clearly stated we were only responsible for this years dues. We wrote a demand letter to the escrow company but they have ignored us.

They are a Florida company and their stationery says they are licensed title aned escrow agency, bonded and insured.

We want to write a letter of complaint to the Attorney General or the State Dept. of Corporations or whoever regulates escrow companies in Florida.

Does anyone know the correct agency to complain to? Thanks.

 

[jerseygirl]

http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/lsc/documents/complaint_english.pdf

Good luck! I think they'll pay up quickly if you send them a copy of your complaint .... Assuming they're still solvent.

 

[ronparise]

Ive worked with these folks several times, They have never been anything but helpful. Of course I never wrote a demand letter, I just called them up, made my case, and sent supporting documents..ezpz I have no doubt that they will make things right for you...


If it was me however Id put demand letters on the bottom of my things to do list

 

[rrlongwell]

We had an escrow close with Timeshare closing services and when we got this year's assessment there was $851 owing on last year's dues. Our contract clearly stated we were only responsible for this years dues. We wrote a demand letter to the escrow company but they have ignored us.

They are a Florida company and their stationery says they are licensed title aned escrow agency, bonded and insured.

We want to write a letter of complaint to the Attorney General or the State Dept. of Corporations or whoever regulates escrow companies in Florida.

Does anyone know the correct agency to complain to? Thanks.

The State Attorney General's Office appears to be heavily involved in timeshare fraud related issues in Flordia. There is a recent post on TUG that pertained to the new law Flordia just put in place. I do not know if it is effect yet or not or if it would apply to your case.

 

[pacodemountainside]

I also had several problems with closing company and after getting blown off, simply contacted e-bay seller.

He could not do anything about being aggravated by closing company ( a la Judge Judy) screwing up deed and process taking almost 4 months, but did immediately reimburse me all MF up to date I got paperwork/usage rights approved by Wyndham.

I have found discussing directly with seller, car dealer general/service manger, supervisor, etc. I generally get much better results than bringing in third parties like AG, BBB, attorney, etc.

Absent reasonable belief crooks are involved give them a shot.

E-bay sellers get several thousand from original owner up front, have wiggle room and want to keep 98-100% rating!

I don't read all posts, but off hand do not recall here e-bay seller if he had 99%+ rating and still in business did not negotiate a reasonable settlement.

No, I don't like PCCs , Viking Ships, etc. and posts document I am not a shrill for anyone but try to keep an open mind other than Wyndham!.

 

[VacationForever]

funtime, if it is "Timeshare Closing Services, Inc", it is the closing company affiliated with Laman34 (Rodney C)/ CJ Timeshare. From my experience they are both very good to work with. If you bought it from them, just give them a call to get it sorted out. I have bought a couple of timeshare from them and closed thru TCS. I have spoken to both sides several times. No issues and had money refunded to me in a timely fashion on one where a ROFL was exercised.

 

[Talent312]

The State Attorney General's Office appears to be heavily involved in timeshare fraud related issues in Flordia. There is a recent post on TUG that pertained to the new law Flordia just put in place. I do not know if it is effect yet or not or if it would apply to your case.

The new law relates to operators who solicit promise marketing services for a fee, and expressly excludes licensed brokerages, even if they mishandle a closing. Mishandling a closing is not fraud, and thus does not concern the Attorney General's Office.

Since the closer was a licensed broker, the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation -- Real Estate Commission -- is the proper state agency.

 

[Carolinian]

Where is the timeshare located? There may be violations of the law there as well that can give you some additional leverage. In some states, like NC, the eBay seller should have been licensed as a developer and I would bet dollars to donuts they are not. Also, if it is an ''attorney state'' which requires attorneys to prepare deeds, then most closing companies routinely violate those laws, which is a criminal offense. In fact, by taking money for performing an act required to be performed by an attorney, they have in some states committed a felony. That is big time leverage.

 

[funtime]

Very helpful information. Thanks so much. I of course have tried to resolve it before with persistent emails and communication. I have all the supporting documentation and will contact the seller once more (been dealing with escrow company) before I rachet it up a notch.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

One approach might be to inform the resort that debt was incurred prior to your ownership and inform them that you have no intention of paying any debt that you didn't incur.

In my view this is like buying a used car from someone who still owes money on the car. Despite the outstanding loan, the title is transferred, bu then the lender comes back to you for payment of the other loan. Doesn't make sense. If the resort tries to say that you took on the debt when you acquired ownership, ask them to provide documentation that you agreed to take on the prior owners debt.

 

[Carolinian]

I don't know how it works in your state, but for car loans, in NC they are recorded on the face of the car title. If the loan is recorded there, it is enforcible. If it is not, then the car is not legal collateral for the loan or debt.

When it somes to real estate, there is something called the Torrens system, which is an alternative system of holding title in some states. Under Torrens there is a certificate of title that would include loans, just like a car title. But I have never heard of a timeshare being Torrenized.

With the usual deed system of holding real estate, debts are generally not upon the face of a deed. Someone qualified to do so has to search for them. A deed of trust for a mortgage would be recorded later as a seperate instument. Judgments become liens on real property, so the judgment docket needs to be searched. Past due taxes are as well, so the tax office records have to be searched. For a timeshare, the Declaration of Covenants provides that m/f's and s/a's become liens on the title, so those records have to be searched to. The timeshare deed refers back to the Declaration, so the owner is put on notice of that.

One approach might be to inform the resort that debt was incurred prior to your ownership and inform them that you have no intention of paying any debt that you didn't incur.

In my view this is like buying a used car from someone who still owes money on the car. Despite the outstanding loan, the title is transferred, bu then the lender comes back to you for payment of the other loan. Doesn't make sense. If the resort tries to say that you took on the debt when you acquired ownership, ask them to provide documentation that you agreed to take on the prior owners debt.

 

[csxjohn]

Is this the purpose of an estoppal letter?

Would that be the kind of information that would be disclosed by the resort in this type letter?

I know it's too late for the OP but for future reference, is this what should be requested?

 

[rrlongwell]

Is this the purpose of an estoppal letter?

Would that be the kind of information that would be disclosed by the resort in this type letter?

I know it's too late for the OP but for future reference, is this what should be requested?

With E-Bay re-sellers this is not necessarily a way to control for this. There was one re-seller that sent me an estoppel letter on Wyndham letterhead. When I check with Wyndham, they assured me that that letter was not issued by them. In the age of computers, this is a very easy thing to do. It could be done on a photocopier as well.

The moral of the story is that if a E-Bay re-seller sends an Estoppel letter, confirm that is an actual document from the appropriate source.

At a minium, the Estoppel letter should let you know if the Homeowners Association is owed anything.

 

[funtime]

Timeshare was a Marriott

This was a deeded Marriott timeshare and several phone calls went to them as well explaining when we took title. They said it is not a rare occurrence in the resale world and we just had to pay up or be foreclosed.

 

[rrlongwell]

This was a deeded Marriott timeshare and several phone calls went to them as well explaining when we took title. They said it is not a rare occurrence in the resale world and we just had to pay up or be foreclosed.

Unfortunatly, Marriott is probably right. The re-seller world appears to be able to do that at will. Any luck with the re-seller making good?

 

[BocaBum99]

This was a deeded Marriott timeshare and several phone calls went to them as well explaining when we took title. They said it is not a rare occurrence in the resale world and we just had to pay up or be foreclosed.

If you deal with a legitimate closing company, they should order an estoppel from the resort. That estoppel usually tells you how much is owed at time of estoppel and when next payment is due. TCS is a licensed and bonded title company, so it seems strange to me that they didn't order an estoppel letter. You should request a copy from them to get the facts.

It would be helpful to know where the error occurred. The error could be by Marriott. It could be that the transferred occurred after the estoppel expired. For instance, if the estoppel letter was ordered in Feb and it closes in June, there could have been a maintenance fee payment due in April which mucks up the process.

 

[BocaBum99]

Unfortunatly, Marriott is probably right. The re-seller world appears to be able to do that at will. Any luck with the re-seller making good?

Marriott could be at fault, too. I would wait for the facts to come in before assigning blame.

 

[theo]

Yes, but....

Is this the purpose of an estoppal letter?

Would that be the kind of information that would be disclosed by the resort in this type letter?

Few closing entities associated with eBay mega-sellers ever even bother obtaining an estoppel letter from the resort in the first place. Their primary objective is to just "wrap it up" --- as opposed to "get it right".

Professional, competent closing entities obtain a current and vaild estoppel letter during the closing process.

 

[BigRedOne]

I had a similar circumstance (many years ago) where I purchased a timeshare from an owner at a verrrry reasonable price only to receive not only a bill for back maintenance fees, but an assessment letter for repairs to the resort that wasn’t built to code and had weather damage (Galveston Island). I immediately called the resort and explained that I had just purchased at their resort from an owner and was never told of any back maintenance fees or special assessments. I was in a position to tell them to just “take the resort back” as I was not going to pay the fees. In the end the resort worked out a compromise and I was able to pay a small percentage of the fees and still had a pretty good deal. The way everything worked I have suspicions that I was actually buying a week that was either repossessed or taken back for some reason or another but never actually had any way to prove it. Lesson learned, always double check what seems like a good deal and make sure there will be no additional charges after closing.

 

[rrlongwell]

I had a similar circumstance (many years ago) where I purchased a timeshare from an owner at a verrrry reasonable price only to receive not only a bill for back maintenance fees, but an assessment letter for repairs to the resort that wasn’t built to code and had weather damage (Galveston Island). I immediately called the resort and explained that I had just purchased at their resort from an owner and was never told of any back maintenance fees or special assessments. I was in a position to tell them to just “take the resort back” as I was not going to pay the fees. In the end the resort worked out a compromise and I was able to pay a small percentage of the fees and still had a pretty good deal. The way everything worked I have suspicions that I was actually buying a week that was either repossessed or taken back for some reason or another but never actually had any way to prove it. Lesson learned, always double check what seems like a good deal and make sure there will be no additional charges after closing.

E-Bay purchase?

 

[stevedmatt]

For what it's worth, my only experience with Timeshare Closing Service is a closing that didn't get completed after a full year. I demanded my money be returned and they obliged. If part of your closing fees included title insurance, they should have found back fees due and collected then from the seller. That's why you pay for title insurance.

 

[pacodemountainside]

For what it's worth, my only experience with Timeshare Closing Service is a closing that didn't get completed after a full year. I demanded my money be returned and they obliged. If part of your closing fees included title insurance, they should have found back fees due and collected then from the seller. That's why you pay for title insurance.

I can't believe anyone would pay $200-$300 for title insurance on a $1.00 e-bay purchase. If a bum deed all they pay is insured purchase amount of $1.00. Just walk if clear deed with all MF, leins, taxes, mortgages have been paid cannot be provided.

 

[byebye]

Smooth Closing - so far!

I'm in the process of closing a deal with CJ and TCS and I have to say, because of the amt that I paid, $1, I was pretty leary of them. But they answered all of my questions, sent me any and all of the documentation from the resort (estoppel) and as a matter of fact they just called me and said that everything is on its way to the resort for finalization. The Ebay auction was won on 8/7 and it seems that all is going pretty smooth.

 

[Centurion]

TCS is the company that just closed our Marriott properties. They did a good job and I have no complaints. I would use them again in the future.