• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 30 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 30th anniversary: Happy 30th Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $21,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $21 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    60,000+ subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Wilkinson Title Agency, FMB

logan115

TUG Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
322
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Wheeling, IL
Hi All,

A family member is buying a unit (21) at Lahaina in Fort Myers Beach and the title company being used is Wilkinson Title Agency. They are buying directly from the owner, and this agency is the preferred/required one for this resort and what they're using for the purchase.

They've stayed at the resort several times and are happy to have worked something out with the owners of the week they're buying, but after doing a few searches here nothing was coming up for this title agency so figured I'd ask here.

Any info is appreciated, and thanks in advance,

Chris
 

Roger830

TUG Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2013
Messages
1,456
Reaction score
587
Points
323
Location
CT
They handled the last two resale units that we bought at the Hollywood Sands using the resort broker. There weren't any problems. The resort is VRI managed and the broker is connected with them. Perhaps the resort in question is also VRI.
 

Ty1on

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2015
Messages
5,119
Reaction score
1,952
Points
348
Hi All,

A family member is buying a unit (21) at Lahaina in Fort Myers Beach and the title company being used is Wilkinson Title Agency. They are buying directly from the owner, and this agency is the preferred/required one for this resort and what they're using for the purchase.

They've stayed at the resort several times and are happy to have worked something out with the owners of the week they're buying, but after doing a few searches here nothing was coming up for this title agency so figured I'd ask here.

Any info is appreciated, and thanks in advance,

Chris

Did they hear from Lahaina that Wilkinson is their preferred closer, or from the seller?
 

theo

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Messages
9,032
Reaction score
2,268
Points
648
Location
New England Coast
A family member is buying a unit (21) at Lahaina in Fort Myers Beach and the title company being used is Wilkinson Title Agency. They are buying directly from the owner, and this agency is the preferred/required one for this resort and what they're using for the purchase.

They've stayed at the resort several times and are happy to have worked something out with the owners of the week they're buying, but after doing a few searches here nothing was coming up for this title agency so figured I'd ask here.

Any info is appreciated, and thanks in advance,

Wilkinson Title Agency in Fort Myers is long established, very experienced and quite competent. Have no fear; Wilkinson is local to FMB, well known, reliable and capable.
One co-principal (William Wilkinson) is actually the current HOA President of a FMB timeshare facility which I know very well (I won't name it, but it's not Lahaina Inn).

P.S. VRI was mentioned "upstream" in this thread. Fwiw, Lahaina Inn in FMB is not managed by VRI (...and never was). VRI does manage Mariners Boat House in FMB and formerly managed Caribbean Beach Club in FMB (until VRI was booted by the CBC BoD a year or so ago; a strange and unexplained action understood by no one). :shrug:
 
Last edited:

logan115

TUG Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
322
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Wheeling, IL
Did they hear from Lahaina that Wilkinson is their preferred closer, or from the seller?


Seller called the resort to see who they use and Lahaina told them to use Wilkinson.

Title insurance seems a bit pricey at nearly $500 but not sure anything can be done about that.

Thanks
 

logan115

TUG Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
322
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Wheeling, IL
Thanks for all the replies, feel much better having some very well experienced Tuggers confirm they're legit.

Appreciate the offer Ron but don't think it's necessary.

Chris
 

theo

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Messages
9,032
Reaction score
2,268
Points
648
Location
New England Coast
Seller called the resort to see who they use and Lahaina told them to use Wilkinson.

Title insurance seems a bit pricey at nearly $500 but not sure anything can be done about that.

Thanks

Title insurance is rarely necessary in resale transactions; are you suggesting that Wilkinson requires it to be purchased and the policy costs $500? :ponder: I doubt that.
$500 is more than "a bit pricey" for title insurance; it would be flat out larcenous for a resale with a selling figure likely somewhere between $1k and $4k maximum.
I'm guessing that the $500 title insurance figure cited is simply not correct and that there is some sort of misunderstanding here. :confused::shrug::confused:
 
Last edited:

logan115

TUG Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
322
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Wheeling, IL
Title insurance is rarely mandatory or necessary in a resale transaction; are you implying / saying that Wilkinson requires it to be purchased? :confused::shrug::confused:

It's listed as a buyer's cost in the contract - should they decline ? And if so is there something else they should get ? Have only personally bought DVC where contracts are pretty vanilla and standardized so will take any advance I can get.
 

theo

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Messages
9,032
Reaction score
2,268
Points
648
Location
New England Coast
It's listed as a buyer's cost in the contract - should they decline ? And if so is there something else they should get ? Have only personally bought DVC where contracts are pretty vanilla and standardized so will take any advance I can get.

I can't / won't advise on what gives someone else their particular peace of mind. I am merely noting that title insurance in a resale timeshare transaction is sometimes a costly (and almost always an optional) choice. Only once in 32 years and 20+ resale timeshare transactions have I ever acquired title insurance, and that once was only because the (seller) lawyer's office handling the closing routinely provided it to buyers for peanuts as part of the closing process. However, $500 certainly ain't peanuts.

In Lee County, FL (FMB / Lahaina Inn location) , using the seller's (presumably now known) name as the last "grantee" in a search, the current deed can easily be retrieved online and at absolutely no cost, although that alone certainly does not assure clear title or absence of liens or other encumbrances. Look at Official / Public records selection option at http://www.leeclerk.org if further interested. Maybe the peace of mind of having title insurance is worth the expense to your family member(s); that's ultimately a personal decision.
 
Last edited:

logan115

TUG Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
322
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Wheeling, IL
Found the deed and the unit and week checks out - think I was confusing title insurance with the estoppel that I'd gotten on my DVC contracts that confirmed how many points (currently available and annual allotment) were included.

Think you might have just saved her $500 - feel like the least I can do is send you a Costco sized bag of peanuts :hi:

Chris
 

theo

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Messages
9,032
Reaction score
2,268
Points
648
Location
New England Coast
Found the deed and the unit and week checks out - think I was confusing title insurance with the estoppel that I'd gotten on my DVC contracts that confirmed how many points (currently available and annual allotment) were included.

Think you might have just saved her $500 - feel like the least I can do is send you a Costco sized bag of peanuts :hi:

No peanuts necessary, but thanks for the offer and the thought! :)

Remember that confirming current ownership does not in and of itself mean (or in any way guarantee) that there is no "cloud" on the title from some prior point in time.
It also does not in any way reveal or confirm current owner's account status with "the house" (...which should be clearly addressed in the estoppel documentation).
Like so many things in life, "you pays your money and you takes your chances", but title insurance coverage generally maxes out at the purchase price amount anyhow --- it's ultimately an individual risk / benefit analysis and a personal decision in resale timeshare transactions, most of which do not involve big bucks in the first place.
 
Last edited:

Roger830

TUG Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2013
Messages
1,456
Reaction score
587
Points
323
Location
CT
$500 is way too much for title insurance. As I recall, it was offered to us for $75 which we declined.
 

SMHarman

TUG Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2013
Messages
4,171
Reaction score
86
Points
183
Location
NY NY
$500 is way too much for title insurance. As I recall, it was offered to us for $75 which we declined.
Premium usually is aligned to the purchase price.

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk
 

logan115

TUG Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
322
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Wheeling, IL
$500 is way too much for title insurance. As I recall, it was offered to us for $75 which we declined.

Premium usually is aligned to the purchase price.

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk

Getting some more details this AM. Specifically (from the seller) :

"The Title Insurance Rates for Timeshare (effective 7/01/13) listed on the Wilkinson Title website indicates $470.00 for up to $10,400 sales price. This may not be the exact amount, I am just using their table. It indicates that "...these rates apply to Timeshare Closings only. ...include the Closing/Settlement/Escrow Fee of $325, Title Search Fee $85, Title Insurance Policy calculated on Purchase Price, " They indicated that these would be calculated more exactly before closing. "

Given that $325 of the $470 is closing costs it makes more sense as the way it was itemized it looked like $470 for the insurance alone. Purchase price is about $2k so the actual title insurance may be closer to "peanuts" than I thought 12 hours ago.
 
Top