Timeshare Adventures,inc.

yvettew19 wrote:

Truly I should have given RedWeek.Com my $295 and if they took 5 years to sell my timeshare it would have been worth it......they don't even put your timeshare in view for any one to see as RedWeek does....Thank you REDWEEK.COM for being honest, candid, and straightfoward to all your customers.

RedWeek is merely a timeshare related Internet site on which individuals (or commercial entities) can (and do) pay a fee to advertise their timeshare(s), either for rent or for sale. In other words, RedWeek itself is essentially just a web site, i.e., RedWeek itself as a company does NOT sell or rent timeshares. Any and every ad you see on RedWeek is an ad whose paid placement has been purchased by an individual (or a commercial company) and RedWeek has ABSOLUTELY NO involvement whatsoever in any transaction resulting from any and all such ads. In short, RedWeek is merely the "Internet vehicle" for the placement and posting of those paid ads.

These RedWeek discussion forums (with the exception of occasional Moderator input or censoring) are also comprised entirely of voluntary contributors (...including me, and many others) who have NO direct association of any kind with RedWeek. We merely CHOOSE to occasionally share our experience and acquired knowledge (...unfortunately, forum "input" sometimes also includes the posting of some uninformed and / or grossly inaccurate misinformation by some contributors). Opinions and viewpoints relating to timeshare matters are also expressed and discussed in the Forums.

In any event, I'm still sorry that you have apparently fallen prey to the parasitic and opportunistic likes of "Timeshare Adventures. Inc."

Thanks for responding to my post,and clearing some misunderstanding of what Redweek is and does. I know money is need to keep the site up and going. It truly cuts my gut when some of these barefaced companies lie and say what they can, and know the can't do. Anyway Ken193 thats for rapping up this portion for me I do appreciate it.

Hi Ken1193, I've read everything posted here on the Timeshare adventures company, which has been great because I won't be going with them. But I have a couple of questions. You mentioned you have sold (and rented) several timeshares yourself. Would you mind elaborating a bit and telling me how you did that? Apart from listing here, where else did you list and who dealt with the legal side once the deal went through? I have heard it's quite tricky to get the owners names changed etc. on contracts. Listing is one thing but how do buyers know they are getting what they are paying for? I know I'd be dubious buying from someone privately. Thanks in advance.

vanessag36 wrote:

You mentioned you have sold (and rented) several timeshares yourself. Would you mind elaborating a bit and telling me how you did that? Apart from listing here, where else did you list and who dealt with the legal side once the deal went through? I have heard it's quite tricky to get the owners names changed etc. on contracts. Listing is one thing but how do buyers know they are getting what they are paying for? I know I'd be dubious buying from someone privately. Thanks in advance.

That said, I've successfully sold off four U.S. weeks (one in Vermont, one in Lake Tahoe, and two in Florida) advertising ONLY on RedWeek, MyResortNetwork and Bidshares. I don't use (and I do not recommend) either eBay or Craigslist. Craigslist somehow elicits and invites far too many slimy scammers, in my (and others') experience.

I made sure that my prices were lower than ANY other comparable weeks listed for sale at that particular resort. It's important to remember and acknowledge that NO buyer cares ONE BIT what YOU may have paid previously --- buyers (understandably) ONLY care about the lowest price they can find for themselves NOW, TODAY. In other words, you can't reasonably expect anyone to pay too much, just because YOU may have paid too much when YOU purchased. Times change and the market changes --- unfortunately, steadily DOWNWARD for timeshare resales since around late 2007 and continuing downward today.

As far as all of the closing details AFTER finding a buyer and agreeing to a price, I always leave ALL of the rest in the hands of a respected, professional timeshare closing company. Any attempted scams, or insincere buyers will be easily and promptly unveiled (and then dismissed) in that process. The closing company (not the seller) receives the funds, holds that sale money in escrow, and disburses proceeds funds to the seller ONLY upon the successful recording of a new, valid deed (a step which is also handled by the closing company) in the name of the buyer / new owner. My personal favorites for closing companies are Timeshare Transfer (Vero Beach, FL) and JRA Services (Sunrise, FL). Cost is about $300 with either one. I use ONLY one or the other of these two, personally (...but take note that there are some states where they WON'T accept or conduct closings at all). Who pays that closing cost? It's a negotiable matter between buyer and seller, but the buyer is (historically, anyhow) usually responsible for paying that cost (as well as any transfer fee required by the resort, which is never included in the closing company fee). With the resale market as weak as it is these days, some sellers now openly offer to pay all of the closing costs themselves (I've never paid the closing costs as a seller, myself).

Keep in mind that the above accurately describes the PROCESS, but if the timeshare week being offered for sale is off-season, or poor location (...or even a good location, but with expensive cost to travel to, like Hawaii), or has exorbitant annual maintenance fees or pending special assessments, legal issues, etc. then the actual MARKETABILITY and VALUE of such a "weak week" is then another story entirely. You can't "make a silk purse out of a sow's ear". The fact that there are currently over a thousand or so timeshares offered on eBay every day for pennies, many of them STILL going unclaimed even at that low price, speaks volumes about the fact that there is currently virtually NO market at all for "weak weeks". Also, with the many changes adopted by exchange companies like II and RCI in recent years, a "weak week" usually now won't warrant or obtain anything in exchange except another similar "weak week". The yesteryear days of "depositing" a rusty iron pipe and sometimes miraculously getting a gold bar in "exchange" are clearly now gone forever, which further devalues all "weak weeks", many of which are now quite nearly worthless.

I hope some of this helps you and I wish you good luck.

Thanks for your response. I have membership to a club that is points based and it's in Australia. Points can be deposited into II for use elsewhere in the world as you know. As it's in the southern hemisphere the peak times are different to the US and Europe so maybe that will work to my advantage. But I think I might just rent the weeks out. It looks like I'll still have to pay a fee upfront (despite how small that may be) to list a rental week. Anyway thanks again.

vanessag36 wrote:

I have membership to a club that is points based and it's in Australia.

One good thing about "vacation clubs" / "membership clubs" is that, unlike deeded ownerships, there is a fixed and specific ending date to the "club" RTU contract. Deeded ownerships are forever (...or until sale or foreclosure occurs instead) but RTU contracts, by definition, basically always have a very specifically identified END date.

In any case, good luck with whatver you choose to do...

After getting manipulated and decieved all the way through with Westgate Lake Resort; I found myself wanting to rid this monkey off my back ; so ; I found Time Shared Adventures. I spoke to a Jennifer; who offered with her-PLATINUM SALE - program to have our property easily sold within 4 to 6 weeks. I obliged ; and gave them 1000CDN. IT WAS A COMPLETE SHAM FOLKS-I HAVN,T HEARD FROM THEM SINCE. NO RETURN CALLS-NOTHING!. They are arrogant, insolent, and about as unprofessional as you will find. Crooks....I have sent a letter off to the American Trade Commision. You do the same and maybe they will put a stop to this corruptive , unethical practise.

glenk29 wrote:

After getting manipulated and decieved all the way through with Westgate Lake Resort; I found myself wanting to rid this monkey off my back ; so ; I found Time Shared Adventures. I spoke to a Jennifer; who offered with her-PLATINUM SALE - program to have our property easily sold within 4 to 6 weeks. I obliged ; and gave them 1000CDN. IT WAS A COMPLETE SHAM FOLKS-I HAVN,T HEARD FROM THEM SINCE. NO RETURN CALLS-NOTHING!. They are arrogant, insolent, and about as unprofessional as you will find. Crooks....I have sent a letter off to the American Trade Commision. You do the same and maybe they will put a stop to this corruptive , unethical practise.

I am genuinely sorry for your (likely irretrievable) financial loss, but if you had done just a little research BEFORE paying hard earned money to these thieving parasites, you would quickly have learned that EACH AND EVERY timeshare "resale" entity on Planet Earth which charges upfront fees is, at best, a completely ineffecive "marketing and advertising" entity or, at worst, outright thieves who will do NOTHING AT ALL after successfully taking your money.

The mantra warrants constant repetition --- NEVER PAY ANY UPFRONT FEE in timeshare "resales". NEVER. Repeat after me --- NEVER!!!

The best thing to do is get a certied letter off to the American Trade and Commerse commission. Then ; take them to small claims court. Then do the BBB thing; then get a letter off to HARPO productions (Oprah). That should put the kibosh on them.

glenk29 wrote:

The best thing to do is get a certied letter off to the American Trade and Commerse commission. Then ; take them to small claims court. Then do the BBB thing; then get a letter off to HARPO productions (Oprah). That should put the kibosh on them.

1. The U.S. agency name is actually Federal Trade Commission. Historically, the FTC does NOT get involved in timeshare matters and will (if they even bother to respond at all) just tell any and all complainants to contact the state authorties where the parasites at issue actually operate (in the U.S., that has usually been Florida, but that geographic picture is changing). It would be great if there was any Federal legislation which collectively regulated ALL timeshare scammer operations, but that simply is NOT the case at this time.

2. BBB is a powerless "membership" organization with no legal authority of any kind whatsoever. When a scammer company develops a bad BBB rating, they just change their name and start all over again with a new name and a "clean slate". Accordingly, they really couldn't care less about a "low BBB rating".

3. "Oprah" is in the last season of television and most topics and shows are basically already lined up and /or already in production. Believe me, a handful of timeshare scammer complaints is NOT sufficiently newsworthy material for prime time national television.

4. Small claims court is not a realistic option either, unless you are close enough and personally willing to travel to the state and county where the scammers operate (probably several separate times). Your travel costs and lost work time cost alone would likely FAR exceed the amount of money you lost to the scammer --- and no court is ever going to order reimbursement for your personal travel expenses or lost work time. Also, even if you succeed in winning a judgement, that doesn't mean that you'll actually ever see a dime.

The one and only EFFECTIVE avenue of redress is to file a formal complaint with the state Attorney General office of the state in which the parasites are located. The AG has the authority, jurisdiction, ability and willingness to act on a WELL DOCUMENTED case. Invest your time and energy into a useful approach --- unless merely "venting" to outlets that can't help at all is enough of a result for you.

Thank you- I was looking at purchasing a timeshare through Timeshare Adventures. The initial price I bid was 1800 but due to emergency at home I changed my mind before(thankfully) sending the earnest money of 500. During the process I sednt them and e-mail verifying the terms I knew and asking further questions --I put on there that I considered it a legal document and statement of the facts as I had been told. I recieved a phone call instead. I again sent the e-mail with the updated information I had been told, but did not receive a confirmation. When I changed my mind and cancelled, I then got an e-mail the the owner had agreed to sell for 8-- if I closed within a week. I agreed, but then got to thinking and researching and found this site. So far I am out zero dollars but this is so frustrating. How can you know with anyone if the timeshare is what it is billed to be? ALMOST makes me willing to pay the high price of the developers.

peggyh123 wrote:

Thank you- I was looking at purchasing a timeshare through Timeshare Adventures. The initial price I bid was 1800 but due to emergency at home I changed my mind before(thankfully) sending the earnest money of 500. During the process I sednt them and e-mail verifying the terms I knew and asking further questions --I put on there that I considered it a legal document and statement of the facts as I had been told. I recieved a phone call instead. I again sent the e-mail with the updated information I had been told, but did not receive a confirmation. When I changed my mind and cancelled, I then got an e-mail the the owner had agreed to sell for 8-- if I closed within a week. I agreed, but then got to thinking and researching and found this site. So far I am out zero dollars but this is so frustrating. How can you know with anyone if the timeshare is what it is billed to be? ALMOST makes me willing to pay the high price of the developers.

Kudos to you for using your gut instinct. There are legit sellers out there but one needs to do their homework, as you did, before doing business with them. Check them out backwards and forwards and inside and out first.

Just some information on one of the principles of this company...

June 24, 2005 Legal Briefs (Tampa) St. Petersburg Lawyer Keeps Nearly $1 Million, Regains License Nearly 30 months after the Florida Supreme Court suspended St. Petersburg lawyer Philip Winston Dann, the justices agreed to reinstate his license. The court unanimously accepted a referee’s report that Dann be readmitted to the Florida Bar, according to an Oct. 18 court order. No one publicly disagreed with the recommendation by Hillsborough Chief Judge Manuel Menendez, the referee, that Dann be reinstated. Dann, 50, is a lawyer in good standing with the bar - about eight years to the month after his problems started. On June 22, 1997, Walter Vossiek, 93, died, leaving an estate, valued at $1.7 million in 2001, to Dann, his counsel. The inheritance seemed like a sure thing for Dann: Vossiek had no known relatives. But Dann’s former secretary, Suzanne Howard Goldstone, told bar investigators in October 1997 that Vossiek, a retired Ford Motor Co. engineer, had dementia when he made Dann his heir. A medical form showed that Vossiek suffered from dementia when he was admitted to The Laurels Rehabilitation Center in August 1992, five years prior to his death, according to court records. Goldstone painted a picture of a miser who scrimped and saved. In turn, Dann contended Goldstone was upset she hadn’t inherited the money. The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s Office investigated the allegations against Dann. Prosecutors Robert Lewis and Scott Hopkins later said under oath that Goldstone’s testimony wasn’t credible. It would take nearly five years for the Florida Bar investigation to wind its way through the system. In 2002, the justices cited numerous ethical breaches on Dann’s part and suspended him for 91 days. He was found guilty of violating five rules under the Florida Bar Rules of Conduct, including “conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.” A lawyer for Vossiek’s 18 relatives said Dann had given about $880,000 to Vossiek’s cousins and paid $218,000 to their attorneys. The relatives agreed to write the bar and state attorney on Dann’s behalf. Even with the settlement, Dann still reaped as much as $1 million from Vossiek’s estate, according to testimony at the Feb. 16 hearing. Dann didn’t return telephone calls for comment. - Janet Leiser

ken1193 wrote:

maryd347 asks / states, perhaps just rhetorically:

>> Can you confirm that statistic regarding " 99.9% of upfront fee resale companies taking money for nothing?<<

This question was not directed to me personally, but I'll still gladly and openly state that in my own 25+ years of timeshare ownership (multiple resorts and weeks) and experience, I have *NEVER ONCE* ever seen or heard of a confirmed sale of a timeshare by any "upfront fee" company. That's NEVER! I'll further add that this same observation has also been echoed by many other people over the years on TUG (Timeshare Users Group), a site frequented by THOUSANDS of very knowledgeable and experienced timeshare owners. The open (and still standing) challenge on TUG to any and all "upfront fee companies" to "...identify a recorded deed from a sale you've really made" has never actually been met. NEVER. Once again, I think the word NEVER speaks volumes --- loudly and clearly! The deafening silence from the "upfront fee" companies in response to this long-standing open challenge also speaks for itself... ============================================

Re: >> I'd like to find an advertising company that actually provides REAL advertising for free.<<

Please allow me to help with that --- see Bidshares. I've sold two different weeks at two different resorts there just within the past year; I spent exactly NOTHING to do so. TUG also now provides free advertising for members, although I've never personally used it. Craigslist advertising is free too. That's THREE avenues of free, effective advertising that I know of right off the top of my head, without doing any research at all... =================================================

Re: >> When I pay a fee for advertising my timeshare for sale, I still know that I am selling it and using a resource. Is this site actually a help to consumers using truthful information?<<

You may or may not be a "shill" for some unidentified upfront fee company; I don't know. While I certainly can't and don't speak for RedWeek, the forums here are for open, non-commercial discussion and input. You just got some of mine, very clearly and openly stated, to absorb or ignore as you may see fit...

I've looked on Timeshare Adventures website and found a property that I would like to purchase. What are the down falls of this company? Why not use them? Can I get a different broker involved and just pay their commission myself if I choose? And what about the title company, I choose that, correct? I see most of the complaints are against listing the timeshare, what about buying through them?

annaf49 wrote:

I've looked on Timeshare Adventures website and found a property that I would like to purchase. What are the down falls of this company? Why not use them? Can I get a different broker involved and just pay their commission myself if I choose? And what about the title company, I choose that, correct? I see most of the complaints are against listing the timeshare, what about buying through them?

Have you perused Redweek and other timeshare ad sites for what you're looking for? Are you satisfied with the price TA is asking for the timeshare you're interested in? Be aware that in this down economy many timeshares can't even be given away as in evidenced in the Bargain Basement here at Redweek, so whatever you do don't overpay.

If you purchase from Timeshare Adventures you cannot go with another broker (unless yo use another timeshare company). If you go with Timeshare Adventures they have use of a closing company to handle all the paperwork.

If you should choose to buy from someone that has a listing on Redweek or another timeshare ad site then a couple of reputable closing companies are www.timesharetransfer.com and JRA Services (google for contact info).

The main negatives concerning this company are the upfront fees they charge to list a timeshare for sale

OK, thanks for the info. Yes, we've looked at many sites and found a really good price. I will be requesting all documentation in advance confirming that the unit has the features describes and is available during the platinum season. I've done the research on selling prices for this location and, if everything is as listed, it's a pretty good deal. Suggest anything to watch out for throughout the buying process? Thanks again!

Oh, and I did look at the Red week listings too- I was surprised to see how high the asking prices start at the location I'm shopping for compared to some at TA and Premiertimeshareresale listings. I suppose the seller decides their asking price, there are some high, some low.

annaf49 wrote:

OK, thanks for the info. Yes, we've looked at many sites and found a really good price. I will be requesting all documentation in advance confirming that the unit has the features describes and is available during the platinum season. I've done the research on selling prices for this location and, if everything is as listed, it's a pretty good deal. Suggest anything to watch out for throughout the buying process? Thanks again!

Nope, you've pretty much covered what you need to watch out for .... enjoy.

annaf49 wrote:

Oh, and I did look at the Red week listings too- I was surprised to see how high the asking prices start at the location I'm shopping for compared to some at TA and Premiertimeshareresale listings. I suppose the seller decides their asking price, there are some high, some low.

Yes, the seller determines the asking price in Redweek ads .... many price their timeshares ridiculously high.

I am not sure what timeshare you are interested, but maybe you can take a page from the Masterplan Document of the Marriott Desert Springs which reads as follows: According to Section 32.16 of the Masterplan document, any owner, prior to the sale of a timeshare MUST provide the prospective purchaser with a copy of (1) this Master Declaration, (2) the Bylaws, (3) the Articles, (4) the most recent financial statements of the Master Association and (5) a statement from any authorized representative of the Master Association listing all unpaid assessments and charges against the Subdivision. Besure to at least get a copy of the Masterplan of the timeshare you want to purchase and focus like a lazer beam on the financial statements---they are many---balance sheets, annual reports, reviews of balance sheets etc. After you have done this, you will have a much better feel for what the timeshare is worth and if you want to be tied to it for "perpetuity". If the seller will not cooperate--enough said.