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Re: Need for escrow (by Beck):

karik27 wrote:

My experience says that timeshare closing companies are not necessarily cheaper, at all...and without at the least a title search, who will find any other liens or encumbrances of record filed against the current owner..........????

I might be out of touch, but I thought Title and Escrow companies charge $500-$1000 to close a timeshare transaction, plus title insurance if you want it, and often other fees are charged as well. Timeshare closing companies usually charge $250-$500.

Title and Escrow companies are also notorious for resisting clarification on fees charged and nearly always charge more than their good faith statements. I make this last statement based on my experience with houses and condos, but the few times a Title and Escrow company was used where I was the buyer their performance was less than satisfactory and their docs were all worded to address the transfer of a home rather than timeshare. There is no need for docs addressing pest inspections and the like when you are selling a timeshare.

People pay for timeshare title searches because they don't know how to do it. There is nothing magical about having a closing company perform this work. An individual can often look title info up on county recorder websites and often can view/download a copy of the document (deed, lein, etc) now. You don't need a title company to do this, as long as you learn what to look for and know you have been thorough. When in doubt, call or go to the county office. OK, going there will not work for most people, but the website and a phone call is pretty easy.

The same goes for contacting the resort. I have the seller fill out an authorization form allowing me to call and ask questions. You can just as easily do a 3 way call between you, the seller, and the resort to ask the questions.

This all comes down to doing the work yourself or paying someone to do it. Closing companies are not magical, they merely provide a service. In my experience they make a lot of mistakes (between a third and half of my closings performed by closing companies have errors I have to fix later). So if I can convince a seller to let me do the closing, I save money and as long as I verified the ownership and possible liens properly (closing companies do not always do this properly) I'm better off doing this myself.