Original Message:
Upfront fee resale companies are against the law in Florida .... report them ASAP (by Nancy T.):
My business is located in FL. I am a Lic R E Broker for timeshare. After 30 yrs in this industry I am saddened about how the business is being handled in the secondary market. Too often when we try to discuss what our company can do for the sellers, they become too defensive and literally hang up the phone because they feel they have been taken advantage of in the past. We are continually "patching up" for the upfront fee companies. These upfront fee companies that are being discussed consider themselves an "advertising" company charging an "advertising fee" so why are they pitching real estate prices? Isn't this in itself against the law? The only people that can discuss the pricing of a property is a lic real estate agent. I believe the state of Fl created there own demons when they did not allow legitimate companies to charge simple fee's to keep them afloat, such as the appraisal fee, not that it is so necessary, but a good Real Estate business needs to offer payable services. The state of SC allows a small upfront processing fee because they recognize the need of the small business person and ReMax in TX charges $499. with a 10% sales commission. This helps keeps the sharks out of the their state. Thank you - Nancy Thomas,Broker