Original Message:
Re: Upfront fee resale companies are against the law in Florida .... report them ASAP (by Orville M.):
jayjay wrote:...it seems to be quite clear that it's against the law to sell timeshares without a real esate license and that collection of advance fees is prohibited:"Section 721.20(6), Florida Statutes, prohibits the collection of any advance fee for the listing of any timeshare estate or timeshare license, and requires that any seller of a timeshare plan be a licensed real estate broker, broker associate or sales associate as defined in Section 475.01, Florida Statutes.""
As I read this, it only applies to charging Florida residents for timeshares located anywhere, and to Florida timeshares regardless of the location of the owner.
So a registered real estate broker in Florida still can charge up-front fees to owners outside of Florida for timeshares located outside of Florida. That rules out the Florida market for these scammers, but they can operate in Florida as long as the clients and properties are outside the state. Losing Florida is a significant blow to them, but that still leaves a significant worldwide market to exploit.
Furthermore, if the scammer is located outside of Florida, good luck in getting any enforcement action against them, or in getting any of your fees returned, under the Florida statute.