Original Message:
Donate For A Cause; not exactly "raking it in"... (by KC):
darleneo24 wrote:I'm certainly not going to defend DFAC; they can speak up for themselves (as they occasionally do, over on the TUG site). However, I WILL point out that, to their credit, DFAC (unlike most so-called PostCard Companies) DOES transfer the "donated" ownership into their own DFAC name via a new recorded deed. Most PCC's charge even MORE money --- yet still DON'T do this!I spoke with Donate for a Cause Yesterday. I wanted to give away our Palm Springs Time Share. The girl on the phone told me right away that i would have to pay $2,000 for them to take it. I said, no upfront fees, then she said i could do some other program they had for only $1,400. I said, no thank you, and she said, this is your only option. You're going to have to sell it then. I got the impression that she heard from people every day who wanted to give their timeshare away, and DFAC is raking in these up-front fees. She seemed surprised that i didn't just do as she said and agree to pay the fee.
The current hefty DFAC fees are reflective of a weak (at best) resale market and those fees are basically a way for DFAC to "hedge their bets". In essence, they are collecting a few years worth of maintenance fees, in advance, directly from the "donor". If DFAC can then sell the timeshare promptly, even if for peanuts, they are still well ahead of the game. If it takes more than a year to sell the "donation", then DFAC has the DONOR'S money (i.e., not using their own DFAC money) to pay the maintenance fee bills (now issued in the DFAC name) while the non-selling timeshare remains up for sale on the market.
Again, I'm NOT defending DFAC (and I also believe that they have disseminated some HIGHLY questionable "tax advice" in the past), but you have to at least give DFAC credit for being willing to place the ownership in their own name while they try to unload it. In my opinion, this action puts DFAC head and shoulders above the parasitic PCC's who just hide behind a Power of Attorney while maybe (...and ONLY maybe) finding a new owner into whose name the deed (and hence the maintenance fee responsibilities) can ultimately be transferred.