Original Message:
Be very careful --- and a bit suspicious too... (by KC):
shanel7 wrote:It certainly sounds "odd" to me --- and I have bought and sold a fair number of private resale timeshare weeks over the past 30 years...I am in the process of selling my timeshare and the buyer wants to use his broker and paperwork as oposed to me setting up the contract with First American Title Insurance Company, or some other company I select. He is going to send me a deposit first and then his broker is going to contact me with the contract. Does this process sound legitimate?
There is no need (and no place or role that I can think of) for any "broker" involvement in a private timeshare resale transaction between two people --- particularly on the buyer end. I suppose it can't hurt to wait for and fully examine this alleged "broker contract", but with the limited information which you have provided above, this proposed "procedure" makes very little sense to me, frankly. In particular, I'd be looking out for someone trying to insert themselves into the transaction in order to collect a "commission" (...something which YOU might find yourself responsible for if you hastily sign any documents which you don't thoroughly read and fully understand).
If you want to promptly "smoke out" a potential scammer, you can of course always just openly offer to your buyer that YOU will pay all of the closing costs yourself, using an established, respected and reputable timeshare closing company of YOUR choice. You could even provide several different options (e.g., JRA Services, Timeshare Transfer, Inc., etc.). Doing so will cost you about $300, but the process fully protects BOTH the buyer and the seller. If a buyer balks at FREE closing costs, using a respected and reputable timeshare closing company --- AFTER a selling price has already been negotiated and agreed upon --- then chances are pretty darn good that your "buyer" is not legitimate in the first place...