TransferSmartNow.com/easy

I recently received a flyer in the mail from this company. It claims it has a guaranteed exit strategy for transferring a timeshare. Has anyone dealt with or heard of this company?

Sounds like a postcard company that sends out postcards to timeshare owners .... they will tell you they will take your timeshare off your hands for a mere $3000+ using a power of attorney and they then turn around and list it on Ebay for $1, however be aware that some postcard companies do not transfer the timeshare out of your name, you are still considered the owner and will be billed for future maintenance fees and possible special assessments.

I got this letter today from the same company, Did you have any contact with them? I think it just another scam, but may call them to see what their deal is. kr96

If you're willing to shell out $3000 to get the timeshare out of your name, here are a couple of suggestions besides paying these shady post card companies (PCC).

1) Post your TS for sale on low-priced, reputable listing sites (such as Redweek or Tug) priced for free. Pay your maintenance fees (MF) in advance, and offer to pay the closing costs with a reputable closing company. Also, to sweeten the pot, throw in about $500 cash for the buyer upon completion. That will work out to much less than the $3000 fee to these PCCs that won't even do what you're paying them to do.

2) Realize that $3000 is about 3-4 years' MFs. Pay those fees over the 3-4-year period (as opposed to $3000 upfront) and make use of your TS. That will bide you 3 years, or so, to sell. You might be able to give it away in those 3 years. In the meantime, try renting it out for a bargain basement price of, say, %50-60 of your MFs. That will have your TS working for you while you try to find a "buyer" for your TS.

These make a lot more sense than paying a PCC $3000 right now to list your TS on E-bay for $1.

How are you related to Redweek.com?

lancec13 wrote:

1) Post your TS for sale on low-priced, reputable listing sites (such as Redweek or Tug) priced for free.

Very good information lance, however, you have to pay to join Tug in order to post an ad there. If I had to choose, I would choose Redweek because it's the number one timeshare ad site on the internet and gets thousands of hits a day. I sold several weeks here a few years ago, although it was a time when we were not in rescession.

I recently received a flyer in the mail from this company. It claims it has a guaranteed exit strategy for transferring a timeshare. Has anyone dealt with or heard of this company?

johnu46 wrote:

I recently received a flyer in the mail from this company. It claims it has a guaranteed exit strategy for transferring a timeshare. Has anyone dealt with or heard of this company?

The exit strategy is for you to pay them $3000+ for them to supposedly take your timeshare and they may or may not transfer the timeshare out of your name.

Found this on another website, that might be of some help to you.

"Originally Posted by DeniseM @ tugbbs.com: If they are asking you for an upfront fee - RUN, don't walk away from this deal!

Here are some warnings signs with these kinds of companies:

1) Do they say that they already have a renter/buyer for your timeshare (or an established market like people attending conventions)? 2) Are they offering to rent/sell it for far more than the market value? 3) Do they want you to pay a large up front fee? 4) Are they refusing to send you a contract until you pay their fee?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, then this is the usual scenario: Once you pay the fee and receive the contract, you discover that the company has only promised to advertise your resort, not to rent/sell it, and they don't mention the renter/buyer in the contract.

Then you won't hear anything from them for a long time and when you contact them, they will tell you that the renter/buyer backed out and they no longer have a renter/buyer, but they will advertise your timeshare on their over-priced website.

Finally, when you try to get your money back, they will point out that you signed a contract, and it's only for advertising. When you challenge it with your credit card company, they will tell you the same thing."

Good luck!

emilya51 wrote:

Found this on another website, that might be of some help to you.

"Originally Posted by DeniseM @ tugbbs.com: If they are asking you for an upfront fee - RUN, don't walk away from this deal!

Here are some warnings signs with these kinds of companies:

1) Do they say that they already have a renter/buyer for your timeshare (or an established market like people attending conventions)? 2) Are they offering to rent/sell it for far more than the market value? 3) Do they want you to pay a large up front fee? 4) Are they refusing to send you a contract until you pay their fee?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, then this is the usual scenario: Once you pay the fee and receive the contract, you discover that the company has only promised to advertise your resort, not to rent/sell it, and they don't mention the renter/buyer in the contract.

Then you won't hear anything from them for a long time and when you contact them, they will tell you that the renter/buyer backed out and they no longer have a renter/buyer, but they will advertise your timeshare on their over-priced website.

Finally, when you try to get your money back, they will point out that you signed a contract, and it's only for advertising. When you challenge it with your credit card company, they will tell you the same thing."

Good luck!

You are definitely correct about how to identify scam operations like these and thus avoid them like the plague. However, you have described upfront fee scam operations. The company in question in this thread (Transfer Smart) falls into the category commonly called "Post Card Companies" (PCCs).

While people are wise to avoid both types of companies, here's the major difference between such companies.

The upfront fee scam artists and operations follow points 1 and 2 that you mentioned. They will phone you up unexpectedly telling you that they have a buyer for your timeshare who has put down a hefty deposit. They will tell you that they somehow have this magical power to sell your timeshare for thousands more than what you paid for it. Then, they say that they just need some sort of "modest" fee to cover aspects of the sale and closing. In reality, there is no buyer.

The PCCs are the opposite. They're more truthful regarding the resale value of your timeshare but they will exaggerate how burdensome it is and how hard it is to get rid of it. They will tell all sorts of stories how you will be leaving your heirs a huge headache after you die. "But," they say, "for $2500, we will 'cancel' your timeshare agreement." In reality, all they do is get you to sign over a Power of Attorney authorizing them to try to find a buyer or taker. Sometimes, they can't find one within a reasonable amount of time and, all the while, you are still the legal owner on record.

Either way, timeshare owners are better served staying away from either type of operation.