nofreeride wrote:Elite Resort Services contacted me to see if I would rent or sell the two timeshares I have in Mexico. I said I would sell them. They said I would not be charged a fee by them until I got my money from the sale. They said I would then pay 5% commission. They said they would be using Direct Escrow to do the transfer and if Direct Escrow charged me a fee they would reimburse it once the sale was final. Of course Direct escrow is charging $1200 USD. I have not paid the fee as yet. I am very leary. Has anyone ever gotten good results?
The address for Direct Escrow is 560 Kirts Blvd. Suite 100, Troy MI., 48084 and Elite Resort Services is 2233 1st Ave. S, Seattle, WA., 98134
This site was only registered less than a year ago and only for a single year. Although the Phone and Address and listing in WHOIS all appear to be legitimate, I have several concerns. The first is that I would be leary about dealing with company A who says use Company B and we'll re-imburse you your fees if Company B charges them.
Also the very fact that Direct Escrow
http://directescrowtransfers.com/index.php is less than a year old at this point. I am not sure what the overall costs of the sale would be, but is $1200 a reasonable Fee for escrow of a Time Share (on top of a 5% commission)?
The site also seems a bit sparse. I would expect to have endorsements, privacy policies, etc.... Even the FAQ is a bit weak.
Certainly the METHOD of payment to whatever escrow service would be of concern too. If it was something like Western Union or Money Gram... Run away. That's not to say that Visa/MC/Amex or Bank Wire Transfer is much better.... Just be cautious. Don't be afraid to ask them very POINTED questions. If it doesn't seem 100% ok to you then walk away. Better to miss a deal and still have your money/assets, then to jump on the "Deal of a Lifetime" and lose them both!
Hope this helps.
