Hello,I have a timeshare resale question. I received a call from a company called Ocean View Properties located at 530 West 6th Street Suite 635 in Los Angeles CA. They have faxed me an offer for my timeshare (Villa Del Palmar - Flamingo) in Nuevo Vallarta. They are offering me a very good price. The deal is that I would have to agree to pay 6% commission after receiving payment. When I asked why they were offering me this deal, they said that Howard Johnson's just purchased this property and someone --either Howard Johnsons or an affiliate needs to gain 21% of controlling interest. This sounds like a scam to me. Is Ocean View Properties a legitimate company? This is their website www.oceanview-properties.comThank you, XXXXX XXXXX San Jose
Hello and thank you for entrusting me to answer your question. My goal is to answer your question completely and thoroughly and to provide excellent service. I have conducted a substantial review of Ocean View Properties and have significant cause for concern.Foremost, I conducted a search of the domain registry for this company's website and it reveals that the site has only been operational since May 8, 2012. Obviously, this is an incredibly short time for any business to be operational and indicative of a scam, since scammers tend to frequently change business names in order to avoid the accumulation of negative reviews. The short duration that the Ocean View Properties website has been running is particularly concerning in light of their claim to have "been in business since the spring of 1999." Where was their website for the last 12 years, and how come there is no record of it at a different domain?I suspect the reason is because the site and the company may not have existed until last month. Further supporting this theory, the email address that is listed as the contact address for the the Ocean View website domain registration XXXXX@XXXXXX.XXX.A Google search of this address reveals that it was associated with a website known as "http://coastal-vacation.net/" Sounds a lot like "Ocean View Properties," right? Coastal-Vacation.net is now defunct and the website is not operational. Could this have been the last scam operation of the individuals running Ocean View?Also concerning is the fact that the address given appears to be a virtual office location, meaning that it's just an address used for receiving mail and shared by numerous other businesses. At best this means this timeshare reseller is working from home, but at worst it means that they may not even have any association with that address at all. My other concerns are really in regard to the nature of the timeshare reselling industry itself. This is an industry that is absolutely overrun with scam artists who require "advance fees" promising timeshare sales and then never come through--many never even with the INTENTION of coming through. I suggest that you read the following warning that the FTC has issued regarding this type of business before signing any contract or retaining any sort of timeshare reselling company: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/homes/rea15.shtmYou should also read this guide from the FTC regarding how to pick a timeshare reseller and how to spot the scammers: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt185.shtmThe biggest thing is to not commit to any sort of advance fee or advance "taxes," or processing costs. Nobody should receive any money until you do. As soon as this cardinal rule is broken, it would be very wise to back away from the deal. Although Ocean View you have not indicated that Ocean View is requesting advanced fees, most timeshare scammers do not immediately state that fees are required up front. Quite to the contrary, they often insist that NO up front fees are required but then as the transaction is "close to closing" they inform the victim of the need to pay a certain tax or transfer fee for the transaction to be processed.In light of the above-stated red flags regarding Ocean View and the fact that timeshare resale scams are incredibly common, it is possible that Ocean View may not be a legitimate operation and for that reason would best be avoided.I sincerely XXXXX XXXXX this information helps you and I wish you the best.If you do not have any further concerns, I would be very grateful if you would give my answer a positive rating and click submit, as this is the only way I will receive credit for assisting you. If you have any additional concerns that you would like me to address, please feel free to let me know by hitting the REPLY or CONTINUE CONVERSATION button and I will be more than happy to continue assisting you.Finally, please bear in mind that none of the above constitutes legal advice nor is any attorney client relationship created between us.Thank you and very kindest regards.