Recently Blue Bay Advisors contacted me asking if I would like to sell my time share. The guy's name was Doug. The first question I asked was "What are the upfront costs to me?" Doug said "We work strictly on commission, so there are no up front costs." I asked again. "So, I don't pay anything until you sell the time share?" Doug replied "As I said we work on commission." So I gave Doug some requested info about my 5 star spa in Puerto Vallarta and told him that I would be willing to sell 2 out of the 4 weeks that I owned.
A few days later I was contacted by Blue Bay Advisors, this time by Bill Price. Bill told me that he had a buyer for 3 weeks and would I be willing to sell all three. He offered me about $13,000 per week if I sold all three. I asked Bill about expenses and he said "You pay us a 6% commission." I said that I would talk it over with my wife and let him know.
A few days later Bill called again and said that he had the buyers were still interested and all I needed to get the ball rolling was to send him a check for $730 for a title search. When I said that Doug had told me that there were no up front costs and you received you commission when the property was sold, he said that a title search isn't considered up front costs. He said send him the money and he would fax me the contracts and other paperwork. I said that this sounds fishy. "What if the buyer changes his mind after the $730 is paid to you?" I asked. He said that they would try to sell it for 45 days more. "At the same price?" "Well, maybe not." said Bill. "But if we can't sell it after 45 days, we'll refund your money." I told him to send me a copy of the paperwork, (especially the part about the money back after 45 days) first so that I could have my attorney look it over, and if all looks good I'll send him the $730. He said that it would be sent via e-mail the next day.
Well a week passed and no paperwork. I called the toll free number and got a message welcoming me to Blue Bay Advisors, and stating that all agents were busy, but please stay on the line to leave a message. After a few seconds another message advises me that the mailbox that I selected (I never selected anything) was full and not accepting any more messages. I have since called 7 more times at various hours of the day, and hear the same phone message and full voice box every time.
Although I have not lost any money, the message from Blue Bay Advisors is clear; Caveat Emptor-let the buyer beware. If the offer sounds too good to be true-it probably isn't. This "business" seems to be yet another of many disreputable agencies who take advantage of people with time share woes, employing fast talk and empty promises. If you remember, it was this kind of talk that got you into your time share problem in the first place. Don't fall for this again. Don't let Blue Bay Advisors make you throw good money after bad.
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