Florida court ruling against Stroman Realty..

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

Court Rules in Landmark Case on Timeshare Advanced Listing Fees and Unlicensed Real Estate Activity

....Leon County Circuit Court Judge P. Kevin Davey ruled that a Florida real estate license is required for all transactions involving timeshare real estate property located in Florida and where the seller of the timeshare real estate interest resides in Florida.....

I'm guessing the second part of this will give Stroman the perfect opportunity to appeal again. Attorneys can weigh in on this, but all legal precedence I've seen places the transaction under the jurisdiction of the state where the property is located. Will his insertion of the word timeshare somehow create a separate set of real estate law dealing just with timeshare properties? That's seems a bit too much power for a single judge to have at his discretion.

For a judge to say that a seller's state of residence gives Florida the right to extend their real estate laws and requirements onto property located in another state seems foolish to me, and I would expect makes this decision likely to be overturned.

Take for example an individual who owns a home in Florida and another in New York. Would this ruling not create the impression that his New York home would have to be sold according to Florida law? The application of such a decision doesn't even seem feasible....

The other issue raised in this case regards a real estate broker charging an upfront listing fee (similar to fees required in many commercial transactions).. This also will be a non-issue, as Stroman already has a non-licensed advertising company- and will simply push sellers to that entity in a classified format rather than working via a listing agreement.

I'm interested in hearing other's opinions on this.. I'm guessing it will get some publicity, but won't actually change anything in the industry..

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Stroman has been found to be breaking the law by many jurisdictions for many years now, but they continue to conduct themselves in violation of the law.

[Pit Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pit]

....Leon County Circuit Court Judge P. Kevin Davey ruled that a Florida real estate license is required for all transactions involving timeshare real estate property located in Florida and where the seller of the timeshare real estate interest resides in Florida.....

This language is vague and can be interpreted in multiple ways. At face value, it requires that both conditions must be met (use of the word and). You read it as if only one of the two conditions must be met in order to require a FL license, in which case the word OR should be used in place of AND.

It would appear to prohibit FSBO without a license, if you own a FL timeshare and reside in FL.

[1950bing Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 1950bing]

They owe me $99.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

This language is vague and can be interpreted in multiple ways. At face value, it requires that both conditions must be met (use of the word and). You read it as if only one of the two conditions must be met in order to require a FL license, in which case the word OR should be used in place of AND.

It would appear to prohibit FSBO without a license, if you own a FL timeshare and reside in FL.

You don't need a license in Florida to sell property you personally own. You only need a license if you are receiving a commission.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

Great point about the and/or wording.. If the ruling is based on both conditions being met, this decision simply reinforces the way many resale brokerages currently operate and interpret the law already, and it will emphasize the benefits of networking between brokerages, and further benefit the consumer by providing that the office handling a transaction has specific knowledge about the state laws for the property and transaction in question.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

They owe me $99.

That is what we call "bad debts". Might as well write it off.

[ebram Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ebram]

I beat 'em. When I found out a certain unit in a TS was for sale thru Stroman. I contacted the owner directly and did the closing myself and split thge commission. ( I told Stroman I was no longer interested in the property)
Unethical maybe, but so are they. Doesn't bother me a bit.

[1950bing Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 1950bing]

That is what we call "bad debts". Might as well write it off.

Even if I write it off it is not the same as holding $99. in my hand. I would not get a dollar for a dollar anyway.
The fact that they did not live up to their end of the deal and beat me out of my money that gets to me. They lied to get my money, same as the timeshare salesman did to me too. These events have stayed with me to this day.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Bing, you are lucky they only got you for $ 99.

[M. Henley Class President Find all posts View Profile Close M. Henley]

Great!!

Good for you. They deserved it.

I beat 'em. When I found out a certain unit in a TS was for sale thru Stroman. I contacted the owner directly and did the closing myself and split thge commission. ( I told Stroman I was no longer interested in the property)
Unethical maybe, but so are they. Doesn't bother me a bit.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

Not sure how this attempt at discussion about a court ruling transformed into an opportunity for individiduals to gloat about being successful in lying and cheating others out of money.. Seems a bit sad to me personally.

I'm used to seeing these tactics brought up about timeshare sales personnel, but I would hope that individuals who frequent these forums are a little better than that.. Guess it just shows how many individuals (be they timeshare owners or resort employees) don't always really pay attention to simple issues like right vs wrong..

If there was an issue over a Stroman contract or closing dispute that resulted in an unexpected charge to a buyer, I'd think that might be a great topic for another thread and might actually help others avoid the same confusion and possible disappointment.. Unless that isn't really the goal of making the statement!

[lxscpprwt Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close lxscpprwt]

Florida court ruling against Stroman Realty..

The post makes the reader to think a lot about the issues in the Real Estates in a particular regions. Very useful and informative forum. All the people should be careful in their process of business and while interacting with others.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

TimesharesByOwner issued a press release about the new Florida requirements for resellers, claiming it is unfair because it doesn't include rental statistics.

They make what at first glance seems to be a valid point, that in the current economy rentals are occuring more than sales- and that only counting sales statistics will negatively impact consumer confidence... However- I feel consumers should be made aware of this current trend toward rentals when they pay the advertising fees, and if the marketer establishes a relationship with a brokerage for services such as CMA's to give proper pricing to sellers, they'll start to nudge those sales stats upward. Sure they'll lose revenue from sellers who either won't believe the valuations, or who will be upside down- but in the end I think it can be a big positive if the regulation can actually be enforced.

I'm really waiting to see how this ruling effects pure classifieds such as Timesharing Today, and virtual resellers such as eBay, RedWeek, and Tug that will have no way of validating their statistics. Wonder how long it will take the resort lobbyists to encourage the Florida AG to "investigate" these venues for non-compliance.

Timeshares By Owner is Defending the Rights of Timeshare Consumers in Florida

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Stroman has been found to be breaking the law by many jurisdictions for many years now, but they continue to conduct themselves in violation of the law.

I have been looking at this topic title, and my sentiment are the same as Tony's.

Stroman is pondscum. They screwed us over many years ago with the same scam they are now using. I have seen these Stroman busted blurbs many times.

I don't put much credit in em.

When I used to try to warn folks about em OY, I would get sent to timeout. I was assured it had nothing to do with the Stroman banner ad. Then * * * poof * * * all the negative Stroman threads disappeared and I was not allowed to post anything that had been said before, that I had archived.

Nothing like being an objective independent voice protecting timeshare owners.

I still have Stroman crap archived, but I'm sure it would take an act of Congress and a 10-page contract to post it here.