Anyone have experience with Castle Law Group, PC out of Tennessee

So was a quick claim deed expensive to do?

It was inexpensive and only took a few weeks .

Thanks Don, will try what you did. Here's to success! The only reason I asked about a credit hit is because of possible threats to do so. What resort did you deal with?

Thank you for the information. My next step was going to be checking into getting a class action law suit against these rip off artist!!!!

They were both independent resorts. One was bought out by DRI . They both worked with me and it all went smoothly. I explained to them that I was going to get rid of them with or without their cooperation and that it was in their best interest to work with me. They obviously knew that I was determined to get them out of my name it would possibly cost them thousands of dollars dealing with the results if they didn't take them back .

paulam381 wrote:

The only reason I asked about a credit hit is because of possible threats to do so. What resort did you deal with?

The only reason why the resort might report you to a credit bureau is if you deliberately default on your mortgage or maintenance fees. If you work with the resort to take your unit back, then the resort probably won't report you.

I used to work at Castle Law Group/Castle Marketing Group. I quit in September 2016. I also worked with Timeshare Advocacy International before Castle took over.

I was the Director of Business Development/Affiliate Relations. I left because I wasn't comfortable with the way they were doing things there. Since I left, they have slandered my name and paid to advertise to disparage my company on Facebook. I filed complaints against them with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. (The regulating authority for Attorneys in TN.) I am STILL getting calls on my personal cell phone from Castle clients complaining that nobody will return their calls and emails, they aren't out of their timeshare yet and it's been over a year, or they refuse to honor their money back guarantee and they haven't been able to get a refund.

In the course of my work, I learned a lot about who is doing things honestly and who is ripping people off. I heard bad things from a lot of people who did business with him about Mitchell Reed Sussman, but that's all I have heard about him. I can't verify if any of it is true or not, but I know several companies who sent him business that are dissatisfied if that helps you at all.

I used to work at Castle Law Group/Castle Marketing Group. I quit in September 2016. I also worked with Timeshare Advocacy International before Castle took over.

I was the Director of Business Development/Affiliate Relations. I left because I wasn't comfortable with the way they were doing things there. Since I left, they have slandered my name and paid to advertise to disparage my company on Facebook. I filed complaints against them with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. (The regulating authority for Attorneys in TN. www.tbpr.org ) I am STILL getting calls on my personal cell phone from Castle clients complaining that nobody will return their calls and emails, they aren't out of their timeshare yet and it's been over a year, or they refuse to honor their money back guarantee and they haven't been able to get a refund.

deborahh392 wrote:

So was a quick claim deed expensive to do?

It's quit (not quick) claim deed, but the more important point is not word correction but the fact that a resort must first AGREE to accept a "deedback" (whether it's by quit claim deed or warranty deed doesn't much matter). In other words, no one can just unilaterally deed a timeshare to anyone else (including back to the resort) without the "grantee" advance knowledge and overt consent. ACCEPTANCE is a basic, fundamental legal requirement.

Most resorts will NOT accept "deedbacks", but there are certainly exceptions. A recent trend in HOA's accepting "deedbacks" seems to be for a resort HOA to first require the "bailing out" owner to pre-pay 1 or 2 (sometimes even 3) years' worth of maintenance fees as a non-negotiable condition before the HOA will agree to accept the "deedback". This is not just a "money grab" by the HOA --- it is instead a proactive measure to help ensure that people abandoning their ownership (and obligations) does not create a significant, negative financial impact on the resort finances. After all, the remaining owners then have to "pick up the slack" created by owners abandoning their obligations. At small independent resorts without the deep pockets of big corporate "chains" (like Wyndham), the resort cannot just "absorb" the financial hits of suddenly abandoned timeshares no longer paying any fees. Maintenance fees are what keep a place up and running for remaining owners still paying their fees and pulling their weight. Such a pre-paid maintenance fee requirement as a condition of "deedback acceptance" helps to keep the resort finances on an even keel until a new, willing owner can be found for the "abandoned" timeshare.

ken1193 wrote:

deborahh392 wrote:

So was a quick claim deed expensive to do?

It's quit (not quick) claim deed, but the more important point is not word correction but the fact that a resort must first AGREE to accept a "deedback" (whether it's by quit claim deed or warranty deed doesn't much matter). In other words, no one can just unilaterally deed a timeshare to anyone else without the "grantee"'s knowledge and consent. ACCEPTANCE is a very basic, fundamental legal requirement.

Most resorts still will NOT entertain acceptance of "deedbacks", but there are certainly numerous exceptions. A recent trend in HOA's accepting "deedbacks" seems to be for a resort HOA to also require the "bailing out" owner to also pay 1 or 2 (sometimes 3) years' worth of maintenance fees as a pre-condition to the HOA accepting the "deedback". This is not just a "money grab" by the HOA --- it's a measure to ensure that people essentially abandoning their timeshare ownership obligations does not create a significant negative financial impact on the resort finances. After all, the remaining owners then still have to "pick up the slack" created by the abandoning owners. At small independent resorts without the deep pockets of big corporate "chains" (like Wyndham), the resort cannot just somehow "absorb" the hit of suddenly abandoned timeshares no longer paying any fees. Maintenance fees are what keep the places running for those owners still remaining as paying owners and pulling their weight.

Thank you Ken, finally an true and honest comment about deedbacks and HOA's abilities to accept such transactions!!!!!

Ken, you are 100% correct. Thank-you for explaining this to people. I can't even count the number of botched transfers I saw where someone thought they could just quit claim it back to the resort. I even saw people get sued years later by the resort for all the maintenance fees that accrued while they were trying to figure out what the heck happened with the deed. Your resort has the "first right of refusal" which gives them the ability to deny your transfer of ownership. They MUST be part of the process if you want to legally deed it out of your name.

laurab773 wrote:

Ken, you are 100% correct. Thank-you for explaining this to people. I can't even count the number of botched transfers I saw where someone thought they could just quit claim it back to the resort. I even saw people get sued years later by the resort for all the maintenance fees that accrued while they were trying to figure out what the heck happened with the deed. Your resort has the "first right of refusal" which gives them the ability to deny your transfer of ownership. They MUST be part of the process if you want to legally deed it out of your name.

Just as a point of clarification and with all due respect, "right of first refusal" really has nothing at all to do with potential "deedback" to a timeshare homeowner's association (HOA) as discussed in this thread.

"Right of first refusal" (often abbreviated as ROFR), in order to even exist at all, is something which must have been written into the original governing documents (often referred to as CC&R's) from the very beginning in order to be exercised. ROFR essentially gives a DEVELOPER (not a subsequent HOA) the OPTION (but not an obligation) to exercise a BUYback at the exact same price for which a timeshare owner has found a prospective willing resale buyer on his / her own.

ROFR really has nothing at all to do with "deedbacks" as being discussed in this thread. ROFR doesn't actually exist at all with independent resorts. ROFR exists in only a few of the big corporate "chains" (Marriott comes to mind as a good example and I believe that Hilton may have ROFR too). Wyndham does not have ROFR, nor does DRI. Not sure about Hyatt.

In short, let's not confuse "deedbacks" to a HOA with a developer potentially exercising "right of first refusal" --- the two concepts are essentially unrelated to one another.

That clarification aside, it is indisputable that no "deedback" can be undertaken (or lawful) as a "one way" action. There must be advance knowledge and overt agreement ("acceptance") by the "grantee" in order for ANY "deedback" to be legally valid. That indisputable fact certainly includes and applies to any and all "deedbacks" to any resort.

ken1193 wrote:

laurab773 wrote:

Ken, you are 100% correct. Thank-you for explaining this to people. I can't even count the number of botched transfers I saw where someone thought they could just quit claim it back to the resort. I even saw people get sued years later by the resort for all the maintenance fees that accrued while they were trying to figure out what the heck happened with the deed. Your resort has the "first right of refusal" which gives them the ability to deny your transfer of ownership. They MUST be part of the process if you want to legally deed it out of your name.

Just as a point of clarification and with all due respect, "right of first refusal" really has nothing at all to do with potential "deedback" to a timeshare homeowner's association (HOA) as discussed in this thread.

"Right of first refusal" (often abbreviated as ROFR), in order to even exist at all, is something which must have been written into the original governing documents (often referred to as CC&R's) from the very beginning in order to be exercised. ROFR essentially gives a DEVELOPER (not a subsequent HOA) the OPTION (but not an obligation) to exercise a BUYback at the exact same price for which a timeshare owner has found a prospective willing resale buyer on his / her own.

ROFR really has nothing at all to do with "deedbacks" as being discussed in this thread. ROFR doesn't actually exist at all with independent resorts. ROFR exists in only a few of the big corporate "chains" (Marriott comes to mind as a good example and I believe that Hilton may have ROFR too). Wyndham does not have ROFR, nor does DRI. Not sure about Hyatt.

In short, let's not confuse "deedbacks" to a HOA with a developer potentially exercising "right of first refusal" --- the two concepts are essentially unrelated to one another.

That clarification aside, it is indisputable that no "deedback" can be undertaken (or lawful) as a "one way" action. There must be advance knowledge and overt agreement ("acceptance") by the "grantee" in order for ANY "deedback" to be legally valid. That indisputable fact certainly includes and applies to any and all "deedbacks" to any resort.

AMEN!!!!

What if you still owe on the mortgage?

There are no mortgage for timeshares. You can borrow money to pay for it but that's a completely separate transaction . You deal directly with the lender as far as the loan goes .

donp196 wrote:

There are no mortgage for timeshares. You can borrow money to pay for it but that's a completely separate transaction . You deal directly with the lender as far as the loan goes .

While that may be true, if someone wants to get rid of or sell his unit, chances are around nil that a new owner will take it if there is a mortgage owing on it. A mortgage has to be settled before transfer of ownership can take place.

But yes, if the owner wants to get rid of his unit either via sale or giveaway, then he should pay off the mortgage lender before looking for a new taker. And I don't recommend any of these firms that claim they can "cancel" your mortgage.

Laura, I talk to many timeshare law firms, and occasionally write about them for RedWeek, so would like your input. Please give me a call 310-801-3479.

Yes, you are absolutely right. Technically that is correct. It's easier to explain a transfer to someone that way, but it's not 100% accurate technically. The bottom line is that the resort MUST approve any transfer of ownership, whether or not it is technically a ROFR. Thanks for clarifying for everyone.

ken1193 wrote:

laurab773 wrote:

Ken, you are 100% correct. Thank-you for explaining this to people. I can't even count the number of botched transfers I saw where someone thought they could just quit claim it back to the resort. I even saw people get sued years later by the resort for all the maintenance fees that accrued while they were trying to figure out what the heck happened with the deed. Your resort has the "first right of refusal" which gives them the ability to deny your transfer of ownership. They MUST be part of the process if you want to legally deed it out of your name.

Just as a point of clarification and with all due respect, "right of first refusal" really has nothing at all to do with potential "deedback" to a timeshare homeowner's association (HOA) as discussed in this thread.

"Right of first refusal" (often abbreviated as ROFR), in order to even exist at all, is something which must have been written into the original governing documents (often referred to as CC&R's) from the very beginning in order to be exercised. ROFR essentially gives a DEVELOPER (not a subsequent HOA) the OPTION (but not an obligation) to exercise a BUYback at the exact same price for which a timeshare owner has found a prospective willing resale buyer on his / her own.

ROFR really has nothing at all to do with "deedbacks" as being discussed in this thread. ROFR doesn't actually exist at all with independent resorts. ROFR exists in only a few of the big corporate "chains" (Marriott comes to mind as a good example and I believe that Hilton may have ROFR too). Wyndham does not have ROFR, nor does DRI. Not sure about Hyatt.

In short, let's not confuse "deedbacks" to a HOA with a developer potentially exercising "right of first refusal" --- the two concepts are essentially unrelated to one another.

That clarification aside, it is indisputable that no "deedback" can be undertaken (or lawful) as a "one way" action. There must be advance knowledge and overt agreement ("acceptance") by the "grantee" in order for ANY "deedback" to be legally valid. That indisputable fact certainly includes and applies to any and all "deedbacks" to any resort.

The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility is the regulating authority for attorneys in the state of Tennessee. You can file complaints with them at www.tbpr.org or by emailing their consumer assistance program at cap@tbpr.org

I had to file a complaint about them when they were slandering my company online. I got results. I'm still waiting to see if Judson Phillips (the attorney that owns Castle Law) is going to face any disciplinary action or not.

The attorney general keeps track of complaints, and once they get a certain amount, they will investigate. The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility will take immediate action.

Wow...they ALL moved out of Mount Juliet to Nashville, and both Castle Law Group and Castle Marketing Group are in the same building on different floors. Their "timeshare office" lol. MOST of their business is with timeshare clients!

They are both at 2 International Plaza in Nashville.

They very much still have people out there working under the name of Castle Marketing Group to bring them business.

Have you filed a complaint with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility? www.tbpr.org They have a consumer assistance program you can email directly cap@tnpr.org. I contacted them to complain about what Castle Law did to me, and I got results that way.

By cyndyb11 Anyone have experience with Castle Law Group, PC out of Tennessee

Yes, do yourself a favor and work with someone else. It has been a year and a half and I still do not have my refund from their failure to do as my contract says. After a year and no offer, as promised, I have been getting the run around since November. I am actually heading to their office to sit face to face since my phone calls are never returned. This in spite of the fact my daughter is a paralegal at another firm. I gave her permission to speak on my behalf, she has been passed from one person to another with no results. See there is no "responsible"party. They closed their Mt.Juliet office which was their "timeshare" office. Supposedly the person handling the cases that their marketing group culled off lists no longer works there. The Marketing group also no longer works for them.