Groupwise inc, anyone here heard of them ?

Do I understand you correctly that you had to pay them fees to take the timeshare off your hands? Didn't you get any of your original purchase price back? I would rather keep my timeshare than to pay to give it away. I think checking at your timeshare location would be a better bet. We have checked as ours have a resale realty company on premises that would try to sell it for you. It's just that at the time we checked (couple of years ago), values were really down and they guessed we would only get about 1/3 our original purchase price so we decided to hang onto it.

royvb wrote:

NO scam. We are dealing with them now to have a Bermuda Timeshare transferred to the. Depending on what your annual assessment / HOA feees are, they have a scaled price that you pay them ( flat fee, up front). They do all the transfer paperwork and assume title and liability for all future assessments. Not cheap, but when yu look at what all future ees to you might be if you don't get out of your ownership, it makes sense in some cases. The company is located in Pennsylvania and has an A rating from the Better Business Bureau

Our timeshare is in Bermuda, where property cannot be sold to non citizens. Accordingly the scheme is a long term lease, not deeded title. Conditions at the Club, escalating annual assessments ( that now exceed $2,500 a year for a two bedroom cottage) accompanied by a looming huge special assessment necessitated by the Club's having operated a $3 million deficit(even with fees at that level!) all made getting out from under the looming obligations a good idea. I paid Groupwise now, so I would NOT have to pay a 14 year remaining obligation of nearly four times what it is today to Club owners who don't know how torun available scheme. Not pretty, but a fairly simple decision money wise. There is no resale market. Look at the St George Club listings on Redwerk if you doubt that.

victorial82 wrote:

Do I understand you correctly that you had to pay them fees to take the timeshare off your hands? Didn't you get any of your original purchase price back? I would rather keep my timeshare than to pay to give it away. I think checking at your timeshare location would be a better bet. We have checked as ours have a resale realty company on premises that would try to sell it for you. It's just that at the time we checked (couple of years ago), values were really down and they guessed we would only get about 1/3 our original purchase price so we decided to hang onto it.

If you're waiting to get your original developer purchase price on the resale market .... that will never happen, so the best you can do is permit the realty company to sell it for what they can get or you keep it and use, exchange or rent it.

In my opinion, developer bought timeshares will never regain the popularity that they were prior to 2007, but the resale market will regain some strength as it's a viable option that people do not have to pay the developer cost but at a much reduced cost or even free (in some instances).

By buying free timeshares all you have to pay are yearly maintenance fees with no initial investment. Some people paid $20,000+ as an initial investment PLUS the yearly maintenance fees.

If we were still into traveling we would definitely research the free or low cost resale market, but we no longer travel.

royvb wrote:

Our timeshare is in Bermuda, where property cannot be sold to non citizens. Accordingly the scheme is a long term lease, not deeded title. Conditions at the Club, escalating annual assessments ( that now exceed $2,500 a year for a two bedroom cottage) accompanied by a looming huge special assessment necessitated by the Club's having operated a $3 million deficit(even with fees at that level!) all made getting out from under the looming obligations a good idea. I paid Groupwise now, so I would NOT have to pay a 14 year remaining obligation of nearly four times what it is today to Club owners who don't know how torun available scheme. Not pretty, but a fairly simple decision money wise. There is no resale market. Look at the St George Club listings on Redwerk if you doubt that.

One more time (you're beginning to sound like a shill for this company) ..... copy and paste the url below (to copy and paste first you blue highlight the url with left side mouse, then click the right side mouse, then click copy, then paste with your left side mouse. If this isn't proof, then I don't know what is:

https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=+groupwise+inc+scam&oq=+groupwise +inc+scam&gs_l=serp.3..0i30i19.20652.30840.1.32018.52.28.3.4.5.9.178.3204.4j23.28 .0.les%3B..0.0...1c.oaInxGERAJc&psj=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=e5b62c1737d9 666f&biw=1440&bih=787

Wow guys, from reading your posts, I feel fortunate that even though we bought our timeshare (27 years ago) and do pay maintenance/taxes once a year ($600), we have a very reputable timeshare builder/maintenance organization that keeps our units in tip top shape. We were thinking of trying to sell it now that we are older, retired, etc. From the sounds of it, we would be fortunate to sell for 1/2 to 2/3 the purchase price. I find it hard to fathom that you are having to pay a fee to just unload your units but then, I guess it all boils down to how reputable your builder/management companies are. Thanks for all of the insight.

It's not necessarily who the builder or management company is. It's more a matter of supply and demand. Location and time of year are also factors.

Right now, there are far more people wanting to sell (unload) their timeshare than there are people wanting to buy. Because of rising maintenance fees, people are desperate to unload their timeshare even to the point where they are willing to give it away for free.

One oft-mentioned suggestion is to check E-Bay's completed sales for,the resort in question. That will give you a good idea what units at that particular resort are actually selling for. You may be in for a shock to realize that units such as yours are selling for under $1000 (or even less).

victorial82 wrote:

I find it hard to fathom that you are having to pay a fee to just unload your units but then, I guess it all boils down to how reputable your builder/management companies are. Thanks for all of the insight.

It has nothing to do with the builder or management company .... it has to do with the current economy and the supply and demand of your resort and time owned, period.

Sorry Lance, had not read your post before posting .... we posted basically the same thing .... great minds think alike.

We really aren't desperate to sell. It's just that after 27 years (if my memory serves me correctly), my husband, who only uses it for a day or two, suggested we sell. Personally, I love it for a ladies golfing get-away and our grandchildren/children do too. It is the warm time of year here in our area and the scenery is beautiful. Someone was correct in saying that the fees never go down. Ours started in the $150 range and have crept up to approx. $600 and we did pay $10,900 when the unit was new and have title to that week. The units are impeccably maintained and are not too far from home so we can easily drive there.

Again, people, thank you for your insight. I really appreciate it.

I would be interested in seeing a finalized copy. We are currently working with Group Wise and I want to make sure it is not just another scam. We have been burned before and I just want to be done with this headache of a timeshare scheme.

gailw136 wrote:

I would be interested in seeing a finalized copy. We are currently working with Group Wise and I want to make sure it is not just another scam.

Did you pay Group Wise any money? If so, what was it for?

gailw136 wrote:

I would be interested in seeing a finalized copy. We are currently working with Group Wise and I want to make sure it is not just another scam. We have been burned before and I just want to be done with this headache of a timeshare scheme.

Since you evidently own a computer and can access the internet then surely you Googled any info you could find concerning Groupwise before committing to them .... when I Googled that company I saw many negative testimonials .... "fool me once it's my fault .... fool me twice it's your fault".

Gail - as you will see from his response to you, JayJay is a consistent nay-sayer about Groupwise. I, on the other hand, am a supporter (no, I'm not employed or affiliated with them). But I concluded a successful transaction with them this past Autumn, relieving myself of 14 years of annualy escalating future annual maintenance fee payment obligations to a timeshare in Bermuda. It took several months for the paperwork to get completed, but it did happen, and they are, within my personal experience, a reputable company.

royvb wrote:

Gail - as you will see from his response to you, JayJay is a consistent nay-sayer about Groupwise. I, on the other hand, am a supporter (no, I'm not employed or affiliated with them). But I concluded a successful transaction with them this past Autumn, relieving myself of 14 years of annualy escalating future annual maintenance fee payment obligations to a timeshare in Bermuda. It took several months for the paperwork to get completed, but it did happen, and they are, within my personal experience, a reputable company.

SHILL

Our timeshare is owned by Holiday Inn Resorts. Should we call them or should we call the actual resort? I like the idea of a quit claim deed.

donp196 wrote:

Please read my article " getting rid of your timeshare " in the general forum. I too tried to sell, donate or give away my trimeshare. Then I read an article in Timesharing Today. It said to contact your home resort and see if they will take it back. Sometimes they ask you to pay a year or two maintenance fees before they take it back. I called two timeshares that I owned near Daytona Beach. They both agreed to take them back with just a quit claim deed. They only required me to be current in all fees and assessments. They just charged me for the current years taxes and a minimal fee to process the paperwork. I am now completely free of any obligation to them. I have the recorded deeds locked away in a safe place and I will not have to pay any maintence fees or taxes for the rest of my life.

I called my home resorts and made sure I was talking to someone that handles these transactions. I explained that I had circumstances in my life that made it neccessary for me to get rid of my timeshares. I explained nicely that I was going to get rid of them with or without their assistance. If they cooperated I would agree to pay the next years expenses to give them time to find a new owner.

I was current in all my fees and assessments. They both agreed and all they asked was that I pay the next years taxes and fees associated with the deedback. It took only about a month to process and I am free of both timeshares. It took a few phone calls to get in touch with the right party but it went very smoothly and there was no worry about paying thousands of dollars to an unknown company then worrying that they took my money and ran.

I would advise you to make some phone calls and stay vigilant. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

tamarak42 wrote:

I like the idea of a quit claim deed.

A Quit claim deed is not what it might sound like to you. It does not mean that you sign this deed and then you are free of your obligations. You have to find a willing taker. The resort does not have to take it but, if you apply Don P.'s suggestions as above, the resort might take it back.

If not, try listing it here in RedWeek's Bargain Basement. Other plausible websites for listing your timeshare are Bidshares, Craigslist, E-bay, My Resort Network, and Timeshare Users Group (aka "TUG").

Just remember to never, ever pay anyone a large, upfront fee to sell, rent out, market, or "cancel" your timeshare.

Thank you so much. I called Holiday Inn Resorts today and they very politely did the paperwork right on the phone.... they will review my property to make sure I don't owe anything on it and it will be finalized in 3 days.... really sweet. No other fees or anything :) They called it a warranty deed. We had signed a contract with GroupWise but it had not been 3 days yet so I called their head office in PA and a nice woman politely told me how to fax them our cancellation. No hassle, no money. I am Thrilled that instead of $3400.00 I am paying nothing! And of course, no more maintenance fees or dues. Thanks so much for your wise advice.

donp196 wrote:

I called my home resorts and made sure I was talking to someone that handles these transactions. I explained that I had circumstances in my life that made it neccessary for me to get rid of my timeshares. I explained nicely that I was going to get rid of them with or without their assistance. If they cooperated I would agree to pay the next years expenses to give them time to find a new owner.

I was current in all my fees and assessments. They both agreed and all they asked was that I pay the next years taxes and fees associated with the deedback. It took only about a month to process and I am free of both timeshares. It took a few phone calls to get in touch with the right party but it went very smoothly and there was no worry about paying thousands of dollars to an unknown company then worrying that they took my money and ran.

I would advise you to make some phone calls and stay vigilant. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

It can never hurt to ask your home resort first. This is exactly what these forums are for to share information and ideas. Thank you for posting your results for others to hear. It might help others to try it and hopefully avoid scammmers preying on desperate owners.

Did this deal ever go through.?

Joyd14 - Mine did, in 2012, and the resort no longer bills me for the annual assessment fee. The "Buyer" showed in the paperwork as being a person in Orlando (rather than Groupwise, however), a Ramona Maiorella, and the Club accepted the transfer to her.

In scanning the current member list, that person's name no longer appears as a member. That is not to say the transaction is not legitimate and/or that the acquisition by Groupwise from me has been anything but a completed and successful transfer. She could have resold, or whatever. Just passing this on for what it its worth. I no longer own this unit/week/right to use.

Groupwise explained to me, under some questioning before I went forward, that its strategy is to accumulate blocks or time i a resort and then try to bargain for a reduced assessment in exchange for an agreement to funnel visitors to the resort from its vacation club - thus providing sales leads to the Developer. This seems to me to be a reasonable and credible business objective for both parties. I know for a fact that my resort has similar arrangements with RCI and Interval to get access to potential buyers.