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4/3/2003
Wayne Stroman is Broker and President of Stroman Realty, Inc., Rii® Stroman the world’s largest timeshare brokerage located in Conroe, Texas. All members of the brokerage are REALTORS® and Resort Specialists. Stroman has specialized in resort properties since 1979.
Recently, the editor of www.Timeshare-Articles.com interviewed Wayne on the various aspects of Auctioning Timeshare Properties.
T-I: What is a Stroman timeshare resale auction?
WS: The auction is a public sale of timeshare properties open to everyone worldwide. We sell our inventory of resort properties to the highest bidder. The seller sets the minimum price that they will accept and our REALTOR® agents get the seller the best offer from the tens of thousands of registered buyers for the auctions. Once we complete the negotiations and have a binding offer accepted in writing by both buyer and seller our agents assist with escrow matters. We see all transactions through closing, funding, and the transfer of use rights.
T-I: How is the Rii® Stroman auction conducted and how does your auction differ from other timeshare auctions?
WS: Unlike other timeshare auctions, we hold a live auction. We have a licensed auctioneer onsite. Buyers can search our online database of over 16,000 properties in real time on our web site www.timesharelink.com. They can submit bids online, by fax, email or speak to one of our agents on an 800 number. Most online companies are not licensed and do not have an agent for consumers to call and ask questions about timeshare resales. We know that consumers need to ask questions so that they feel confident about the purchase. For over twenty years, we have provided our clients with real estate agents experienced in timeshare resales as well as toll free numbers for their convenience. Our agents will help anyone with a timeshare transaction. We have over 130 licensed agents and support staff to handle calls.
T-I: Is it important to deal with a licensed real estate agent during an auction?
WS: It is important to deal with a licensed real estate agent anytime you buy or sell timeshare, not just in an auction. Only licensed agents can legally be involved in a timeshare resale transaction on behalf of an individual buyer or seller.
T-I: What services do the agents provide that buyers might not receive in auctions without licensed agents?
WS: The buyers and sellers at our auctions will be assisted by REALTORS® who are required to follow a code of ethics and answer to a regulatory agency. We provide marketing expertise, accurate information and contracts, and fairness in transactions with all involved parties.
T-I: Would you describe what the Rii® Stroman marketplace offers?
WS: The Rii® Stroman marketplace enables timeshare and other resort property owners and prospective buyers and renters to seek out a resort property that meets their vacation needs and/or to find a specialized licensed real estate professional to assist them with the resulting resale, rental or exchange transaction. Stroman also offers assistance as a concierge for users of timeshares and provides relevant, current information on its website www.timesharelink.com.
T-I: Are there other benefits to using a licensed agent at Rii® Stroman
WS: Yes. We use what we call the alpha-omega approach to timeshare resales. This means that the agent will assist in every phase of the buying and selling process. We can move the buyer and seller from start to finish through the transaction. We market and advertise the timeshare property, negotiate offers, take bids, form contracts, deliver the transaction to escrow, assist in the closing process and work with the buyer and seller to have the use rights transferred to the buyer at the resort after the sale closes. Most consumers don’t know the complexities involved in timeshare closings, funding, and the transfer of use rights.
T-I: How popular are timeshare auctions?
WS: They have become very popular. Thousands of people will participate through Rii® Stroman on the Timesharelink.com website and over the telephone. Our agents receive bids throughout the process. They are continuously working on new bids and new sales in between the auctions. We receive approximately one thousand calls and emails a day and tens of thousands of unique user sessions on www.timesharelink.com every month.
T-I: How can people find out more about timeshare resales, rentals and exchanges and when the next resale auction will happen?
WS: They can visit our web site at www.timesharelink.com or call in the U.S. at 800-820-1482 or internationally at 936-588-4488.
Mr. Stroman is serving in 2003 as a Director of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) with 880,000 members. He also serves on the NAR Multiple Listing Service Issues and Policy Committee (2003-2005), the NAR National Convention Advisory Group (2003), the NAR Resort Real Estate Committee (2003), and is the NAR Resort Real Estate Forum, Chairman (2003). In addition, he is also on the Texas Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors (2000 ?2005). He is Vice Chairman of the REALTOR® Information Service (RIS) with the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR) and Chairman of the HAR MLS Advisory Group. HAR is the largest local REALTOR® Association in the nation surpassing New York in 2002.
Wayne Stroman designed, created and developed the CTLS© Software System in 1982 for the purpose of matching buyers to sellers' properties. Stroman Realty was the first timeshare resale broker to have a presence on the Internet in 1994. Mr. Stroman has continuously been a member of city, state, and national REALTOR® Associations since 1979. (HAR Board of Directors/1999-2001, HRIS Secretary Treasurer/2002, and MLS Computer Software Subcommittee/1990-94 and 1997-present.)
Mr. Stroman belongs to and is active in several Timeshare Industry Associations. He is a member of ARDA (American Resort Development Association), AMDETUR (Association of Mexico Tourism Developers), CRDA (Canadian Resort Development Association), CARE (Cooperative Association of Resort Exchangers) He is a member of ARDA’s Timeshare Resale Forum.
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