Advice Needed: Renter foreclosed or sold contract

[krazazian]

Hi folks, any tips would greatly be appreciated. I rented points from a veteran user on these boards. Everything looked good until very recently. I checked my reservations and noticed it was gone. Ive contacted the renter, but am waiting for a response from him. I checked the OCCompt site and noticed that all of his properties were signed over at the end of June to Monera Financial. So it looks like he defaulted or just sold his contracts to them. I have a paper trail of rental contract agreement stating the # of points rented, rental dates and everything. I also have the paper trail of payment. Is there anything that I can do? I know that I'm SOL on the reservation as it has been canceled already, but do you think that I have a shot at getting my money back from him or Monera? Those points that were given to Monera should legally be mine based on the contract and the receipts of payment. Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[DisneyRegulars]

Oh no! I'm sorry this happened to you. This is awful! I have no idea what to do. I kind of doubt you could get your points from monera, but certainly won't hurt to try. I think you would have better luck going after the renter in small claims court, but if he's foreclosed and is having money problems you may never see your money anyways.

 

[Minniesgal]

Rented through the boards or through David's as mentioned on another thread? World of difference between the two.

I'm not sure you can claim legal ownership of the points from Monera because based on their agreement with the owner if they foreclosed due to debts the points didn't really bellowing to the owner to rent out.

 

[drusba]

Sounds like a foreclosure or a threatened one that resulted in voluntary transfer of ownership of the interest to avoid foreclosure and further debt. If rented through a broker, broker may be still holding funds that could be returned. If rented through an owner, your agreement is solely with the owner. You could pursue the owner which will likely result in no recovery or possibly costs that are more than you can actually recover. The owner owns and controls the reservation until you actually arrive at the resort and check in. The finance company has superior right to the property interest and you most likely cannot pursue it for recovery.

 

[krazazian]

I rented thru the boards on this forum. The user has been a longtime user, and Ive asked other users about their experience with them, and they said they have had positive experiences. I figured that that might be the case

 

[davper]

If you get no joy through the renter, you will have to file in small claims court in your jurisdiction. Be sure to include any costs lost as a result of losing your reservation.

The limits of the amount you can file in small claims varies by state.

 

[Brian Noble]

Realistically, you are probably not going to get your money back. It is probably not worth your time/expense to pursue it. I wish I had better news for you, but...

 

[mort1331]

Sorry that sucks. It also puts a black eye on the rest of us that rent out. I cant imagine how you could even get part of the money back.

 

[disneynutz]

I would file a police report in the owners home town, should be easy and you can do it by phone. You can also contact the owners district attorney.

Bill

 

[crisi]

What law was broken? If he had intentions of completing the contract, it wasn't fraud.

 

[supersnoop]

What law was broken? If he had intentions of completing the contract, it wasn't fraud.

Theft. Unjust enrichment. Something along those lines.

 

[crisi]

Theft. Unjust enrichment. Something along those lines.

Nope - not without intent.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

However, if he intended to fulfill the contract and can't, the correct thing to do under the terms of most contracts is to refund the money. It's also the appropriate and ethical thing to do, even if the contract somehow doesn't have a non-performance clause.

 

[drusba]

However, if he intended to fulfill the contract and can't, the correct thing to do under the terms of most contracts is to refund the money. It's also the appropriate and ethical thing to do, even if the contract somehow doesn't have a non-performance clause.

Definitely the appropriate thing to do and the owner should be contacted, but if this a foreclosure, there may be no money to get because the the owner may have overall, severe financial issues going on.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Definitely the appropriate thing to do and the owner should be contacted, but if this a foreclosure, there may be no money to get because the the owner may have overall, severe financial issues going on.

Agreed. The stand-up thing to do in such a case is to own up and create an agreement as far as repayment.

 

[supersnoop]

Nope - not without intent.

But then we get deep into the legal definition of intent. Intent would be established with the failure to remain current on the loan, or when signing over the deed in lieu.

 

[erinkristen04]

Ugh, this terrifies me. We are in the midst of talking to an owner from these boards that we are looking to rent from. Has several references with nothing but high praise, seems to have been around the boards for several years, and a long term DVC owner. This is my worst nightmare.

Depending on the terms of your rental contract, you likely have a claim for breach of contract. That being said, that's a civil issue so not anything the police or DA would get involved in. I'm not familiar with other states, but another thing to keep in mind is that, at least in Texas, once you get a judgment there is no guarantee you'll ever get paid on that judgment.; there are, however, further remedies you can pursue to try and exercise that judgment and hopefully increase your odds of getting paid on it (i.e., filing an abstract of judgment so that, for example, when their credit is run your judgment claim shows up), but that usually entails having the last 4 digits of their SSN to do so.

If this person has (or may likely in the near future) filed bankruptcy, that opens up a whole different can of worms due to automatic stay protection. At that point, your options/remedies become significantly limited. I'd honestly suggest going and consulting with an attorney who can give you some insight on the best way to proceed, but because it sounds like there may be financial issue involved, I wouldn't wait too long for fear he/she may file bankruptcy.

 

[crisi]

However, if he intended to fulfill the contract and can't, the correct thing to do under the terms of most contracts is to refund the money. It's also the appropriate and ethical thing to do, even if the contract somehow doesn't have a non-performance clause.

Yes, correct and ethical. And a civil filing is fine, but probably not worth the effort. But the police won't touch this. Its a breach of contract - a civil matter.

 

[CarolMN]

krazzian - I'm sorry this happened to you.

Most states have small claims court, but I believe you would have to file in the owner's state of residence rather than yours. I agree with Brian, it will probably cost more to recover your money than it's worth.

 

[Dean]

You can't get blood out of a turnip, I would contact Monera and try to contact the member. Small claims or similar is not going to be worth it for most rental situations. It's part of the risk of the savings.