721.17 Transfer of interest; resale transfer agreements.—
(1) Except in the case of a timeshare plan subject to the provisions of chapter 718 or chapter 719, no developer, owner of the underlying fee, or owner of the underlying personal property shall sell, lease, assign, mortgage, or otherwise transfer his or her interest in the accommodations and facilities of the timeshare plan except by an instrument evidencing the transfer recorded in the public records of the county in which such accommodations and facilities are located or, with respect to personal property timeshare plans, in full compliance with s. 721.08. The instrument shall be executed by both the transferor and transferee and shall state:
(a) That its provisions are intended to protect the rights of all purchasers of the plan.
(b) That its terms may be enforced by any prior or subsequent timeshare purchaser so long as that purchaser is not in default of his or her obligations.
(c) That so long as a purchaser remains in good standing with respect to her or his obligations under the timeshare instrument, including making all payments to the managing entity required by the timeshare instrument with respect to the annual common expenses of the timeshare plan, the transferee shall honor all rights of such purchaser relating to the subject accommodation or facility as reflected in the timeshare instrument.
(d) That the transferee will fully honor all rights of timeshare purchasers to cancel their contracts and receive appropriate refunds.
(e) That the obligations of the transferee under such instrument will continue to exist despite any cancellation or rejection of the contracts between the developer and purchaser arising out of bankruptcy proceedings.
(2) Should any transfer of the interest of the developer, the owner of the underlying fee, or the owner of the underlying property occur in a manner which is not in compliance with subsection (1), the terms set forth in subsection (1) shall be presumed to be a part of the transfer and shall be deemed to be included in the instrument of transfer. Notice shall be mailed to each purchaser of record within 30 days after the transfer unless such transfer does not affect the purchaser’s rights in or use of the timeshare plan. Persons who hold mortgages or liens on the property constituting a timeshare plan before the filed public offering statement of such plan is approved by the division shall not be considered transferees for the purposes of subsection (1).
(3)(a) In the course of offering timeshare interest transfer services, no person shall:
1. Engage in any timeshare interest transfer services for consideration, or the expectation of receiving consideration, without first obtaining a written resale transfer agreement signed by the consumer timeshare reseller that complies with this subsection.
2. Fail to provide both the consumer timeshare reseller and the escrow agent required by paragraph (c) with an executed copy of the resale transfer agreement.
3. Fail to comply with the requirements of paragraphs (b) and (c).
(b) Each resale transfer agreement shall contain:
1. A statement that no fee, cost, or other compensation may be paid to the person providing the timeshare resale transfer services before the delivery to the consumer timeshare reseller of written evidence that all promised timeshare interest transfer services have been performed, including, but not limited to, delivery to both the consumer timeshare reseller and the timeshare plan managing entity of a copy of the recorded instrument or other legal document evidencing the transfer of ownership of or legal title to the consumer resale timeshare interest to the transferee, accompanied by the full name, address, and other known contact information for the transferee.
2. The name, address, current phone number, and current e-mail address of the escrow agent required by paragraph (c).
3. A statement that the person providing the timeshare resale transfer services will provide the consumer timeshare reseller with written notice of the full performance of the timeshare resale transfer services, together with a copy of the recorded instrument or other legal document evidencing the transfer of ownership of or legal title to the consumer resale timeshare interest from the consumer timeshare reseller to a transferee.
4. A statement in substantially the following form in conspicuous type immediately preceding the space in the resale transfer agreement provided for the consumer timeshare reseller’s signature:
(Name) has agreed to provide you with timeshare resale transfer services pursuant to this resale transfer agreement. After those services have been fully performed, (Name) is obligated to provide you with written notice of such full performance and a copy of the recorded instrument or other legal document evidencing the transfer of ownership of or legal title to the consumer resale timeshare interest to the transferee. Any fee or other compensation paid by you under this agreement before such full performance by (Name) must be held in escrow by the escrow agent specified in this agreement, and (Name) is prohibited from receiving any such fee or other compensation until all promised timeshare interest transfer services have been performed.
(c)1. Before entering into any resale transfer agreement, a person providing timeshare resale transfer services shall establish an escrow account with an escrow agent for the purpose of protecting the funds or other property of consumer timeshare resellers required to be escrowed by this subsection. An attorney who is a member in good standing of The Florida Bar, a licensed Florida real estate broker in good standing, or a licensed Florida title insurer or agent in good standing, any of whom also provides timeshare interest transfer services as described in this subsection, may serve as escrow agent under this subsection. The escrow agent shall maintain the escrow account only in such a manner as to be under the direct supervision and control of the escrow agent. The escrow agent shall have a fiduciary duty to each consumer timeshare reseller to maintain the escrow account in accordance with good accounting practices and to release the consumer timeshare reseller’s funds or other property from escrow only in accordance with this subsection.
2. All funds or other property that are received from or on behalf of a consumer timeshare reseller pursuant to a resale transfer agreement shall be deposited into an escrow account pursuant to this paragraph. A fee, cost, or other compensation that is due or that will be paid to the person providing the timeshare resale transfer services must be held in such escrow account until the person providing the timeshare resale transfer services has fully complied with all of his or her obligations under the resale transfer agreement and under this subsection.
3. The funds or other property required to be escrowed pursuant to this paragraph may only be released from escrow as follows:
a. On the order of the person providing the timeshare resale transfer services upon presentation of an affidavit by the person that all promised timeshare interest transfer services have been performed, including delivery to both the consumer timeshare reseller and the timeshare plan managing entity of a copy of the recorded instrument or other legal document evidencing the transfer of ownership of or legal title to the consumer resale timeshare interest to the transferee.
b. To a managing entity to pay any assessments, transfer fees, or other moneys owed with respect to the consumer resale timeshare interest as set forth in the certificate provided for in s. 721.15(7)(b) or to pay a governmental agency for the purpose of completing and perfecting the transfer. A managing entity shall accept any funds remitted to it by an escrow agent pursuant to this sub-subparagraph.
4. The escrow agent shall retain all resale transfer agreements, escrow account records, and affidavits received pursuant to this subsection for a period of 5 years.
(d) A person providing timeshare resale transfer services, an agent or third party service provider for the timeshare resale transfer services provider, or an escrow agent who intentionally fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection concerning the establishment of an escrow account, deposits of funds into escrow, withdrawal therefrom, and maintenance of records is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(e) No person shall participate, for consideration or with the expectation of consideration, in a plan or scheme, a purpose of which is to transfer a consumer resale timeshare interest to a transferee that the person knows does not have the ability, means, or intent to pay all assessments and taxes associated with the consumer resale timeshare interest.
(f) Providing timeshare interest transfer services with respect to a consumer resale timeshare interest in a timeshare property located or offered within this state, or in a multisite timeshare plan registered or required to be registered to be offered in this state, including acting as an agent or third-party service provider for a resale service provider, constitutes operating, conducting, engaging in, or carrying on a business or business venture in this state for the purposes of s. 48.193(1).
(g) A managing entity may bring an action to enforce the provisions of paragraph (e). In any such action, the managing entity may recover its actual damages, and the prevailing party may recover its reasonable attorney fees and court costs.
(h) Paragraphs (a)-(d) do not apply to:
1. A resale broker who offers timeshare interest transfer services to a consumer timeshare reseller, so long as the resale broker complies in all respects with chapter 475 and with s. 721.20; or
2. An attorney who is a member in good standing of The Florida Bar or a licensed Florida title insurer or agent in good standing who offers timeshare interest transfer services to a consumer timeshare reseller, if the total consideration paid by the consumer timeshare reseller to such person does not exceed $600, exclusive of any assessments, transfer fees, or moneys owed with respect to the consumer resale timeshare interest as set forth in the certificate provided for in s. 721.15(7)(b), and exclusive of any fees owed to a governmental agency for the purpose of completing and perfecting the transfer.
(i) This subsection does not apply to the transfer of ownership of a consumer resale timeshare interest from a consumer timeshare reseller to the developer or managing entity of that timeshare plan.
History.—s. 1, ch. 81-172; s. 16, ch. 83-264; s. 901, ch. 97-102; s. 25, ch. 2000-302; s. 16, ch. 2004-279; s. 5, ch. 2013-159.
