Lonestar Transfer is a family-owned timeshare transfer and cancellation company. Located in Texas, Lonestar Transfer has been in business for almost a decade.
Lonestar Transfer claims to have helped over 10,000 timeshare owners during their time years in the industry. One thing that sets Lonestar Transfer apart from other timeshare exit companies is that they actually offer two different methods of timeshare exit.
LT offers both timeshare cancellation and timeshare transfer.
The following is a quote highlighting their process pulled directly from the LT FAQ page:
- Free private consultation, with no obligation
- Assistance in stopping all liability of a timeshare contract
- Assistance in stopping all liability of a vacation club contract
- Support in eliminating all maintenance fees and special assessments forever
- Timeshare exit solutions that come with a written guarantee
- The peace of mind of knowing that your children will never be saddled with the debt of the timeshare
Lonestar Transfer makes it clear that they are not a listing company. LT makes no claims to be able to resell your timeshare. Instead, they do claim to be able to cancel or transfer it.
Timeshare Cancellation VS Timeshare Transfer
Many timeshare owners find that their mortgage payments on top of the increasing maintenance fees are too much to handle. Especially in the current pandemic, plenty of timeshare owners are just finding timeshare ownership to be too hard to keep up with.
If you find yourself in that position, loan mortgage cancellation might be the right choice for you. Lonestar Transfer can help you eliminate your timeshare related debts if you still owe money on your timeshare.
Other timeshare owners may not owe a mortgage, but they find that they aren’t using their timeshare as often. Or, they’ve decided that the increasing maintenance fees aren’t worth their vacation destination anymore. If that’s the case, Lonestar Transfer can also transfer your title to another company.
The transfer option is only available to those who have paid off their timeshare in full and are up-to-date with maintenance fees. When this transfer is completed, all financial liability is removed from the original timeshare owner.
It’s important to note that LT does say title transfer is their primary service.
To give you a better understanding of the tile transfer process, it goes something like the following:
LT works with a third-party company that takes your timeshare and rents it out. There are willing recipients who may not want to purchase your timeshare, but would like to spend a week there. Typically, title transfers are only successful at hotspot locations such as Disney.
Lonestar Transfer Site Review
A quick glance at the Lonestar Transfer company site does show an impressive media presence. That being said, a strong media presence is not always indicative of great business practices.
The CEO of LT did make an appearance on “Good Morning Texas”, and they have endorsements from several different media sources and personalities. While endorsements and appearances are not always authentic, it does mean the company has a big marketing budget.
As opposed to an escrow payment option, Lonestar Transfer opts to offer a “100% money-back guarantee”. This is questionable for a few reasons. If you pay thousands of dollars upfront for a service, and then the company fails to complete the service, you are not financially protected. In some cases, exit companies that offer a money-back guarantee can go bankrupt. This leaves their clients burdened with an unwanted timeshare and out of thousands of dollars.
You can read more about the importance of escrow here.
Lonestar Transfer also has a page on their site that goes over all sorts of timeshare related news. For example, they cover how to get out of your timeshare legally and discuss current timeshare exit scams.
On top of a detailed “About Us” page and a blog, LT also has a testimonials page. They feature several written testimonials from previous clients that gleam about how Lonestar Transfer helped them get rid of their timeshare.
Additionally, it seems as though LT does not use attorneys in the exit process. As a matter of fact, we cannot find any information about LT’s exit process on their site.
Lonestar Transfer Cost
According to previous reviews for Lonestar Transfer, we’ve determined that the average cost of their services is between $3,000 and $5,000.
Much like other timeshare exit companies, LT says that their fees are determined after a consultation. The fees of timeshare exit will vary depending on the timeshare resort and what is stated on the contract.
If you do choose to work with Lonestar Transfer, it’s important to keep in mind that fees are negotiable. Most of the time, timeshare exit representatives work on commission. Advocate for yourself in order to get the lowest possible price for service.
It’s important to note that if you do qualify for the transfer program, you will be paying much less than you would for full timeshare cancellation.
Lonestar Transfer Reviews
While Lonestar Transfer has 4.95 out of 5 stars on the Better Business Bureau (BBB), they are not accredited. Through various reviews, we can determine that the average timeframe for timeshare cancellation through LT is between three and nine months. The most recent 5-star review Lonestar Transfer has on the BBB reads, in part, as follows:
“We wish that all timeshare owners seeking to gain release from their timeshare find Lone Star Transfer. We were lucky enough to hear a talk show host recommend Lone Star. Once we contacted them, they were professional and maintained contact throughout the initial process of setting up required information about the timeshare and our situation…” – Michael L.
LT does also have a few positive reviews on Google, but no reviews on Trustpilot or Yelp.
It’s important to work with an exit company that has a strong positive presence across several different platforms. This is the best way to ensure that all of the reviews are genuine, and that you are getting the best experience possible.
According to their page on the BBB, LT has had three closed customer complaints in the past. As these complaints have been addressed by the company, we are unable to review what they said.
Lonestar Transfer Red Flags
There are a few negative things that stand out to us about Lonestar Transfer.
For one, we never recommend working with an exit company that does not offer an escrow payment option. We always suggest finding an exit company that requires low (or no) upfront fees. Unfortunately, the timeshare exit industry is saturated by scams. Timeshare owners need to protect themselves from fraud by working with a company that offers escrow.
Additionally, some customers do report that the communication was lacking throughout the exit process. Lonestar Transfer is a small family owned business, according to their site, and they may be overwhelmed with customers. However, when you are paying thousands of dollars for a service, you deserve good communication throughout.
Another glaring red flag is some contradictions we’ve found on their site. For one, LT claims to have been in business for over a decade. However, their BBB page says they have only been in business for eight years. Additionally, their website says they are located in Texas. However, a quick Google search shows they are located in California.
These can be easily explained as mistakes, but it does raise some concerns about the legitimacy of the company.
In Conclusion
In the current pandemic, timeshare ownership is not practical for all. Out of nine million timeshare owners in America, plenty of them are looking for a way out of their agreement.
There are many ways to get out of a timeshare, but not all of them are practical depending on the situation. Many people are choosing to work with timeshare exit companies, due to the simplicity and minimal effort.
Unfortunately, we cannot recommend Lonestar Transfer at this time. This is due to their lack of an escrow payment option, lack of transparency, and some discrepancies on their site. Additionally, Lonestar Transfer does not employ attorneys. We never recommend working with a timeshare exit company that doesn’t utilize attorneys. This is due to the fact that timeshare contracts are legally binding, and employing an expert in law is the best way to cancel your contract. While LT has plenty of great reviews from previous clients, these are simply a few things that we wish they would do differently.
We always recommend our clients seek out a timeshare exit company with an established rapport. You should find a timeshare exit company that is accredited by the Better Business Bureau. Ideally, you should also be working with a timeshare exit company that offers an escrow payment plan. Additionally, it is absolutely crucial that an exit company is willing to be transparent about their process.
It’s important to know what to look for in a timeshare exit company so you can keep yourself protected from scams.
Review our other articles or contact us to find your perfect timeshare exit company.