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[Q=stu20] How does a timeshare owner find out in advance what happens if he/she just abandons his/her timeshare and lets it be foreclosed on by the timeshare developer? Bluntly, what's the worst that can happen to you if you have a timeshare you don't want, that you can't find a buyer for, that you can't even give away, and that the developer refuses to take back? / Said another way, What's the cost of a judgment against me if the timeshare has a market value of ZERO? We all have seen ads where you get a timeshare for $1 and the seller pays closing and fees and this year's maintenance and maybe next year's maintenance, too. That can add up to $2-3 grand. Could it be cheaper to let them foreclose?[/Q] A primary concern for some people is that a foreclosure will ultimately result in a "hit" to their credit rating. For younger folks who might have plans to apply for a home mortgage or some other significant loan in the not too distant future, that record of default, foreclosure and the associated credit rating "hit" will surely be discovered and considered by a prospective lender. If you have no such needs or plans for loans or a good credit rating, then foreclosure will likely have little or no discernible impact upon you. A resort developer is highly unlikely to ever initiate or pursue liens or garnishments. Why would they even bother? After all, once they take the deed and the ownership back via foreclosure, they will then simply market and sell that exact same "product" all over again to some other "lucky" buyer --- perhaps doing so many times for the exact same week as the foreclosure scenario repeats itself. Each time, the developer will obviously keep every penny that each and every foreclosed-upon owner paid before the foreclosure. Quite a profitable enterprise for them, when you think about it. On the other hand, you should probably expect to be pestered by collection agencies after you stop paying your fees, but before the developer decides to initiate foreclosure proceedings --- which could actually be a few years down the road, depending on the developer.