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Define the "HELP" in H4TSO... (by KC):

tanyav28 wrote:

I did it and I'm happy with the result - got rid of three Marriott units through H4TSO nearly 3 years ago. It did negatively impact my credit, but not nearly as much as I feared it would.

From your description below, i think you will have some problems, so it's best to know what you're getting yourself into.

First, you won't be able to get rid of one without having problems with the 3 others you own through the same resort. This isn't a clean process - there's no magic way to get out of the contract. You will essentially end up doing a deed-back, which is another name for deed in lieu of foreclosure. Even if your current now, the only way to get them to do a deed-back is to go delinquent. Not pretty.

Second, this definitely will not be a write off on your taxes. If you go the deed-back route, at the end of the year, you will receive a tax form (can't remember the form number) from whoever held your loan showing the amount of the loan they wrote off/'forgave'. The IRS treats that as income and you will pay tax on that money. If you do a deed-in-lieu on your primary residence, I believe in some cases you don't have to pay tax on that debt forgiveness, but timeshares are never primary residences, so plan on coughing up some extra cash for Uncle Sam. Nobody warned me about this.

Third, this took me nearly a year to complete. It may happen faster now, since timeshare companies know the drill and may just skip the fight/cut to the chase; however, then again, it may take longer or be less successful since this cancellation method has been used so much for a while now. I'm not sure which way it will go for you, but I'd plan on longer than the 4-8 weeks you say below.

The cancellation companies look at all aspects of your original transaction to see whether the timeshare company (seller) broke any laws in the process. If they did, then that is the angle they will use to get you out of it...but again, getting out of it means deed-back, which will definitely have financial and credit consequences for you.

The above tall tale is entertaining, but I'll highlight just a few of its' factual deficiencies:

1. It would never be necessary to engage (or pay) a third party to shed a Marriott timeshare (never mind three of them) if there was NO loan involved. Someone (including Marriott itself) would take it (or all three) for free --- all day long, any day of the week. The situation described is instead clearly one of DEFAULTING on a LOAN. There is a very big difference between defaulting on a loan and a mutually agreed "deedback".

2. There is no such thing as a "cancellation company" when it comes to contracts. A contract is a legally binding instrument which cannot just be unilaterally "cancelled" by one of the parties acting alone. Defaulting on a loan agreement will always run its' legal course WITHOUT any involvement from (never mind paying a penny of your hard earned money to) any obscure, unknown so-called "cancellation" entities --- including this one (...just another of far too many of them) called HELP4TSO. You'll get "help" alright; you'll be "helped" right out of a hefty upfront fee --- to no productive end, concluding with results that would and will ultimately occur entirely on their own anyhow.

3. Rest assured that any Marriott contract is airtight and professionally prepared by highly competent attorneys --- and certainly well above challenge by some obscure, third party "cancellation" company which likely doesn't even have or utilize any licensed attorneys at all in the first place. Defaulting on a loan associated with a timeshare (or any other) purchase will INEVITABLY result in foreclosure and reporting to the three major credit agencies. There is no need (or benefit) to pay some useless, obscure outfit when that process is exactly what will occur even WITHOUT their involvement in any way at any time.

4. A timeshare "deedback" is an option only when / where there is NO outstanding loan debt or unpaid fees. If there is an unpaid loan balance, then you don't yet own the deed or have clear title to "give back" in the first place. There is no negative credit report when a clean "deedback" is effected with a timeshare resort or company. Wyndham and DRI both currently have "deedback" programs. Wyndham's "Ovation" program is free, Diamond charges $250. There must be NO outstanding loan balance, nor any unpaid maintenance fees balance on the owner account in order for a "deedback" to be accepted.

What tanyav28 has described above is not a "deedback" at all, but a description of defaulting on a loan and its' obligations, then witnessing the inevitable consequences. Any such loan default, followed by foreclosure, would get reported to the credit agencies.

The bottom line here is that if someone is going to default on a timeshare (or any other) loan or the contractual obligations of their timeshare ownership, there is absolutely no benefit nor any need to involve (or pay) ANY third party entity. Default and foreclose will still inevitably occur, with or without paying any such "third party". Foreclosure where no loan was involved and defaulted may not get reported to the credit agencies. Defaulting on any loan will always get reported to the credit agencies. It's really all just that simple.