Original Message:
Re: Has anyone had dealing with ARC American Resort Collection? (by Lance C.):
danield417 wrote:I just went to the americano beach resort today to hear their pitch. I got them down to 3K and they will quitclaim the deed back to the resort. hope this helps but right now I am a little skeptical about this.
Why pay ARC $3000 to do something you can do yourself for a lot less money. Try contacting the resort's Homeowners' Association (HOA) in writing and say that you want to give your unit back. Mention in no uncertain terms that you are not paying another dime in maintenance fees and it would be in everyone's best interests for the HOA to take the unit back amicably. The HOA might ask you to pay closing costs and maybe even the next maintenance fee. That would still work out to a lot less than the $3000 ARC wants to fleece you for.
Another option would try to find another owner. List your unit for sale or giveaway here in RedWeek's Bargain Basement. Perhaps offer to pay the closing costs and maybe even the next maintenance fee for the new taker. Again, that will work out to a lot less than what ARC wants to charge you. You can also list it on E-Bay, Craigslist, My Resort Network, and/or Timeshare Users Group (aka "TUG"; tugbbs.com) where there's a Bargain Deals section that allows you to advertise for free that you want to give your unit away.
Is you unit with Wyndham, Diamond, or Westgate? If so, each of those companies has a program that is allowing owners to surrender the ownership back to the company for a small fee (eg., Diamond is charging about $250).
This should work if you have deeded property. If yours is Right-to-Use, like what is usually in Mexico, then you can likely get rid of what you have by just stopping payments. You might get a barrage of collection calls and letters, but those can usually be ignored. Eventually, the resort/club will terminate your membership.