WALK AWAY FROM TIMESHARE

Thanks, I will try this next. I wanted to sell it back to the resort cheap but they weren't interested. I was approached by Sellmytimesharenow but they wanted 1,700 up front with no guarantee and the contract is binding indefinitely. If I sold somewhere else, I still had to give them their fee. The hell with that!!!!! That's a pure scam. I want to sell it but I am not pre paying an agent to do it. They can have their fee when it sells. Do you know who does that?

marinap44 wrote:

That's a pure scam. I want to sell it but I am not pre paying an agent to do it. They can have their fee when it sells. Do you know who does that?

That is correct. You never pay anyone an upfront fee to sell. If you go to LTRBA, they are licensed and will take their commission out of the proceeds of the sale rather than upfront. Keep in mind though, that they charge a minimum 15% commission or $1000, whichever is greater and most timeshares (probably including the one you have) are not worth that much. The people at LTRBA will let you know this before you agree to proceed with them.

Depending on what your unit is worth on the resale market (probably close to zero), you can try advertising it for sale here on RedWeek, My Resort Network, E-Bay, or Timeshare Users Group (aka "TUG"). TUG also has a Bargain Deals section where you can advertise for free that you want to give your unit away.

kenc378 wrote:

I own a fixed week at Elara HGVC Las Vegas which was purchased back in 2008. It's been fully paid for long time ago but find it difficult and a chore to use. I've long contemplated in getting ride of it and finally decided to make some phone calls a few weeks ago. I came to learn of this site on HGVC resale recommendation [to resell].

Based on all the feedbacks from others here and in consideration that HGVC does not offer any deed back program for my building, I think my next best option is to proceed to walk.

I don't have any credit history in US being non-US citizen and highly doubt will ever move/live in the state so nothing to ruin.

Will keep all the advises and this thread in mind moving forward. Thank you and all the best in year 2020.

I did manage to get the current owner (Elara Hilton Grand Vacation) of my timeshare (Westgate Planet Hollywood LV Tower 52) to provide a deed back document. Not much convincing other than letting the manager of property and support centre know my intention to give back timeshare as it's no longer desired.

Other than having to have the document notarized and mailed back, hopefully, this would be the end of our timeshare ownership journey.

Question- as non US citizen, if you choose to walk away from a timeshare ( not located in the US) but managed by a US company for collection of fees and reservations, then you want to walk away from your right to use week and do not want to pay MF anymore ( also being close to the end of your contract) can a collection agency in the US hurt my credit rating?

kenc378 wrote:

I own a fixed week at Elara HGVC Las Vegas which was purchased back in 2008. It's been fully paid for long time ago but find it difficult and a chore to use. I've long contemplated in getting ride of it and finally decided to make some phone calls a few weeks ago. I came to learn of this site on HGVC resale recommendation [to resell].

Based on all the feedbacks from others here and in consideration that HGVC does not offer any deed back program for my building, I think my next best option is to proceed to walk.

I don't have any credit history in US being non-US citizen and highly doubt will ever move/live in the state so nothing to ruin.

Will keep all the advises and this thread in mind moving forward. Thank you and all the best in year 2020.

deborah733 wrote:

as non US citizen, if you choose to walk away from a timeshare ( not located in the US) but managed by a US company for collection of fees and reservations, then you want to walk away from your right to use week and do not want to pay MF anymore ( also being close to the end of your contract) can a collection agency in the US hurt my credit rating?

Can the agency do so? Maybe. Will it. Doubtful. The American-based agency would have to pursue judgments in your country which would be more hassle and expense than what it might collect.

Can you please tell me if the advice given below is still relevant as of todays date? Thank you

I don't see any advice here, above or below (?), that would not still be accurate.

As for foreign buyers, I have researched this question for another forum, by looking at the actual foreclosures filed for a couple prominent Orlando resorts, and there were none filed against foreign owners. none. period.

I also looked at their financial disclosures, and they make a point of accounting for foreign buyers, and the default rate for them, and it was apparent that they intend to write that business and hope that some of it sticks.

Speaking of "hoping some of it sticks", those financial disclosures also mentioned that they do not do anything credit checks before financing their buyers.

HUH!? Real!!!

On that forum there was also a Canadian banker, and he stated that credit worthiness, credit reporting, and pursuing bad debts in Canada is separate from the US, and US reporting does not affect Canadians. (just paraphrasing as I recall the discussion)

So, as far as major Orlando resorts go, walk away whenever you want.

Also, don't rely on anything you see on the Internet. ;-)

A friend owns a deeded timeshare in Montana ( she is not from US) and she has had this timeshare for over 25 years and is intending to walk away. She definitely got good use of the property and traveled the world. A person working there told her that because she is a not a US citizen, nothing will happen

I actually think that it should be illegal to sell someone a timeshare for the rest of their lives, its ridiculous because no one knows what is going to happen to them after 20 years. Perhaps after 20 years owners should be able to have to the option to renew their MF payments if all is going well for them and renew in 10 year increments. There wouldn't be so many problems with people who cant travel any more. Perhaps there should be some insurance one can purchase. You cannot rely on your children to want your timeshare either.

Just for the record, originally timeshares were RTU (Right to Use), for a set term, like 20 years, but that created legal/financing problems for the developers since they were not actually transferring ownership to the buyers.

You can google it, and get a better explanation than that. I know what I know, but I'm not really good at splaining it.

deborah733 wrote:

I actually think that it should be illegal to sell someone a timeshare for the rest of their lives, its ridiculous because no one knows what is going to happen to them after 20 years. Perhaps after 20 years owners should be able to have to the option to renew their MF payments if all is going well for them and renew in 10 year increments. There wouldn't be so many problems with people who cant travel any more. Perhaps there should be some insurance one can purchase. You cannot rely on your children to want your timeshare either.

Illegal? Really? I believe that your intentions are good and I can empathize with your logic. Unfortunately however, what you propose just plain doesn't work from a legal perspective. Let me elaborate...

A deeded timeshare purchase (unlike a RTU contract, which involves no ownership of anything) is literally a purchase of real estate. It's like buying a house, except that a timeshare is only fractional ownership, not sole ownership. Like buying a house, the deed makes it legally yours until such time as you later decide to sell it or give it away to a willing new owner ("grantee"). You even pay real estate taxes.

The huge difference of course is that even when someone no longer wants to travel, their deed-owned home is still real estate which has inherent monetary value and which they can almost certainly sell at some price, if they so desire. Sadly, that is not necessarily true for a deeded timeshare ownership, which might literally have zero value in the resale market, potentially with no one interested in becoming the new owner, even if given to them for free. I have always firmly believed that the only real "value" in timeshare ownership lies is in its' actual use and enjoyment and the guaranteed access to vacation lodging that it provides. As a financial investment however, there are very few (if any) things worse than timeshare ownership.

The timeshare model of yesteryear is clearly flawed, to be sure, but there is no "insurance" (or any other procedure) that can magically alter the underlying, fundamental legal facts of deeded ownership.

Yeah it is that simple !! I walked away from my time share. There wasn't a Note on the timeshare, it was paid free and clear. Couldn't even give it away. So I stopped paying the maintenance fees. They tried multiple ways to collect them, ignored them, and then sent the deed to auction. They got exactly $55.00 for it at auction. Any collection notices on a credit report lasted 6 months on the report. Didn't even hurt the score. It costs them more in legal fees than the timeshares are really worth. That's the thing they don't want you to know. Now if you default on the note or loan, then bad things happen. I have been on this thread for a while. I have helped multiple people get out of there timeshares using the same technique. Best of luck, but stick to your guns, they try and scare you into not doing this.

scottm421 wrote:

I walked away from my time share. There wasn't a Note on the timeshare, it was paid free and clear. Couldn't even give it away. So I stopped paying the maintenance fees. They tried multiple ways to collect them, ignored them, and then sent the deed to auction. They got exactly $55.00 for it at auction. Any collection notices on a credit report lasted 6 months on the report. Didn't even hurt the score. It costs them more in legal fees than the timeshares are really worth. That's the thing they don't want you to know. Now if you default on the note or loan, then bad things happen. I have been on this thread for a while. I have helped multiple people get out of there timeshares using the same technique. Best of luck, but stick to your guns, they try and scare you into not doing this.

Non-judicial foreclosure, now available and utilized in many states, is really very simple and very inexpensive, so with all due respect you have (even if inadvertently and with good intentions) misrepresented both the cost and the complexity of the foreclosure process.

That said, you are absolutely correct that IF there is no loan default involved (for the record, a loan default will result in a 7 years long negative credit report) and if the resort won't agree to accept a "deedback", then just walking away is indeed always an option. No one needs to allow themselves to get "bullied". Collection agencies have absolutely no legal authority; they are just looking for the "percentage" that they will receive if they can somehow harass someone into paying owed maintenance fees. Ignore them as just meaningless noise.

I think the biggest thing keeping dissatisfied owners of timeshares that don't live up to their promises from walking away is people telling them they can't do that. In my years of following these forums I am yet to hear of anyone suffering insurmountable doo-doo from doing just that.

One of our two remaining resorts, one that utilizes non-judicial foreclosure, does quite well with that, but, really, they might just as well do deedbacks. That's even simpler, since the owners could just do a Quit Claim deed to the Association, or whatever the controlling body is.

That resort makes as much, or more, income from weeks they take back than if they were still owned. (Not all resorts could do that.)

Yeah, I know, maybe they like to have the right to go after the deficiency balance.

You posted this quite a few years ago. Just curious, has anyone had negative repurcussions?

pattig31 wrote:

I'm telling you, you can walk away from the thing without serious impact. There might be a note on your credit report, but it will be ignored by most if not all financial firms (credit card companies and banks) given the high pressure sales approach timeshare firms take.

Walking away is easy ....this is the dirty little secret the timeshare people don't want you to know (I am sure the bold script above was written by a timeshare employee hired specifically to supervise this blog and intervene when they feel it is necessary to protect their interests). Don't throw good money after bad....these firms will not spend money on lawyers chasing you. Accept you made a bad decision and walk away if you aren't receiving the value you expected.

Also, when timeshare owners die...this is usually what happens.

Is it just me, or in light of what's going on in the world, does this stuff seem insignificant?

We've been timesharing for more than 30 years, and I never would have thought about it before, but when it comes to spreading disease, or viruses, timeshares are very vulnerable. Take Orange Lake, for instance, with thousands of strangers from all over the world coming in, and leaving, every week, and with just the minimum of cleaning in between guests.

Same for vacation rentals.

Worst would be hotels and motels.

nooneyouknow wrote:

We've been timesharing for more than 30 years, and I never would have thought about it before, but when it comes to spreading disease, or viruses, timeshares are very vulnerable. Take Orange Lake, for instance, with thousands of strangers from all over the world coming in, and leaving, every week, and with just the minimum of cleaning in between guests. Same for vacation rentals. Worst would be hotels and motels.

Well, OK, hunker down and stay home -- but for how long? The rest of the year? Everything I read says that staying put just lets your body's immune system downshift so that when you do encounter the virus -- and most of us will, sooner or later -- your body will have less to fight with.

Why not go into a hotel or a timeshare armed with your own antibacterial soap, sanitary wipes and/or bleach, Lysol spray and even masks and surgical gloves? Sooner than we think, those products will be back on store shelves.

If only there was a way to guarantee no contact with the deny-ers.

Go forth and congregate.

A guy named Albert Einstein once said: "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity -- and I'm not sure about the universe."

As of today (05/29/2020), over 100,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States --- with that number still rising. The death toll is now well over 1.5 million people worldwide. I think it's probably fair to say that this grim situation will not be successfully overcome by the mere use of hand sanitizers, antibacterial soap, or Lysol wipes --- and certainly not by idiotically using multi-occupant public lodging facilities (timeshare properties included) filled with people coming from from who knows where (some possibly even already infected, but not symptomatic and therefore completely unaware), naively believing that by taking the very limited measures of just wiping down surfaces, somehow "it will all somehow be fine". That is just plain foolish.

It has been said that "Patience is a virtue." A corollary in these difficult and dangerous times might very well be that "Impatience can be fatal".

Back to those previously quoted words of Albert Einstein...

Hunker down and stay away from the maskless deny-ers congregating and breathing on each other.

PS: That pretty much describes the COVID Task Force at their daily briefing (brief not being the applicable word).

Anyway, all this timeshare crap seems relatively insignificant right now.