How to get out of a timeshare.

We have a timeshare unit in Arizona that we have found not useful and with the yearly maintenance fee, a money drain.  In this economy timeshares are not selling and listing companies are really a bad way to go.  We have tried to rent the unit out without success.  Furthermore, the timeshare contract (as with most) includes provisions that make the contract valid even if the owners declared bankruptcy and is automatically passed on to our kids if we die.  Would giving the timeshare ownership as a gift to an LLC protect our kids from the timeshare.  Is there any other way to dispose it?  It is interesting that you can foreclose on a home or have a vehicle reposed, but a time share is more difficult to get rid of. 

 

thank you.

Well they can write anything in the contract that you are foolish enough to sign--but that doesn't make it enforceable .

1. Generally bankrupcy can wipe out all but some statutory protected debts such as child support.

2. You nor they can bind your kids to accept a gift or bequest of any sort.

3. You might be free to pay a local biker to take it for $1  or to pay local bums $1 each to go use your elected times --but the  operator most certainly will continue to chase you for yearly maintenance fees and any maintenance costs created by your "guests"  The operators got up long before you did as to how to paper the situation to best protect them---its hard to get off hook.

   About the only thing that comes to mind and even that is unlikley to help if all your neighbors are having similar problems is to rent it ultra cheap to well behaved folks whose presence is extremely likley to drive everyone else nuts---for example if  facility caters to upscale middle aged couples and your unit is used by a single mom with 6 well behaved but active kids it may drive folks nuts! But  I doubt it will work in most cases.

   Some folks "donate" unwanted weeks to charity groups to raffle/auction them off and they claim a deduction--but I'm not sure that works very well and I think the value of the deduction is limited to the value recieved at raffle/auction --EG if the week costs you $1200 but it gets a modest $255 at your church auction you donation value is limited to $255 .

The terms of your contract probably read something like this:

"Binding on heirs, executors, successors and assigns."

That provision is common and enforceable and means your kids can certainly be personally on the hook for the payments when you die.

You can certainly file bankruptcy but you would have to list all your debts and that carries dire consequences. Besides, it will only discharge the balance on the loan and any past due fees, but not future fees.

The people who sell time shares know that they are smoke and mirrors so they have made a science out of the contracts which are about as close as you can come to selling your soul (and your childrens' souls) to the devil.

About the only way out is try selling it on Craigslist. If your time share is during the winter in central or southern AZ or during the summer in northern AZ you might try advertising where there are climates that people want to get away from.

You won't get much money for the time share but the idea is to get a buyer willing to assume the fees.

Unfortunately, if you still have a big balance on the loan, you are pretty much screwed.

And if you do get a buyer make sure you get a lawyer to draw up a contract that locks in the souls of the buyer and his children as well.

 

 

Laymans take:

 

I don't agree that a nonparty is bound and you  kids need not accept any such gift, bequest, or attempted assignment. Of course if they do its a different story.

I thought bankrupcy could kill the contract past, presnt and future unless you were unwise enough to ratify it anew and let it spring back to life.  But seek a wiser soul than I to comment further.

If your asset and income picture is such that in your home state you are essentially judgement proof (and thats a very state specific issue) then if you default the operators options may be limited to taking back the unit and trashing your paper credit.

But if you have other exposed assets or income the operator may be able to chase you darn well!  They designed the product to do so!

 

Okay - I was a timeshare property manager for 15 years - so I know your story well.  Many people want out.  I worked on the management side as a property manager for the owners.  The sales department was owned by another company.

If you just want out of it and to cut your losses then deed your week as a donation to a charity.  The deed that you are speaking about is called a fee simple deed.  Meaning it is owned like real property - a home, etc.  So if you had an extra home that you no longer needed and could not get anyone to purchase - the only thing left it to deed it to charity. 

Donate the timeshare - I had owners do this - I will gladly give you more info about this if you want - do not use any re-sale company - that is a rip off scam of the century - and you can include your timeshare in bankruptcy (the purchase price amount) and then you can still own the week as long as you pay the maintenance fees and assessments - those are two different things - and many owners claimed bankruptcy - then to find out they still owed maintenance fees on it - regardless

 

I have a ton of information - thought about writing a book - just not a good time for me at this moment.  We had a death in the family, so I just wanted to respond and let you know there is a WAY OUT of it -

 

 

 

We are in the same boat.  Did NOT know what we were getting ourselves into when we bought this timeshare in 2008.  We just want out of it.  I would give it away in a heartbeat if I could find somebody to take it over!  This "timeshare divorce" company doesn't charge anything until the transfer is complete and legal?  If it is legit then we may give it a try..... We have already lost $400 on resale companies.  It would be worth $1488 to get out of it!

Don't fall into the upfront fee scams.. All those companies will do is sell your timeshare online for $1 (and you can do that yourself for far less than $3,500!)..

Selling a timeshare can be a very frustrating experience, but if you just apply some good old fashioned common sense- you can find a way out!

First- determine if there is any resale value for what you own.. 

You do this by putting yourself in the place of a buyer. Search online to find ads for similar ownerships. Also, contact your resort to see if they have any recommendations for you (many associations offer exit strategies or broker recommendations to you). Look for a respected resale brokerage that has a history of working with your resort. MOST IMPORTANTLY- NEVER PAY AN UPFRONT FEE! Legitimate brokers will earn a commission at closing..

If the property has value, chances are you can list with a broker and they'll walk you through the entire process..


If the property has no resale value (and many do not!)..

Start by calling your resort management company or home owners association to see if they accept deedbacks or have an exit program you can utilize.. (It always amazes me how many people ignore this step!)..  Ask about the transfer process and if they can recommend a closing agent or title company if the ownership is deeded..

You can also find free information about the process of transferring ownership here:
http://www.timesharefo.../

Each resort is different, so if you don't see the closing process detailed for your resort, simply ask a question. Chances are someone has already been through the process and can give you advice!

Place as many low cost or free ads as possible! There are numerous venues where you can advertise. Sometimes a simple google search can work wonders! You often need to avoid the companies that show at the top of the search (they pay for those rankings- so in turn will usually require a large upfront fee!)..  Get as much exposure as possible.. Also, look at advertising in the same area that your resort is in (or in the nearest metro area to it) in free print classifieds.

Even if you end up selling it yourself- you will spend far less than thousands!

Good luck!




Rich Marquette Licensed Real Estate Associate http://rich-marquette..../

PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!

I got this timeshare when I was young and stupid... I did not know any better...

They lied!!!   They do not live up to what they say... They should not be allowed in business for the dishonesty and poor service.

I would appreciate any help you can give me!!!!

 

Thank you!!!!

Hello -

I had wrote previously about timeshare in this post.  I was the property manager of a timeshare resort.  I did not work in Sales.  however, during the sales of the units - many salesman were not fair to the consumer.  I say that from my experience and not as a blanket statement.  The salesmen would make up 'what ever the buyers would bond with"  - I had them walk through our management offices saying - "how many kids did I tell them I had?" - and once they got the couple to a certain point of a single person - then they brought in a hard closer - and at that time they had to initial like three pages of stuff.  The buyer did not normally read all those things - and believed the person that had talked to them at first, and then believed the closer regardless of the actual contract. 

I managed this resort over 10 years.  The sales department packed up and left - and the management company stood there holding the bag of lies that we didn't even know had been told to the owners.  Over time I learned so many of them wanted it to be the "dream vacation" and trade for "anywhere in the world" - which is not true.  Back then they had "secret ratings" for resorts and only certain rated resorts traded into the same or above rated resorts - so if you owned a piece of timeshare in a fishing town with no amenities, and no stores, and nothing but a beach - well you didn't own much at all and didn't have any trading value either.  So at that time owners did not understand why they could not get what they wanted - my resort was a top rated resort and I worked my butt off keeping it there.  It was still hard - the construction of the property itself had problems and our ownership was only about 25% of total.  The rest of the time has no owner, and had no sales, and we had no maintenance fees from them.  They ended up being owned by the management company.  So after almost closing the doors on this place - we found someone that had a gimmick to sell timeshare, but at least it was not a big scam like the originial sellers.  He came in and we gave him the weeks if he would sell them - we wanted the maintenance fees and were a management company.  He would sell them for $800 a week for red, $600 white, and $200 blue.  orginial prices were $12,500 for a red week - so this was all his profit - and yet we did save the property. 

I would never recommend timeshare to anyone.  If you were given a week without any cost it might be worth it to you if in a place you loved to visit.  Do not have to join an exchange company and pay all those costs to "try" to go somewhere else - buy where you want to go. 

 

I had suggested donating your week if you cannot afford it to Charity.  Someone wrote that the charity would be responsible for maintenance fees.  yes that is true.  I had some owners donate their weeks though to active organization - one I remember was a religious organization.  They took that week and put it in an auction as part of their fund raiser.  So they did not owe the fees for the week except the maintenance fee.  They could pay the maintenance fee - the charity - and at least cover those cost by auctioning the week and maybe even get a profit from it - that is one that I did see work out well. 

Also, call the resort and ask about deed backs - then go further and call your management company and talk to someone OTHER then customer service - you will all the same answers - but if you talk to someone like Operations manager, VP or that level then if they do have a group of weeks they are having someone else sell for them - then they are more apt to tell you and let you deed it back - no one normally on the lower levels of management are authorized to tell you if that is going on.

I hope this helps someone - Good Luck

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also if you are in a bankruptcy situation due to the economy - then the property still remains your property without the loan, or note due.  At least that is how it worked when I was managing up to 1999.  They would file bankruptcy and think they no longer owned the week.  When in reality they owned the week still as long as they paid their maintenance fees.  So some owners did this that I had - and were happy about visitng for their week and just paying the maintenance fees. 

In 1992 is when my resort almost closed.  By 1994 giving those weeks away to someone that could put an owner there that paid maintenance fees was awesome for the resort.  We had the potential of 2601 owners and the last five years I worked there we had approximately 2500 owners. 

Also another word of advice - public information - check the county records of where your property is located - and see if they are paying the taxes on the property.  That is something that happened at my resort - when broke and having a multi-million dollar property the management company did not pay the property taxes.  I was the on-site property manager - and no idea they had not paid them - so check on that and if you find out they are not - call them on it and you will get whatever you want.

Also - if you want to purchase timeshare always buy wholesale and pay less then $1,000 for any week anywhere - pay cash - and be able to afford getting nothing for your money -

When I did leave this industry I remember there was a tax issue that you could claim on your taxes and it had just started.  That is also something to look into under the IRS website and see if you can write off losses - and such.

Never pay up front for someone to sale your week.  EVER - NEVER - EVER - that was one thing that a huge company nationally did - had you send a check or money order by
Federal express and promising to sell your week because it was 'special" and that is bull.

Also you can contact a "property lawyer" for a free consultation and ask for advice or a CPA and ask for advice for a free consult. 

If you want to ask me anything - please respond to post - and I will answer.  I lived it, breathed it, suffered through it, and after working there so long I felt like my owners were family.  It was devastating to those that needed a way out.  I had to leave that job. 

 

 

 

 

The 2011 operating expenses for my timeshare took a substantial leap.  The major players were management fees, administrative costs, and a new category, uncollectable accounts. The latter was assesed at $150 for my week alone. How is this an operating expense in the budget? Could it be possible to leagally attack the budget of these companies? Wouldn't this be like the bank trying to raise my mortgage payment because they made bad loans to others? Any insight would be appreciated.

Hello,

We would like to get rid of our timeshare.  We have paid 2 different companies over $2,000 to sell it in the past, neither of which managed to do so.  Now, a company called IA is saying that they can "deed" it out of our name and no longer have the timeshare in our name or have maintenance fees.  They charge $1500.00!  We like your idea of giving it to charity,but would this remove the timeshare from our name and release us of the maintenance fees?

Please respond.

Thank you,

Texas