What happens if I stop paying for my Timeshare? Talking Timeshares episode 35
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- čas přidán 18. 08. 2023
- This episode of talking timeshares provides the answer to the increasingly common question owners ask these days in exploring their options to get rid of an unwanted timeshare!
Dont fall for the scammers out there who tell you want you want to hear to trick you into paying money, get the truth about your situation right here on TUG, absolutely free!
our online advice article on this very subject: tug2.net/timeshare_advice/sto...
and a spreadsheet created by TUG members that defines as much "timeshare/collections laws" broken down by each state as they could find! A truly great place to start your reseach!
tugbbs.com/forums/threads/lin...
Official TUG website: tug2.net
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There is one other (small) hope in case you are in a similar situation that we were in, the timeshare could close and disband. This is what happened to us. It was old , built in the early 80's and becoming shambles. Maintenance fees we're not covering the cost of refurbishment. The board and holding company disbanded and purchased our deed back for $500. I'm sure the holding company came out ahead by some developer repurposing the property, but we felt we won the lottery , yee ha.
this is a reality for many smaller or independent resorts for sure! especially those with sunset clauses that set an actual year at which the timeshare will cease to operate without a vote from the owners to continue!
Dam straight....
I sat at our kitchen table when I was in grade school teaching my parents and grandparents what we learned in Grammer that day...
Broo you’re the best
Thank you!
They will probably foreclose on it, just like if you stop paying mortgage payments on your house. In some people's opinion, this is the easiest way to get rid of one.
Foreclosure is often expensive for a resort, especially in states that do not provide for a non-judicial option! In many cases the resort can simply choose to eventually offer the owner the deedback option (or deed in lieu) to avoid going thru actual foreclosure. Its truly a shame when resorts that knowingly have no resale value, and offer no official deedback program leave so many owners with no other options than to stop paying! The fear that so many owners have over what might happen keeps so many of them continuing to pay year in and year out despite many not even being able to travel or utilize the ownership at all. Many resorts and developers are perfectly happy to exploit this fear in the hopes that people will simply keep paying as long as possible!
Man I will brush that beautiful beard for free you are the best of the best
My old man have 3 time shares payday off and he can’t pay the maintenance fee no more you gave us hope
haha, i sure wish it would stop turning grey! I hope your father finds a good outcome for his paid off timeshares! has he tried to give them away for free on TUG before defaulting?
the very most popular thought. timeshare owners live in fear.
timeshare = scam
no doubt the timeshare industry has been exploiting owners fear of default for many years, all without offering alternatives to thousands and thousands of owners. Owners truly need to take the time to determine the actual risks of default as it becomes a more and more common solution for owners who have had no success in giving their timeshare away, or giving it back!
I saw a video made 3 years ago titled "Tricks Of Getting Out Of A Timeshare Contract." You know something is severely crooked when people have to resort to 'tricks' to getting out of a crooked contract. How did these companies even survive COVID? What happens to the US economy if everyone stopped paying/using timeshares and just went the hotel/AirBnB route going forward?
sadly most companies offering "tricks to get out of a timeshare contract" are simply marketing to people to trick into paying them more money for their "help". They dont provide any new or unique solutions that are not already available to every owner.
Is the process governed by laws of the state where the timeshare is or the state where the owner resides?
depends on the sort of debt/delinquency being discussed! foreclosure itself would take place in the state the deed exists. efforts to collect debt however would be subject to your state laws as well as FDCPA which is federal law.
Mine has gone through 2 collections agencys, last one in North Carolina were I live. It has dropped off due to statue of limitations. Checked on Mojave county website, has not gone through foreclosure. Brian, I will now have to contact HOA and ask them for deed back, correct? London Bridge, purchased Aug. 1994. Thank you for your video, and also joined TUG.😁
It certainly sounds like its well on the way thru the foreclosure process, some report it can take YEARS depending on the resort itself. Especially smaller independent ones that may or may not have anyone actually on staff to handle things like this the backlog could be extremely long! is rather surprising given that arizona is a non judicial foreclosure state. has the resort been in contact at all during this time? you mention the statute of limitations has run out and that is usually something measured in years, vs weeks or months? curious if the collections agencies reported the defaults to the credit bureaus? did you have a loan balance? or just stopped paying the annual maintenance fees?
How long was the statue of limitations? I stopped paying 5 months after regretting getting lied to and pressured after 5 hours back in 2019. It’s in default now with another collections agency law office.
this varies from state to state, some as low as 3 years, some as high as 10!
What timeshare company was this with?
I have a floating week on Kauai which is paid for in full. Getting up in years and would love to just quit paying the maintenance fees. Not really concerned about my credit rating (it's pretty darn good) as not planning on any major purchases. You feel it is "safe" to just not pay this next year's maintenance fees and walk away? I did contact the resort twice with no satisfaction regarding a deed back; they don't want that but have seen lately emails where they are selling timeshare weeks at this resort.
Someone was able to walk away. I want to too.
If you have made a legitimate effort to both give your fully paid off timeshare away (can do this for free on TUG), and attempt to give it back to the resort with no success. Stopping payment is indeed a better option than continuing to pay forever for something you dont want and or dont use! Shame on resorts that provide ZERO exit options for owners! We hope in your case that you continue to communicate your desire to surrender the deed back willingly should you choose to move forward with not paying your 2024 dues to allow the resort to eventually choose the path of least resistance and offer a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure which is both quicker and cheaper than the resort having to go thru the actual foreclosure process.
if you have not yet tried to offer up your timeshare for free to see if someone is willing to take it off your hands, ANYONE can do this completely free right here: tugbbs.com/forums/forums/free-timeshares.55/
I stopped paying one and it went to collections first but I told them to take it back as a deed back which they refused without paying the collection. I said no because they were not depositing my RCI points as agreed and I had no way to use that week otherwise so I let it go. The resort group was very uncooperative with me so I didn’t feel the least bit guilty. They eventually sent me an official foreclosure notice. I still own another timeshare with this company so at least I know what I am facing with the next one. It’s ridiculous that they won’t take these things back. 🙄
it is very frustrating when an owner is put in the position where the only viable option is to default! More resorts need to address this vs continuing to bury their heads in the sand!
If they send you an official foreclosure notice that means that end of it? It is over or else? Sounds like you were dealing with Hilton
This was before the Hilton buyout so no. @@Burtchiropracticrehabilitation
Does it make a difference if you bought it out of the country? My timeshare was bought and completely paid for and it is in the Bahamas. I just want out my maintenance fees keep rising.
have you attempted to give away or give back your timeshare?
so i have tahiti village in vegas a few months ago and live in california what is your advice?
I always advise making an effort to surrender the ownership back (unlikely without special circumstances) or to offer it up on the resale market for free with an offer to pay closing costs yourself (can post it on the TUG free giveaway forum for free)... if you have no success there, your only option that remains is to default and roll the dice on how tahiti village will respond in efforts to collect your unpaid maintenance fees as described in the video! At least however if you have made efforts to both give it away and give it back with no success you can relay that in all your future communication with TV as to the reason you have chosen to stop paying in efforts to force their hand in accepting the ownership back to you.
It really is down to two bad options for owners in this scenario. 1. continue to pay forever for something you dont want and dont use. or 2. stop paying and force the resort to take action to recover the ownership from you (either thru deedback or foreclosure)
I am a Canadian who have bought a time share one month ago . I was mislead by the rep by not disclosing the fact that i can rescind my purchase within 10 days even after i directly asked him directly about my cancellation option . What collection option will they have if i decided to stop paying considering that i don't live in the U.S ?
We are sorry the rep did not inform you of your rescission period, it was however required to be included in the sales contract you signed (and the part that says you read it and agree to all the terms). Chances are the lender or timeshare will simply turn the debt over to a collections agency, and possibly one in canada depending on the lender itself. sadly defaulting on a loan balance (especially a large one) runs the risk of more aggressive tactics and efforts to collect than if it was a small amount or simply just the annual dues.
What would you advise for someone like this to do. I’m in similar situation right now. @nancygeorge7825 were you able to exit out or what did you do
I bought it in FL, but I need to look up laws in my state of MS.
the foreclosure would happen in a Florida court as that is where the deed is recorded, but any judgement filed against you after the foreclosure would be subject to the collections laws in MS if any effort was made to collect etc.
I have a TS with Wyndham that is eating a big chunk of my monthly income (about 1k). The point barely work for 1 or 2 weekend stay in the year. I want to get rid of it, im trying to buy a home but this TS is eating me alive. What should I do first? I have a loan for around 35k, maintence feed went up to $170, plus I have to other payments of a credit line that sums up like another $80. I live in FL. Please help. 😢
you are likely to see a loan balance default of 35k show up on your credit, so in your situation it might be a better option for you to transfer the loan balance to some other line of credit at likely a reduced interest rate! Doing this would then allow you to give the timeshare back to wyndham (free) and eliminate the monthly maintenance fee payments!
I bought a timeshare in Las Vegas Nevada and im from California.. i cannot afford to keep paying for a timeshare we have not used at all for 5 years straight weve been paying without making a dent.. i am thinking of just letting it go... would it be smart to write an email or letter to the company so theres something on file that i tried to surrender it back to them? Although i know they are going to say that i have to keep paying it? But just so there is paper trail that i tried?
if you have a genuine financial/medical hardship or similar you can absolutely reach out to try to come to some sort of arrangement with your timeshare though Id not expect a high chance of success there is no harm in trying!
Hi everyone! I have a doubt regarding stop paying the time share, what happens if I stop paying (westgate) and Im not from the US? Does my visa get affected somehow?
we have never heard of a timeshare maintenance fee default impacting a non us citizen...or put another way consumer debt collection really doesn't cross international borders. we are not able to answer the question about your visa without more information.
@@TimeshareUsersGroup thank you! I will stop the payment and see what happens
So if I bought a timeshare in Missouri (BlueGreen 😢) and live in WI. The defaulting and foreclosure will follow Missouri laws but a debt collection agency would have to follow Wisconsin laws?
The foreclosure will take place in the state the deed is recorded in (note that you as the owner are not contesting this, after all you wanted to give the deed back to them in the first place). However the process of collecting a judgement (if any) after foreclosure across state lines is called "domestication" and as with most things the legal process for such varies from state to state. This is why we always advise owners to get a consultation (in most cases, the consultation would be free) from an attorney in your state that specializes in DEBT COLLECTION who can advise you of what the risks are to you (if any at all).
We also have a blue green timeshare and looking at how to get rid of it. Ours is paid off but we don’t want to pay those high maintenance fees anymore. The salesperson not only told us we could rent out points but gave us the name of the person to contact who would buy those points to help pay the maintenance fees. Earlier this year we got a notice that our online access was suspended because we did the very thing they advised. They sent a letter they wanted us to sign saying they could sue us for basically any reason. We did NOT sign. Have you had any luck with their deed back program?
We have a blue green timeshare from MO too and a month after getting it I was diagnosed with cancer. We called to see if we could get out and they said no and gave us the information on a site we could PAY to list it for sale for 6 months but when we contacted the site they said it probably wouldn’t sell in the 6 months and we’d have to pay again to list it. We still owe I think around $13000 and I paid maintenance fees in Nov for $580. They said they were once a year, I just got another bill for maintenance fees and other fees for $1,100. I’m freaking out. They never said they’d be so high or that it would be TWICE a year. We can’t afford all of this on top of the loan and our other bills and medical. I’m literally freaking out and sick
Anyone who references Office Space, Always Sunny and Mad Men must be trustworthy.
I just came across this video and have so many questions. Back in 2019, I filed for bankruptcy, but because my husband is the co debtor this bast December when my husband leased a car and the timeshare came out on his credit report. His scored droppd drastically. This is causing so much distress between him and I. We don't even use the timeshare nor want the timeshare, but we don't know how to get rid of it. Can you help us?
it is not unexpected for a default to be reported by the timeshare to the credit bureaus yes. especially if that default is on the loan payment! unfortunately you do not have any options to sell, give away or give back now that you have already defaulted on the timeshare (unless you want to pay all the money you owe, but that just puts you back in the same situation you were in before!). continuing to default will result in the ending of your ownership, but as you have discovered sometimes that also comes with some negative consequences just like defaulting on any other loan or contract would!
@@TimeshareUsersGroup thank you
I understand your situation. If maintenance fees are all that is remaining on your timeshare, you can start speaking with the property about signing it back over to the property. I got rid of mine for 2K, paid to the property, and finished. Start talking before you go the default route.
@@edwardsolomon7395 as we understood it they are well into the default stage and are just awaiting that moment to happen where the resort reaches out to start the process of obtaining the ownership/deed back from them via deedback or foreclosure. unless we are mistaken, they have already taken the credit hit for defaulting on it. you are absolutely correct that in any and all communication with the resort an owner should mention they are ready and willing to give the ownership back!
I have a loan out on my timeshare for about 7k. I am willing to pay it all and get out of the future maintenance fees. From what i am seeing they're not likely to agree to this.
If i dont the maintenance fees it will affect my credit, right? So, my question is should I stop paying the loan now since I am screwed anyway?
far more likely to take a credit hit by defaulting on the loan than the maintenance fees. also paying off the loan provides you the additional options of either trying to give it away for free or give it back to the resort.
I live in Texas. My Bluegreen timeshare is in Orlando, FL. I currently don't owe Bluegreen any money. I want to stop paying my maintenance fees. What will happen?
have you reached out to bluegreen to see if they would take the ownership back? or tried to give it away on TUG for free?
tug2.net/timeshare_advice/get-out-of-bluegreen-vacation-club-timeshare-point-ownership.html
Thanks do you know how Nebraska treats debt collection
I am not personally familiar with Nebraska state debt collections laws, this came up on a google search and seems to contain some great information on nebraska debt collections www.legalaidofnebraska.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Collections-Handbook-2018.pdf
Thanks in ? Then would be Bluegreen Florida thanks for the quick response and I will definitely study your high lighted reference as well awesome
also here is a link from our spreadsheet that covers nebraska law regarding timeshares! nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=76-1701
depends on the debt involved. also if the bluegreen ownership is deeded property or not? not all BG ownerships are deeded property etc. the foreclosure of the deed (if the deed were in florida) would happen in florida yes. and thankfully in florida a timeshare is subject to non-judicial foreclosure, thus as long as you dont contest it, there should be little to no risk of a judgement against you. as the end goal is giving the ownership back, we'd suggest constantly communicating with bluegreen your desire to simply give this back willingly!
For Non-judicial foreclosure does it go by the state I reside in or where the timeshare is located?
Yea you know anything about west gate resort?
Westgate is fairly well known for turning you over to collections and or reporting a default to the credit bureaus yes. they do offer a surrender program for owners if it is paid off.
Do you know anything about ACA Group? My dad just gave them money to exit his timeshare... what are your thoughts? Legit company or? I have to get some more info from him to see what he's done exactly and what his Wyndham contract says. He lives in Canada... any experience on defaulting while in Canada? Thanks!
Have never heard of them, however exit companies do not have any super secret strategies to get you out of your timeshare. they simply have a roundabout way of having an owner stop paying. In the case of Wyndham if his timeshare was paid off he could simply give it back for free. If its not paid off, his only recourse is to stop paying and roll the dice. Exit companies know this and rely on owners like your dad to NOT know this. Noone would knowingly pay a company thousands of dollars to simply stop paying for their own timeshare. check out our other video on the "100% guaranteed way to exit your timeshare" that explains how exit companies trick owners into defaulting on their own timeshares as their main solution to end your ownership.
Thanks for that... but is there not also some exit companies that will try to sell the timeshare? I have a pretty good feeling that they will just have my dad stop paying like you say... but I plan to ask him tomorrow what they've told him they plan to do. He's 81 and he's not making the best decisions lately. :(
@@greatplaylists3989 exit companies are not in the business of selling timeshares. nor can you realistically sell a timeshare that you still owe on. if he doesnt owe anything he can give it back to wyndham for free.
We have a blue green timeshare from MO too and a month after getting it I was diagnosed with cancer. We called to see if we could get out and they said no and gave us the information on a site we could PAY to list it for sale for 6 months but when we contacted the site they said it probably wouldn’t sell in the 6 months and we’d have to pay again to list it. We still owe I think around $13000 and I paid maintenance fees in Nov for $580. They said they were once a year, I just got another bill for maintenance fees and other fees for $1,100. I’m freaking out. They never said they’d be so high or that it would be TWICE a year. We can’t afford all of this on top of the loan and our other bills and medical. I’m literally freaking out and sick. I need legitimate help
unfortunately it has no realistic resale value so there are zero chances of selling it while you still owe 13k on it. maintenance fees are usually billed once a year, any 2nd bill would be something else like a special assessment or part of the loan payment? what did it say the $580 was for? unfortunately you dont have any good options here, just a choice between two bad ones :(
@@TimeshareUsersGroup thank you for your response. I figured I’d try to ask to see if it was a possibility
@@nataliechrist1 I certainly wish we had better news for these situations for sure but there just arent any. Its so bad that the entire exit industry makes millions selling the promise that they can easily get you out of any timeshare...and they can...by telling you to stop paying for it!
Scam vs. Scam 😂
yep, this industry will get you coming and going thats for sure! only way to protect yourself is to know the truth ahead of time!
Would you happen to know what action Wyndham takes against someone that defaults on their payments?
It really depends on how much of a loan balance you are defaulting on! Wyndham offers both a completely free surrender program for its owners if your timeshare is paid off, as well as a program to help you with your loan/balance if you have a hardship situation! would certainly advise at least exploring those options!
I haven’t even made a payment yet, but past the 5 days I had to get out of it. I don’t know I had 5 days to get out until it was to late. My payments will be coming due soon.
Would suggest still trying to rescind if its only a few days outside the rescission period. cant hurt to try!
Oh wow @vincewarner2404 same thing just happened to me. First payment next month. Did you try to rescind? Or what did you do to get out
@@sekinatliasu3942 I didn’t get to cancel within the five day period so I’m not paying the mortgage or maintenance fees. I’m having them foreclose on me and I’ll file bankruptcy against them.
I am interested in buying a timeshare on eBay through HGV.
Everything looks and sounds great but my question is, what happens in 2 years or so I decide I no longer want it, can I just stop paying the maintenance fee or would I have to sell it somehow?
Thank you for your time.
yes, once you become the new owner if you decided to end your ownership you would either have to sell/give it away to a willing buyer, give it back to hilton, or stop paying for it.
After hearing all the horror stories with timeshares, why would you ever enter into one of these!?!? Just get a hotel room or rent a house/apartment where you are wanting to stay. When you leave, it's not your problem anymore!
My buddy pays $2k/year maintenance fee for a weeks stay at his timeshare in Vegas (also trying to get out it which is why we're on these videos...). That's almost $300 PER NIGHT for a weeks stay. That's a pretty nice hotel room if you ask me and someone else will clean your room every day.
@@carlk6398 10 billion dollar a year industry, they clearly have no issue finding buyers! This is a marketing pitch that has been honed to perfection for decades! Even people who walk into a sales presentation with the mindset of "im not buying a timeshare" sometimes walk out after buying a timeshare, it is wild! The value in timesharing is when you can stay on a vacation for LESS than it would cost you for a hotel or airbnb. for 2k a year in fees id imagine he has a 2 or 3br in vegas, and an equivalent hotel with mulitple bedrooms and a full kitchen/living room is likely much more than the average single hotel room at any resort! its all relative!
That said renting is a great way to enjoy staying in a timeshare without having to buy a timeshare and we suggest that route to anyone who is considering ownership!
Damn. I just found out that my mom hired one of these sketchy lawyers and signed a contract with them (she hasn't paid them yet). Do you have any idea what we can do? Her timeshare is not yet defaulted on, but she is years behind in maintenance fees (loan is already paid off).
is not much for her to do at this point, and certainly nothing a timeshare exit company can provide that is of any value to her. sounds like she has already chosen to default, eventually the resort will choose to do something about it but if no action has been taken in years, the most likely event is that someone from the resort or association will reach out to offer her a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure for her to sign the ownership back to them willingly vs going thru the lengthy and expensive foreclosure process itself.
@@TimeshareUsersGroup Thanks for response.
We decided to just contact them and pay them what's owed and go through that Horizons program (it's HICV). Have you heard anything about that?
@@scottandrews947 Horizons is a legitimate program from HICV, its been around for years. and yes, those "lawyers" were fully aware it exists. tugbbs.com/forums/threads/horizons-a-holiday-inn-club-vacations-deedback-information-give-your-hicv-timeshare-back.267459/
I need a help please, I stopped paying the timeshare that unfortunately after a lot of pressure and lies I signed I'm still trying with them to fix....the contract I signed was on last May 2023
Sadly there arent really a ton of options for you here especially since you have already stopped paying. you would either have to try to convince them to cancel your contract (slim to no chance, but not zero), pay the past due balance and either give away or give back the timeshare, or continue to stop paying and await the next step from the resort which will likely be collections or similar depending on how much you owe.
@@TimeshareUsersGroup Mine was Dec of 2023 my significant other is the primary owner/signer they have me listed as a co-signer that I am NOT. My significant other is incarcerated and can no longer making payments which has been made since May of 2023. Per an email sent to him the payments are $1903, behind. I made one payment after a being bullied. I explained that I did not sign and that I did not agree to my credit being pulled as I had been looking to purchase a home and had been working on my credit. I also requested that I be sent a copy of the contract that I signed. When I asked that question the person I spoke to "went off" on me and said " OH I can guarantee you that you signed and anything that we spoke on prior to me asking that question WILL BE CANCELED as far them working with me. She said she was going to reverse the payment which she did not of course smh. I was called by another department a month or so after, I returned the call no response. I reside in MD and the ts is in Atlantic City. The account was transferred/sold to a collection agency as of Feb 2024. It's already hit my credit. I paid everything off during the pandemic and other account show excellent payment history except this of course. Please advise.
I just got in a timeshare with Wyndham in TN. Got boldly lied to. Worst mistake of my life. I’m considering just stop paying. I’m a Federal employee. Can they garnish my wages?
while anything is possible, though unlikely and we have never heard of any instance of this actually happening for defaulting on your timeshare. Not to mention that default is the number 1 strategy used by exit companies to guarantee they can get you out of your Timeshare! It is likely to be reported to collections and credit bureaus however!
A better bet would be to begin filing complaints that detail the "lied to" part to the Florida attorney general (where wyndham is headquartered) as well as the TN AG since you bought your timeshare there! Also begin filing those complaint with wyndham directly and on their social media.
We would also suggest following through with an attempt to rescind even if you are outside your legal rescission period by a short time, you never know! The more details about how you were lied to during the presentation the better! there is no value in just typing up an angry letter without facts/dates/names/etc!
😮 WE STILL OWE ABOUT 10K..MAYBE WE WILL STOP PAYING AND HOPEFULLY THEY JUST DO NOTHING 😢😂😅 ANYONE HERE WITH CAPITAL VACATIONS?
Unfortunately defaulting on the loan payment tends to significantly increase the chances of being reported to the credit agencies as well as collections efforts by the lender, vs simply defaulting on the annual dues payments. Capital resorts does have a surrender program, but it requires your loan to be paid off.
Well that's incorrect.
What do you feel is incorrect and why?