Get out of Westgate Resorts

Switch It Title Exchange, LLC

Sorry, speed reading has problems.

Total cost is about $9,000

Traveling pitch people at a ?free? meal.

Let's be very clear here; there is no such thing as a "legitimate exit company". Simply stated, no such thing exists. Period, amen.

ALL timeshare exit / relief / escape/ rescue operations are completely useless and ineffective. In fact, they are all just practicing barely masked thievery, preying upon people who are desperate to get out of their timeshare obligations. The only differences among ANY of these assorted "exit" parasites are minor variations in their song and dance routines --- and the price that they charge their desperate "customers". Fwiw, $9,000 is actually the highest figure I have ever heard mentioned or reported as being charged by any so-called "exit" company. You could instead just flush that money right down the toilet and achieve the exact same end result.

Attorneys General in numerous states have been successfully going after (and convicting) these kinds of "exit company" parasites in recent years. Jail sentences seem to be on the increase for those convicted too, very recently involving a pair of "exit company" thieves in the St. Petersburg / Clearwater Florida area ---who are now on their way to prison. Keep up the good work, AG's --- put them ALL in jail!

It's truly unfortunate (and it's also no coincidence) that at this particular time of year, when maintenance fee bills are just being issued and a lot of people are already in financial difficulty as a result of the current pandemic, these so called "exit" parasites (and this "switch-it" outfit bunch appears to be brand new to the scene) seem to crawl out of their little holes in the ground to try to take advantage of people's financial stress and desperation.

Anyone who pays upfront money to ANY so-called "exit company" will ultimately see NO result other than a significant decrease in their bank account balance. Foreclosure will occur without paying any "exit" company --- and the "exit" parasites all know that. They can do absolutely nothing and just sit back and count the incoming "sucker money". When foreclosure inevitably occurs, they can simply say "Well, you're out now, so what's your beef?"

There is an old saying that "A fool and his money are soon parted". Please don't become another person who freely and voluntarily chooses to prove, once again, that this timeless old saying is undeniably true.

Have you paid these people $9000 (or any amount of money, for that matter) yet? What other dealings have you had with them?

As for this "free" meal, it will likely be a gathering at a restaurant with other timeshare owners who are looking to get rid of their units telling them about all the perils and evils of owning a timeshare, how your kids are going to be saddled with this weight upon your passing, and how difficult/impossible it is to get rid of it.

There are other ways to get rid of your unit without paying these people thousands of dollars.

As for your question about not paying maintenance fees, KC answered it above quite nicely. Just be aware that you might face a bunch of collection calls and letters. If you want to avoid those, try giving your unit away.

I called Legacy Dept today and was told to: 1. Pay all outstanding HOA balance BEFORE being *eligible* for the participation in the program! 2. I told that I've done exactly that in 2018 (paid over 2k of the late HOA) just to be told they will NOT be taking it back

Since that was all the available options on the phone with the agent, the only available options (per his advise) were to escalate by email or snail mail to:

ownerrelations@wgresort.com

2801 Old Winter Garden Rd. Ocoee, FL 34761

Attn: Owner Relations

Enjoy good people - victims of the Evil Corp... ;-)

NEXT DESK OVER : Developer Services Department Westgate Resorts 2801 Old Winter Garden Road Ocoee, FL 34761 Attention: Developer Services Department

===Westgate Resorts Chat Says: We recommend reaching out to them at 800-351-0461,[407-355-1258 ] Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time. You may also e-mail them at legacy@wgresorts.com. Kind regards, Lulu

So I haven’t paid on my timeshare in approximately a year. I have recently gotten an email stating that my account has been assigned to a pre-charge off unit to try and resolve this situation. The contract mediator assigned to me contacted me and told me I had 3 options and that it was due to new covid 19 affordable options. It had my account number on it and the specifics about how much I am past due on the mortgage and maintenance fees. The options were as listed: 1. You can pay debt in one payment or set up payment plan for debt 2 You can restructure and change locations down payment required for this option 3. You can close account with required fee of $900 that has been reduced from $2500 with this option must sign and notarize legal documents. Forms are recorded legal with clerk book or records. Must be mailed back by a trackable method. All options above will stop foreclosure. You have to call me to start option you select.

After replying to this email explaining my situation that ex is listed as co-owner and disappeared (no known address or phone number). She explained that I can get my name off of it with a single WDIL for $450. I called Westgate to verify the contact number of the people handling the situation it is indeed the company/department. I am super happy with this news as I thought I would be getting a foreclosure due to my ex. I am glad I stopped paying now because this will cost way less than actually paying for it. Now I will return her calls so i can start the process! I never answered because I didn’t want to be bothered so when she sent an email I asked what the options were. Hope other people get this same opportunity.

What is a "WDIL" referenced in the post directly above? Not familiar to me; is it perhaps an acronym for "deed in lieu of (foreclosure)"?

That question aside, be aware that if a timeshare loan gets "forgiven", you will receive a Form 1099 from the developer. In essence, a timeshare loan balance does not somehow just magically disappear. On the contrary, the "forgiven" timeshare loan balance then has to be reported and treated (and taxed) as income on your tax return for the year in which the 1099 gets issued. Rest assured that the IRS will also receive a copy of that 1099, as timeshare developers certainly use such bad debt to advantage as "write offs" in their own tax filings.

You can (and probably should) independently confirm the accuracy of this input for yourself directly with a tax attorney or CPA.

I am not sure about the forgiven loan. WDIL is a warranty deed in lieu (of foreclosure). It is signing the timeshare back to the lender/resort and no foreclosure is then taking place. It helps save credit because a foreclosure does not look good on credit and will be there for 7 years.

This debate about what is and is not taxable is important to nail down before making a decision on how best to proceed.

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief passed in 2007 law waived the provision in which the IRS considers forgiven mortgage debt as taxable income. Previously, homeowners who negotiated a deed in lieu of foreclosure (WDIL) would have had to claim the forgiven amount as income and pay taxes accordingly. This act was in effect for mortgage debt forgiven from 2007 through 2018, provided the mortgage was on the owner’s primary home. Let me repeat that: "provided the mortgage was on the owner’s primary home." Forgiveness on a timeshare DID NOT apply, thus the debt forgiveness on a timeshare would be considered income. Said differently, forgiven debt on mortgages for secondary homes and on home equity loans not used to improve a primary residence would be taxed as income.

I am not up on the latest tax law so best you talk to your CPA for the latest.

To develop a trend many data points must be included. The Attorney General of Florida needs to be notified of each False Affidavit. occurrence. The AG could see the frequency of people being asked to submit a False Affidavit.

I have heard from many timeshare members who successfully disputed this punitive tax, given the timeshare member is left with nothing of value. In every case the 1099 was successfully disputed. Think of the spirit of the law. If you buy a boat for $10,000 and finance $10,000, but default after paying $5,000 but keep the boat, the tax is justified. In the case of timeshare, you are left with nothing of value. A timeshare member who defaulted on a loan and a tax preparer wrote this article. I'm not not an accountant, but an enrolled agent is a good resource as they are qualified to argue before the IRS.

When a high-ranking IRS official was asked about this, his answer was, "We're not going to change it because it's easy to get money out of old people."

https://tarda.org/f/the-timeshare-tax-trap-%E2%80%93-1099-c-questions-answered

You are AMAZING for sharing this! Normally I do my own taxes because it is straight forward. This year, if I get the paperwork done in time and receive the 1099-C I will be using a tax professional. It makes sense though. When people reduce debt paid on credit cards, they still keep the items they bought with the credit card. When cancelling a timeshare contract, nothing is kept by the borrower so they should not have to add that on as income. The timeshare is back with the lender for them to sell it to someone else! I am so glad that you posted this information! I know it doesn’t work 100% of the time, but i will give it a try and hope it works!

You really don't seem to get it, Cleo B.

Any developer, understandably and justifiably, wants to very clearly ascertain that they are dealing ONLY and directly with an owner --- WITHOUT any potential involvement and / or headache resulting from any (so-called) "exit" company complicating and muddying up the title. If you cannot truthfully affirm that particular fact, then don't submit a false affidavit --- Simple!

Your logic (and your inappropriately invoking reference to AG's) is way off base and, frankly, a bit twisted (in my opinion). No one is asking or expecting anyone to file a false affidavit. On the contrary, the developer simply wants a truthful affidavit very clearly and very overtly affirming that there is no exit company involved to potentially muddy the title and / or transfer process. Plain and simple. Very straightforward.

It seems to me that you "put the cart before the horse" by unwisely getting involved with a (so-called) "exit" company. The fact that you have done so now effectively eliminates you from deedback eligibility. With all due respect, that is a problem entirely of your own creation; it is not the developer's (or any AG's) problem to solve and, understandably, it is not a mess that any developer ever wants to bother with.

I have nothing but unmitigated contempt for slimy, deceitful Westgate, but in this particular matter you are clearly pointing your finger in the wrong direction. You have created your own mess by unwisely getting involved with a (so-called) "exit" company before first approaching the developer for a simple and straightforward "deedback". Sadly, your unfortunate decision is (predictably) now resulting in some unintended and unwelcome consequences for you.

Actually you are misinformed. I am NOT involved with an exit company. I don’t know where you got that information from. I have never even talked to an exit company. You are getting your information wrong. I also have never talked about any false affidavit. Someone else said they were involved in an exit company but I am not. My post was about the contract mediator through Westgate getting in contact with me. Maybe you should make sure you are talking to the correct person before going off on your long speech about how I am not getting it.

Jessica W.: My sincere apologies; my comments were specifically intended for and directed to Cleo B. and her post of November 28.

I erroneously typed in your user name in my reply, your name being in the post immediately preceding my response. The Cleo B. post to which I was responding was a few posts prior. Again, my apologies for that error; I have now corrected the name error in that post.

That name mistake on my part aside, I stand by every word of the content of my post on this topic, which was not a "speech", but a straightforward clarification of the facts relating to the issue at hand.

Well made point. Exit Companies have become a cottage industry on radio and TV.

Disagree about writing the AG. They are public servants and monitor transactions in their state to protect Seniors and Veterans. They can not know everything and be everyplace. People need to make them aware of their concerns, which is why the AG Complaint form is so easy to find and use.

Over the past 2 years, I could not find the Westgate Legacy program to exit my timeshare using GOOGLE. NOTE- DUCKDUCKGO search engine give more results than GOOGLE.

DUCKDUCKGO search engine returned: In 2015: The U.S. Supreme Court has turned down a request by Orlando-based Westgate Resorts for review of a $500,000 judgment against the company

In Florida, new laws were adopted this summer governing the regulation of timeshare sales. The law changes were supported by the timeshare industry and criticized by some consumer advocates. One provision in the law prevents consumers from canceling their contracts for "non-material" flaws in the sale contracts, but it does not define what "non-material" means.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-westgate-timeshare-lawsuit-post.html

I was denied a deed buyback from westgate..Would i be able to request a second time or am I wasting my time. I have no mortgage due just maintenance fees.Like everyone else im tired of paying and want out. Any suggestions and would a second time be a waste of time ?

Do you mean a deed back or a buy back? Westgate won't likely buy anything back from you. It might agree to take your unit back if you pay the closing costs and have your maintenance fees up to date. Make sure you contact the resort's Homeowners' Association (HOA). Also contact Westgate's Legacy program:

https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/westgate-deedback-information-give-your-unwanted-westgate-timeshare-back.279663/

Also, when contacting the HOA, you might want to make clear that you are not paying any more money in maintenance fees so, the HOA does not agree to take it back, you will just stop paying and let it foreclose. Either way, the unit will end up back with the HOA but both parties will find it better if the HOA takes it back from yo amicably now rather than going through the process of foreclosure.

We would appreciate any help