Get out of Westgate Resorts

I called Westgate’s Legacy Program yesterday and was told the same thing. A zero balance does not automatically qualify you for a deedback for the same reason. I would request a letter from them that they would accept a deedback before paying another penny.

An update; I was able to successfully get them to buyback their deed. However it wasn't free. Took a few years.

Step 1; Let it foreclose. Don't pay them a penny; you will receive some outrageous calls in the process. Some even will try to pretend to be police. Step 2; Wait and Ignore, Ignore them and refer back to Step 1.

Eventually you will receive correspondence about the foreclosure of your fake property aka timeshare.

Step 3; Call them and find their legacy or whatever bullshit system they have for deed buyback.

Step 4; Make a deal with them for them to take back the Deed, Cost us 2500$. A Scam yes, however worth considering the bullshit they want you to pay. Step 5; You're welcome.

johnh2286 wrote:

I was able to successfully get them to buyback their deed........<snip>......... Step 5; You're welcome.

It's a real stretch to call a deedback that actually cost you $2,500 more out of pocket a "buyback" or a "success".

Westgate did not "buy back" the deed. On the contrary, they "successfully" managed to extract $2,500 from you before agreeing to accept the deed back from you for free, paying you absolutely nothing. Accordingly, It's certainly open to debate who was actually the "successful" party here.

In any case, Westgate's well publicized "deedback" program (Legacy) has been in place for some years now. Using it does not require waiting for foreclosure proceedings to commence. Wastegate started out their "deedback" program some years back by charging $950 to accept "deedbacks". That figure became $1,800 about a year or so ago, iirc. Not sure how or why you had to pay them $2,500. Perhaps because they had already engaged a collection agency to chase you, maybe they imposed a "spite surcharge" upon you for dragging out the process? I dunno. Also not sure why you didn't just let them go right ahead and foreclose, which would have cost you absolutely nothing (except, of course, for the distinct possibility of a 7 years long negative credit report "ding" if there was also a loan default involved).

Be glad you're out. Westgate is the worst of the worst of all timeshare companies in the U.S., in my personal opinion. Only the timeshare operations in Mexico are worse.

I read about 300 pages of court documents concerning the Westgate v Timeshare Exit Team lawsuit. I was planning to attend the trial, but the parties settled. Things may be changing, but according to John Willman, Westgate's Treasurer and VP of Mortgage Services, who testified at his deposition, Westgate "probably" has a 30% default rate. They do not pursue foreclosure for at least two years, and the details of their foreclosure procedure is as he described in my article. https://insidetimeshare.com/fridays-letter-from-america-exit-industry-on-trial/ I have been hearing reports that developers are going to get more aggressive. In the past they just foreclosed on the timeshare, but because of six reports I received, including an up-swell in hiring lawyers, developers may begin to pursue summary judgments and deficiency judgments. According to ARDA-ROC's Chairman Kenneth McKelvey, ironically the timeshare owner's voice (timeshare owners donate to ARDA-ROC about $5 million a year in mostly opt-out donations. I've yet to have a timeshare owner tell me what ARDA is and I've talked to over 2,000 owners):

“The best thing we can do with exit (is) judicial foreclosure, ruin the credit and enforce the contract,” said Ken McKelvey, chair of the American Resort Development Association-Resort Owners Coalition, according to letterhead minutes of the April 10, 2019 ARDA-ROC meeting. (Contacted about the meeting notes, ARDA did not dispute their authenticity but said that in the minutes, McKelvey’s quotes were taken out of context.) https://insidetimeshare.com/fridays-letter-from-america-timeshare-foreclosure/

We just bought a timeshare July 5th 2021 in Florida. Can we still cancel or take them to court?

maryc1538 wrote:

We just bought a timeshare July 5th 2021 in Florida. Can we still cancel or take them to court?

If you bought it back in July, then you have long passed your rescission (cancel of purchase) period. You can take them to court if you want but that will cost you a lot of time and money and I can't see you gaining anything. The people and company who sold you the unit did not do anything illegal.

How much was the purchase price, how much have you paid already, and how much do you owe? Answering these questions can help you decide what your best course of action would be, and it would not be taking them to court.

What happens if Westgate wont let me deedback. I live in Canada..my timeshare is paid in full and up to date can I just stop paying maintenance fees?

heatherd435 wrote:

What happens if Westgate wont let me deedback. I live in Canada..my timeshare is paid in full and up to date can I just stop paying maintenance fees?

What did you say to the people at Westgate when trying to deed back? To whom did you speak? Was it a front desk clerk? Was it the Homeowners' association? Try contacting the HOA and say that you will not be paying any more in maintenance fees so it would be best for everyone for the resort's HOA to take the unit back. Then be prepared to follow through on your threat if they do not comply.

lancec13 wrote:

heatherd435 wrote:

What happens if Westgate wont let me deedback. I live in Canada..my timeshare is paid in full and up to date can I just stop paying maintenance fees?

What did you say to the people at Westgate when trying to deed back? To whom did you speak? Was it a front desk clerk? Was it the Homeowners' association? Try contacting the HOA and say that you will not be paying any more in maintenance fees so it would be best for everyone for the resort's HOA to take the unit back. Then be prepared to follow through on your threat if they do not comply.

Just as a point of clarification, with the Westgate "Legacy" program, there is no decision (or any other involvement) by any individual Westgate resort HOA in the "deedback" process. The Legacy deedback program is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, conducted centrally (and solely) by /at Wastegate corporate HQ, not by / at individual resorts.

I have heard from many Canadians. As one example, left with no choice, Karl in Nova Scotia had no choice but to default. I checked with him recently. He receives a bill once in a while. He's with Vacation Village but collection practices re maintenance fees are universal. Karl's article: https://tarda.org/f/canadian-snowbirds-stuck-with-us-timeshares Westgate is on ARDA's responsible exit website. They should not be. They are the worst. People with fully paid for timeshares that have debilitating medical conditions are refused, because it is a one BR or in Branson. Complain to ARDA if they won't allow you to exit. A Resorts Trades article listed them as one of the founders! https://responsibleexit.com/

I read a 140 page deposition taken with Westgate's executive over Mortgage Services. He said Westgate "probably" has a 30% default rate! According to pretrial statement, even on loans, not much happens except a credit score hit. That could change. I heard there is an attorney hiring frenzy. My article: What Happens When a Westgate Owner Defaults? https://insidetimeshare.com/fridays-letter-from-america-exit-industry-on-trial/ From the article: According to Joint Pre-Trial Statements – not much happens.

Out of 621 original owners, Westgate only brought foreclosure proceedings against 244 accounts. Of the 86 remaining owners, only four testified they were foreclosed. With respect to the 86 owners Westgate decided to foreclose upon, none testified that their credit was damaged as a result of nonjudicial foreclosure, or were aware of any such impact. Westgate had not sought deficiency judgments as a matter of policy and is not entitled to under Florida law and the law of almost every state.

Westgate could change its policy to pursue judicial foreclosure and seek deficiency judgments. This would allow them to place liens on real property or garnish wages, etc.

Hello! I am not a citizen of the US and I own a Westgate timeshare. I've just received notification that they will seize my property due to a lack of payment in December. They said that they will put a note on my credit record. As I am not in the US I am unsure of the consequences of this note on my credit record. I have also heard it will fall of after 7 years. Does anyone know what happens after they seize the property? Thank you so much!

elsaa13 wrote:

I am not a citizen of the US and I own a Westgate timeshare. I've just received notification that they will seize my property due to a lack of payment in December. They said that they will put a note on my credit record. As I am not in the US I am unsure of the consequences of this note on my credit record. I have also heard it will fall of after 7 years. Does anyone know what happens after they seize the property?

A couple of questions. First, do you want to keep the unit or do you want to get rid of it. If it's the former, then pay your maintenance fees. If it's the latter, I would just let it go into foreclosure and let Westgate "seize [your] property". Since you do not live in the USA, it's unlikely Westgate will put a note on your credit record. Even if they do, that will not adversely affect you in the country where you live.

If you are wondering what they would do after they seize the property, they would probably just sell it to someone else hoping that this new owner will pay the exorbitant developer costs and subsequent maintenance fees.

Hi after not paying maintenance fees for three years, and the never ending threats and demands, Westgate foreclosed on my Florida timeshare. That was over a year ago and I have heard nothing since. I live in the UK.

janice637 wrote:

Hi after not paying maintenance fees for three years, and the never ending threats and demands, Westgate foreclosed on my Florida timeshare. That was over a year ago and I have heard nothing since. I live in the UK.

No real surprise there at all. Since you are in the UK, once the Wastegate Weasels finally accepted the fact that you were not going to pay up or give in to their empty threats or their half-hearted collection efforts, they really had no other option remaining other than to foreclose. Just bid them farewell --- and Good Riddance!

However, people residing in the U.S. should not just casually assume that the same painless end result will necessarily occur when it comes to Westgate, which has a long established history of fondness for litigation. Wastegate could become more aggressive with legal options when it comes to non-paying U.S. citizens if they chose, although there is little evidence to date that they have done so --- yet. Nothing that slimy Wastegate does could ever possibly surprise me; they are (in my personal opinion) lower than whale excrement which has sunk and settled on the ocean floor.

According to court documents, nothing happens if you default on maintenance fees or a loan, but never say never, they could become more aggressive. I read a 100 + page deposition, their VP of lending deposed. According to his testimony:

Out of 621 original owners, Westgate only brought foreclosure proceedings against 244 accounts. Of the 86 remaining owners, only four testified they were foreclosed. With respect to the 86 owners Westgate decided to foreclose upon, none testified that their credit was damaged as a result of nonjudicial foreclosure, or were aware of any such impact. Westgate had not sought deficiency judgments as a matter of policy and is not entitled to under Florida law and the law of almost every state.

I was planning to attend this trial, but it settled: https://insidetimeshare.com/fridays-letter-from-america-exit-industry-on-trial/

They refused to take back a fully paid for timeshare from someone in their 90s, their daughter a prominent attorney, if they paid their resale broker his $800 commission after finding a buyer for $500. This from the Westgate family with their 90,000 square foot home, 30 bathrooms, the wife's cloths closet 5,500 square feet while grandmas and grandpas are refused a release from fully paid for timeshares. They need to be taken off ARDA's Responsible Exit website, they claim they are a founder and offer the only guaranteed exit. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Their aggressive litigation is against law firms, legitimate and otherwise, and exit companies, as developers refuse to admit they are driving people to exit companies by the deliberate suppression of the secondary market. Westgate is one of the worst. They have written into their contract that they will require 50% of a broker's commission so no legitimate resale broker will accept a listing for a Westgate timeshare. So people find SellMyTimeshareNow charging $1,700 to list a Westgate timeshare with negative resale value.

My daughter and I have purchased a timeshare from Westgate. I stop paying the monthly payment and never pay the maintenance fees because I couldn't afford it because I am disable and cannot work. My daughter is disable and will soon stop working. Westgate is about to foreclosure on the loan. What can we do to stop this?

mildredg10 wrote:

My daughter and I have purchased a timeshare from Westgate. I stop paying the monthly payment and never pay the maintenance fees because I couldn't afford it because I am disable and cannot work. My daughter is disable and will soon stop working. Westgate is about to foreclosure on the loan. What can we do to stop this?

There is nothing you can do in your above-described current situation and circumstances.

After you default on the loan, you may (not certain, but very likely) experience a “hit” on your credit report, which will then remain a matter of record for 7 years. That is really the only potential consequence to even be concerned about. Don’t worry — no one from slimy Westgate is ever going to come after you in any other way. They will simply keep whatever money you have paid to them and, after foreclosure, they will just move on to peddle their "product" to others.

Take care of yourself and your family. Try to forget that you ever even heard of Westgate.

KC I have been losing my mind on this Facebook that probably was launched by an exit company we removed from our Diamond Facebook for soliciting. There are tons of Westgate owners signing up on this Facebook with exit companies I know to be dubious. Please consider joining this Facebook to warn not to pay anyone to be released. Or please join anyone who knows paying an exit company to get out of Westgate is of little use.

Orange Lake is a timeshare developer that has attempted to sue on a promissory note which can lead to garnished wages, a lien on your person residence, and I'm told others, especially Westgate, may change their policy and to the same on outstanding loans.

Some of our volunteers have joined this FB to overpower the scam artists. Even solicitors for Mexico attorneys are soliciting, but the majority Westgate. I've had six Westgate owners contact me in the last day or two. Thank you. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2662047500523205/

I do not frequent Facebook; too much garbage to sift through there while trying to separate the wheat from the chaff. Personally, I choose to confine my timeshare related participation, time and input to only the timeshare-specific sites of (in order of priority) Timeshare Users Group (TUG) and RedWeek. People who are genuinely interested in timeshare issues should make the effort to seek out and find those two premier sites for informed knowledge on this topic --- not just wallow around in the sadly misinformed cesspools of Facebook content. Just my personal opinion and choice.

That said, I ALWAYS strongly advise anyone who will listen to NEVER get involved with (or ever pay a single penny to) ANY so-called timeshare “exit / relief / escape / rescue” outfit. With no exceptions, ALL of them are just deceitful and thieving parasites, several having already been successfully prosecuted by Attorneys General in various states --- with hopefully many more to follow in the future. Simply stated, they are all just hungry, greedy and deceitful thieves.

In regard to the portion of above post mentioning people potentially being “sued” for defaulting on promissory notes for timeshares, that practice is (for now, anyhow) actually very rare, your cited Orange Lake example notwithstanding. In fact, in states with anti-deficiency laws (Florida is just one specific example) creditors CANNOT really do anything more than foreclose and take back the timeshare, as long as the foreclosure action is not contested in any way. In such anti-deficiency state instances, the creditor (by law) CANNOT file liens against someone, garnish their wages, etc. for defaulting on a timeshare loan. Such protective anti-deficiency laws unfortunately do not exist in all states.

I don’t know anything about Orange Lake, but Westgate certainly has a well established track record of demonstrating a fondness for litigation. If there is any developer that would consider filing suit against its’ own customers for failure to pay off a note (ironically, for something having zero resale value), Westgate would top MY list of likely candidates. The good news is that the lawsuit option simply does not even exist for them in Florida, where numerous “Wastegate” resorts (and many other timeshares) exist, due to the consumer-protective anti-deficiency laws there.

KC I'm told there is a hiring binge of lawyers to counteract the policy of not suing on promissory notes, partly because of Westgate's self-admitted 30% default rate and I'm told Wyndham has a 30% default rate as well that is not pleasing to to their lenders. I have heard another major developer is attempting to sue on promissory notes now.

It pains me to see these fraudsters launching a Facebook with many signing up. Those I have circumvented have debilitating medical issues, most of them. Most of the people on Redweek and Tug you are preaching to the choir kind of like "Get vaccinated! Wear a mask!."

If anyone else is willing to join me on Facebook in timeshare version of Calcutta, I would appreciate it.