WHERE CAN WE GO TO GET FREE LEGAL ADVICE ON DUMPING TIMESHARES?

carvana wrote:

"Anytime you sign a contract for anything you buy (house, car, boat, motorhome etc) then you are obligated to pay any fees regarding such."

Over the years I have purchased houses, cars, and boats for cash and I have never ever been obligated to pay maintenance fees for any of these purchases. A purchase of a deeded timeshare for cash is unlike the purchase of any of the afore mentioned assets. The difference between a personal obligation and one that runs with the land is a legal concept that is difficult to explain to a non-attorney but it is significant and I suggest anyone faced with the problem described by ramsonw seek advice from a board certified real estate attorney to review his/her options.

When purchasing any timeshare (either developer or resale) it is part and parcel that you pay yearly maintenance fees until the timeshare is out of your name.

They CAN come after you for unpaid debt (maintenance fees).

We understand that the resort or TS may proceed with foreclosure - how long will they wait and what is the chance they won't bother?

Aside from the credit rating getting beat up what else can they do if the deeded property is paid for and only the maintenance fees are left unpaid?

Lien on my house?

davidh1026, wrote:

"We understand that the resort or TS may proceed with foreclosure - how long will they wait and what is the chance they won't bother? Aside from the credit rating getting beat up what else can they do if the deeded property is paid for and only the maintenance fees are left unpaid?

Lien on my house? "

Answer: If you have a deeded timeshare you can be 100% certain that sooner or later the TS will proceed with foreclosure if you cease paying the maintenance fees. The time frame will vary from TS to TS depending on what collection method they use prior to proceeding with the foreclosure. Typically after unsuccessful inhouse attempts to collect - letters and phone calls - the TS will refer the unpaid fees to a Collection Agency. The agency typically charges the TS a fee of 40% of the amount collected and accordingly they will be very aggressive in their attempts to collect as this is their "bread and butter" as Jayjay would say.

It is not uncommon for the collection agency to violate Federal Laws regulating the collection of debts. The strongest tool in their arsenal is to threaten you and lie to you. Jayjay says "They CAN come after you for unpaid debt (maintenance fees)". That is an ominous sounding threat suggesting broken knee caps or even debtor prison but in truth the collection agency is rather limited in what they actually can do beyond calling and sending letters and both of these can be terminated with a "cease and desist" letter sent by certified mail. (Google FDCPA)

I have personally seen many instances where the predator (the collection agency) becomes the hunted for violating the Federal regulations protecting debtors. The FTS penalties for harassing debtors are monetary and can even include the loss of the right of the collection agency to do business. Since most folks are not aware of their rights the agencies are willing to run the risk and frequently do violate Federal collection and credit reporting statutes in their efforts to collect.

An article in today's WSJ highlights the shady actions of some collection agencies who threatened and misled debtors concerning debts that are barred by the statute of limitation. (See page A3 of the Jan 22 Wall Street Journal). Collectors were not informing debtors that a debt was barred by the statute of limitation and continued threatening calls in their illegal attempts to collect. Yes, Jayjay, all debts (excepting student loans) including maintenance fees even those owed by estates sooner or later are barred by the statute of limitation. (The statute of limitation is an affirmative defense but that issue is too complicated to explain here)

Ultimately the TS will foreclose so that they can resell the unit and get a paying owner in the unit. This ultimately benefits the other owners.

A foreclosure will have an extremely adverse impact on your credit score. It will remain on your credit record for seven years. A foreclosure typically will lower a 750 score by 200 or more points and a 500 score by at least 100. That will impact your future ability to get credit and will make credit more costly when you are able to get it. Buying a house on credit will be almost impossible for two to three years and purchasing a car on credit will be difficult and at a very high interest rate. The bottom line is avoid a foreclosure if you possibly can. But if personal circumstances make it impossible - death in family, divorce, loss of job, etc - then make sure you are aware of your rights and the money spent on legal fees will be money well spent.

Your last question dealt with the possibility of a lien on your personal residence. The short answer is no they can't. The TS has an inchoate lien against your timeshare from the day you are first delinquent on your maintenance fees. This inchoate lien can be perfected through a judicial foreclosure or through a trustee notice of foreclosure in states where a judicial foreclosure is not required. This action does not give rise to a judgment lien on your personal home. It is highly unlikely you will ever be sued for a maintenance fee because you didn't sign a promissory note promising to pay as you did when you purchased your personal residence. But be alert to any suit filed and be sure you answer any suit for a maintenance fees in order to avoid a default judgment.

Good luck.

I have been in contact to sell my timeshare sale price is comperable to what I paid , 5% commission at time of sale when I recieve my cash but my home base is in mexico and I have been tols and emailed a sat form that I need to pay 3000.00 and to mexico for taxes. Im very worried that it will be lost . papers seem in order I chech web site b.b.b the address is not correct out of ohio and web is based in mexico The money is wired through the agents rep. I was told I could go to mexico to handle it or get an attorny but the need have federal escrow licence I am stummped anr really want to sell

peggyf54 wrote:

I have been in contact to sell my timeshare sale price is comperable to what I paid , 5% commission at time of sale when I recieve my cash but my home base is in mexico and I have been tols and emailed a sat form that I need to pay 3000.00 and to mexico for taxes. Im very worried that it will be lost . papers seem in order I chech web site b.b.b the address is not correct out of ohio and web is based in mexico The money is wired through the agents rep. I was told I could go to mexico to handle it or get an attorny but the need have federal escrow licence I am stummped anr really want to sell

What is the resort name and where do you own?

I rent a home with me and my family for almost a year. We constantly were telling the landlord the water smelled bad, She said the water was fine, "Best water I'd ever drink". We started noticing the water went from a mineral smell to a foul egg like smell and then finally to a rotten decaying smell , we also started noticing that one by one the members of the family were having diahreria and stomach cramping. Called the landlord again to tell her of this development, still the landlord said there was nothing wrong with the water. One morning I ran some water in a glass and let it sit overnight, the next morning the water was a pee color. I went to the internet and looked up some advice on what could possibly be in water to make it smell as bad as this water did. I found in my searching E=coli in your well could cause these symptoms, I also saw it can cause a bloody stool and loose stools and cramping of the stomach. The next thing we as a family developed was the bloody stool. This event worried me so I went a water testing facility and got the test to have my water tested, returned home followed the instructions to the test kit and placed my water sample in the provided container, sealed the container, placed it in the bag that was provided and returned it to the testing facility. Twenty four hours later I recieved a letter in the mail from the facility stating that the water had E-coli in it and the EPA said it was unfit for consumption. At this point they told us not to brush our teeth or consume this water. Informed the landlord about this issue , still no results. Is she still allowed to make me pay the rent or to maintain the lease? Can she be held accountable for our sickness? What can I do?

Hi,

These forums are for questions about timeshares. You might have better luck posting your question on other forums that have to do with renters/landlord issues.

Thanks, Marty

doviea wrote:

I rent a home with me and my family for almost a year. We constantly were telling the landlord the water smelled bad, She said the water was fine, "Best water I'd ever drink". We started noticing the water went from a mineral smell to a foul egg like smell and then finally to a rotten decaying smell , we also started noticing that one by one the members of the family were having diahreria and stomach cramping. Called the landlord again to tell her of this development, still the landlord said there was nothing wrong with the water. One morning I ran some water in a glass and let it sit overnight, the next morning the water was a pee color. I went to the internet and looked up some advice on what could possibly be in water to make it smell as bad as this water did. I found in my searching E=coli in your well could cause these symptoms, I also saw it can cause a bloody stool and loose stools and cramping of the stomach. The next thing we as a family developed was the bloody stool. This event worried me so I went a water testing facility and got the test to have my water tested, returned home followed the instructions to the test kit and placed my water sample in the provided container, sealed the container, placed it in the bag that was provided and returned it to the testing facility. Twenty four hours later I recieved a letter in the mail from the facility stating that the water had E-coli in it and the EPA said it was unfit for consumption. At this point they told us not to brush our teeth or consume this water. Informed the landlord about this issue , still no results. Is she still allowed to make me pay the rent or to maintain the lease? Can she be held accountable for our sickness? What can I do?

I used a company called Financial Defense. They are based out of Nyc. I was in the same situation you were in. For a fee they took my timeshare and it was deeded out of my name entirely. Couldnt hurt to give them a call xxx-xxx-xxxx. They took both of my timeshares for $2000 if i remember correctly and the phone has finally stopped ringing with the condo company harassing me!

financiald wrote:

I used a company called Financial Defense. They are based out of Nyc. I was in the same situation you were in. For a fee they took my timeshare and it was deeded out of my name entirely. Couldnt hurt to give them a call xxx-xxx-xxxx. They took both of my timeshares for $2000 if i remember correctly and the phone has finally stopped ringing with the condo company harassing me!

That's odd since your screen name is financialdefense .... I smell a shill.

Where in your contracts is the language that states the resort can charge "assessment fees" any time it wants to? Who is the judge of "excessive" charges? Isn't anyone suing these timeshare companies for gouging the public?

pauln109 wrote:

Where in your contracts is the language that states the resort can charge "assessment fees" any time it wants to? Who is the judge of "excessive" charges? Isn't anyone suing these timeshare companies for gouging the public?

Yearly maintenance fees and possible special assessments are part and parcel of timeshare ownership. If your resort is sold out then it is being managed by the HOA .... you should voice your complaint to them.

OK I have been searching pages for hours and have not found exactly what I am looking for. There are several posts which come close, but, heres what I'm looking for.

Has anyone ever walked away from a Timeshare from Mexico? If you have, what happened? I definitely will be contacting the Timeshare direct to see if they will quick-deed the unit back but looking at all options.

arthur317 wrote:

OK I have been searching pages for hours and have not found exactly what I am looking for. There are several posts which come close, but, heres what I'm looking for.

Has anyone ever walked away from a Timeshare from Mexico? If you have, what happened? I definitely will be contacting the Timeshare direct to see if they will quick-deed the unit back but looking at all options.

You can't deed back your timeshare to the resort if they won't take it .... the vast majority of resorts don't take deeds back.

What happens if you own it, don't pay your maintenance fees, it is a Right to use Timeshare in another country, and they do not have your birthday or SS#. How can they hurt you credit if they don't have this information?

mikem450 wrote:

What happens if you own it, don't pay your maintenance fees, it is a Right to use Timeshare in another country, and they do not have your birthday or SS#. How can they hurt you credit if they don't have this information?

If you signed a legal contract to purchase a 'right to use' then, yes, they can come after you if they so choose.

I have a time share in Myrtle Beach with Wyndham.

After stopping my $37 monthly maintenance fees over a year ago, they sent me a 'deed-in-lieu' contract and said that to avoid foreclosure, sign the documents and they would also send me a check for $125 to cover the cost of notary fees, etc.

This was entirely out of the blue and a complete surprise.

jimb845 wrote:

I have a time share in Myrtle Beach with Wyndham.

After stopping my $37 monthly maintenance fees over a year ago, they sent me a 'deed-in-lieu' contract and said that to avoid foreclosure, sign the documents and they would also send me a check for $125 to cover the cost of notary fees, etc.

This was entirely out of the blue and a complete surprise.

That's the way is SHOULD be done ..... although I've never paid a notary a $125 fee .... my bank does it for free.

What happens if you tried to settle with the resort and they refuse? My ex and I stopped paying the MF on our deeded timeshare a few years ago, and the resort turned it over to a collection agency. We worked with the agent on a settlement for the resort to take the unit back through a deed-in-lieu, but then at the last minute, the resort changed their minds. Since they refused to work with us, I told the agent that they would not be getting one red cent from us ever again. Now, I get the MF bills from the resort twice a year, which I ignore, and the agency attempts to contact me a couple of times a year. Each time I tell them that because the resort refused to work with us, we are not paying them anything.

The thing is though, I don't think the deed was actually transferred into our names. We got paperwork to make the transfer once we paid it off, but by then we were getting divorced and the paperwork got lost in the shuffle, so I don't actually have any deed to this TS, and we were never notified that the resort made the transfer themselves. I just want this to go away--we never actually used the timeshare and I don't want to keep paying MF on something that I get no value out of.

It's up to the HOA whether or not they will take a deed back. If they refused then it is still yours and you will continue to be billed for yearly maintenance fees .... if you refuse to pay it will affect your credit score which that score is used for many things such as borrowing money, finding a job (they check your credit score), insurance costs, buying a home etc.

Since you say you have no proof the transfer occurred (lost transfer papers) then you're at the mercy of the resort as they have it in their records that you own it. Since you haven't paid maintenance fees in many years this will not just go away.