Getting rid of your timeshare

They cannot force your children, or anyone else, to take it if or when you die.

I wonder though, how you ended up owing $10,000. Maintenance fees are usually around $1000. So by my calculations, you have been delinquent on your maintenance fees for about 9-10 years. Or is this $10,000 the amount you owe on the mortgage? There is a big difference between owing on the mortgage and owing maintenance fees.

I answered to this but cannot figure where my answer went. It is maintenance only.

lancec13 wrote:

They cannot force your children, or anyone else, to take it if or when you die.

I wonder though, how you ended up owing $10,000. Maintenance fees are usually around $1000. So by my calculations, you have been delinquent on your maintenance fees for about 9-10 years. Or is this $10,000 the amount you owe on the mortgage? There is a big difference between owing on the mortgage and owing maintenance fees.

I did answer your question Lance ruthh144

We had thought we might just sweat it out since we have not paid the Maintenance fee for 2015. We could probably stand a credit hit as we have already established with the people we always borrow from. I can see where they might try to get a judgement on us since the amount could be worth fighting for in court especially if it ran a few years. We are on SS but do have some other income coming in. I still don't see how they can get the M fees to this proportion and you can't even fight it. I had informed them back as far as June of last year we wanted out. Then the lies began. The woman told me then that we didn't owe them so it would just drop off eventually! Now she says you have to pay the 2015 M. fee even though we told her we would not use it. I dont understand why Consumer Protection lets them get away with this. We signed a contract, we have no deed and the money we paid for points has long been paid off. We have paid these people thousands of dollars and still they want more where we can travel or not.

I would like to know if any other Diamond Resort owner are paying this kind of maintenance fees. $10,200 per year for 68.000 points

You seem like the types of people these scumbags love to prey upon, because you are elderly and still believe in right and wrong and paying your obligations. they have no ethics, but you do, and want to do the right thing, and are worried that they can do something to you. Just don't pay them anymore. tell them when they call to stop calling you, that you are on SS, have no money or property, and don't have the money. don't agree you owe any money. Don't give them any income info or personal info about assets. That you have no money may or not be true, but they won't know that. If you are in your 80s and plan to give your children any property you have, do it now, although they almost never come after someone on SS because it is not worth it to them. they will try to collect by intimidation and lies, but remember, they cannot jail you or harass you at all hours, don't offer to pay a smaller amount, because then you are obligating yourself to owing and paying the money--it is against the law. the next time they call, tell them to stop calling and then write them a certified letter to stop calling you and the law says they have to stop. don't put anything in the letter but info identifying the time share and your order to cease calling. Send it, GET THE RECEIPT THAT IT WAS DELIVERED, AND KEEP THE RECEIPT!!! block their phone #. If you can stand a credit ding, by all means stop paying. I assume at 86 you are not buying a new house or car, so tell them to take a flying leap.

I was googling around and found this statement from ARDA:

"Deed back programs do exist. In fact, with changes in the economy, more resort HOAs are creating and implementing programs to help their most desperate owners by offering them a take-back program. Does more need to be done? Yes, but there are many more resorts working on solutions. Ask your resort before paying thousands to a transfer company."

http://www.ardaroc.org/roc/get-involved/default.aspx?id=3883

Really? Aren't those just words, and the real-life situation is different?

Wouldn't running a timeshare resort be easier if those who owned did so because they want to rather than because they are being forced to with ugliness and threats?

That same site also says:

"Timeshare owners continue to enjoy the use of their timeshare, and industry studies show more than an 80% satisfaction rate among owners."

which is a pretty commonly-used figure. Non-industry surveys would likely find that to be lower.

The problem is that that means around 1.5 million dissatisfied owners in the US, and that is significant.

What if you found the same 80% level of satisfaction among owners of BMW automobiles, customers of Marriott hotels, and even customers of McDonalds? Would you still be so concerned by the absolute number of dissatisfied customers?

However, if timeshare owners were asked to express satisfaction with the concept of "never ending maintenance fees" or "the absence of a reasonable exit plan," the satisfaction number would be "0." If ARDA wants to do something for timeshare owners who fund them rather than the sellers of timeshares, ARDA should tackle this one by promoting such legislation.

Please think about "a walk away bill" to be sponsored by ARDA. Timeshare owners could buy a timeshare and walk away within 3 years of purchase by forfeiting paid amounts. The timeshare ownership would revert back to the company selling the timeshare "and" without any cost or impact on the timeshare association. I'll bet the integrity of the sales force would improve immensely.

ARDA (American Resort Developer Association) represents developers. They have a much smaller sub orginazation ARDA-ROC (Resort Owner Coalition) that is supposed to represent the TS owners.

Occasionally interests of the owners and developers intersect like the overtaxing of timeshares in Hawaii. Most times what the developer thinks is good for them is not what owners think is good for them and vice versa.

The obvious conclusion one might make of the industry (whichever group applies in each case) not taking back something for free, or with a reasonable amount paid by the owner wanting to give it back (losing everything they have in it), is that it pretty much says what it is worth in the real world, something less than nothing.

Yet, in many cases, the same thing is still being sold by the industry for thousands of dollars.

In the US, I have yet to find an Owners Association that truly represents the interests of just owners, and does things in just owners' interest. Everything I've ever found, in 25 years, including Internet forums, and publications claiming to be the "independent voice of timeshare owners" or some catchy phrase, kowtows to the industry, or is monopolized by people who kowtow to the industry.

Sometimes you have to be your own advocate. I got rid of two timeshares through deed backs a few years ago. I contacted both resorts and told them in plain simple English that I was going to get rid of the timeshares with or without their assistance. I gave them the option of taking them back and they both agreed. It was in everyone's best interest to do it through deed backs. It was quick and inexpensive.

I was current in my maintenance fees and assessments. I just paid the following years taxes and filing fees and it was completed in just a few weeks. If they had not agreed I would have transferred the titles to another party and then they would be out of luck if the other party defaulted.

Take the bull by the horns and don't be intimidated. An educated timeshare owner has options.

donp196 wrote:

. An educated timeshare owner has options.

Yeah, but us dumb ones have problems.

;)