Get out of Westgate Resorts

This may not be what you want to hear, but we were able to exit through the legacy program but DID have to try several times over the course of several months until they had "room in their inventory". What you describe is consistent with our experience.

I commented on the wrong post. Sorry!

I have a paid off timeshare that I don't plan to use and didn't plan to dump money into the maintenance fee next year. Should I just keep trying to see if they will take it back?

Keep asking and be a pest . The squeaky wheel gets the grease .

I am attempting to use the legacy program at Westgate, and the fee quoted is now $1000. Before I agree to make payment I requested an agreement or contract stating the $1000 is for deeding the timeshare back to Westgate and that no future charges will be due my me. Response was they have no such form, but will respond back by email that they have receipt of payment after payment is made. Then you just wait for their group to process the paperwork. I have been billed for 2020 maintenance fees which I do not want to be responsible for. I have no balance owing Westgate at this time. Is this how the legacy program works?

donu24 wrote:

I am attempting to use the legacy program at Westgate, and the fee quoted is now $1000. Before I agree to make payment I requested an agreement or contract stating the $1000 is for deeding the timeshare back to Westgate and that no future charges will be due my me. Response was they have no such form, but will respond back by email that they have receipt of payment after payment is made. Then you just wait for their group to process the paperwork. I have been billed for 2020 maintenance fees which I do not want to be responsible for. I have no balance owing Westgate at this time. Is this how the legacy program works?

We successfully went through the Legacy program and no, they didn't provide a "preview" contract. But once payment was made, it went smoothly. They sent paperwork that we had to sign (notarized) then the deed was transferred. Once completed, we received documentation that showed we were released from future obligations. You mentioned a bill for 2020 maintenance fees. Make sure they don't require that be paid first. We were told that EVERYTHING must be current before they would take the deed back. Recognize that you don't have a lot of leverage. Take the deal while the it's on the table. You don't want to see them pull the offer because they have "too much" inventory or some other reason.

Good to here the legacy program worked for you. The information you provided is similar to what the Westgate rep told me during the call. I mentioned the 2020 maintenance fee, in that I did not want to be responsible for those come January 1 2020. The response was, "it should not be your responsibility", not that it will not. If the paperwork is not completed by December 31 I would not be surprised if Westgate does attempt to put the maintenance fees on account. This is why I want some written agreement on the deed back process stating this.

Brent I have heard from six Westgate owners in the last month. I write articles about timeshare, receive on average five calls a day from readers. Westgate took four of the six units back immediately from owners. None of the four had medical or financial hardship. They refused two owners, refusing to take back a one bedroom from a senior age 71, scheduled for her fourth surgery, a shoulder replacement, because they have a one bedroom.

I called Legacy on behalf of her and spoke to one of the most callous and insensitive individuals I have ever encountered. He argued that it's very easy to sell Westgate weeks, there is a vibrant secondary market. There is nothing like having a conversation with a fence post.

Irene, do you know what fee they were charged to take back the units? I was quoted $1000, with no written agreement upfront which is unethical to me. I have a 2 bedroom lockout. The rep I spoke with was blunt and short.

irenep59 wrote:

Brent I have heard from six Westgate owners in the last month. I write articles about timeshare, receive on average five calls a day from readers. Westgate took four of the six units back immediately from owners. None of the four had medical or financial hardship. They refused two owners, refusing to take back a one bedroom from a senior age 71, scheduled for her fourth surgery, a shoulder replacement, because they have a one bedroom.

I called Legacy on behalf of her and spoke to one of the most callous and insensitive individuals I have ever encountered. He argued that it's very easy to sell Westgate weeks, there is a vibrant secondary market. There is nothing like having a conversation with a fence post.

If you don't live in the US the likelihood of any negative credit impact is remote at best since the "foreclosure" would be in the US and the credit agencies in other countries aren't linked. To have a negative impact on credit it needs to be registered in your country of residence and Westgate certainly won't want to incur the expense of going that route. Bottom line: If you're not in the states just stop paying and stop worrying! That's what I did with absolutely NO consequences

Not if you live outside the US since credit agencies in other countries aren't linked and Westgate certainly won't incur the expense to register a debt in another country. If you're in the US all bets are off. I live in Canada and simply stopped paying some years ago with NO adverse consequences.

If you live outside the US don't worry. The credit agencies aren't linked and Westgate certainly won't want to incur the expense of registering in another country. I just stopped paying years ago with no issues at all

evao6 wrote:

I stopped paying Westgate for three months now and they now placed our account in collection.

Will they attempt to take us to court?

Will it ruin my credit? And end up not getting approved for Parents Plus Loans (college) for my kids?

Please advise. Thank You

My message to all Westgate owners who want out and don't reside in the US is to just stop paying and stop worrying. The credit agencies in other countries aren't linked to the US and Westgate won't spend the time effort and $$ required to follow-up outside the US. I live in Canada and just stopped paying years ago with no issues

davek294 wrote:

My message to all Westgate owners who want out and don't reside in the US is to just stop paying and stop worrying. The credit agencies in other countries aren't linked to the US and Westgate won't spend the time effort and $$ required to follow-up outside the US. I live in Canada and just stopped paying years ago with no issues

Did you face any threatening phone calls or letters? Calls or letters from collection agencies? Did you receive any notices about foreclosure?

Got a couple of calls from a Westgate rep who was very threatening about the effect on my credit. I just said to go ahead I didn't care. A couple of letters as well and then it all went away, This was 2 or 3 years ago. Nothing since and absolutely NO effect on my credit report which I monitor every month - no input from Westgate whatsoever. In Canada we have a separate credit reporting system from the US and they're not linked. To affect credit in Canada the debt needs to be registered here and that takes time and money which I'm sure Westgate doesn't want to spend when they can happily resell my unit.

Hi. Mine is paid off and my fees are current. I wrote Westgate a letter and they declined my request. They said the inventory was low right now. I can't find my contract but is it in the standard contract saying anything about how to exit

ken1193 wrote:

jessicaw272 wrote:

My boyfriend and I went on a tour of the Westgate Resort in Williamsburg a few years ago. Then we were pressured into buying at the resort, which regrettably we did. We are looking to get out of it. Anyone have any ideas? We haven’t used it at all. We just make payments and pay the maintenance fees. I really do not want to keep paying for something I do not use. Please any suggestions are welcomed.

Don't shoot the messenger, but what you purchased has no value in the resale market, regardless of purchase price.You cannot sell it (or even give it away for free) with a loan balance still remaining anyhow. No one is interested in taking over someone else's debt --- and the loan is almost certainly not "transferable" anyhow.

Lack of resale value is largely due to reservation constraints that Westgate imposes on all their ownerships which were acquired in the resale market. In essence, Westgate has deliberately contrived a way to render resale purchases worthless except for actual USE. Westgate ownerships are virtually impossible to sell (or even give away for free) in the resale market. Westgate is the slimiest and most deceitful timeshare company in the USA (in my personal opinion), although their properties are all certainly nice enough.

*IF* you have NO unpaid loan balance, Westgate will accept a "deedback" if you contact them and formally request one. This is not a "buyback"; they will not actually PAY anything. On the contrary, they CHARGE a processing fee (recently reported to be $900.00) to prepare and process a quitclaim deed and to accept return of a fully paid off ownership. All maintenance fees must also be up to date to be eligible for "deedback" acceptance.

If there is any unpaid loan balance, all bets are off. All you can do in that case is either pay off the loan and THEN deed it back (costing another $900 to do so) --- or make the decision to simply pay NOTHING further and default on the loan, understanding and accepting that foreclosure will occur at some point and understanding and accepting that negative credit report consequences will inevitably follow after defaulting on the loan. It's a personal choice and decision whether to pay off a loan for something that is literally worthless except for its' actual use and enjoyment. If it's not being used or enjoyed at all now, that decision and choice would certainly seem to be much easier to make.

This unwelcome input stinks; I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the information above is nonetheless entirely truthful and completely accurate.

Please do NOT fall for the empty promises and bogus claims of ANY upfront fee "timeshare exit / release / escape / rescue" operation. There are plenty of these parasites around, but there is NOTHING they can do --- except take your money. They cannot make a loan or a legally binding, voluntarily executed contractual obligation just magically "disappear"; NO ONE has any such magical powers. Such parasites prey upon people who find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place with now-unwanted timeshare obligations, vulnerable and feeling helpless. These parasitic "exit" operations are very active and aggressive during this time of year, when many maintenance fee bills for next year have already been issued and may be delinquent if not paid by 01 March. At least one of these upfront fee "exit" parasites even advertises extensively on radio. If you are ultimately going to face foreclosure anyhow, there is certainly no point in paying some useless, parasite "exit" operation thousands of dollars for them to ultimately accomplish NOTHING, then just sit by passively and watch as foreclosure inevitably occurs anyhow.

Don't let frustration cloud your judgement. There are NO magic beans and there are NO secret "exit" processes. Stay away from **ALL** upfront fee "exit" parasites. The only "exit" actually occurring would be your money "exiting" your bank account, never to return. Forewarned is forearmed. Good luck.

Hi Matt How do you go about using the legacy program? They told me their was no way out due to low inventory? I figure just more B.S I can't find my contract but I wonder if this program is mentioned in the contract. That would be one way to have a legal leg to stand on.

Just keep trying. We made many attempts/requests until they finally had the "right" inventory level and then the legacy program went smoothly. I'm not surprised it is not in your contract. I THINK the program is not very old (2 to 3 years?). At least, we had never heard of it until about 3 years ago.

Make sure ALL fees are up to date. We inherited our Westgate properties from parents and NEVER would have bought them. They were in a Trust that we wanted to dissolve We were prepared to just walk away if they had not released us. Fortunately Mom and Dad were good stewards for many years and always paid up. That helped I think. Good luck!

The squeaky wheel gets the grease .

I'm an owner at westgate too and also trying to get out.. you said the legacy program worked? was there extra fees besides the 950?