WALK AWAY FROM TIMESHARE

w113 wrote:

robertr269 wrote:

Sell it to a ficititious person .

the whole 9 yards

it will cost you

but it will work

That is very ilegal in most states, and could get you in big trouble with the real estate commission. Folks,, this isn't a used car, its a DEEDED PIECE OF REALESTATE.

Thanks, W113.

Maybe Thomas Jefferson was right. He though that only landowners should vote. Of course, he never met some timeshare owners. Hahahahaha.

Another note concerning walking away from your timeshare is that you pass the loss of maintenance fees on to other owners in the form of yearly rising maintenance fees. This is not fair to those owners who have to make up that loss.

I once contacted a timeshare to see why my maintenace fees had risen. She then explained that owners who do pay their maintenance fees have to make up for those that do not pay.

This is probably one of the main reasons for maintenace fee hikes each year.

carries25 wrote:

jons29 wrote:

carries25 wrote:

jayjay,

We had the same idea, but at the time, retirement was a long way away. It's amazing how time flies! Some people have bought even more than 7 or 9.

You're right about the changes in timeshares. Although Marriott Desert Springs is still worth it to me.

So I'm glad a didn't buy a bundle of TSs. I guess jons29 doesn't under stand about donating and the IRS. Here's one place where the IRS is your friend. hahahahaha

Carrie;

Then fill me/us in, instead of just an LOL. I am fairly well versed in IRS procedures, but maybe you know something I don't. Care to share?

As a PS: We know an individual who owns 19 weeks, all in one location!?!

jons29,

I don't know more than basic investment deductions and charitable donations. For donations, you can donate something you paid, say $100 in the past, but now it's worth $10,000. The charitable write off is based on the value at the time of donation. You can sometimes get a nice placque with your name on it, or some such hoohaw, at the recipient's home base.

It's always cool to donate collectibles or things of value that have no real value to you, like old stocks and coins that have cluttered up your safe box. Collections of historical items are always good, too.

BTW, at the Desert Springs, there is a guy, possibly dead now, who bought a whole year and lives there year-round. That was in the original offering. Don't know if it happens now.

C.

I know first hand that buying multiple timeshare weeks still happen, especially, even in the retail market with Marriott. Some people are going after the Marriott point program where there is significant purchasing power (5 to 1) for people who are savvy enough with their system. For instance, weeks purchased retail at the Newport Coast Villa's can trade their weeks for points every year. Whereas most Marriott Vacation Club resorts can be traded on an every other year basis. In 2004, I met a local resident who lived in the Palm Springs area and wanted a condo in Luguna or Newport Beach to escape the torrid heat of the summer. Rather than pay the $1.5 million for the condo, he purchased 12 weeks in the platinum season at Newport for a fraction of the cost. This is just an example why some people purchase multiple weeks.

Chuck

chuckg21 wrote:

I know first hand that buying multiple timeshare weeks still happen, especially, even in the retail market with Marriott. Some people are going after the Marriott point program where there is significant purchasing power (5 to 1) for people who are savvy enough with their system. For instance, weeks purchased retail at the Newport Coast Villa's can trade their weeks for points every year. Whereas most Marriott Vacation Club resorts can be traded on an every other year basis. In 2004, I met a local resident who lived in the Palm Springs area and wanted a condo in Luguna or Newport Beach to escape the torrid heat of the summer. Rather than pay the $1.5 million for the condo, he purchased 12 weeks in the platinum season at Newport for a fraction of the cost. This is just an example why some people purchase multiple weeks.

Chuck

OMGoodness, Chuck, that's a WOW from the WOWFactory. I didn't know that. My husband handles all the details of how to make me happy, with an occassional e-mail-forwarded page from the Internet.

I think I'm going to look into this myself. What a deal. :plop:

C.

Chuck, I'd be curious to know what he paid for his 12 Marriott platinum weeks and what his yearly maintenance fees are? I can't even imagine :o).

chuckg21 wrote:

In 2004, I met a local resident who lived in the Palm Springs area and wanted a condo in Luguna or Newport Beach to escape the torrid heat of the summer. Rather than pay the $1.5 million for the condo, he purchased 12 weeks in the platinum season at Newport for a fraction of the cost. This is just an example why some people purchase multiple weeks. Chuck

I own a timeshare week in Florida (Ft. Lauderdale, Vacation Village, Weston) week 52 (whatever than mean in real terms). I live in the UK (permanently) and bought the timeshare when I worked in the US for the last 15 years. I still have 3 years left to pay the mortgage but the fees are now around $600 a year. Now that I'm self employed I find that I am neither willing to pay nor able to spare the money to pay these monthly and yearly fees. This post has wandered off topic so I wonder if anyone has any advice for a non-US with a US liability?? ;-)

Sorry, but the responsibility of paying off the timeshare mortgage is still yours, same as if you bought a car, house or anything else in the USA. If you default then they can come after you for payments, and if you quit paying it can ruin your credit in the UK. They will also come after you if you stop paying maintenance fees. It's like any other bill that you owe.

The best thing to do is try to use your timeshare to your advantage by exchanging it for somewhere in Europe each year where you now reside.

remirolr wrote:

I own a timeshare week in Florida (Ft. Lauderdale, Vacation Village, Weston) week 52 (whatever than mean in real terms). I live in the UK (permanently) and bought the timeshare when I worked in the US for the last 15 years. I still have 3 years left to pay the mortgage but the fees are now around $600 a year. Now that I'm self employed I find that I am neither willing to pay nor able to spare the money to pay these monthly and yearly fees. This post has wandered off topic so I wonder if anyone has any advice for a non-US with a US liability?? ;-)

jayjay wrote:

Sorry, but the responsibility of paying off the timeshare mortgage is still yours, same as if you bought a car, house or anything else in the USA. If you default then they can come after you for payments, and if you quit paying it can ruin your credit in the UK. They will also come after you if you stop paying maintenance fees. It's like any other bill that you owe.

The best thing to do is try to use your timeshare to your advantage by exchanging it for somewhere in Europe each year where you now reside.

remirolr wrote:

I own a timeshare week in Florida (Ft. Lauderdale, Vacation Village, Weston) week 52 (whatever than mean in real terms). I live in the UK (permanently) and bought the timeshare when I worked in the US for the last 15 years. I still have 3 years left to pay the mortgage but the fees are now around $600 a year. Now that I'm self employed I find that I am neither willing to pay nor able to spare the money to pay these monthly and yearly fees. This post has wandered off topic so I wonder if anyone has any advice for a non-US with a US liability?? ;-)

Jayjay; That doesn't answer his Q ref being willing/able to continue to pay the mortgage and maintainance.

Obviously his best bet would be to sell. Having wk 52 should be a fairly easy sell, depending on price, in Lauderdale. Second suggestion would be to place it up for rent. If placed early enough, it should rent fairly well and he might even make alittle.

Until he pays off his mortgage he will have almost zero chance to sell his timeshare. Not many people will take up mortgage payments then also assume responsibility for yearly maintenance fees when they can buy a resale for much less than his developer purchase.

Good point about renting until he pays off his mortgage and is able to sell the week with no liens.

As far as him not willing and or able to pay his timeshare debts, the finance companies and resorts have heard it all from people wanting to be released from their debts, so he can forget about merely stopping payments if he treasures his credit rating. If people could stop paying timeshare mortgage payments and maintenance fees most resorts would go under in a NY minute the demand would be so great.

What most people don't realize is that when you sign on that dotted line to buy a timeshare then you are committed to paying that purchase and the maintenance fees that go along with it.

jons29 wrote:

Jayjay; That doesn't answer his Q ref being willing/able to continue to pay the mortgage and maintainance.

Obviously his best bet would be to sell. Having wk 52 should be a fairly easy sell, depending on price, in Lauderdale. Second suggestion would be to place it up for rent. If placed early enough, it should rent fairly well and he might even make alittle.

Also, even charities would not take this timeshare with the liens still in place. All timeshares must have no liens and maintenance fees have to be paid before a charity will accept them, so he really has no choice but to pay off the mortgage before he sells, donates or whatever.

jayjay wrote:

Chuck, I'd be curious to know what he paid for his 12 Marriott platinum weeks and what his yearly maintenance fees are? I can't even imagine :o).

chuckg21 wrote:

In 2004, I met a local resident who lived in the Palm Springs area and wanted a condo in Luguna or Newport Beach to escape the torrid heat of the summer. Rather than pay the $1.5 million for the condo, he purchased 12 weeks in the platinum season at Newport for a fraction of the cost. This is just an example why some people purchase multiple weeks. Chuck

The cost is expensive, no two ways about it. At the time, he probably paid $28,000 per week, which is a enormous sum of $336,000. However, this guy seemed to be pretty wealthy since he was shopping for a second home for use in the summer in the $1.5 million range. He thought that the 12 weeks at the five starr Newport resort was the better spend then the $1.5 condo, which was not nearly resort quality. Of course, I'm not in that financial category. The fees are about $700 per week, so this guy is shelling out over $8,000 per year, but he said he just wanted the summer escape to the beach and he's happy as a lark. However, he can still trade these weeks for Hawaii or trade for points if so chooses. I also met a dentist who told me that he had 26 Marriott weeks at various properties. I am sure that he bought some of them resale because he was the one that told me about Redweek.

Chuck

jayjay wrote:

Also, even charities would not take this timeshare with the liens still in place. All timeshares must have no liens and maintenance fees have to be paid before a charity will accept them, so he really has no choice but to pay off the mortgage before he sells, donates or whatever.

jayjay;

Don't know why he couldn't sell. All depends on his price. If he wants out of it, his price should be in a range to attract buyers. Doesn't sound like he would want his orginial price. And with having paid his mortgage down, payoff should not be that much. He won't know until he lists it.

Your responses alway seem to have a negative touch. Lighten up and offer a solution when somebody asks. Isn't that part of the reason for Redweek, to help out.

jons, I don't try to be negative in my repsonses. I am an honest and down to earth person.

I don't know many people that will assume an overinflated timeshare mortgage unless it might be a Marriott, Westin, Atlantis, Disney or some other very high end property, but anything is possible, I guess, depending on the balance.

You are right that he could try to sell the week for the cost of the remainder of his mortgage (depending on how much that is). It's near Ft. Lauderdale, but no where near the ocean .... it's inland in a town called Weston, Florida.

Edited to add: There's a 2 bedroom, week 52 for sale on Redweek for $5500 at this resort. It has not yet sold.

jons29 wrote:

jayjay; Don't know why he couldn't sell. All depends on his price. If he wants out of it, his price should be in a range to attract buyers. Doesn't sound like he would want his orginial price. And with having paid his mortgage down, payoff should not be that much. He won't know until he lists it.

Your responses alway seem to have a negative touch. Lighten up and offer a solution when somebody asks. Isn't that part of the reason for Redweek, to help out.

Chuck, wow, it must be nice to be that rich :o).

chuckg21 wrote:

jayjay wrote:

Chuck, I'd be curious to know what he paid for his 12 Marriott platinum weeks and what his yearly maintenance fees are? I can't even imagine :o).

The cost is expensive, no two ways about it. At the time, he probably paid $28,000 per week, which is a enormous sum of $336,000. However, this guy seemed to be pretty wealthy since he was shopping for a second home for use in the summer in the $1.5 million range. He thought that the 12 weeks at the five starr Newport resort was the better spend then the $1.5 condo, which was not nearly resort quality. Of course, I'm not in that financial category. The fees are about $700 per week, so this guy is shelling out over $8,000 per year, but he said he just wanted the summer escape to the beach and he's happy as a lark. However, he can still trade these weeks for Hawaii or trade for points if so chooses. I also met a dentist who told me that he had 26 Marriott weeks at various properties. I am sure that he bought some of them resale because he was the one that told me about Redweek.

Chuck

jayjay wrote:

Chuck, wow, it must be nice to be that rich :o).

chuckg21 wrote:

jayjay wrote:

Chuck, I'd be curious to know what he paid for his 12 Marriott platinum weeks and what his yearly maintenance fees are? I can't even imagine :o).

The cost is expensive, no two ways about it. At the time, he probably paid $28,000 per week, which is a enormous sum of $336,000. However, this guy seemed to be pretty wealthy since he was shopping for a second home for use in the summer in the $1.5 million range. He thought that the 12 weeks at the five starr Newport resort was the better spend then the $1.5 condo, which was not nearly resort quality. Of course, I'm not in that financial category. The fees are about $700 per week, so this guy is shelling out over $8,000 per year, but he said he just wanted the summer escape to the beach and he's happy as a lark. However, he can still trade these weeks for Hawaii or trade for points if so chooses. I also met a dentist who told me that he had 26 Marriott weeks at various properties. I am sure that he bought some of them resale because he was the one that told me about Redweek.

Chuck

Jayjay,

Your right, the guy was loaded! I am definitely not even remotely in his league. He said that his back ground was in finance and he had always held the belief, that buying a time share was nonsensical. However, he said he crunched the numbers and for him it made sense and then went on to purchase the 12 weeks. I learned that it largely depends on each persons financial position and how they plan to use the investment. I am more puzzled when I learn about someone who hasn't even used the timeshare that they purchased or they still don't understand how to use the applicable point program. For those people, they probably didn't know what they were getting into. Chuck

chuckg21 wrote:

jayjay wrote:

Chuck, wow, it must be nice to be that rich :o).

chuckg21 wrote:

jayjay wrote:

Chuck, I'd be curious to know what he paid for his 12 Marriott platinum weeks and what his yearly maintenance fees are? I can't even imagine :o).

The cost is expensive, no two ways about it. At the time, he probably paid $28,000 per week, which is a enormous sum of $336,000. However, this guy seemed to be pretty wealthy since he was shopping for a second home for use in the summer in the $1.5 million range. He thought that the 12 weeks at the five starr Newport resort was the better spend then the $1.5 condo, which was not nearly resort quality. Of course, I'm not in that financial category. The fees are about $700 per week, so this guy is shelling out over $8,000 per year, but he said he just wanted the summer escape to the beach and he's happy as a lark. However, he can still trade these weeks for Hawaii or trade for points if so chooses. I also met a dentist who told me that he had 26 Marriott weeks at various properties. I am sure that he bought some of them resale because he was the one that told me about Redweek.

Chuck

Jayjay,

Your right, the guy was loaded! I am definitely not even remotely in his league. He said that his back ground was in finance and he had always held the belief, that buying a time share was nonsensical. However, he said he crunched the numbers and for him it made sense and then went on to purchase the 12 weeks. I learned that it largely depends on each persons financial position and how they plan to use the investment. I am more puzzled when I learn about someone who hasn't even used the timeshare that they purchased or they still don't understand how to use the applicable point program. For those people, they probably didn't know what they were getting into. Chuck

Chuck; We have friends who have owed three different TS (Orlando, N. Carolina & Tenn) for over fifteen years. They have never stayed at any of them.

They bought them to rent and have never had a losing year. They place them for rent via the Resort management and also on their own. They have more than paid for them just from the rentals. Diff strokes for diff folks.

jons29 wrote:

chuckg21 wrote:

jayjay wrote:

Chuck, wow, it must be nice to be that rich :o).

chuckg21 wrote:

jayjay wrote:

Chuck, I'd be curious to know what he paid for his 12 Marriott platinum weeks and what his yearly maintenance fees are? I can't even imagine :o).

The cost is expensive, no two ways about it. At the time, he probably paid $28,000 per week, which is a enormous sum of $336,000. However, this guy seemed to be pretty wealthy since he was shopping for a second home for use in the summer in the $1.5 million range. He thought that the 12 weeks at the five starr Newport resort was the better spend then the $1.5 condo, which was not nearly resort quality. Of course, I'm not in that financial category. The fees are about $700 per week, so this guy is shelling out over $8,000 per year, but he said he just wanted the summer escape to the beach and he's happy as a lark. However, he can still trade these weeks for Hawaii or trade for points if so chooses. I also met a dentist who told me that he had 26 Marriott weeks at various properties. I am sure that he bought some of them resale because he was the one that told me about Redweek.

Chuck

Jayjay,

Your right, the guy was loaded! I am definitely not even remotely in his league. He said that his back ground was in finance and he had always held the belief, that buying a time share was nonsensical. However, he said he crunched the numbers and for him it made sense and then went on to purchase the 12 weeks. I learned that it largely depends on each persons financial position and how they plan to use the investment. I am more puzzled when I learn about someone who hasn't even used the timeshare that they purchased or they still don't understand how to use the applicable point program. For those people, they probably didn't know what they were getting into. Chuck

Chuck; We have friends who have owed three different TS (Orlando, N. Carolina & Tenn) for over fifteen years. They have never stayed at any of them.

They bought them to rent and have never had a losing year. They place them for rent via the Resort management and also on their own. They have more than paid for them just from the rentals. Diff strokes for diff folks.

Thank you Jajay; It's a constant learning experience for me.

I don't understand the philosophy of anyone buying timeshares JUST to rent them out. What joy are they getting from their timeshare ownership? It would be more trouble than it's worth, to me, to buy timeshares just to rent them. But, like you said, different strokes for different folks. JMHO

jons29 wrote:

Chuck; We have friends who have owed three different TS (Orlando, N. Carolina & Tenn) for over fifteen years. They have never stayed at any of them.

They bought them to rent and have never had a losing year. They place them for rent via the Resort management and also on their own. They have more than paid for them just from the rentals. Diff strokes for diff folks.

jayjay;

They actually make money off the rentals, as opposed to most of us. The units are all paid for and after paying maintainance fees, they pocket the diff. They are probably clearing 2-2,500 annually. Not a great sum, but, Hey.

jayjay wrote:

I don't understand the philosophy of anyone buying timeshares JUST to rent them out. What joy are they getting from their timeshare ownership? It would be more trouble than it's worth, to me, to buy timeshares just to rent them. But, like you said, different strokes for different folks. JMHO

jons29 wrote:

Chuck; We have friends who have owed three different TS (Orlando, N. Carolina & Tenn) for over fifteen years. They have never stayed at any of them.

They bought them to rent and have never had a losing year. They place them for rent via the Resort management and also on their own. They have more than paid for them just from the rentals. Diff strokes for diff folks.

jons29 wrote:

jayjay;

They actually make money off the rentals, as opposed to most of us. The units are all paid for and after paying maintainance fees, they pocket the diff. They are probably clearing 2-2,500 annually. Not a great sum, but, Hey.

jayjay wrote:

I don't understand the philosophy of anyone buying timeshares JUST to rent them out. What joy are they getting from their timeshare ownership? It would be more trouble than it's worth, to me, to buy timeshares just to rent them. But, like you said, different strokes for different folks. JMHO

jons29 wrote:

Chuck; We have friends who have owed three different TS (Orlando, N. Carolina & Tenn) for over fifteen years. They have never stayed at any of them.

They bought them to rent and have never had a losing year. They place them for rent via the Resort management and also on their own. They have more than paid for them just from the rentals. Diff strokes for diff folks.

This is an interesting kind of investment. Not high return, like straight real estate, but if you choose units for high return, by location and season and staff, you will have good rentals.

For example, at the Desert Springs, units are rented to those looking for the TS itself, as well as those looking to book at the hotel. When there are holidays, tournaments, et.al., full hotels encourage TS rentals. Also, renting in high season is lucrative enough to cover empty off-season times. Lately, high season in PS seems to be getting broader and broader.

It is clear that owning a TS and using it is not a real investment. Renting it out seems to be. Renting it out may be a wise way of holding the TS while saving it for when you want to use it .

When we owned a condo in PS, we would never use it ourselves during high season. The rentals were too lucrative.