Is there an honest Timeshare transfer company....no upfront fees?

denisev41 wrote:

Thank you everyone. I appreciate your responses. It has been a big worry at Christmas. Why do fees come due at the worst time of the year . . . . But then I spoke with a friend a couple days ago who indicated I would suffer some big financial consequences if I did. Funny thing is they purchased a much pricier brand new build unit based on my passing their name on to Sheraton. I bet they will eventually let theirs go if nothing really happens to me. May find out my credit score prior to compare.

Yup, 6-8 timeshares, real property tax on two homes, personal property tax on way-too-much crap, homeowners insurance, healthcare insurance, auto and boat insurance on six items, and higher-than-normal credit card bill, makes for a Merry Christmas.

People ask me how much we got for our timeshares, and I tell them $5000/year forever.

We now have a house where we used to timeshare in the Winter, only now we stay all Winter for what a couple weeks used to cost. Lots of Canadians here, too.

Don't forget a house appreciates and has a resale value .

I am a Festiva Adventure Club owner, 4500pts biennially. I originally took out a loan, but that's been paid for since 2010. I was even dumb enough to upgrade in 2012, also paid in full. I am now saddled with maintenance fees every other year, and I haven't used points since 2012. I've recently fallen on harder times and this is one expense that I'm having issues paying now. I called Festiva and explained my situation. The response I received was "You signed a 40 yr contract; there's nothing we can do." I sent them an email outlining my issues. They replied back requesting documented proof of my hardship in the form of bank statements, bills, etc. I DO NOT intend to send them any personal financial information. I haven't found any contract that I signed except the loan documents that have all been paid off. I don't want any money back for this. I simply want to be rid of it. I told them as much, but they don't seem to want an amicable solution. I've thought about reselling, but I'm not seeing a big call for timeshares right now. I also thought about non-payment of maintenance fees, but when I called them, they mentioned collection agencies and destroying my credit. That's a problem for me. I'm just trying to get some ideas of what my options are and what the best path forward is. Anyone has some advice??

I am seeking the truth too. Some great advice but still nervous. They do a great job of disinformation and we all buy into it because credit is king. As stated above I am in Canada. I need to call Sheraton tomorrow to say “ I am paying no more fees because I can’t. Do you really want to pursue me and incur fees or can I sign it over no questions asked?”. They get to pocket my previous fees and original purchase $. Also, does anyone know if they can do anything to my Interval deposits from previous years? I called Interval a number of months back and they seemed to indicate the deposits were mine, I just need to pay my own annual membership rather than Sheraton paying that. You see I need to pay a fee to extend my one week for another year that was deposited in a year when I paid my fees.

Your paid-for deposits are safe.

Is it tied to a Deed?

https://www.redweek.com/forums/messages?thread_id=19338

branniganl wrote:

I am a Festiva Adventure Club owner, 4500pts biennially. I originally took out a loan, but that's been paid for since 2010. I was even dumb enough to upgrade in 2012, also paid in full. I am now saddled with maintenance fees every other year, and I haven't used points since 2012. I've recently fallen on harder times and this is one expense that I'm having issues paying now. I called Festiva and explained my situation. The response I received was "You signed a 40 yr contract; there's nothing we can do." I sent them an email outlining my issues. They replied back requesting documented proof of my hardship in the form of bank statements, bills, etc. I DO NOT intend to send them any personal financial information. I haven't found any contract that I signed except the loan documents that have all been paid off. I don't want any money back for this. I simply want to be rid of it. I told them as much, but they don't seem to want an amicable solution. I've thought about reselling, but I'm not seeing a big call for timeshares right now. I also thought about non-payment of maintenance fees, but when I called them, they mentioned collection agencies and destroying my credit. That's a problem for me. I'm just trying to get some ideas of what my options are and what the best path forward is. Anyone has some advice??

Fyi, the number Sheraton gives you regarding timeshares is a connection to Sellmytimeshare.com. Took me 2 hours in hold to find that out. They want $1300 US to list and market it. Not giving any one else money. Bait and switch if you ask me. Another angle to make them money. No thanks. Trying to play nice and they pull that

"Post Card" companies get a bad rap, some deservedly, but exit companies exist only because exit programs do not.

nooneyouknow wrote:

"Post Card" companies get a bad rap, some deservedly, but exit companies exist only because exit programs do not.

Actually, it's due in part to these exit and Post Card Companies (PCC) that some resorts and timeshare companies are now having deed back programs. There is a pinned thread on these boards about Wyndham's Ovation program. Diamond and Westgate also have deed back programs.

HGVC no longer offers "voluntary deedback". I've a fully paid fixed week with Elara in Las Vegas under HGVC, formerly owned by Westgate under Planet Hollywood, that I would like to get rid of.

Since I'm a non-US citizen and the property is deeded in Nevada, I guess my other option is to write to them about deedback instructions and my intention to stop payment/usage?

I don't care about our credit history in US as we don't have one and understand that there may be collection calls and letters for some time.

Any other suggestions?

An obvious truth about any/all organization(s), including timeshare resorts, is that without some effort, membership will not grow, it will decline, and that is a problem for the owners at resorts that don't address it with an exit program that not only allows for the exit of those desiring to do so, but also a program to replace them, and/or the income they represent.

Judi Kozlowski is a licensed timeshare resale broker who specializes in Hilton resales. She is a member of the aptly named Licensed Timeshare Resale Broker Association. It's of course best to have a timeshare with no outstanding loan and current on maintenance fees. LTRBA members charge nothing up-front to sell. I do not believe listings are exclusive so if you have advertised on RedWeek you can still list with a member of LTRBA. You can find Judi by her name and REMAX. She's in Orlando and has decades of experience.

SellMyTimeshareNow is awful, in my opinion. You can file a complaint against them if they have given real estate advice without being a licensed realtor. A few people have been able to be refunded because they said things like, "$14,000 is a good price." That's giving real estate advice that requires a real estate license.

What if an owner communicates in certified writing that they cannot maintain the timeshare to all those involved several time letting them know that as of a certain date, they will no longer recieve maint fees payment. Should this be considered default by the timeshare co. And they report it to credit authorities, isn't it possible to dispute their claim by providing the credit bureau with all the certified copies of advance notice. Couldn't one claim that due process was initiated with no results. I wonder?

provl wrote:

What if an owner communicates in certified writing that they cannot maintain the timeshare to all those involved several time letting them know that as of a certain date, they will no longer recieve maint fees payment. Should this be considered default by the timeshare co. And they report it to credit authorities, isn't it possible to dispute their claim by providing the credit bureau with all the certified copies of advance notice. Couldn't one claim that due process was initiated with no results. I wonder?

You can (and should) first vigorously pursue attempting a "deedback" to your resort HOA. You can cite your financial circumstances, but the decision whether or not to accept a deedback is solely theirs, regardless of your personal situation. In order to even be considered for "deedback" acceptance at any resort, there must be no outstanding loan balance and no unpaid maintenance fees. Even if fully paid up however, some resorts will still not accept deedbacks, but you won't know about yours until and unless you specifically ask.

To answer your question about "communicating your intentions" (using certified mail matters not one bit, by the way, no matter how many times sent). Certified mail documents delivery of your letter(s) --- nothing more. Any such "certified mail" correspondence has no legal meaning or impact or significance whatsoever in the way you suggest. You have a contractual obligation and you will be in default when you cease paying on a loan or stop paying maintenance fees, with or without sending certified mail "notification(s) of your intentions to stop paying" by some particular date. Using certified mail to express your intent to stop paying by some identified future date does not in any way impact your legal obligations and certainly would not constitute "initiating due process with no results". Respectfully, that is wishful thinking and flawed reasoning from a legal perspective, although you might hope and wish it was otherwise.

If you default on a loan, there will very likely be negative credit report consequences, which will remain in place for 7 years thereafter. However, if there is no loan default involved but you simply stop paying your maintenance fees, there will of course ultimately be a foreclosure on the ownership, but most likely no negative credit report consequences.

Bought timeshare with Allegro in Mexico. It's fully paid but would like to get out of maintenance fee. How do I go about it. I've read from another link that just ignore it when I get the maintenance bill and don't pay it. If they call and threaten to send it to collection agency just ignore and don't answer any of their harrassment calls. I dont know if this is going to affect my credit score in Canada. Their head office is in Nevada. Pls reply back for any decent and more reasonable answers. K

mariet140 wrote:

I dont know if this is going to affect my credit score in Canada. Their head office is in Nevada. Pls reply back for any decent and more reasonable answers.

Chances are slim that it will affect your credit score in Canada. Just stopping payments is probably your best option, even though it might not sound palatable.

Mexican timeshare. Is it RTU?

20 years ago, one of our neighbors asked me to help him and his Significant Other unload their Mexican timeshare "because I spend so much time doing stuff like that", I found a buyer on another forum, but the Significant Other put an end to that because she wanted to keep the deposits at RCI.

The best I was able to do is get the Significant Other off the purchase, which was effective because our neighbor passed away.

Then, the Significant Other asked me to get her RCI exchanges with her new Significant Other. That was the last favor I did for her.

It is stuff like that which got me to stop doing favors, mostly.

These timeshares are such a scam. Isn't there a huge class action suit we can all get into?

Isn't there a huge class action lawsuit about these timeshares? Anyone know how to get in it?

susane498 wrote:

These timeshares are such a scam. Isn't there a huge class action suit we can all get into?

With all due respect, "these timeshares" is very vague and non-specific. Personally, I've owned multiple timeshare weeks at several different resorts for nearly 30 years now. All were purchased in the resale market, none of them were purchased directly from any developer at grossly inflated prices. We use and greatly enjoy our weeks and would never consider selling them. The short answer to your question is no, there is no "huge class action lawsuit we can all get in on". Lawsuit against whom, exactly?

That being said, there are certainly some unscrupulous people (and some unscrupulous companies too) associated with the timeshare industry. They can all be very easily avoided by smart consumers who bother to do a little bit of research before buying, exercising caution and due diligence in all timeshare related matters --- and who make the effort to learn and understand the details and long term obligations of timeshare ownership. It is not fair or accurate to so very simply and bluntly say "these timeshares are such a scam". That's a very broad brush (and largely inaccurate) statement.