Handing back my timeshare

[gillik1925]

Does anyone have experience of successfully handing back ownership of their timeshare. If anyone has an example of a letter/email that they used that worked it would be great to share it.
Many thanks

 

[Ty1on]

Need more info, specifically what you want to hand back and whether you still owe a loan on it.....

 

[bogey21]

If anyone has an example of a letter/email that they used that worked it would be great to share it.

I know that the common wisdom here is to put your request in writing. All I can say is that I was successful in deeding back 4 Weeks to 4 different Resort via incessant phone calling. The key was talking to as many different people at as many different levels of authority as I could find.

George

 

[TUGBrian]

http://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/give_back_timeshare.html

welcome to TUG!

 

[theo]

Does anyone have experience of successfully handing back ownership of their timeshare. If anyone has an example of a letter/email that they used that worked it would be great to share it.
Many thanks

Willingness to accept a "deedback" is entirely up to the individual resort HOA. regardless of how you submit your "deedback acceptance" request.
Policies and practices vary quite widely, from "yes, if you pay the transfer costs", to "maybe, to be decided on a case by case basis" to "no, absolutely not".

Your account must obviously be current (no outstanding loans, no liens, all fees are paid up to date) before any HOA will consider deedback acceptance. Good luck.

 

[Passepartout]

Does anyone have experience of successfully handing back ownership of their timeshare. If anyone has an example of a letter/email that they used that worked it would be great to share it.
Many thanks

There probably is no 'magic letter' that will cause any resort to just happily accept a deed-back. After all, they want those ongoing maintenance fee checks in perpetuity.

Assuming (though you don't say) that the intervals are paid off and there is no mortgage loan, addressing a letter to the Board of Directors, or HOA, or management company, saying that you are not going to be sending them any more money, that you are a British resident, and that their ongoing and ever increasing fees have become too onerous for you to continue paying. Depending on how you feel about this, tell them that instead of their going through the process of turning you over to collection, selling the debt for pennies on the dollar, and ultimately going through the expensive process of foreclosure, you'll happily sign a quit-claim deed and all parties can move on.

There is no guarantee that the letter will get into the hands of a decision maker, or that action will be taken on it. As long as you are current on your payments, they might just decode to put your letter in a file and see if you relent and pay next years' fees when they come due.

In short, persistence is the key. Constantly sending letters, calling, generally being a pest will ultimately pay off, but it won't likely be easy or quick.

Jim

 

[bogey21]

In short, persistence is the key. Constantly sending letters, calling, generally being a pest will ultimately pay off, but it won't likely be easy or quick.

Agree that persistence is the key. It took me many months and many requests before I was successful in finalizing the deed backs of my Weeks.

George

 

[whitewater]

Need more info, specifically what you want to hand back and whether you still owe a loan on it.....

x2
what do you have that determines what/how/if you can give back. Supply some additional information and you will get some useful information. till then - not much anyone can help with.

 

[theo]

what do you have that determines what/how/if you can give back. Supply some additional information and you will get some useful information. till then - not much anyone can help with.

Not entirely accurate, since only the specific resort HOA can make a "deedback acceptance" decision anyhow, regardless of missing details on the ownership at issue. It's essentially a "yes or no" reply to a simple and straightforward question --- and that reply must come directly from the HOA. HOA positions on deedbacks at any given resort can still change at any time, without notice. Even "chains" with existing "deedback" programs (e.g., Wyndham's "Ovation" program, DRI's deedback acceptance for a $250 fee) can suddenly decide to slam those doors closed at any time, without any legal obligation to provide any advance notice whatsoever. In essence, deedback acceptance policy is generally a real time and very dynamic situation, with practices and / or policies rarely if ever truly "etched in stone".

In short, OP needs to directly contact whatever HOA runs his / her timeshare property. The answer obtained today might be different from the answer others received a month ago --- or the answer others might receive in the future. In any case, OP must at least ask the question and ask it of the right people (HOA members --- not just desk clerks answering the phone who have no authority to make any such decision or even discuss the matter with inquiring owners at all in the first place).

In any event OP, if you don't at least formally ask the question of your HOA, you'll never know the answer. I wish you luck.

 

[whitewater]

Not entirely accurate, since only the specific resort HOA can make a "deedback acceptance" decision anyhow, regardless of missing details on the ownership at issue. It's essentially a "yes or no" reply to a simple and straightforward question --- and that reply that must come directly from the HOA. HOA positions on deedbacks at any given resort can still change at any time, without notice. Even "chains" with existing "deedback" programs (e.g., Wyndham's "Ovation" program, DRI's deedback acceptance for a fee) can decide to slam those doors closed at any time, without any legal obligation to provide any advance notice. In essence, deedback acceptance policy is generally a real time and very dynamic situation, with practices and / or policies rarely if ever truly "etched in stone".

In short, OP needs to directly contact whatever HOA runs his / her particular timeshare property. The answer obtained today might be very different from the answer others received a month ago --- or the answer that others might receive in the future. In any case, OP must at least ask the question and ask it of the right people (HOA members --- not just desk clerks answering the phone and who have no authority to make any such decision or to even address the matter at all with inquiring parties in the first place).

In any event OP, if you don't at least formally ask the question of your HOA, you'll never know the answer. I wish you luck.

good point.

I was specifically thinking of ovation with wyndham but you are correct upon further reflection.

 

[gillik1925]

Just a quick update on handing back our Westgate timeshare. As I'm in the UK phoning people is a bit more difficult - and also the resort is now owned by Hilton. So I emailed the CEO/Chairman/Finance Director of Hilton with a request to deed back our timeshare, rather than them have to go through the process and expenses of chasing us for unpaid maintenance fees. I found their email addresses on the internet and wrote to them personally.

I had a reply within 24 hours, with the contact details of their attorney. He emailed me the following day and we exchanged scans of documents etc. Then it was passed to their real estate company and they forwarded documents for me to get sealed here in the UK. It's now with the county recorder for registration.

Total time taken - about 6 weeks, total cost £100 in legal fees in the UK and registered postage back to the USA. All in all a great result. Would be happy to share the wording of the email with others if anyone's interested.

 

[LannyPC]

Total time taken - about 6 weeks, total cost £100 in legal fees in the UK and registered postage back to the USA. All in all a great result.

Awesome! Further proof of what we have been trying to tell many people here who are in the same predicament as you were. You do not have to pay some law firm, charity, PCC, or Viking Ship thousands of dollars to get you out of your TS.

 

[theo]

Awesome! Further proof of what we have been trying to tell many people here who are in the same predicament as you were. You do not have to pay some law firm, charity, PCC, or Viking Ship thousands of dollars to get you out of your TS.

I certainly agree that success is always great and welcome news for anyone attempting a "deedback". I will merely note that the deep pockets of Wyndham, Westgate, DRI, etc. make it easy and painless for such big, financially flush corporations to accept deedbacks --- several of them now even have organized "programs" with which to facilitate doing so. They also have their own internal sales forces to just peddle that "returned" product all over again to someone else. A win / win; they get inventory back for free and just sell it all over again at full retail price. KaChing!

For smaller, independent timeshare resorts without those same deep corporate pockets however, it's much more difficult to be so "open", since deep pockets and massive financial resources simply do not exist there ---and there is no possibility of "flipping" intervals at original full retail price once accepted back. Timeshare owners looking to "bail out" will find the deedback hill much more steep and much more difficult to successfully climb outside of the big, deep pockets, corporate "chains".

"Handing back" a deed is not a unilateral decision or a one-way street. Something that those owners seeking to "exit" would be well advised to understand and acknowledge is that there must also be overt and willing acceptance by the resort. For better or worse, that "acceptance" is much more difficult to successfully achieve at small, independent timeshare resorts compared to the big, deep pockets, corporate "chains".

 

[Jan M.]

"Handing back" a deed is not a unilateral decision or a one-way action. Something that those owners seeking to "exit" would be well advised to understand and acknowledge is that there must also be overt and willing acceptance by the resort. For better or worse, that "acceptance" is much more difficult to successfully achieve at small, independent timeshare resorts.

Whenever we've stayed at the smaller resorts they always have a list of weeks, unit size and number that owners and the resort too are trying to sell. I've seen the prices range from $500-$5000 depending on the resort, the week and unit size. I've never asked if that included the closing costs or not.

 

[gypsygirl1]

Does anyone have experience of successfully handing back ownership of their timeshare. If anyone has an example of a letter/email that they used that worked it would be great to share it.
Many thanks

You can contact the loss mitigation department for your timeshare group. There are some folks that have successfully handed back their timeshare if they have mitigating circumstances and they owe nothing on the purchase of the timeshare and are up to date with HOA fees.

 

[LannyPC]

You can contact the loss mitigation department for your timeshare group. There are some folks that have successfully handed back their timeshare if they have mitigating circumstances and they owe nothing on the purchase of the timeshare and are up to date with HOA fees.

The OP contacted someone there. His/Her post #11 says that this person has indeed successfully deeded back the TS (and without the unnecessary "help" of a law firm, PCC, etc.).

 

[theo]

The OP contacted someone there. His/Her post #11 says that this person has indeed successfully deeded back the TS (and without the unnecessary "help" of a law firm, PCC, etc.).

I hope that another UK resident (pfletch) who recently posted on TUG about deeding back his / her unwanted Westgate ownership will see the UK OP post above and finally realize and accept that it is indeed an available option worth actively pursuing and take the necessary actions. For whatever reason, pfletch seemed reluctant and hesitant to initiate the actions required to successfully achieve this same objective.

What's that saying? "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink".

 

[vacationhopeful]

This is the best possible outcome ... for you and the resort. And I hope it gives other 'trapped' owners a relatively painless way to legally and quickly to return their ownership.

 

[theo]

This is the best possible outcome ... for you and the resort. And I hope it gives other 'trapped' owners a relatively painless way to legally and quickly to return their ownership.

I agree, but have to wonder if UK residency "influences" Westgate's willingness to accept a deedback. After all, as slimy as Westgate might be, they are certainly smart enough to realize that they have absolutely no leverage over someone living across the Atlantic Ocean, so why not just take it back willingly --- and then turn around and sell it all over again (at full retail price) to someone else? A win / win, by any measure.

Not sure if Wastegate would always be as accommodating for a U.S. resident, whose delinquent account Wastegate can easily just turn over to a collection agency to "hound" the delinquent account owner --- for whom a later foreclosure might also have more credit rating impact.

 

[AZSadOwner]

After hounding my timeshare management to take back my unit to no avail, I stopped paying the MF. The first year, they rented out the unit themselves to cover the amount due. As I told them on the phone a few times I would no longer pay the MF, they finally offered me to take it back and I had a 15 day deadline to accept the offer. Unfortunately I was away for a month and never saw that letter until it was too late. Now they will be foreclosing but I don't think it will affect my credit report. This was even confirmed by the head office in Orlando who admitted to me after repeated questioning that they don't report this to credit bureaus. You have to remember that you don't own the unit in the real estate registry, only the right to stay in it for a week, so it's not like stopping to pay your mortgage on a building you own and in which the bank owns an equity. Timeshares are probably registered in the promoter's name in the local real estate registry. You've already paid your equity and are just delinquent on your MF. Somebody mentioned this was a credit-crushing option but I don't think so. This is just a scare tactic used by timeshare management.

 

[theo]

You have to remember that you don't own the unit in the real estate registry, only the right to stay in it for a week, so it's not like stopping to pay your mortgage on a building you own and in which the bank owns an equity. Timeshares are probably registered in the promoter's name in the local real estate registry. You've already paid your equity and are just delinquent on your MF. Somebody mentioned this was a credit-crushing option but I don't think so. This is just a scare tactic used by timeshare management.

I have no idea what or where your former interval may have been, but deeded timeshare weeks are in fact real estate, on which the owner(s) of record pay real estate taxes, usually itemized and included within maintenance fee bills, but sometimes billed separately (e.g., in CA, ME, et al). Deeds in the owner name(s) are officially recorded in applicable (usually County) records for deeded weeks, whether fixed or "floating".
In short, your quoted / highlighted statements are simply not correct. RTU contracts, "vacation club" memberships are not real estate however.

Whether a foreclosure subsequently gets reported to the credit agencies is an entirely separate issue which has no relationship to the indisputable fact that deeded timeshare weeks are in fact owned real estate. Some resorts will report foreclosures, some don't bother. However, if there is also default on an associated loan, it is a virtual certainty that the loan default / foreclosure will be a credit report "event".

 

[VacationForever]

For smaller, independent timeshare resorts without those same deep corporate pockets however, it's much more difficult to be so "open", since deep pockets and massive financial resources simply do not exist there ---and there is no possibility of "flipping" intervals at original full retail price once accepted back. Timeshare owners looking to "bail out" will find the deedback hill much more steep and much more difficult to successfully climb outside of the big, deep pockets, corporate "chains".

"Handing back" a deed is not a unilateral decision or a one-way street. Something that those owners seeking to "exit" would be well advised to understand and acknowledge is that there must also be overt and willing acceptance by the resort. For better or worse, that "acceptance" is much more difficult to successfully achieve at small, independent timeshare resorts compared to the big, deep pockets, corporate "chains".

I believe some of these smaller independent timeshare resorts, especially the ones that are rundown due to lack of funds for reburbishments and too many owners walking away from their MF obligations, should consider selling the building/land to recoup some money and split the proceeds between all owners. The difficult part is that I believe all owners must agree to the sale. Best way to get everyone out of a bad situation.

 

[theo]

I believe some of these smaller independent timeshare resorts, especially the ones that are run down due to lack of funds for reburbishments and too many owners walking away from their MF obligations, should consider selling the building/land to recoup some money and split the proceeds between all owners. The difficult part is that I believe all owners must agree to the sale. Best way to get everyone out of a bad situation.

"Lack of funds" is generally reflective of insufficient financial reserves as a result of poor management and poor planning, essentially having kept maintenance fees (and the actual maintenance) too low for too long --- with the inevitable and guaranteed result of inadequate upkeep.

To dissolve a timeshare and sell the property is not a matter of all owners having to agree, but certainly always requires a supermajority of the owners of record, as reflected within the resort's own governing documents. That "supermajority" may be identified as two thirds (66 2/3%), maybe even 80+% of all owners. Realistically, this minimum percentage is logistically difficult (or virtually impossible) to actually achieve.

 

[VacationForever]

"Lack of funds" is generally reflective of inadequate financial reserves and poor management / planning, having kept maintenance fees too low for too long --- with the inevitable result of inadequate upkeep.

To dissolve a timeshare and sell the property is not a matter of all owners having to agree, but certainly always requires a supermajority of the owners of record, as reflected within the resort's own governing documents. That "supermajority" may be identified as either two thirds (67%) or 80% of all owners. Realistically, this minimum percentage is somewhere between very difficult and virtually impossible to achieve.

Yes, agree with inadequate financial reserves or a result of many owners walking away and not paying MF which then increases MF for the rest of the owners, which in turn result in more owners walking away. Death spiral...

Good clarification on having supermajority vs. all owners. But when owners walk away and HOA then own these units, I would assume the HOA holds the voting rights to these VOI then?

 

[theo]

Good clarification on having supermajority vs. all owners. But when owners walk away and HOA then own these units, I would assume the HOA holds the voting rights to these...?

The specific language within the governing / CC&R documents of each individual resort probably makes that determination; I frankly dunno.

We own only at small, independent (and, knock on wood, financially healthy) resorts. I do know that when proposed CC&R amendments have (only rarely) been submitted for owner vote, HOA-owned weeks do not have any vote --- but that is admittedly a different situation.