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rgallui2000

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What happens if you have a fully paid for timeshare in Mexico and just decide to stop paying the maintenance fee and walk away? Rather than hastle the selling for almost nothing part. Does this affect your credit rating?
 

DeniseM

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Instead of walking away, and perhaps suffering the consequences, consider giving it away to a private individual.

Why?
-You can give it away yourself for nearly no cost.
-You can control the transfer process to make sure it is truly transferred out of your name.
-You won't have to deal with companies that may or may not be Legit.
-You can transfer it to a private individual who will be happy to have it for their own use.
-You will have the satisfaction of knowing that you ended your ownership legally and ethically.

There are two places on TUG where you can give away your TS's for free (no charge for the Ads.) There are other cheap and free sites on the internet, as well.

TUG Marketplace - the only cost is your TUG membership - $15 (List it for $1 and it will automatically go in the Bargain Basement Ads.)

Bargain Deals - Totally FREE! - just write a simple post with all the pertinent info. In your post, include the following info.:
-resort name
-unit size
-season owned
-maintenance fee
-current reservations​

To make it more attractive I would:

1) Pay 2010 (and possibly 2011) maintenance fees and don't ask for reimbursement.

2) Pay for the title transfer (you can get a simple professional transfer for about $100) I've used this licensed document Prep. company and the owner is a Tugger. - Note, this is my personal recommendation, not as a representative of TUG.

3) Reserve a popular holiday week in 2010 or 2011 for the new owner​

*One thing you may not be aware of is that when you default on your maintenance fee payments - the other owners have to pay them - not management.

Good luck!
 
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BevL

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What happens if you have a fully paid for timeshare in Mexico and just decide to stop paying the maintenance fee and walk away? Rather than hastle the selling for almost nothing part. Does this affect your credit rating?

Yes, it will almost certainly affect your credit rating. With the downturn, we are seeing lots of posts similar to yours - more and more folks are just walking away and resorts will in all likelihood sic a collection agency on you.
 
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Rent_Share

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I have never seen a Mexican TS contract,

but I am at odds how defaulting on an obligation to a Meican Corporation could impact your credit rating in the US

Help me understand ?
 

Talent312

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...Even Mexican corporations can use U.S collection agencies to harass you.
...Even Mexican corporations can use U.S. attorneys to sue for foreclosure.
...Even Mexican corportations can report you to U.S. credit reporting
agencies, which can impair your ability to obtain credit, raise insurance rates,
affect property rentals, and be considered in employment decision.
...I'm not saying that they will, but they can. ... Understand?
 

Jim C

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Walk away

The contracts which I've seen(including our own) have a provision regarding non payment of maintenance fees. All of the Mexican timeshares I know of are RTU(Right to use), not deeded properties. You are obligated to pay the annual maintenance fee. If it's not paid, you forfeit your right to use your unit, including any pending reservation, until the current and any past due fees are paid. In some cases, after two or three years of non-payment, your membership is terminated. That's about the extent of what they can do.

I do know that some places MAY attempt to collect, but I don't agree that Mexican corporations can use U.S. collection agencies to harass you or file a negative credit report on you. Negative report based on what? As far as using U.S. attorneys to sue for foreclosure; it's a legal impossibility since there's nothing to foreclose on. You don't own anything. All you have is the right to use the property for a specific period of time. Nobody can foreclose on time.
If it were me and I still had some time left down there(just finished up this past January!!), I would use it up unless I was financially unable to continue paying and traveling there or I felt screwed over by the continuous increase in fees, loss of services, etc. In those cases, I would walk. You can't sell, rent or give most of these places to anyone, so why bother?
I know that there will be some flack for my comments, but that's the way I see it. Good luck.
 

Dave H

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The contracts which I've seen(including our own) have a provision regarding non payment of maintenance fees. All of the Mexican timeshares I know of are RTU(Right to use), not deeded properties. You are obligated to pay the annual maintenance fee. If it's not paid, you forfeit your right to use your unit, including any pending reservation, until the current and any past due fees are paid. In some cases, after two or three years of non-payment, your membership is terminated. That's about the extent of what they can do.

I do know that some places MAY attempt to collect, but I don't agree that Mexican corporations can use U.S. collection agencies to harass you or file a negative credit report on you. Negative report based on what? As far as using U.S. attorneys to sue for foreclosure; it's a legal impossibility since there's nothing to foreclose on. You don't own anything. All you have is the right to use the property for a specific period of time. Nobody can foreclose on time.
If it were me and I still had some time left down there(just finished up this past January!!), I would use it up unless I was financially unable to continue paying and traveling there or I felt screwed over by the continuous increase in fees, loss of services, etc. In those cases, I would walk. You can't sell, rent or give most of these places to anyone, so why bother?
I know that there will be some flack for my comments, but that's the way I see it. Good luck.

I do business in the Bahamas. I have a Bahamian attorney, I can sue in the Bahamas. Just because I am in the US I am not prevented from collecting my money.

Talent never said foreclose the unit, but you owe a debt (maintenance fees). The timeshare in Mexico probably has a US office that they use to collect from. They can do all the things he has mentioned in his post. Talent would be the person in this game I listen too as he has the legal knowledge to support his statement.

If they have a US Attorney, many do, they have the ability to report to US credit reporting agencies. If they have that and they list the debt on your credit report in a negitive fashion, then Talent again is correct. It will be a negitive hit to the credit report.

What is your credit report used for, again Talent is right. It is used for employment purposes, it is used in insurance, it is used in granting you credit. A recent negitive hit WILL have dramatic impact on your score as the other credit grantors do not look at it as a timeshare you no longer wanted, they look at it for face value. It appears to them that you are getting ready to have other negitive things happen and all the sudden your credit card lines will decrease and getting new credit will be harder.

It sounds like you know better than the rest of the people, so I have always been taught that experience is the best teacher. My recommendation if you do not want to take the advice of the experienced, is stop paying and go through the experience if they do any of the above.

Like I have said before, you make choices and YOUR CHOICES MAKE YOU. You have 2 choices, take the advice or don't take the advice. Pay or don't pay. Somewhere the choice will either be right or it will not be, but then you have to man up and pay the prices for the consequences you have chosen. Like I said, you make choices and sometimes those choices make you.
 

DonM

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I don't have a dog in this fight- but I think common sense dictates that (from a financial perspective) you shouldn't just walk away.

Whether these are RTU's contracts or deeded properties, the majority of the owners would be from which country?? My answer would be from the USA.

In that case wouldn't it make perfect business sense for the Mexican developers or management companies (especially in this economy) to have some plan (attorneys and credit bureaus etc) to collect monies owed them?

JMHO

don

It could also be possible that some of these resorts have interested parties that are USA based- which would only further my hypothesis
 
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