# American buying and selling a Canadian timeshare



## tschwa2 (Nov 16, 2017)

I am considering buying a timeshare in Canada.  I know that when Canadians go to sell a US timeshare it can be a pain to get the deed notarized in the US.  Are there any similar difficulties and issues that go along with an American buying and eventually selling or giving away a Canadian timeshare?

It is also in RCI points, any problems with US and Canadian RCI points timeshare in the same account?

Thanks for pointing out any hidden difficulties with this.


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## Maple_Leaf (Nov 16, 2017)

Risks of Canadian resort ownership:

Closings can be expensive since most of the cheap U.S. closing companies won't do business in Canada
High maintenance fees, trending upward due to labour legislation, rising minimum wage rates and high sales taxes paid by the management company
Canadian resorts charge tax on maintenance fees, e.g. the 13% HST in Ontario
Foreign currency risk for Americans, i.e. risk of a rising loonie against the US dollar.
In general, poor governance. Just read through the Canadian TUG postings about the crooked resort developers
Extreme seasonality, e.g. cottage country in summer, means many, if not most weeks are worthless, encouraging owner defaults


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## T-Dot-Traveller (Nov 19, 2017)

Hi tschwa2,
RCI - points and TPU's seem to be denominated in " crypto- USD " . ie no difference when deposited into RCI 
The fee charges for exchanges , extending points etc are based on the billing address of your RCI account . 
Since yours is Maryland - there is no change .


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## tschwa2 (Nov 19, 2017)

Thanks T-Dot and Maple Leaf.


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## cd5 (Nov 23, 2017)

tschwa2 said:


> Thanks T-Dot and Maple Leaf.


Not so fast! It's not that hard to transfer an Embarc membership - points certificate only, therefore no deed/notary/lawyer necessary and is done through DRI member services once the documents are completed by buyer and seller. If you go in with your eyes open - as with any timeshare, (and you get a very cheap deal - minimum points purchase is 120 and US fees are $6.47 in 2018) it is a very good trader and the resorts are of superior quality. Embarc member dues actually went down slightly this year and relative to the value of the 9 resorts you can exchange into (*Palm Desert, Sandestin*, Vancouver, Whistler, Ucluelet, Panorama, Mont Tremblant, Blue Mountain, Zihuatanejo) are very reasonably priced (for now anyway). To do exchanges in peak periods, you would generally need at least 200 points. The fly in the ointment is that DRI now owns them - however so far, still a good value as long as you don't pay "retail" for your points. The GST tax is included in the $6.47/pt. Our closed Facebook group (www.facebook.com/groups/clubintrawestowners) has an established process with suggested documents/instructions which is generally used and transfers cost $250usd once the transaction is approved by DRI. We also have a file where members post their points for sale. DRI have exactly 10 days to exercise ROFR and are often delinquent about responding in time. Points are currently "selling" anywhere from $0 to $30 each. NB. If you buy resale, you can't get into Interval (the exchange co used by Embarc) with an independent account but can exchange through a number of other companies.


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## Maple_Leaf (Dec 14, 2017)

Just to put a bow on this thread, IMO the biggest risk when buying a Canadian timeshare is lack of understanding of the governance.  Americans do not usually encounter some of the land tenure situations existing in the British Commonwealth.  Buying on Ebay without the assistance of an attorney competent in timeshare law in the property's jurisdiction can be a disaster.  Just google Horseshoe Resort, Northwynd or St. George's Club.  At Horseshoe, the leaseholders were responsible for ALL resort maintenance.  Developer weeks had no maintenance fees assessed.  That wasn't explicitly part of the leasehold agreement, but due to a judge's interpretation subsequent to establishment of the resort.  As the number of leaseholders declined due to default, the maintenance fee for each week skyrocketed.  Only a competent local attorney independent of the resort would have known this.


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## Ferdinant (Jan 29, 2018)

Better do not buy timeshare in Canada. I want to sell/give away/terminate/give back/mine and it is almost impossible. Maintenance fee is doubled since 2005 when I bought it. They are asking me  to find a buyer. No one likes to pay high maintenance fee. I am thinking to stop paying. Let collection agency deal with it. I do not have any asset/money or property.


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## echino (Jan 29, 2018)

Ferdinant said:


> Better do not buy timeshare in Canada. I want to sell/give away/terminate/give back/mine and it is almost impossible. Maintenance fee is doubled since 2005 when I bought it. They are asking me  to find a buyer. No one likes to pay high maintenance fee. I am thinking to stop paying. Let collection agency deal with it. I do not have any asset/money or property.



Which timeshare do you own? If it's a ski week in Whistler, you will have no issue giving it away.


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## vacationhopeful (Jan 29, 2018)

echino ... Ferdinant lists his resort as being in ON ... Ontario? Might be a ski resort ... but on a minor HILL compared and might not be anything better than a MUD & ROCKS week.


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## Ferdinant (Jan 29, 2018)

Yes, my timeshare is Carriage Ridge Resort in Barrie, Ontario. It is about 1,25 hrs north of Toronto and basically is ski resort, but not the same as in Whistler,BC.
As pe TUG listing, the resale value is 1$.


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## Meow (Jan 31, 2018)

If you take over a timeshare in Canada, you risk assuming liabilities that may go beyond your means. Be careful.


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## Ferdinant (Feb 1, 2018)

More explicit please! What do you mean? In short what is this? Can you explain?


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## Meow (Feb 1, 2018)

Ferdinant, if your timeshare is down to a value of $1, its a signal to run - and fast.  You can refer to the thread 'Fairmont/Sunchaser' to see how bad things can get.


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## Ferdinant (Feb 1, 2018)

thanks a lot!
Ferdinant Avdyllari


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## Ferdinant (Feb 2, 2020)

echino said:


> Which timeshare do you own? If it's a ski week in Whistler, you will have no issue giving it away.


SORRY FOR REPLYING SO LATE! However, better late than never.
My TS is Carriage Ridge Resort in Barrie, Ontario.


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## TheTimeTraveler (Feb 8, 2020)

tschwa2 said:


> I am considering buying a timeshare in Canada.  I know that when Canadians go to sell a US timeshare it can be a pain to get the deed notarized in the US.  Are there any similar difficulties and issues that go along with an American buying and eventually selling or giving away a Canadian timeshare?
> 
> It is also in RCI points, any problems with US and Canadian RCI points timeshare in the same account?
> 
> Thanks for pointing out any hidden difficulties with this.





In reading the postings above then I would think that you would not want to buy in Canada.  With that said, why not buy a very desirable Timeshare in the USA as a "trader" and use that as your ticket to trade to Canada ?

I will admit that sometimes consistent trading is sometimes easier said than done......



.


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## tschwa2 (Feb 8, 2020)

TheTimeTraveler said:


> In reading the postings above then I would think that you would not want to buy in Canada.  With that said, why not buy a very desirable Timeshare in the USA as a "trader" and use that as your ticket to trade to Canada ?
> 
> I will admit that sometimes consistent trading is sometimes easier said than done......
> 
> ...


I did pass up on that.  It was a late June week at White Point Vacation Club in Nova Scotia.  Summer weeks aren't really available through RCI in Nova Scotia.


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## Ski-Dad (Feb 8, 2020)

White Point in Nova Scotia is stunning property.   A late June week would be decent.   The plum weeks are July and August.


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## Maple_Leaf (Feb 10, 2020)

Ski-Dad said:


> White Point in Nova Scotia is stunning property.   A late June week would be decent.   The plum weeks are July and August.


The lodge is a stunning property on the beach, however the timeshares are back in the woods.


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## tschwa2 (Feb 10, 2020)

Maple_Leaf said:


> The lodge is a stunning property on the beach, however the timeshares are back in the woods.


Yes both the June date vs a July date and the back in the woods location were factors in why I didn't jump on it before someone else took it.


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