getting out of Westgate Resort TS after 3 mths

[jolumamo]

Hi All,
Wish I had researched this site before I visited the US from Australia un December 2013. We went to a Timeshare meeting in Orlando Florida with the lure of $100 gift Card for Universal Studios. The breakfast meeting went for about 5 hours all up with us signing the paperwork just to get out of there. The pressure applied to us was unreal. Anyway long story short we paid $19000 for a 2brm apartment at Westgate Town centre, furthermore we are financing it via monthly payments to their finance company in house. I saw online the other day someone selling my week (26) in the same complex for $900 + maintenance fees. Obviously I want out, but how do I do this other than stop paying them?:annoyed::annoyed:

 

[Passepartout]

Unfortunately, you are a bit too late. You are allowed 5 days after signing the contract to rescind it setting everything back as if it never happened. After that time has passed, unless you can prove fraud, you own a timeshare that is worth about 1-5% of what you obligated yourselves to pay for. I'm very sorry, but that's about it.

I don't know what leverage collection agencies have with Australian citizens with U.S. debt. If we simply stop paying, we can expect collecters calling at all hours, nasty letters, and ultimately black marks of non-payment of legal contracts in our credit report. It can make getting credit difficult, and raise the rates on your credit cards, car and mortgage payments.

Your resort can't be sold unless it's paid off, then it is worth approximately nothing. Again. Sorry.

Their sales tactics are deplorable and they have justifiably earned the name here of Wastegate. There is no love between TUGgers and Wastegate.

That said, they have nice resorts. The only real way to get ANY value from what you bought is to use it. If you sell it, the buyer will not be able to get any of the benefits of trade-ability or advance booking, so you may as well plan on paying for it and learning to use and exchange it. TUG is the best place to get that knowledge.

Welcome to TUG. You're among friends.

Jim

 

[jolumamo]

OMG, I feel sick to my stomach about this. I just found the "secret compartment" people have been talking about and read the interest rate is 17.99% and that we will pay app $44000 if we keep paying minimum payments! We were told that we could rent our week out for between $2-$4k for the week as week 26 is popular in Orlando? This is probably BS too!

 

[DeniseM]

OMG, I feel sick to my stomach about this. I just found the "secret compartment" people have been talking about and read the interest rate is 17.99% and that we will pay app $44000 if we keep paying minimum payments! We were told that we could rent our week out for between $2-$4k for the week as week 26 is popular in Orlando? This is probably BS too!

Yes, that's a lie too. Orlando has more rental supply than demand, so rental rates are on the low end.

 

[Passepartout]

We were told that we could rent our week out for between $2-$4k for the week as week 26 is popular in Orlando? This is probably BS too!

Yup. If the weeks would rent for those kind of numbers, don't you think they would be renting them instead of paying people hundreds of dollars so they can sell to them? I'm sure that week 26 is very popular, and will rent for the higher end of the rental rate spectrum, but probably not for that kind of premium. And that's if you rent it yourself. If you let them do it, (a) they take their commission, and (b) they will rent units they own before they rent yours, and (c), if they do rent yours, do you honestly think they will tell you how much they got for it?

Sorry.

 

[MOXJO7282]

OMG, I feel sick to my stomach about this. I just found the "secret compartment" people have been talking about and read the interest rate is 17.99% and that we will pay app $44000 if we keep paying minimum payments! We were told that we could rent our week out for between $2-$4k for the week as week 26 is popular in Orlando? This is probably BS too!

Yes you made a very bad uneducated decision, first to buy it and then to finance it. Now there is very little you can do that at this point because you will not be able to just stop paying as it will wreck your credit and you could never sell because as you can see its not worth much and you have a loan against it so no one would buy under those circumstances.

So what can you do now? Just enjoy the use of the timeshare as much as you can. Don't do what I see alot of people do and compound the problem even worse by not using the vacations you now own and paid a tremendous premium for. If you end up having numerous vacations that you enjoy the sting will be lessen.

Another consolation is your not alone. Almost all on this user site bought full retail and some also financed so you're not alone.

 

[MOXJO7282]

Yup. If the weeks would rent for those kind of numbers, don't you think they would be renting them instead of paying people hundreds of dollars so they can sell to them? I'm sure that week 26 is very popular, and will rent for the higher end of the rental rate spectrum, but probably not for that kind of premium. And that's if you rent it yourself. If you let them do it, (a) they take their commission, and (b) they will rent units they own before they rent yours, and (c), if they do rent yours, do you honestly think they will tell you how much they got for it?

Sorry.

Even a week 26 will be tough to rent at any premium because there are just so many units in Orlando to choose from and most would rent a Marriott way before a Westgate so I don't even think renting is a viable option.

 

[Dc3drivr]

too late

Yes you made a very bad uneducated decision, first to buy it and then to finance it. Now there is very little you can do that at this point because you will not be able to just stop paying as it will wreck your credit and you could never sell because as you can see its not worth much and you have a loan against it so no one would buy under those circumstances.

So what can you do now? Just enjoy the use of the timeshare as much as you can. Don't do what I see alot of people do and compound the problem even worse by not using the vacations you now own and paid a tremendous premium for. If you end up having numerous vacations that you enjoy the sting will be lessen.

Another consolation is your not alone. Almost all on this user site bought full retail and some also financed so you're not alone.

As a resident of another country, I recommend just stop paying.

 

[jolumamo]

So maybe I should just suck it up and take my medicine, expensive as it may be! I could pay my Maintenance Fees and taxes $925 US and deposit my week for exchange and choose somewhere nice for a holiday I suppose. Or apparently I can exchange my week for 2 short stays with Interval for up to 6 days each, or is that BS as well. Probably there will be a fee for that too!

 

[Passepartout]

As a resident of another country, I recommend just stop paying.

This is my recommendation as well. After perhaps a year of non-payment, (or collection attempts) tell them they are not getting a nickel from you and offer them the deed in lieu of foreclosure. I'm confident they will capitulate. It won't be pretty and you will likely have to put letters in you credit file explaining the defaulting, but eventually they will give up.

It beats paying $44,000 for something worth nothing.

Jim

 

[jolumamo]

That seems a bit too easy, they knew I was from another country when I signed up so that must have some way of enforcing the deal internationally. Trust me I would love to shove it to them, but the consequences could be huge. I know they haven't registered the debt with our Credit Reporting agency in Australia, but nothing to say they couldn't.

 

[siesta]

That seems a bit too easy, they knew I was from another country when I signed up so that must have some way of enforcing the deal internationally. Trust me I would love to shove it to them, but the consequences could be huge. I know they haven't registered the debt with our Credit Reporting agency in Australia, but nothing to say they couldn't.

I would consult an attorney in your country. If your legal professions canon of ethics are like ours he ethhically can't tell you to default, but he will be able to advise you of consequences and the likelihood they will happen since you are overseas

 

[falmouth3]

I think Siesta gives you good advice. It's worth paying a lawyer a bit to find out what your obligations are and what you can do to salvage that huge outlay in payments.

Good luck.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

So maybe I should just suck it up and take my medicine, expensive as it may be! I could pay my Maintenance Fees and taxes $925 US and deposit my week for exchange and choose somewhere nice for a holiday I suppose. Or apparently I can exchange my week for 2 short stays with Interval for up to 6 days each, or is that BS as well. Probably there will be a fee for that too!

Short Stays are real but they are extreme leftover inventory and the system was not programmed properly. I have used them and they serve a purpose but they are not for a "good" exchange. The inventory and the rules are very limited.

 

[Ron98GT]

Hi All,
Wish I had researched this site before I visited the US from Australia un December 2013. We went to a Timeshare meeting in Orlando Florida with the lure of $100 gift Card for Universal Studios. The breakfast meeting went for about 5 hours all up with us signing the paperwork just to get out of there. The pressure applied to us was unreal. Anyway long story short we paid $19000 for a 2brm apartment at Westgate Town centre, furthermore we are financing it via monthly payments to their finance company in house. I saw online the other day someone selling my week (26) in the same complex for $900 + maintenance fees. Obviously I want out, but how do I do this other than stop paying them?:annoyed::annoyed:

WOW, that's one expensive $100 gift card. 5 Hours in the sales meeting Question, why didn't you just walk out, it's that easy.

 

[VegasBella]

I'm not going to advise you to walk out on the debt but if everyone like you did just that they'd stop these predatory practices. Personally, I think I'd just stop paying regardless of the consequences to my credit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SMHarman]

As a resident of another country, I recommend just stop paying.

This is my recommendation as well. After perhaps a year of non-payment, (or collection attempts) tell them they are not getting a nickel from you and offer them the deed in lieu of foreclosure. I'm confident they will capitulate. It won't be pretty and you will likely have to put letters in you credit file explaining the defaulting, but eventually they will give up.

It beats paying $44,000 for something worth nothing.

Jim

I'll concur with this as well. If you are really concerned and have any key financing events you need to do in Oz, you can do these before you stop paying (e.g. refinance the mortgage).

That seems a bit too easy, they knew I was from another country when I signed up so that must have some way of enforcing the deal internationally. Trust me I would love to shove it to them, but the consequences could be huge. I know they haven't registered the debt with our Credit Reporting agency in Australia, but nothing to say they couldn't.

It is almost impossible to take black marks from other credit reports and passport them onto a different country credit report, chances of this happening are slim to none. The debt has to be legally recognised in the country before it can hit the credit system.

It is "possible" to get the Australian legal system to recognise the debt and pursue it through the Australian court systems. You have a number of things working massively in your favour there though.
1) comparitivly the debt is both small and large. a) it is too large for small claims court b) it therefore has to be through standard court process
2) the debt is on real property which makes it harder to process the default on, it is reposession of the property.
3) the contracts likely state somewhere that the juristiction of the loan is Florida so any attempt should be dismissed as out ex juristiction. Westgate should only be able to pursue this in the courts defined in the legal agreement.
4) as this requires real property lawyers in a foreign country using standard track court proceedings they will soon spend $19k in legal fees. IE it is not worth pursuing you, better to get the unit back and find another mark!
5) I think you would find if the above failed standing in court showing the hidden pocket would not go down well in any other jursidiction.

So, you need to stop paying before they will talk to you about a quitclaim deed. This is a quick easy legal process to take names off a deed. Clearly they will not do that if you are current in your payments. 3 months past due they should be ready to talk.

Then offer the quit claim. They will bully and badger but ultimately they will take this as it is in their interests to have the unit available to sell.

If you are paid up on your MF for 2014 and are planning to use 2014 then maybe you are better holding this off until you have taken that vacation to rescue a little more value from the process.

 

[SMHarman]

Short Stays are real but they are extreme leftover inventory and the system was not programmed properly. I have used them and they serve a purpose but they are not for a "good" exchange. The inventory and the rules are very limited.

You should still get out of this contract and buy something closer to home on the resale market. There are some nice TS in Thailand and Oz for example. Those would also entitle you to the same short stays etc without a 17.9% interest rate!

 

[Saintsfanfl]

You should still get out of this contract and buy something closer to home on the resale market. There are some nice TS in Thailand and Oz for example. Those would also entitle you to the same short stays etc without a 17.9% interest rate!

It is also worth noting that Short Stays have no trading power filter whatsoever. It is a like for like size restriction only. This means that it is possible to use a very low rated unit and short stay exchange for a unit that cannot be had through a regular exchange. I used a low power lock-off last year that could not see my needed units through a regular exchange but I successfully used Short Stay to get 24 nights of the same units. I stopped using short stay due to the lack of being able to cancel or retrade.

 

[Passepartout]

WOW, that's one expensive $100 gift card. Question, why didn't you just walk out, it's that easy.

It really is not that easy. People not generally versed in or accustomed to the lying, high pressure tactics of this type of confrontation. And generally Aussies on vacation are just nicer, if not a bit more naive than Americans. The Wastegate succession of ever more clever weasels, smelling a sale, would say, 'just a few minutes more', or 'if you leave now you don't get the $100', remember that's why the OP went in the first place.

I find your comments offensive, that you are blaming the victims for what happened. They simply fell into a den of well-trained wolves, and then as the law requires were not shown the rescission instructions. I think they might have a case, on those grounds, to go to the Florida Attorney General. This is a long way from the first time we've heard the same story from Wastegate victims about the deceptive practices and the hidden pocket holding the rescission instructions.

It's high time for them to be exposed and taken down. I hope someone can do it.

Jim

 

[Patri]

I find your comments offensive, that you are blaming the victims for what happened.
Jim

TUGGERS have done this consistently. Don't just pick on this guy.
They have called people names (such as greedy) for even going to the sales presentations, let alone get caught up in the scams.

 

[pacodemountainside]

Westgate Lawsuit

Check out this thread for some one who is suing. They have $140K at stake, but your $44K is not beer money.

Hopefully their attorney can advise you of options and a local attorney on defaulting.

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206007&highlight=westgate

 

[Saintsfanfl]

...but your $44K is not beer money.

That actually depends on how much beer you drink. $44k is only about 3 beers of the good stuff per day for 25 years.

 

[pacodemountainside]

That actually depends on how much beer you drink. $44k is only about 3 beers of the good stuff per day for 25 years.

Ye olde accountant likes to run the numbers.

Case of Corona is around $25 and lasts 8 days at 3 beers a day. 8 days into 365 is 46 cases at $25 or $1,150 a year or around 38 years. Of course, inflation would affect.

Not a problem for me as actuaries say I am only good for 8-9 more years and pace maker battery will go dead in around 5-6!

 

[LannyPC]

Just in case this hasn't been mentioned; and just in case you were not aware, this warning cannot be overemphasized. Watch out for scammers who thrive on people in your situation.

You will probably be getting phone calls (possibly e-mails and snail mail) with offers that sound really tempting such as "Cancel your timeshare mortgage", "Get out of your timeshare agreement", "End your maintenance fees", "We have buyers for your timeshare", etc.

They'll somewhere along the line ask you for an upfront fee and then do nothing for you. These are usually scams. No matter how tempting the offer sounds, I would just decline any of these "offers".