[2015] About to Start the Foreclosure Process

[Braindead]

I am working with a local (New York State) bankruptcy attorney...just at initial stage of gathering needed documents, etc. I meet again on Friday 1/5...
Thank you for your guidance...

Honestly if you can get your husband to go the better. You two are going to have to work this out together.
If I were in your shoes. I would also spend the money for an hour with my regular family attorney to explore if bankruptcy is a good option for you and he would also probably have a recommendation for a good second opinion.
Bankruptcy is a big deal in most peoples lives. It sounds easy but has long lasting ramifications and shouldn’t be taken lightly

 

[vacationhopeful]

Braindead above makes a couple of VERY GOOD points. Ask your regular family lawyer for an opinion on a BK lawyer. The family lawyer knows you and your husband ... a professional verses a 'ad', friend referral, or the corner storefront lawyer. YOU would never buy the first house the realtor showed you ... the BQ lawyer will impact your financial life and future as much or more than just looking at 1 house to buy.

Think about getting some family therapy sessions with your husband. You would NOT be the first who needs to reflect on HOW and WHY you (BOTH?) overspend ... and to share the problem. Guilt for not keeping up with the neighbors, siblings, fads, NO planning or just priorities in the wrong place. Status buying, hoarding, getting a 'high' in buying stuff could be part of a million other reasons.

Setting a budget .. first to get out of debt. And then to realistically to live and SAVE wtihin your families goals and for a SOLID financial future. Talking to a therapy professional OPENS up the big picture for you and your family. It might mean moving to a smaller (or less fancy) home to enjoy international travel or private schools or an earlier retirement.

And expect your goals, priorities and plans do change over time. But remember, LIVE for BOTH the here and now... but saving for your old age, too.

 

[Passepartout]

Bankruptcy is a big deal in most peoples lives. It sounds easy but has long lasting ramifications and shouldn’t be taken lightly

So is taking on $200,000 in high interest debt on a purchase with little to no actual value. Yes, the whole family MUST be together on this, however, it appears the OP (wife) took it upon herself to encumber herself. I'm curious as to how she was even able to attend a Wyndham presentation at this (or really, ANY) level while vacationing without the spouse. I'm not familiar enough with Louisiana law to know what the contract says, OR since Louisiana is under Napoleonic Law (not the Common Law of other states), even what law applies to this purchase.

Her NY BK attorney had best be up to speed on this.

Jim

 

[Braindead]

So is taking on $200,000 in high interest debt on a purchase with little to no actual value. Yes, the whole family MUST be together on this, however, it appears the OP (wife) took it upon herself to encumber herself. I'm curious as to how she was even able to attend a Wyndham presentation at this (or really, ANY) level while vacationing without the spouse. I'm not familiar enough with Louisiana law to know what the contract says, OR since Louisiana is under Napoleonic Law (not the Common Law of other states), even what law applies to this purchase.

Her NY BK attorney had best be up to speed on this.

Jim

Your exactly right. Timeshares and different state laws come into play.
I’m not an attorney. But I know a spouse cannot buy real estate in some states without the other spouse signing a consent form that they are aware that their spouse is buying real estate and they’re spouse is the sole buyer. That goes back to is a timeshare real estate.
Wyndham usually does want both spouses on the deed. I do not know what Louisiana, Florida or New York laws are. All 3 come into play because the OP bought in all 3 states.

 

[Braindead]

So is taking on $200,000 in high interest debt on a purchase with little to no actual value.

Jim

The problem with OMGs case. She states they both have good incomes and little debt. It sounds like they might have a decent amount of net worth at stake here. Best case scenario here would be if Wyndham traded in OMG contracts as she bought and she now has 1 large contract. Then if her attorney could find something wrong with any 1 of the contracts it might get her out of all contracts.

 

[Passepartout]

The problem with OMGs case. She states they both have good incomes and little debt. It sounds like they might have a decent amount of net worth at stake here. Best case scenario here would be if Wyndham traded in OMG contracts as she bought and she now has 1 large contract. Then if her attorney could find something wrong with any 1 of the contracts it might get her out of all contracts.

Best case scenario would be if a determination is made that they (Wyn) had offered her a sale when she was ineligible and they offer to rescind to save face. But I don't know the laws involved. Hopefully, she'll keep us informed as this goes forward. Either way, I hope the couple can get beyond this. It won't be easy, as there are some trust issues here.

Jim

 

[Braindead]

Best case scenario would be if a determination is made that they (Wyn) had offered her a sale when she was ineligible and they offer to rescind to save face. But I don't know the laws involved. Hopefully, she'll keep us informed as this goes forward. Either way, I hope the couple can get beyond this. It won't be easy, as there are some trust issues here.

Jim

We are both thinking along the same lines. WYN was a good key word to use.

 

[CO skier]

So is taking on $200,000 in high interest debt on a purchase with little to no actual value. Yes, the whole family MUST be together on this, however, it appears the OP (wife) took it upon herself to encumber herself. I'm curious as to how she was even able to attend a Wyndham presentation at this (or really, ANY) level while vacationing without the spouse. I'm not familiar enough with Louisiana law to know what the contract says, OR since Louisiana is under Napoleonic Law (not the Common Law of other states), even what law applies to this purchase.

Her NY BK attorney had best be up to speed on this.

Jim

I live in Colorado. My wife recently bought a house -- a decision I opposed. She arranged her own financing; there was nothing I needed to sign. She encumbered herself, because she has enough income on her own to qualify for her loan. There was nothing I could do to prevent the transaction.

I am sure there are other states with similar real estate laws.

All our (my) timeshares are in my name. My wife never needed to sign anything (and this was when we did not live in Colorado). She is not keen on timeshares, but she sure does enjoy our timeshare vacations. I regularly attend owner presentations on my own, because my wife is not listed as an owner on the timeshare accounts.

She pays the mortgage payments on the house that I think is a mistake; I pay the maintenance fees on all our timeshares. Marital bliss.

 

[Braindead]

I live in Colorado. My wife recently bought a house -- a decision I opposed. She arranged her own financing; there was nothing I needed to sign. She encumbered herself, because she has enough income on her own to qualify for her loan. There was nothing I could do to prevent the transaction.

I am sure there are other states with similar real estate laws.

All our (my) timeshares are in my name. My wife never needed to sign anything (and this was when we did not live in Colorado). She is not keen on timeshares, but she sure does enjoy our timeshare vacations. I regularly attend owner presentations on my own, because my wife is not listed as an owner on the timeshare accounts.

She pays the mortgage payments on the house that I think is a mistake; I pay the maintenance fees on all our timeshares. Marital bliss.

In one state I had to sign so my wife could put real estate in her name only.
In another state we put real estate in her name only. But when we sold it I had sign a document stating I knew she was selling the property. She could buy without me. But couldn’t sell without me

 

[Passepartout]

I live in Colorado. My wife recently bought a house -- a decision I opposed. She arranged her own financing; there was nothing I needed to sign. She encumbered herself, because she has enough income on her own to qualify for her loan. There was nothing I could do to prevent the transaction.

I am sure there are other states with similar real estate laws.

All our (my) timeshares are in my name. My wife never needed to sign anything (and this was when we did not live in Colorado). She is not keen on timeshares, but she sure does enjoy our timeshare vacations. I regularly attend owner presentations on my own, because my wife is not listed as an owner on the timeshare accounts.

She pays the mortgage payments on the house that I think is a mistake; I pay the maintenance fees on all our timeshares. Marital bliss.

Similar situation here. My wife bought her (our) condo. She paid for it. I wasn't all that hot on it. I had to sign away my (common law) interest in it in order for her to get title insurance. They didn't want my heirs coming after the deed should I pre-decease my wife.

Neither your experience, nor mine have anything to do with the OP's. We both live in 'Common Law' states (as are most Western states) while Louisiana, New York, and Florida, are not. It remains to be seen what will become of this, but one thing's sure. It won't be cheap and easy.

Jim

 

[kaljor]

To the OP, you described your situation perfectly and I’m guessing you came to this forum hoping to find a hack or a little known procedure to get out of a timeshare purchase. Sadly, after the legal date to rescind, there is no secret way out. It’s a contract and since the numbers are this big, the only smart way forward for you is to have a good lawyer explain all your options. None of them may be good, but one of them will be the least bad. That choice only you and your husband can make. Best of luck to you.

 

[taterhed]

To the OP: @OMG!
I'm not a lawyer and don't claim to offer professional advice. That being said...
Louisiana is a community property state. Immovable assets in LA. are governed by LA statute, not by owner's domicile. AFAICT

But, you did state that you opened personal accounts, loans and solely signed the indebtedness without your husband's knowledge. This would make the asset (liability) separate property.

The key test for this appears to be: Were or are any community assets used to procure and/or pay for the property or service the debt? If only separate assets were used to pay (your assets) then it's probably separate ownership. If any community property (assets) were used to buy or service the debt (greater than an insignificant amount), then the ownership is likely community.

Again, this is just internet drivel and not worth the time it took to write this post.....BUT, This should serve as a message to you:
This is not a clear-cut matter for you or your spouse and you BOTH should work together to resolve this financial issue and, hopefully, further resolve your emotional and relationship issues as well.

This is a complicated and painful issue, your story is one of many. I wish you the best of luck and peace in resolving this. Please take the others' advice and get some legal and emotional counseling ASAP to start the new year right and take 1 step--1 day at a time--to reaching a happy and healthy life.

Cheers to having the courage to talk about this, recognize the problem(s) and seek help and guidance.

 

[OMG!]

Good morning all and appreciate the comments. We are proceeding with chapter 13 bankruptcy, which will restructure the debt load to a repayment I can handle. It will be personal-not joint- court process, so husbands assets are protected. I got us into this mess and I'll do what I have to to get us out.

I am in therapy to understand the compulsion (as well as the gullibleness!) and husband realized that 30+ years together will have disappointments but we will make it thru this folly. (THANKFULLY)

I assisted my sister this week in her new house closing and the difference between that real estate transaction and mine w Wyndham was a shock! They explained her payments, the amortization charts, the benefit of paying a small amount extra per month to lower costs....my experience was to talk about the "vision" and rush me through signing by pointing to the monthly amount (not the totals) and putting an electronic signature to everything as the quality control guy sped through each document.

I did attempt to get out of this a few days later and before leaving New Orleans BUT I spoke with the sales person. I told him that I couldn't handle the monthly mortgage and the monthly maintenance (both) and he kept me calm by saying the maintenance fees can be handled by using half the points and that most people go home and refinance the mortgage. But still I signed on the dotted line, so no matter what...Wyndham will get a chunk of money one way or the other.

I meet later with bankruptcy lawyer to finalize .... and I will likely work a few more years rather than retire next year, and I've surrendered all credit cards to never get myself in this pickle again!

 

[Braindead]

Good morning all and appreciate the comments. We are proceeding with chapter 13 bankruptcy, which will restructure the debt load to a repayment I can handle. It will be personal-not joint- court process, so husbands assets are protected. I got us into this mess and I'll do what I have to to get us out.

I am in therapy to understand the compulsion (as well as the gullibleness!) and husband realized that 30+ years together will have disappointments but we will make it thru this folly. (THANKFULLY)

I assisted my sister this week in her new house closing and the difference between that real estate transaction and mine w Wyndham was a shock! They explained her payments, the amortization charts, the benefit of paying a small amount extra per month to lower costs....my experience was to talk about the "vision" and rush me through signing by pointing to the monthly amount (not the totals) and putting an electronic signature to everything as the quality control guy sped through each document.

I did attempt to get out of this a few days later and before leaving New Orleans BUT I spoke with the sales person. I told him that I couldn't handle the monthly mortgage and the monthly maintenance (both) and he kept me calm by saying the maintenance fees can be handled by using half the points and that most people go home and refinance the mortgage. But still I signed on the dotted line, so no matter what...Wyndham will get a chunk of money one way or the other.

I meet later with bankruptcy lawyer to finalize .... and I will likely work a few more years rather than retire next year, and I've surrendered all credit cards to never get myself in this pickle again!

Glad to hear your working your way through this. Hindsight is always 20/20. So don’t beat yourself up to bad. Just a shame you didn’t find us in time to rescind. Sales weasels are experts at catching individuals when your guard is down on vacation.
Glad your husband is willing to stick with you. You will definitely need his emotional support going threw the process in front of you. Good to hear his assets are also protected.

Hope you will be able to use your ownership to enjoy some vacations with your husband and others close to you. Jan M has excellent advice on putting your purchase price behind you and enjoying your ownership. Don’t let the bitterness of your mistake buying direct from Wyndham ruin your future vacations. Maybe you will also be able to do some renting of reservations to help out financially.

Best of luck to you. Ask any questions about your ownership here and do some reading of previous threads. There are excellent owners here that can help you get every benefit and enjoyment you can out of your ownership.

 

[OMG!]

Update: Chapter 13 was filed w court on Friday. Lawyer explained that creditors will have 90 days to object but that in their experience, this doesn't happen. They submitted to judge that I would give up all contracts to Wyndham to settle that bill in full (this includes the 2 gifted ones in addition to the platinum membership).

My restructured payments will be $1000/month for 5 years through court by monthly certified check.

Husband still angry but knowing that he will be handling all finances without me jeopardizing our nest egg, is helping. I will have no weekly allowance except for gas money (fine by me for now--I freaked myself out on how stupid I am with money!)

Hell of a life-lesson but beats the alternative of paying Wyndham $2000 for 180 months (which I thought was 5 years but it's really 15 years!!!!) Expensive fix (lawyer retainer was $3500 plus 310 court filing fee in NYS). And, I'm still upset with myself that I trusted "sales weasel" when I could have rescinded in time (he "calmed" my worries that I'd use points toward maintenance fees and just refinance loan when I got home).

I wish I had done stupid stuff and rebelled when I was a teenager--maybe I could have avoided this stunt! I guess you don't get out of life without doing something stupid (although this was MONUMENTALLY stupid!)

Will update as I go through the next 90 days...thanks for listening.

 

[kaljor]

I think you were really smart to resolve everything this way. After seeing your post about Chapter 13 I read up on it and it seems to be a fair method to let creditors get something instead of nothing and lets folks who have gotten themselves into a bad situation a way forward. If you're not at peace with this solution, I think you will be a year from now.

In my reading, one takeaway is that every payment to the court must be made on time, or there will be consequences.

Good luck, and thanks for letting us know how it turned out.

 

[taterhed]

One day at a time.
Honesty, owning up and making amends.

Good on you. Keep it up.
What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger.

 

[Jan M.]

Update: Chapter 13 was filed w court on Friday. Lawyer explained that creditors will have 90 days to object but that in their experience, this doesn't happen. They submitted to judge that I would give up all contracts to Wyndham to settle that bill in full (this includes the 2 gifted ones in addition to the platinum membership).

My restructured payments will be $1000/month for 5 years through court by monthly certified check.

Husband still angry but knowing that he will be handling all finances without me jeopardizing our nest egg, is helping. I will have no weekly allowance except for gas money (fine by me for now--I freaked myself out on how stupid I am with money!)

Hell of a life-lesson but beats the alternative of paying Wyndham $2000 for 180 months (which I thought was 5 years but it's really 15 years!!!!) Expensive fix (lawyer retainer was $3500 plus 310 court filing fee in NYS). And, I'm still upset with myself that I trusted "sales weasel" when I could have rescinded in time (he "calmed" my worries that I'd use points toward maintenance fees and just refinance loan when I got home).

I wish I had done stupid stuff and rebelled when I was a teenager--maybe I could have avoided this stunt! I guess you don't get out of life without doing something stupid (although this was MONUMENTALLY stupid!)

Will update as I go through the next 90 days...thanks for listening.

I'm not understanding why you would be paying $1000 a month for the next five years, $60k, on top of what you have already paid towards what you bought from Wyndham and you end up with nothing. Not even the two deeds you inherited. This doesn't seem right. Can someone can explain this to me?

 

[kaljor]

In Chapter 13, all your debts and assets and income are filed with the court, and the judge decides what you can keep and how much you can afford to pay. After paying the set amount for 5 years, all leftover debt is discharged. But you can't necessarily keep the things that were bought with the discharged debt. The monthly payment is disbursed by the court to all the creditors, and presumably they will not be paid in full. That's a simplistic basic answer that I gathered from reading about Chapter 13, I'm not a lawyer and I don't know anything specifically about OMG's case.

 

[raygo123]

In Chapter 13, all your debts and assets and income are filed with the court, and the judge decides what you can keep and how much you can afford to pay. After paying the set amount for 5 years, all leftover debt is discharged. But you can't necessarily keep the things that were bought with the discharged debt. The monthly payment is disbursed by the court to all the creditors, and presumably they will not be paid in full. That's a simplistic basic answer that I gathered from reading about Chapter 13, I'm not a lawyer and I don't know anything specifically about OMG's case.

Thats about right. Theres 7, 11, and 13 are the best known. Neither party is made whole.

Sent from my LGLK430 using Tapatalk

 

[Braindead]

I'm not understanding why you would be paying $1000 a month for the next five years, $60k, on top of what you have already paid towards what you bought from Wyndham and you end up with nothing. Not even the two deeds you inherited. This doesn't seem right. Can someone can explain this to me?

I was wondering the same thing. In OMG case Wyndham will probably end up with upto half of her congracts being paid. I wonder if they could of negotiated Wyndham taking back half and OMG paying off the other with a negotiated lower interest rate. We are talking about a large sum of money. Not someone trying to get away from $10-20 thousand dollars of debt.

I was waiting for Avislo to tell OMG to stop paying for 60 days and Wyndham would probably just take the contracts back. He said something along those lines in a thread started December 30th titled Club access verses deed.
Avislo[Robert] advice just go into default. If you have a loan on a CWA contract like OMG they are more likely to just take it back. No loan and just don’t want it anymore go into default.If it wasn’t such a serious matter his advice would be laughable.

If you have no loan. I would recommend giving the CWA contract away or try to sell. Ovation is also an option instead of going into default and dinging your credit score.

 

[OMG!]

Default for such a large amount would likely have resulted in being sued, at which time my husbands assets would be in jeopardy. I couldn't take that risk and chapter 13, despite having nothing in the end, allows me to make "amends" to creditors. At this point and after the very real threat of being divorced over my purchases, I'll be relieved to not have any contracts! I think Wyndham makes out no matter what, cuz the creditors gave them $60,000 already in down payment AND they can sell the contracts to next person.
The creditors should be made whole...I am sad that the 60,000 payback won't be helping any charities but my conscience will be clear that I did what I could to make things right. I'm not concerned about ruined credit score...At the end of this 5 yrs, I'll rebuild my credit.
Very expensive life lesson...

 

[kwelty]

OMG, I commend you for admitting your mistakes and working so hard to turn things around. Don't beat up on yourself too hard. All the best for getting everything back on track.

 

[GoChiefsorBust]

Hey everyone! OP here. Just a final comment from me. This year neither me or my ex husband received a tax document from Wyndham so I think we're completely done with it. My credit score has not suffered (it's currently in the low 800s), and I have officially moved on with my life. I want to thank everyone on here who provided GREAT information to me during this process. I have referred so many people to this site. Thanks again, and best wishes to all

 

[paxsarah]

Congratulations! (I hope for good!)