I have been a timeshare (TS) weeks and points owners for many years. Basically, I have been happy with my points ownership but have wanted to get out of my three weeks' maintenance fees and one small amount of points ownership annual fees.
We got rid of one of our really good TS weeks by finding someone who lived very close to our TS resort and who wanted to have access to the anytime free use of the facilities. That person paid all of the fees for the transfer.
For the other two TS weeks, we should have known better, but to get rid of them we bought into a Travel Club (TC) which stated it would get rid of our two TS's in the process. For an initial TC purchase price of around $5K we hesitantly (and stupidly) entered into this deal. However, we had to sign numerous timeshare transfer agreement papers, notarized at a cost of almost $150., and pay $540. for each TS transfer to happen, unfortunately with no guarantees as to when and if the transfers would actually take place.
After around six months had gone by, I began to write many email letters threatening to do as your "Tips..." suggested. After some months of telephonic and email tag, the TC made an offer to reduce the purchase price (the balance of which we already had paid in full) by sending us a check for the upcoming maintenance fees of $1562. for the two TS's, with the provision that we would sign a letter agreeing that we had reached "a satisfactory resolution without the need of involvement of any governing bodies.." and that we would not "discuss this rebate... or this agreement becomes immediately void and customer will be required to pay the original balance plus any attorney or collection fees." I wanted to fight this, as your "Tips" suggested, but my wife just wanted to get it over with.
In a desperate mode we agreed to this letter, but I also sent an Addendum to the TC telling them that, if the TS's were not transferred within a 60 day period before our 2017 bookings, we intended to use the weeks still in our ownership and whose annual maintenance fees were paid.
With the check in the mail from the TC we also received an email telling us that the TC, in essence, is a separate entity from the timeshare wholesaler and not "in the business of timeshare resale/title transfers" and that we are under the contractual terms of the wholesaler and that "all weeks/points associated with the timeshares... must be made fully available to..." them, but that we would be guaranteed that "the transfer process will be completed no later than December 31, 2017 so long as all contractual terms are met..." and "all fees associated with the timeshares involved in the transfer process are kept current and the accounts are not in a delinquent status."
As I contemplate all of these proceedings from beginning to this point and the terms in these most recent letters, I get the feeling our situation is no better than it was at the start. How could we have been so dumb as to get involved in this situation. We didn't need the TC and we should have known better to have paid any upfront money to rid ourselves of our timeshares.
Do we have any leverages or legal recourse that can be used at this time? Can we use the booked weeks (one was booked for July, before we signed any transfer agreements and would be worth at least three times the maintenance fees as a rental; and the other one is not booked for this year)?
Would the timeshare resorts or companies involved know about the transfer process and perhaps be willing to keep us informed of the timing? If the timeshare wholesaler were able to sell either of the two timeshares, how much time would be involved from the initial offer to the conclusion of the sale? Since we have paid off the TC purchase price and don't intend to renew its membership, how liable would we be if we broke the "contractual agreement" we signed with the timeshare wholesaler? I would love to be able to broadcast my situation, using names and dates, to as many interested sources, as possible.
I am interested in your comments and especially if someone out there can give us some legal advice. Thank you.
We got rid of one of our really good TS weeks by finding someone who lived very close to our TS resort and who wanted to have access to the anytime free use of the facilities. That person paid all of the fees for the transfer.
For the other two TS weeks, we should have known better, but to get rid of them we bought into a Travel Club (TC) which stated it would get rid of our two TS's in the process. For an initial TC purchase price of around $5K we hesitantly (and stupidly) entered into this deal. However, we had to sign numerous timeshare transfer agreement papers, notarized at a cost of almost $150., and pay $540. for each TS transfer to happen, unfortunately with no guarantees as to when and if the transfers would actually take place.
After around six months had gone by, I began to write many email letters threatening to do as your "Tips..." suggested. After some months of telephonic and email tag, the TC made an offer to reduce the purchase price (the balance of which we already had paid in full) by sending us a check for the upcoming maintenance fees of $1562. for the two TS's, with the provision that we would sign a letter agreeing that we had reached "a satisfactory resolution without the need of involvement of any governing bodies.." and that we would not "discuss this rebate... or this agreement becomes immediately void and customer will be required to pay the original balance plus any attorney or collection fees." I wanted to fight this, as your "Tips" suggested, but my wife just wanted to get it over with.
In a desperate mode we agreed to this letter, but I also sent an Addendum to the TC telling them that, if the TS's were not transferred within a 60 day period before our 2017 bookings, we intended to use the weeks still in our ownership and whose annual maintenance fees were paid.
With the check in the mail from the TC we also received an email telling us that the TC, in essence, is a separate entity from the timeshare wholesaler and not "in the business of timeshare resale/title transfers" and that we are under the contractual terms of the wholesaler and that "all weeks/points associated with the timeshares... must be made fully available to..." them, but that we would be guaranteed that "the transfer process will be completed no later than December 31, 2017 so long as all contractual terms are met..." and "all fees associated with the timeshares involved in the transfer process are kept current and the accounts are not in a delinquent status."
As I contemplate all of these proceedings from beginning to this point and the terms in these most recent letters, I get the feeling our situation is no better than it was at the start. How could we have been so dumb as to get involved in this situation. We didn't need the TC and we should have known better to have paid any upfront money to rid ourselves of our timeshares.
Do we have any leverages or legal recourse that can be used at this time? Can we use the booked weeks (one was booked for July, before we signed any transfer agreements and would be worth at least three times the maintenance fees as a rental; and the other one is not booked for this year)?
Would the timeshare resorts or companies involved know about the transfer process and perhaps be willing to keep us informed of the timing? If the timeshare wholesaler were able to sell either of the two timeshares, how much time would be involved from the initial offer to the conclusion of the sale? Since we have paid off the TC purchase price and don't intend to renew its membership, how liable would we be if we broke the "contractual agreement" we signed with the timeshare wholesaler? I would love to be able to broadcast my situation, using names and dates, to as many interested sources, as possible.
I am interested in your comments and especially if someone out there can give us some legal advice. Thank you.
