Anyone stopping their Maintenance Fees?

[Walt]

Since it is almost impossible to sell or give away a timeshare, has anyone just stopped paying the Maintenance Fee? Deeded property and timeshare has no mortgage. None of our kids want the obligation of the Timeshare. We are 85 years old and have sold our house and are renting an apartment. We will not be needing credit and the Timeshare Management cannot foreclose on an house which we do not have. Upon our death, the estate will not be going into probate. There will only be a deeded timeshare week that the timeshare management will have to figure out how to get the week transferred back in their name without our approval since we are dead.

What happened to you if you did stop paying the Maintenance Fee?

 

[TUGBrian]

plenty of people.

though we always suggest offering it up for free and at least attempting to reach out to the resort to try to give it back as first options before you stop paying.

 

[andre10056]

"There will only be a deeded timeshare week that the timeshare management will have to figure out how to get the week transferred back in their name without our approval since we are dead."

That will indeed be a problem for them.

I would contact the timeshare entity and tell them exactly what you told us. Seems like they might want to do a deed back in lieu of foreclosure.

And, quite frankly, if the timeshare happened to be in California, Florida, or South Carolina, I believe that the timeshare entity can't get a dime from you even if your profile was that of a millionaire owning a palatial estate and a fleet of luxury automobiles.. The timeshare laws in those states are very much consumer protection statutes as you can read below:

Links to Official State Timeshare Laws and Guides/Manuals

@TUGBrian @DeniseM @CalGalTraveler take a look. This weekend, I’m creating a spreadsheet with official links to states’ timeshare laws, as well as their statuses as to non-judicial, anti-deficiency foreclosures. In the meantime, I will just keep adding notes. * Legal Disclaimer: This list...

tugbbs.com

For example, in Florida:

"FL, inaction or non-objection results in estate, anti-deficiency foreclosure, but objection leads to judicial, deficiency action"

So if you don't state an objection to their seeking to foreclose or whatever, all they can get is the timeshare back. Which I would think would make them doubly willing to do so (via your signing the timeshare back to them) right away without having to go through any foreclosure steps.

 

[sue1947]

Since it is almost impossible to sell or give away a timeshare

I disagree with this blanket statement. There are SOME timeshares that are difficult to give away, but many/most can either be sold or given away. Give it a try.

 

[LeslieDet]

That will indeed be a problem for them

Actually, the problem is not for the developer, it is for the HOA and the owners of that property. When an owner just stops paying the MFs and lets the ownership die on the vine so to speak, the MFs for all other owners increases to cover the delinquency and the costs to pursue that delinquency. So the "them" is your fellow owners.

 

[andre10056]

Actually, the problem is not for the developer, it is for the HOA and the owners of that property. When an owner just stops paying the MFs and lets the ownership die on the vine so to speak, the MFs for all other owners increases to cover the delinquency and the costs to pursue that delinquency. So the "them" is your fellow owners.

I was referring to exactly what the OP described: the timeshare entities' difficulty in dealing with deeded owners who are now dead. Hence, it would indeed be beneficial for the HOA and all owners to do the deedback ASAP.

 

[LeslieDet]

And, quite frankly, if the timeshare happened to be in California ... I believe that the timeshare entity can't get a dime from you

Just FYI - in CA, you are not correctly reciting the applicable law. Ignoring the question of whether an HOA actually would actually pursue a judicial foreclosure, the California Civil Code provides for liens recorded on and after January 1, 2006, that if the debt is under $1800 neither judicial or non-judicial foreclosure can be pursued; however, if the principal amount of debt exceeds $1800 or the delinquency exceeds 12 months, then an HOA may use judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure subject to the provisions in the Civil Code sections 5700 et seq.- In addition, reasonable costs of collection, reasonable attorney's fees, late charges and interest can be added to the principal amount due.

Any judicial or non-judicial foreclosure must comply with the provisions of the Civil Code, and I'm not going to go into all sections or obligations. I'm simply noting that the California Civil Code does indeed allow for the pursuit of a judicial foreclosure (and any resulting deficiency judgment) if the requirements of the applicable statutes are met.

 

[LeslieDet]

I was referring to exactly what the OP described: the timeshare entities' difficulty in dealing with deeded owners who are now dead. Hence, it would indeed be beneficial for the HOA and all owners to do the deedback ASAP.

Take "timeshare entities" out of your statement; the problem is for the deceased owner's fellow timeshare owners, as represented by the collective HOA. It isn't a "timeshare entity". It is the HOA and the fellow owners of the timeshare.

 

[andre10056]

Just FYI - in CA, you are not correctly reciting the applicable law. Ignoring the question of whether an HOA actually would actually pursue a judicial foreclosure, the California Civil Code provides for liens recorded on and after January 1, 2006, that if the debt is under $1800 neither judicial or non-judicial foreclosure can be pursued; however, if the principal amount of debt exceeds $1800 or the delinquency exceeds 12 months, then an HOA may use judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure subject to the provisions in the Civil Code sections 5700 et seq.- In addition, reasonable costs of collection, reasonable attorney's fees, late charges and interest can be added to the principal amount due.

Any judicial or non-judicial foreclosure must comply with the provisions of the Civil Code, and I'm not going to go into all sections or obligations. I'm simply noting that the California Civil Code does indeed allow for the pursuit of a judicial foreclosure (and any resulting deficiency judgment) if the requirements of the applicable statutes are met.

Thank you, Leslie. I made reference to the following Grammarhero description of what California's law might be:

CA, TS owners get anti-deficiency judgments, even for judicial actions: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/...vision=4.&title=&part=2.&chapter=2.&article=1

http://www.dre.ca.gov/files/pdf/timeshare_manual.pdf (page 27 is where main sections begin)

And I also wrote things like "assuming that Grammarhero's analysis is correct (which it appears to me that it is)....."

So if you're saying that Grammarhero was not correct and that California timeshare entities can get deficiency judgments, so be it.

But, interestingly, the bottom line position of everyone else was that a timeshare entity never pursues a deficiency judgment. Never happens anywhere in the country, so they said. I vehemently disagreed. If the timeshare entity COULD pursue a deficiency judgment, I thought that they certainly would in the appropriate circumstance.

So you apparently agree with me. Good to know. So why are you confronting me and not them?

 

[andre10056]

Take "timeshare entities" out of your statement; the problem is for the deceased owner's fellow timeshare owners, as represented by the collective HOA. It isn't a "timeshare entity". It is the HOA and the fellow owners of the timeshare.

The timeshare owners would not be filing in the appropriate legal forum to recover ownership after a timeshare owner dies. That would be done by the "timeshare entity" (whatever that might be).

 

[andre10056]

Oh. I just realized the all day discussion we had about California, Florida, and South Carolina laws and the alleged tendency by timeshare entities ANYWHERE to never seek deficiency judgments was in another thread.

 

[Patri]

Walt, tell the resort they can have it back. Do they even know you want to be done? You are in a good spot with this. You will be fine.

 

[Walt]

I am dealing with 2 timeshare management companies. Neither will take back any of the 3 deeded timeshare weeks. I told them about our age of 85, that I got diagnosed with malignant metastatic melanoma and about our legal means to not have our estate go through probate. Their answers was they have no free or low cost take back program. But they may be willing to take back one week for $5000 and the other 2 weeks for $5000. Any thoughts? One is a Hawaii timeshare and the other is a Wisconsin timeshare.