Convert Timeshare to Individual Ownership

[rhkerr66]

I have 2 timeshare weeks at [edit info so it doesn't look like an ad]The Resort consists of a 16 story, 80 unit building. 61 of the units are individually owned while 19 are timeshare units.

Over 100 owners have defaulted and a number of the remaining owners (including my wife and I) would like to shed ourselves of our units. Since there seems to be no market for timeshares in the area it seems we are stuck with maintenance fees forever (we are getting old and even though we have been happy with our ownership we want to rid ourselves of future responsibility.)

My question is: Since there are 50 owners per unit and we have over 100 defaults and a number who want out, has anybody ever heard of converting timeshare units to individual ownership in a case like this? If so, please direct me to as much info as you can. Thanks for any help you can give.

Roger H. Kerr rhkerr@msn.com

 

[Lee B]

It must be a lot of trouble. Probably you would need 51 owners to have deeds on the same apartment, then make a legal document putting the intervals into one name, then having that person make a legal document converting them to sole ownership.

If the owners are spread around among several apartments, too many of them won't respond to requests to change their deeds, especially those who are deadbeats already.

Still, you could come up with a plan that includes compensation for the signers, legal document preparation and likely sale price. Perhaps make a bonus to the signers upon close of sale for above a certain price point.

If you do this, it will be a struggle but you could get a book out of it. Loads of fully sold associations would be interested.

Of course, you would pave the way for a new group of scammers, too. :annoyed:

 

[Carolinian]

Under the Declaration of Covenents of most resorts, even if you got all 52 weeks in the same unit in one name, it would not take it out of timeshare. You would owe 52 maintenance fees.

 

[Dave M]

Carolinian is correct. The governing documents of most timeshare resorts prevent exactly what you are trying to do. But even if you could do it, you would still owe 52 weeks of MFs every year, as he stated.

 

[rhkerr66]

Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback - I guess my best bet is to keep trying to give my weeks away.

rhkerr66:

 

[somerville]

Thanks for the feedback - I guess my best bet is to keep trying to give my weeks away.

rhkerr66:

In your original post, you indicated that the majority of the units were whole owned units. I assume that there is a seperate HOA fee for these units, as there is no timeshare scheme to support. If you got all of the owners of an apartment to withdraw a unit from the timeshare scheme, then you should be paying the same maintenance fees as the whole unit owners, which is probably much less than 52 weeks of timeshare maintenance. However, once the unit is withdrawn, the owners would be responsible for interior maintenance costs, etc.

 

[Carolinian]

In your original post, you indicated that the majority of the units were whole owned units. I assume that there is a seperate HOA fee for these units, as there is no timeshare scheme to support. If you got all of the owners of an apartment to withdraw a unit from the timeshare scheme, then you should be paying the same maintenance fees as the whole unit owners, which is probably much less than 52 weeks of timeshare maintenance. However, once the unit is withdrawn, the owners would be responsible for interior maintenance costs, etc.

There are a number of mixed use resorts on the Outer Banks, with some wholeownership and some timeshare units. In none of them, could all the owners of a single unit dedicated to timesharing unilaterally change its status from timeshare to wholeownership, even if one person owned all the weeks. That would usually take approval of a supermajority which in most resorts would be, as a practical matter, unattainable. In some resorts, it would even take unanimous consent of all owners of all units to change the status of any one unit.

 

[Bill4728]

It may not be possible for you as the owner of 52 weeks to covert 52 weeks of TS to whole ownership, but there may be a way to get it done.

You'll not likely find the answer here, you'll likely have to speak to an attorney who works with the developement of TS projects. You may be able to find out who drew up the contracts for your developement and contact that firm.

Good Luck

 

[Carolinian]

Your deed will give you the book and page number of the Declaration of Covenants. Get a copy and read it. You almost certainly would have to amend the part that describes what units are covered by the declaration, and that is usually difficult at best, impossible as a practical matter at worst to do.

 

[somerville]

There are a number of mixed use resorts on the Outer Banks, with some wholeownership and some timeshare units. In none of them, could all the owners of a single unit dedicated to timesharing unilaterally change its status from timeshare to wholeownership, even if one person owned all the weeks. That would usually take approval of a supermajority which in most resorts would be, as a practical matter, unattainable. In some resorts, it would even take unanimous consent of all owners of all units to change the status of any one unit.

That may be the case of the resorts you are familiar with, but I have seen one where it is permissible for the owners of one unit to remove it from the timeshare scheme.

 

[Carolinian]

That may be the case of the resorts you are familiar with, but I have seen one where it is permissible for the owners of one unit to remove it from the timeshare scheme.

The key is to look at the declaration of covenents of the specific resort. Unless it provides a specific method to do that, then it will take an amendment of the covenants themselves, which is not at all an easy task.

 

[Mel]

As Carolinian says, it could be difficult to remove a unit, and make it whole ownership, no matter who owns the full complement of weeks. However, there are other options.

When Tropical Breeze was being rebuilt, we had a significant number of units in default, and wanted to reduce the number of units that would be rebuilt. The units is default covered every week, but the HOA didn't own all weeks in any individual unit. To solve that problem, we amended the Declaration of Covenants, listing the units that were to be reassigned. This has created a few issues in dealing with RCI, since our own week was reassigned a different unit number, but allowed the HOA to end up owning all weeks in a given unit, and then to also amend and remove those units from the plan.

Barring that, redeeding the weeks in default is easy if the HOA forcloses on those units, and they may be able to convince paid-up owners to redeed if it will reduce their annual fees (by reducing the percentage of defaults). If the HOA owns all weeks in a given unit, even if it is not converted to whole ownership, the HOA could use it as such, and lease it on longer terms. As long as the HOA owns the unit, the money coming in from the lease can be used to offset the HOA's costs of owning the unit. The owners, in the form of the HOA, share the cost of the maintenance fees for that unit, but they are already doing that. A long-term lease on the unit might bring in more income than trying to rent it week-to-week.