Lake Okanagan Resort contract buyout

[Used & Not Amused]

Just under $4000 for us to get out. Glad to be done with it.

In speaking with a lawyer, it is recommended that we send LOR a release letter for them to sign prior to $ being sent to them, stating that with our buyout we are finished with the agreement and LOR cannot come back for more money. Did you or anyone else have anything like this prepared for you?

 

[kevinjanny]

In speaking with a lawyer, it is recommended that we send LOR a release letter for them to sign prior to $ being sent to them, stating that with our buyout we are finished with the agreement and LOR cannot come back for more money. Did you or anyone else have anything like this prepared for you?

We requested a letter be sent releasing us of any other financial obligation to LOR. This was sent to us within a few days after they received payment.

 

[Emil]

Yes, a win is not what we want, and no lawyer so far has advocated for a lawsuit. We want out of the timeshare agreement for the very reasons you stated. The place is in decline, and so we are waiting to see what LOR will say to us 3 bedroom unit owners who have not paid to terminate, or agreed to transfer from a 3 bedroom/ sleep 8 unit to a 1 bedroom/sleep 4, on a 5 year contract. There was a deadline given to accept the termination option, or the transfer option ( Jan 15) so I won’t be surprised if they try to get more money from the folks that decided to wait and ride it out. But , they have said that they plan to terminate ALL timeshares by 2023, which they can’t do legally! So hopefully by then, if what they are saying is true, they will let us ,who are still there , walk away with no fee! Might be wishful thinking on our part.

Their letter said they would like to terminate all timeshares by 2023 not that they would terminate them by 2023.

 

[InheritedThisShit]

so what happens if we don't pay... I've been to court with a renter situation a few times and the judge says... one of you will walk out of here with a piece of paper stating the other owes you $$$'s but it isn't enforced by the courts. I have to know where the person works or banks to serve them with a notice to garnishee wages or bank account. I'm pretty sure they have no idea where I bank or work so screw them. Sure my credit score might go down but I'm in my mid 50's who cares.

What do others think?

 

[Emil]

so what happens if we don't pay... I've been to court with a renter situation a few times and the judge says... one of you will walk out of here with a piece of paper stating the other owes you $$$'s but it isn't enforced by the courts. I have to know where the person works or banks to serve them with a notice to garnishee wages or bank account. I'm pretty sure they have no idea where I bank or work so screw them. Sure my credit score might go down but I'm in my mid 50's who cares.

What do others think?

They know your address and they will send a collection agency to get money from you. They would probably be able to find out where you work.

 

[InheritedThisShit]

They know your address and they will send a collection agency to get money from you. They would probably be able to find out where you work.

I've even had a collection agency come after me... they put the bad debt on my credit score. But you don't have to pay them either. It's just a pretty piece of paper like the judge said.

 

[Granjan]

We have 2 timeshares at LOR, one annual and one biennial purchased in 2004. In 2010 we converted to the RCI points system to get more flexibility in trading our weeks. Right now we have on deposit 67000 points. We were planning to use them plus our 2019 points to go to Hawaii in the fall. If we pay the buyout fee then what happens to our already paid for RCI points? That’s another $1000 down the drain! Anyone else in this situation?

 

[JerBear77]

My lawyer friend today discussed with me the Annual Use Fee which according to my lease agreement states that it is to be used for Operating Costs & Replacement Reserve. Under the definition of both of these items it states that they are to be used for "Maintenance and repair of the Vacation Resort and the units" as well as a "reserve for repair to both exterior and interior of the units". If the Resort is "no longer sustainable" as written in the letter to owners, then it sounds to me that the Lease has already been broken.

I think the new owners just want the Timeshare community out and is trying to bully us in to terminating our leases by threatening large increases in the Annual Use Fee. For one I will not take this laying down and just hand over more money.

I have phoned the office multiple times and been sent to voicemail with a full mailbox so I couldn't leave a message as well as sent emails that have gone without reply.

We need to stand up for ourselves. How can we get a list of all the owners at LOR so we can stand together?

 

[Tom R123]

Has anyone paid the buyout fee and had issues with receiving a release from LOR?

 

[JerBear77]

I just phoned LOR and got a new message "we are unable to take your call right now. Please leave a message or for a faster response send an email..." Well, of course the mailbox is full and I have sent emails over the past weeks and still have not got a response.

This is ridiculous!

 

[JerBear77]

I just filed a complaint with Consumer Protection B. C.
Everyone should.

 

[bogey21]

so what happens if we don't pay...

This would be appealing to me but I, who never consults with lawyers, would make an exception here and talk to a lawyer first to see what they can do to you if you (1) totally ignore them and (2) just flat never send them any money no matter what. It could be a viable solution if you have the stomach to handle the repercussions but you must understand the possible consequences first...

George

 

[confusedowner]

Hi All, With a week left to go before LOR's deadline of January 15th to choose an option, I am still confused but very grateful to all who have written their questions and advice on this forum. I never had any reply from LOR, nor any help from the Resort itself, and the voicemail was full. I am leaning towards Option 1, but in their letter, they simply request the 2019 Maintenance fee. As I am a biannual owner, I should not have to pay until 2020, but I am worried about incurring their wrath if I don't send them any money to placate them. (I purchased a one-bedroom in 1997). Any suggestions? (Thanks for the link to the FB group, I have registered but am waiting for approval.

 

[Emil]

The letter was general and mainly aimed at annual owners. If I were you, I would not send them MF until 2020. Have you got a clause in your contract restricting the increase in MF to the CPI?

 

[JerBear77]

My contract restricts the annual use fee increase to the CPI BUT after what happened to the investors in Fairmont I am still scared that the new owners have slipped a new clause by us somehow. I want out of this so bad but it just irks me to have to pay to do so.
I am tempted to take option #3 since I am a biennial owner on even years but I'm afraid that they will never have enough units available to accommodate everyone that switches over.

HELP!!

 

[JerBear77]

I just found a clause that I didn't pay attention to before.

Article VII Vacationer's Obligation for Payment
7.1 Notice of Assessment. The vacationer covenants and agrees to pay Vacation Ltd. the amount set forth in any Notice of Annual Use Fee or Notice of Abnormal Damage or in any other notice issued pursuant to the terms of this agreement within 30 days after the date of such notice.

Is this how they will get us in the end? They can send us any notice of assessment and we have to pay? It also states the interest on any amount past due will be 26.824% per year. This sounds too much like the Fairmont court ruling. Even after fighting for years the owners still have to pay the assessment PLUS 26.824% INTEREST

HELP! HELP!

 

[JerBear77]

OK, I did it. I sent them a cheque. I still think they are a bunch of lying thieves but I don't want to be under their thumb any more.

 

[Prinsus]

With today being the deadline for first payment (we opted to pay them out, Jan 15, 2019 $1,675 and the balance Mar 15, 2019) being due, I was curious to what everyone else is doing? We have decided to pay and be done with it because we are applying for a mortgage in the next few months and a worried that they may place something on our credit file.

 

[Cathy Drader]

We are riding it out - have re-booked our September week that we were previously refunded for. We are Sleep 8 owners, and Jady has told us that we have until mid-2019 to see what they are doing about the Sleep 8s. I guess we are taking the chance that they may charge MORE than the $3350 for now, but the way we see it, if we can get three more holidays out of it for roughly the same amount of money as terminating (and getting nothing) then we are going to try. Not a fun situation to be in. We paid to get out of our timeshare at Fairmont, and are not inclined to go down without a fight this time. And it might be late notice, but there is a Facebook group with almost 140 members talking about this. https://www.facebook.com/groups/251552458822207/?ref=bookmarks

 

[InheritedThisShit]

I'm not sure what unit the sleep 8 are in but the place was disgusting when we stayed in Sept.2018.
you can see my pic's on the FB group.

 

[miracleNAMES]

Has anyone else received their buyout letter? It's kind of short notice, giving owners only until January 15 to come up with the money, but we want out so it's a done deal for us. For our own peace of mind, we're taking it to our lawyer to look over. Any thoughts?

Hi Kevin; I decided not to pay the "termination fee", and my lawyer agreed. Interestingly, when I emailed the contact in Richmond twice, asking what happened to the 977 people who last year refused to pay their maintenance fees, I got no answer -twice. But when I asked what happened if I did nothing, I got an immediate reply that doing nothing was equal to choosing option 1 - continuing with the timeshare. Since I have a 99-year lease from 1992, they told me that yes, I could continue to use the timeshare till 2091 (!!) as long as I paid the maintenance fee each year. Quick response on that one - and silence re the result of defaulting on the fee.
What did you end up doing? I have not paid for 2019 and do not plan on doing so. I'm willing to let the timeshare go but legally and ethically if they want us out (and I'm sure they do) they should be buying us out, not the other way round.
Any other owners willing to weigh in on this?
Cathrine

 

[miracleNAMES]

Has anyone else received their buyout letter? It's kind of short notice, giving owners only until January 15 to come up with the money, but we want out so it's a done deal for us. For our own peace of mind, we're taking it to our lawyer to look over. Any thoughts?

 

[miracleNAMES]

Hi Kevin,
I decided not to pay the "termination fee" and my lawyer agreed. Getting no satisfaction from calling the contact number, I emailed asking what happened if I did not choose an option. The prompt reply was that doing nothing equalled choosing option 1, retaining the timeshare till the lease runs out. Mine is a 99 year lease, bought in 1992, so they confirmed (promptly) that I could continue to use the timeshare till 2091 (!) provided I paid the maintenance fee each year. However, when I emailed asking what happened to the 997 people who defaulted on their fees last year, I got no reply - twice. I'm willing to let this timeshare go, but I'm damned if I'm paying them to take it back. They should be buying us out. They obviously want to be rid of all timeshare owners.
Cathrine

 

[DKon]

Hi Kevin; I decided not to pay the "termination fee", and my lawyer agreed. Interestingly, when I emailed the contact in Richmond twice, asking what happened to the 977 people who last year refused to pay their maintenance fees, I got no answer -twice. But when I asked what happened if I did nothing, I got an immediate reply that doing nothing was equal to choosing option 1 - continuing with the timeshare. Since I have a 99-year lease from 1992, they told me that yes, I could continue to use the timeshare till 2091 (!!) as long as I paid the maintenance fee each year. Quick response on that one - and silence re the result of defaulting on the fee.
What did you end up doing? I have not paid for 2019 and do not plan on doing so. I'm willing to let the timeshare go but legally and ethically if they want us out (and I'm sure they do) they should be buying us out, not the other way round.
Any other owners willing to weigh in on this?
Cathrine

We paid the 2019 fee and intend to use the booking during our standard week in July. Our contract situation is similar to yours (99 year lease, initiated in 1992, etc.). The bigger question is what happens next year when the fee is doubled or tripled? They do "warn" that due to falling owner numbers, growing delinquent accounts and the overall degenerating property conditon the fees will be significantly increased.

My first reaction to this is to say how's this my issue?! The problems with unpaid accounts, dropping subscribers and escalating costs of property maintenance & repair are management issues. Simply jacking up the fees to cover the problems created by mismanagement is unethical and goes against the contract we all agreed to. More importantly, one of the clauses in my contract stipulates thaft fees are not to increase more than 10% annually (which is already 5x the current inflation rate):

Article V (Annual Use Fees) - Section 5.2 Method of Calculation
The Annual Use Fee shall be an amount which includes the portion of the Operating Costs and Replacement Reserve attributable from time to time to the Vacation Interval during which the Vacationer is entitled to use of the Vacation Unit hereunder. The Annual Use Fee for each Vacation Interval which falls within the 1992 calendar year shall be $290.00. The Annual Use Fee for each Vacation Interval which falls within each calendar year thereafter shall be increased annually by such percentage as may be necessary to offset any increase in Operating Costs and the Replacement Reserve over such costs for the 1992 calendar year, but in no event shall be increased by more than 10% per year cumulatively during the five year period commencing January 1, 1993. [emphasis mine]

Does anyone else interpret that last line to mean that after 5 yeas (i.e., after 1998) the percentage increase can be anything the management wants?

 

[kevinjanny]

I

Hi Kevin; I decided not to pay the "termination fee", and my lawyer agreed. Interestingly, when I emailed the contact in Richmond twice, asking what happened to the 977 people who last year refused to pay their maintenance fees, I got no answer -twice. But when I asked what happened if I did nothing, I got an immediate reply that doing nothing was equal to choosing option 1 - continuing with the timeshare. Since I have a 99-year lease from 1992, they told me that yes, I could continue to use the timeshare till 2091 (!!) as long as I paid the maintenance fee each year. Quick response on that one - and silence re the result of defaulting on the fee.
What did you end up doing? I have not paid for 2019 and do not plan on doing so. I'm willing to let the timeshare go but legally and ethically if they want us out (and I'm sure they do) they should be buying us out, not the other way round.
Any other owners willing to weigh in on this?
Cathrine

We paid to get out within days of my original post. For us it all boiled down to the fact that we could see the resort condition declining, and did not want to spend our vacation time there. We ended up using it for trades, and when we added up our cost of trading (rising maintenance fees, RCI fees) vs renting from Vrbo or Airbnb, it was an easy decision for us. Plus at the end of a rental, we can just walk away without any more financial commitments. We didn’t feel good about it, but it just made the most sense in our situation.