Understanding what is going on?

[timeos2]

What happens if I walk away from my timeshare (deeded property)? I can't afford the yearly fees.

You risk your credit rating and a foreclosure on the ownership - also a hit on your credit report. Better to find a new owner - give it to them if needed - so you can be properly removed as owner, the Association won't have to go to the credit agencies for collection and then foreclosure and everyone is better off.

You can also check with your resort to see if they accept "deed backs" - if they do then that would be the cheapest & quickest way out. If not try to find a new owner as mentioned above. One thing you DO NOT want to do is pay one of the Post Card Companies - so called as they frequently use misleading post cards to solicit you to "be relieved of your timeshare" or "we buy your timeshare - no more fees!" or similar approach. These groups take $3000 or more to try to sell your timeshare usually using a power of attorney and, if they don't, they simply aandon it & YOU are still the owner and still have collections and froeclosure on your record after PAYING them to deal with it! Don't fall for that trap - if you must pay use the fund to "sweeten the pot" for a true buyer & be sure the deed is legally transferred to them. It is a mucjh better, cheaper and positive way to be out of your current obligations. Good luck.

 

[ampaholic]

What happens if I walk away from my timeshare (deeded property)? I can't afford the yearly fees.

There is a range of possibilities that range from "nothing" clear up to "court proceedings resulting in judgements, confiscation of assets and crashed credit rating"

Most likely what happens to you will be somewhere in between.

 

[ttt]

I think hundreds of thousands of current timeshare owners were sold the benefits of an exchange company. For many years, it was a very good deal. Buy a studio at a low fee resort for around $250. in maint. fees and exchange it through RCI for $89. and get a 2 BR Gold Crown somewhere wher you want to go!
It was a great deal and when the internet became popular there was an explosion in interest in timeshares and lots of new owners discovering timeshare ownership and EXCHANGE opportunities. Life was great in timeshareland......then RCI decided to open up member deposits to the general public through their rental programs......the rest is history.
There was a time about 10 years ago when EVERY timeshare has some value......Even a blue studio could be resold based on the exchange opportunities offered in overdeveloped areas or off season.. a 2 bedroom red week(anywhere) had a generic resale value of $1500.
So you can thank Cendent Corp. for driving the timeshare bus off the cliff in favor of their stockholders.

 

[brucecz]

I think hundreds of thousands of current timeshare owners were sold the benefits of an exchange company. For many years, it was a very good deal. Buy a studio at a low fee resort for around $250. in maint. fees and exchange it through RCI for $89. and get a 2 BR Gold Crown somewhere wher you want to go!
It was a great deal and when the internet became popular there was an explosion in interest in timeshares and lots of new owners discovering timeshare ownership and EXCHANGE opportunities. Life was great in timeshareland......then RCI decided to open up member deposits to the general public through their rental programs......the rest is history.
There was a time about 10 years ago when EVERY timeshare has some value......Even a blue studio could be resold based on the exchange opportunities offered in overdeveloped areas or off season.. a 2 bedroom red week(anywhere) had a generic resale value of $1500.
So you can thank Cendent Corp. for driving the timeshare bus off the cliff in favor of their stockholders.

IMHO you are correct and also IMHO the rolling out of programs like RCI Points with attractive features and then taking many of those away while raising prices. Those who Paid $20,000 to get in to RCI Points only 3 or 4 years ago and did not have a underliying deeded strong demand week that would have excellant stand alone trading power have mostly IMHO lost $20,000 and maybe even more if they have to pay a postcard company to take it off of their hands.

Some say RCI is as slimey as the developers as they worked hand in hand with them to push RCI Points developer sales and over priced converations.

If you look on ebay you will see that what some paid $20,000 for a RCI Points ownership in a` lot of cases is going for a $1 with free closing and the first years maintenance fees paid on ebay.

Bruce

 

[tschwa2]

I think the increasing MF's that in the best of year rise at the level of inflation and in the worst, years when people can afford it the least, rise 2-3 X 's inflation thanks to bailing owners. Timeshares built in the 70's,80's and 90's and even today just don't have an effective exit strategy when the building becomes more expensive to maintain than the equivalent rentals in the area. Also state laws and condo documents put in place decades ago to protect owners now are making it too hard to dissolve the TS when this happens.

Then there is also the Ebay/PCC effect which makes it look like even some decent weeks are worth pennies.

And of course the TUG effect (which only effects the TUG community and advertising), people who have upgraded to super effective weeks (at least in according to their own needs) who now are willing to give away good (but not super ITHO) to others for free instead of shopping around to get a better place.

 

[brucecz]

Interesting topic - I've never seen so many "guests" with 1 post on a thread.

Then look at the 3 BBS Mexico Belaire strings, especially the :rofl: first one.

Bruce :rofl:

 

[brucecz]

My wife and I purchased in the 80s when at the time, it made a lot of sense. Availability was pretty good, our timeshare was new and clean, well maintained (Powhatan Plantation). Then when the original owners sold, it started to go downhill, then it sold again and we received assessment fees, were forced to buy points and trade in our deeded property or our maintenance fees would go higher. Then it became increasingly difficult to get a unit that we wanted when we wanted. We decided paying $ 3000/yr in maintenance fees made no sense at all when we would be lucky to get the unit we wanted. We decided with the glut of timeshares, we could rent them from others at a fraction of the cost and not have to deal with increasing maintenance fees with absolutely no caps on annual maintenance.

We had to pay a fee to get rid of our timeshare but feel a burden has been lifted. I'm not saying all timeshares are this way but that's what we experienced with Diamond Resorts. Don't believe the recent "Undercover Boss" on the CBS segment where the CEO, Stephen Cloobeck is portrayed as a nice guy...you can tell by where he is living and his current lifestyle,that he has been soaking a lot of timeshare owners.

Sorry but I'm bitter that I had to pay so many fees for something that I was told I could inherit to my kids but found later, my kids would probably be spitting on my grave if they discovered I left them with the high maintenance fees. Goodbye high maintenance fees.

I bet he did not say how many times his Polo Towers was hit by Legionares disease. It is a`matter of public record. Bruce

 

[jimannamary]

Why are so many timeshare owners selling?

In my case I have two weeks at Tahoe that I have been exchanging but it is difficult affording to travel to two destinations in a year and we like to to some family camping and RVing also - so time and money require that I sell one of my weeks.

 

[e.bram]

Go to the local homeless shelter and give it to one of the residents(+ some cash)to get it off your hands.

 

[rrlongwell]

Go to the local homeless shelter and give it to one of the residents(+ some cash)to get it off your hands.

Or, post it in Bargin Basement deals as a free timeshare with whatever terms you think someone would take it for.

 

[ampaholic]

Go to the local homeless shelter and give it to one of the residents(+ some cash)to get it off your hands.

Wow some actual and even possibly good advice - I'm stunned

 

[New_Hope_in_Time]

Thanks Everyone!

I am rather new to posting and Blogs I am glad that this got so much feedback. I am currently happy with our TS.

I went on a few sales tours while on vacation in the off season. I could not believe how the sales persons seemed to get even ruder and pushier than I remembered. and they spewed out lots of info I was not familiar with.

Oh and when I said hey why should I pay so much here when I know about the secondary market. they pushed vacation clubs, and this VIP nonsense. and basically told me that if I actually got 1 to slip by the developer cheap that they would still treat me like a second class citizen. I thought: wow really? so you guys are basically trying to make sure the secondary market is dead for owners. OUCH
if I bought points on the secondary market it was almost worse the way Wyndum put it, that any points I got on the secondary market I could not use with any of the buy now perks. EVEN IF I bought now. all the 2nd market points would not qualify for that ever special VIP.
I like real estate and TS but good grief there are some real sharks swimming out there.
So I have been thinking about other options in travel but have not figured all the stuff out yet. Again Thanks all for your comments

 

[John Doe]

Posible problems selling a Westgate Timeshare for owners who are UK residents.

Hello from a new member to this forum who lives in the UK.




We own a 4 bedroom lock off unit at the Westgate Town Centre resort in Kissimmee, Florida where we have been owners since August 2006.


We decided to buy there due to the location and the short drive necessary to the Disney Parks etc.


The resort is very nice, the units that we have stayed in are well maintained and there are plenty of swimming pools and other activities to do whenn we are on a rest day from the theme parks.


Our unit is fortunately, fully paid for so now we only have to pay the maintenance fees.


Due to my working part time now and my wife not being able to work due to a disability we are looking to cut back on our spending and as mentioned, expensive holidays are usually the first cutbacks. My job means that I take my holidays whenever the UK schools are on holiday which has its good and bad points.

The good point is that I get to spend the school holidays with my family including the children.

The bad point is that air fares are so expensive at school holiday times and most destinations are very busy.


We have booked a four week vacation at the Westgate Town Centre for July/August 2012 but this may be our last chance to enjoy Florida.


The maintenance fees for the 4 bed unit are @ £900 per year which isn't too bad for a 4 bed on a nice resort close to the Disney parks if we get chance to use it.

The most expensive part of the holiday for us is the £3000 - £4000 air fare and the park tickets £1000 plus ( a must for the children but we adults must also pay to get in ).



I am wondering, will it be more difficult for us to sell or get rid of our paid up Westgate timeshare in Kissimmee due to the fact that we live in the UK and are just so far away to arrange paperwork, meetings etc?.


Are there any other UK Residents who are Westgate owners on this forum who have managed to sell or offload their Westgate timeshares.



Thank You

 

[am1]

Hello from a new member to this forum who lives in the UK.




We own a 4 bedroom lock off unit at the Westgate Town Centre resort in Kissimmee, Florida where we have been owners since August 2006.


We decided to buy there due to the location and the short drive necessary to the Disney Parks etc.


The resort is very nice, the units that we have stayed in are well maintained and there are plenty of swimming pools and other activities to do whenn we are on a rest day from the theme parks.


Our unit is fortunately, fully paid for so now we only have to pay the maintenance fees.


Due to my working part time now and my wife not being able to work due to a disability we are looking to cut back on our spending and as mentioned, expensive holidays are usually the first cutbacks. My job means that I take my holidays whenever the UK schools are on holiday which has its good and bad points.

The good point is that I get to spend the school holidays with my family including the children.

The bad point is that air fares are so expensive at school holiday times and most destinations are very busy.


We have booked a four week vacation at the Westgate Town Centre for July/August 2012 but this may be our last chance to enjoy Florida.


The maintenance fees for the 4 bed unit are @ £900 per year which isn't too bad for a 4 bed on a nice resort close to the Disney parks if we get chance to use it.

The most expensive part of the holiday for us is the £3000 - £4000 air fare and the park tickets £1000 plus ( a must for the children but we adults must also pay to get in ).



I am wondering, will it be more difficult for us to sell or get rid of our paid up Westgate timeshare in Kissimmee due to the fact that we live in the UK and are just so far away to arrange paperwork, meetings etc?.


Are there any other UK Residents who are Westgate owners on this forum who have managed to sell or offload their Westgate timeshares.



Thank You

Be happy if you can find someone to give it away to. But yes it will be more difficult for you.

 

[timeos2]

Be happy if you can find someone to give it away to. But yes it will be more difficult for you.

There is no resale value. You need to find someone willing to take over the fees. You may have to pay for the closing. Be glad you enjoyed the use while you had it and be thankful if you can find a new owner to pay the ongoing costs & enjoy it themselves. Good luck.

 

[John Doe]

Thanks for the replies.


We bought the timeshare for what we thought were the right reasons at the time and maybe in hindsight we may have been better buying an actual property instead of a timeshare.

The idea of family holidays in a beautiful part of the world for years to come was like a dream for us. Back then I was working 72 hours per week and 2006 was our first ever holiday outside of the UK. We paid for our timeshare within the 90 days so are not tied down to a mortgage. It must be really difficult for some families to pay the maintainance fees and the mortgage too these days.


As a family we still love our holidays in Kissimmee but for us, as for many other people around the world, money is harder to earn nowadays. I now work 20 hours per week, we manage Ok at the moment but it is so much harder to put money aside for trips to Florida.


I suppose that we could exchange our weeks with II for holidays closer to home say Spain or Portugal where the flights will probably cost in the region of £700 rather than £3000 and we would not need to buy park tickets. I have read that II rarely let you exchange for the resort that you want.


Would it be a viable option for us to rent out our 4 bed unit in order to cover our maintenance fees or would we get bogged down in red tape and paperwork?. If that were possible then we could conceivably keep the timeshare for now and hope that the economy picks up in a few years.




Thank You

 

[timeos2]

You can try to rent but you aren't likely to get anything close to the annual fees. The reason is that although Orlando is a big demand area and there are resorts/times that can and do rent or trade well WG has WAY overbuilt &nthe market is awash in cheap rentals / giveaways / trades so there is little or no value to WG for those purposes. The developer has ruined it for the very people he sold it to at inflated prices. Sorry.

 

[Beefnot]

Trading in II may be your best bet. You could lock off into two 2br and put in ongoing requests for TS in Europe. You might want to post a question in the exchanging forum about how feasible it is to get what you want.

 

[John Doe]

Thanks for the honesty regarding the resale / rental possibilities with our Westgate Timeshare.


Giving our unit away really would be our last resort.



Even if we have to pay the maintenance fees for a few years and not use the units, we would try. We couldn't though, afford to pay maintenance fees indefinitely under the current circumstances.


This year we have split our 4 bed unit into 2 weeks in a 2 bed unit and we also had an extra 2 weeks to carry from 2011. That way, we now have 4 weeks in Kissimmee in the peak period of July/August.

If we were only going for 2 weeks, the crippling flight fares would have still been the same


I will ask in the Exchange section to see other members' experiences when trying to exchange through II for Spain or Portugal but I have heard that the apartments are much smaller in Europe as II rent hotel rooms and apartments. Our 2 bed units sleep 6-8 people whereas in a Spanish hotel, one room would only sleep 4 people.



Thanks again.

 

[am1]

Paying every year without using to save your "investment" is a bad idea. Better to cut your losses now and revaluate what you want in a couple years when you have money to vacation again.

But first look into to trading. Renting will be very difficult.

 

[durrod]

I recommend you sign up with II. You could also call II and ask if they have special promo/ deals or pricing for new subscribers. Sometimes they do. If you can afford the MF split your unit and get the maximum weeks you can get from your 4 bedroom LO and deposit them with II. To deposit your week I recommend you sign up the WG owners management website at westgateowners.com better and less hassle than call. I did a quick check at II using a 1 bdr. unit at westgate smoky mountain in TN and I could see all this locations to be available for this coming summer.
Europe Andorra
Austria, Alps
Bulgaria, Central
Finland, Central
Finland, Espoo & Tampere
Finland, Lapland
Finland, Western Coast
Italy, Central
Norway
Portugal, Madeira
Spain, Balearic Islands
Spain, Canaries, Gran Canaria
Spain, Canaries, Lanzarote
Spain, Canaries, Tenerife
Spain, Costa Blanca
Spain, Costa del Sol

When you get done with westgate you can ask them for a voluntary deed back, (means give it back to them for free) if that is what you want.

 

[timeos2]

I recommend you sign up with II. You could also call II and ask if they have special promo/ deals or pricing for new subscribers.

Remember that with II Wastegate refuses to give them what the owner is deeded - they deposit whatever garbage they have leftover and use the actual owners time to WG's & The King's benefit. Of course as a deeded week owner they have no right to do that but they ignore the law & II doesn't challenge them on it (whereas RCI correctly ONLY accepts the deeded week for deposit). Unfortunately you take a big risk of poor value when you use II and Wastegate thanks to Wastgate's corrupt management.

 

[John Doe]

Thanks for the replies.


Durrod.


I never knew that if a Westgate Owner was really desperate that they could ask Westgate to take back the paid up timeshare. Obviously they would lose the money that they paid for the timeshare but wouldn't have to pay any more maintenance fees.


We know a few people in the UK who also own Westgate timeshares and are struggling to afford the flights to get over to use the timeshares.


That is news to me and certainly warrants looking into if things get any worse financially.


We will be asking that question to the Westgate representatives and maybe the notary when we are staying at the Town Center resort this summer.

That may be an easier option than trying to give it away on the internet as we live so far away from any US notaries who can sort out the paperwork.


Thank You

 

[AwayWeGo]

We Only Sell'm. We Don't Take'm Back.

We will be asking that question to the Westgate representatives and maybe the notary when we are staying at the Town Center resort this summer.

Is there any reason to believe that WestGate would accept a deedback ?

( Just asking. )

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[bogey21]

There was a time about 10 years ago when EVERY timeshare has some value.....

I agree. When I bought my first timeshare in the 80s (Marriott) things went well. The rules were followed; nice exchanges were easy; unused Weeks could profitably be rented; and if you were patient, you could sell your Week at a profit or break even. Then greed took over....... Some of us saw the writing on the wall and sold, others unfortunately hung on.

George