Welk Resort - Seeking Info and Suggestions

[GrampaTim]

I've been a TUG member a long time, and appreciated all of the input from others. In this situation I need some help for a family member who is in a very difficult situation. They originally purchased a timeshare at the Welk property in Escondido and paid it off over time. 5 years ago they attended a presentation and turned in that property, and incurred a loan of about $30,000 through Welk ( 10 year, 15.25% APR, $31,000 in finance charges ) to obtain 540,000 EOY Platinum Points. They are on a fixed income, so that was a very significant obligation to take on.

They are older, and illness makes it impossible for them to travel. They need to make a change in residence, but this loan eliminates the options that will benefit them. There is no money available to pay off the loan. Obviously this is quite problematic.

I do not own any Welk properties so I have no idea how their system works. In doing research, it would appear their points "might be worth" about $5,300 on the resale market, which would leave them with a remaining debt of about $25,000 to Welk for the "loan". As family, trying to evaluate the options, I would appreciate info from TUG members on the following:

1). Is there any "magic bullet" option to realistically walk away from this? I know all the normal suggestions, but does anyone have experience with this company that actually worked?
2). If the family were willing to pitch in and cover the payments and MF, can individuals use the points, or exchange them through RCI ?
3). Can the points be "rented" during the qualified year to perhaps cover their cost?
4). Is there anything else we should know in a case like this with Welk?

Thank you so much for all of your input. BTW, we own weeks at Carlsbad Seapointe ( before the prices were inflated ) and use our units every summer with great satisfaction. We also have "attended" presentations with other companies, and love to share the realities we learn on TUG about the properties as we accept our gifts and walk away leaving the salesperson time to go enjoy a snack before their next client.

I look forward to all of your input on this case. Thanks in advance.

 

[Fatbaby52]

I've been a TUG member a long time, and appreciated all of the input from others. In this situation I need some help for a family member who is in a very difficult situation. They originally purchased a timeshare at the Welk property in Escondido and paid it off over time. 5 years ago they attended a presentation and turned in that property, and incurred a loan of about $30,000 through Welk ( 10 year, 15.25% APR, $31,000 in finance charges ) to obtain 540,000 EOY Platinum Points. They are on a fixed income, so that was a very significant obligation to take on.

They are older, and illness makes it impossible for them to travel. They need to make a change in residence, but this loan eliminates the options that will benefit them. There is no money available to pay off the loan. Obviously this is quite problematic.

I do not own any Welk properties so I have no idea how their system works. In doing research, it would appear their points "might be worth" about $5,300 on the resale market, which would leave them with a remaining debt of about $25,000 to Welk for the "loan". As family, trying to evaluate the options, I would appreciate info from TUG members on the following:

1). Is there any "magic bullet" option to realistically walk away from this? I know all the normal suggestions, but does anyone have experience with this company that actually worked?
2). If the family were willing to pitch in and cover the payments and MF, can individuals use the points, or exchange them through RCI ?
3). Can the points be "rented" during the qualified year to perhaps cover their cost?
4). Is there anything else we should know in a case like this with Welk?

Thank you so much for all of your input. BTW, we own weeks at Carlsbad Seapointe ( before the prices were inflated ) and use our units every summer with great satisfaction. We also have "attended" presentations with other companies, and love to share the realities we learn on TUG about the properties as we accept our gifts and walk away leaving the salesperson time to go enjoy a snack before their next client.

I look forward to all of your input on this case. Thanks in advance.

I'm absolutely not an expert, so take this with a grain of salt. I found this for reference: https://welkresorts.com/sites/default/files/ownerfiles/platinum-program-12-16-2016.pdf

1. I don't think that there's a magic bullet. You've probably read more than me and know more on the topic. I would imagine that it's worth while to try to send a note to their legal department and point out that your family members are old and vulnerable, and it probably wouldn't hurt to include the word "misrepresentation."
2. Based on the rules linked above (see section 20), your family should be able to use the resort without issue. ("you may lend your use period to others without charge...").
3. Based on the same, it looks like you cannot rent the unit if you're using rewards points. It also looks like the "expanded reservation window" cannot be used to book rentals. So my reading is, everyone has at least 15 months at their home resort. gold, elite, whatever get an even earlier look. If you're taking advantage of a 15+ month window, then you can't rent the room out. Within 15 months should be OK. I see some listings on VRBO, so it looks like others are listing.
4. Sorry, I don't know anything else. I don't even own a timeshare.

 

[happytotravel]

I do not know of a way to get out of the timeshare contract, but there are definitely ways to rent a unit with some planning. Once you have access to the Welks owners lounge website you can book a week then post it for rent. I suggest trying to secure a booking at Northstar or maybe Breckenridge for ski season weeks, or Sirena Del Mar for Spring break, Maybe Welks San Diego for the Fourth of July...you get the idea. Find out what your booking window is...typically 15 months (for a full week) but due to the number of points your relative has it may be longer and start your search right away, those weeks go fast! Once you have a booking you can rent it out on Redweek. There is a nominal fee to join this website and another range of fees (depending on the level of service you want/need) to list your reservation. Again they require permission from the owner for you to rent the reservation on their site. Research what your week is selling for (on the Redweek website), they can not price it for you.

For help to find out how you can get added as a person that can book your relatives points anyone at the Welks help desk will help you 1-855-455-9355 (choose option 7, then option 3 to get to a live agent quickly). The owners may have to put you on their ownership for you to gain access, but typically you just need the owners name, address, email, and phone #. Their contract or member number is also necessary but they can look it up with other information. The representatives are generally awesome...on the off chance the one you reach is not, call back. Also, if the family would like to use the reservation you can get a guest certificate for them. The best way to raise money to help foot the bill would be to rent a week out.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Be careful! Don't have your name added to the ownership or you may be stuck with timeshare fees you don't want. Keep in their name, Work with them to get a login for them and act on their behalf. Get familiar with it for renting etc until you know what you want to do. Sell, Keep, give away or deedback. Good luck!

 

[GrampaTim]

Be careful! Don't have your name added to the ownership or you may be stuck with timeshare fees you don't want. Keep in their name, Work with them to get a login for them and act on their behalf. Get familiar with it for renting etc until you know what you want to do. Sell, Keep, give away or deedback. Good luck!

No, none of us would EVER do that. When one person called to politely inquire about the situation, he was told if the couple stopped making the payments, then the family would be responsible for the remaining debt, fees, and legal costs to recover. Of course this was false since no one else has their name on any of the documents or ownership.

Reading the rules and regulations, I would never even take one of these if it was free. Essentially, you lose our points if you can't use them due to any reason, with a possible 2 - 6 month holdover IF you jump through some hoops, RCI automatically rolls over to a full 2nd year, and for a small fee, you can carry them over for a 3rd year. I have stayed at two of their properties. One was in definite need of major repair (Palm Springs ) and the other was OK, but not special ( Escondido ).

 

[RunCat]

No, none of us would EVER do that. When one person called to politely inquire about the situation, he was told if the couple stopped making the payments, then the family would be responsible for the remaining debt, fees, and legal costs to recover. Of course this was false since no one else has their name on any of the documents or ownership.

Reading the rules and regulations, I would never even take one of these if it was free. Essentially, you lose our points if you can't use them due to any reason, with a possible 2 - 6 month holdover IF you jump through some hoops, RCI automatically rolls over to a full 2nd year, and for a small fee, you can carry them over for a 3rd year. I have stayed at two of their properties. One was in definite need of major repair (Palm Springs ) and the other was OK, but not special ( Escondido ).

a) If I recall, a family member can be added to the account for the purposes of usage/login. That might be helpful to avoid guest certificate charges.
b) Yes you can rent.