Getting out of a time share

[xspeedy]

Most of these law firms seem to want a several thousand dollar retainer. This seems excessive. I’m okay with paying an hour or two to have them tell me what the process is and send a letter or two. This should be fairly boiler plate stuff with form letters by the firms that deal with this on a regular basis.

I really don’t understand how these time shares are allowed to operate.

 

[alarmguy]

I find it hard to believe that you could get stuck with the legal obligation of a Timeshare just because somebody willed it to you .

Yeah, I don’t understand the concern either.
Nothing wrong with proper planning and the place to do that is with an attorney.
There are different types of ownerships, but the thought that a beneficiary canbe forced to own something you don’t want and have no legal obligation to is a bit far out there to say the least.

https://legalclarity.org/what-happens-if-i-inherit-a-timeshare-i-dont-want/

 

[kenny91]

Man, timeshares are such a headache. My uncle went through the exact same thing a few years ago. He ended up calling the resort directly and just kept asking for the 'surrender' department. It took a while and he had to pay a small fee to close it out, but they eventually took it back just to stop dealing with him.

I’d stay far away from those exit companies that ask for money upfront though, most of them are just looking to take advantage of the situation. Regarding the inheritance part, you guys can usually just file a disclaimer of interest when the time comes so you don't get stuck with it. Hope it works out for your FIL!

 

[D60]

The new iteration seems to be "fractional ownership." Basically you put four or eight people's names on the deed and each owns 1/4 or 1/8.

I've only seen this done with resort condos and if you don't use it you can put it in the rental pool for your time. The resort oversees the rental pool and obviously takes a cut, but it can still be a good way to make the property work for you (not that I'm recommending this approach)

The amusing thing is that you are considered an owner and can vote in local government elections.

I figured more places would go this way because "time share" has such a bad connotation anymore. I still don't think it's a good investment, and you wind up "owning" real estate with complete strangers.

 

[SC Maintenance]

The new iteration seems to be "fractional ownership." Basically you put four or eight people's names on the deed and each owns 1/4 or 1/8.

An old boss of mine owned 1/52nd of a place in Hawaii. He got the same week every year. I don't know the particulars but it seemed that he liked it a fair bit.

are considered an owner and can vote in local government elections.

Elections have nothing to do with ownership. You must be a resident. Owning for 1/4 a year would not make you a resident - here at least. Its certainly possible someone got on the voter registration rolls and voted illegally of course.

 

[oil pan 4]

I always thought it was pretty obviythey were a scam.

 

[crashz]

Many years ago my girlfriend and I were talked into a free night stay at a resort in Maine with the obligation of attending a Timeshare sales pitch as well. We went, and the pitch was all friendly until I said we can't buy anything. We were kids, barely scraping by and renting a crappy apartment. No possible way we could buy an expensive dinner, much less a vacation spot. I thought at first we were recruited just to help fill up the room, but no they sicked the dogs on us. At one point the salesman that recruited us, was actually screaming so hard at me that I had his spittle on my face.

To this day I'm proud of myself for not beating the tar outa that guy.

 

[colloyd00]

This thread inspired me to get out of mine. It's been paid off awhile, I don't use or exchange it. Maintenance fees are current. I sent a "tell me how to exit" email last night, I'll be printing and sending it by certified mail today. I'll try to update the progress and back-and-forth in this thread for others' use.

 

[zzyzzx]

It's my rudimentary understanding that these days at some timeshare places they don't mind you giving them back the time share. They will just AirBnb it and/or try to sell it again.

 

[gfh77665]

I always thought it was pretty obviythey were a scam.

They prey on the naive. They lure people in with free dinners, etc. They have slick sales presentations. They want you to make an impulse decision to sign the papers. They use high pressure at the end.

 

[CKN]

Here are two options-
1) Contact the time share company and ask them to take it back. This will still cost a few dollars.
2) Quit paying the fees-and let it hit their credit report. A viable option if they are older and do not plan any capitol expenditures the rest of their lives.

BTW-there is no forced inheriting of timeshares. There is a document you file and you disown it.

Lots of information on this if you search Google.

Ask the lawyer that has prepared the Will our hopefully the Living Trust.

 

[CKN]

The new iteration seems to be "fractional ownership." Basically you put four or eight people's names on the deed and each owns 1/4 or 1/8.

I've only seen this done with resort condos and if you don't use it you can put it in the rental pool for your time. The resort oversees the rental pool and obviously takes a cut, but it can still be a good way to make the property work for you (not that I'm recommending this approach)

The amusing thing is that you are considered an owner and can vote in local government elections.

I figured more places would go this way because "time share" has such a bad connotation anymore. I still don't think it's a good investment, and you wind up "owning" real estate with complete strangers.

This is incorrect for large scale time share sales. The new model are "points"-they can sell unlimited product this way. You fight with everyone else when it comes to booking a property-especially during peak times. A fractional owner ship as you state-would allow for limited sales-there are only some many weeks in a years. Some properties that are small and private still have fractional owner ship-but this is no longer the major corporations timeshare model.

 

[cheech279]

I like what Chuck McDowell says on the Wesley Financial satellite radio ads: "you can buy most time shares for a dollar."

 

[CKN]

I like what Chuck McDowell says on the Wesley Financial satellite radio ads: "you can buy most time shares for a dollar."

It's actually better than that. Some owners trying to unload will pay your first year maintenance fees and even give you some cash-it's that hard to unload them.

 

[walterjay]

About 30 years ago my wife and I went to one of those free weekends at I think Colonial Williamsburg. We were told that we would have to sit through something like a 30 minute presentation after a short tour. Well the presentation turned into nearly two hours of drilling. Of course we were not interested. We eventually wound up with two high pressure salesmen hammering on us. I was pretty peeved. I finally ended the session by telling them there was no way we could buy in because we were getting a divorce which we were not. That sort of stumped them. I don't think they ever heard that one before

 

[mk378]

There have probably been some actual divorces over a timeshare.

 

[xspeedy]

Just to update and provide closure for this thread - the Vacatia people that now manage the property recently decided to implement a deed-back program. It cost ~ $2,500, but my FIL is happy to be done. His sister in-law was also stuck with a couple of timeshares at the same property and she was able to do the same. My alternate plan was going to be letters requesting a deed-back, with refusal followed by filing a quit claim and allowing foreclosure. I really appreciate everyone’s help here.