<p>As some of you might know, I am dealing with the mess my mom’s dementia left. One mess is the 2 timeshares she bought in Hawaii (and never ever used or sold by the week). One got paid off so she owned it outright, one still had some mortgage on it.
She is really out of money (anyone want a cruise to the Bahama’s, she won’t be using it, they sell for $5 on ebay and they won’t refund… but I digress).</p>
<p>I called and told the mortgage company to foreclose because they wouldn’t be getting any more payments. At least they stopped sending past due notices.</p>
<p>I turned over the deed to the other, back to the company, and I thought they said they would stop the assessments and fees. They cashed the check I had to pay them for the privilege. But after a month, I just got another assessment fee bill, for $5000!! </p>
<p>Have any of you gotten out of the fees and if so, how?</p>
<p>You might want to see if there’s any value in the one without debt. There’s a good website - timeshares user group - that should be able to help.</p>
<p>This is the website/board that I would look at and/or ask questions to see if the timeshare have an equity. It’s the CC of the timeshare world. We used it to sell a timeshare 10+ years ago. </p>
<p>[Timeshare</a> Users Group - The first and largest online community of timeshare owners providing timeshare resort reviews, timeshare ratings, FREE timeshare advice and FREE Timeshare Classified ads!](<a href=“http://www.tug2.net/]Timeshare”>http://www.tug2.net/)</p>
<p>nj2011, I saw that websight, but it didn’t seem to cover the fees part. And it made me sadder. There are a lot of people trying to get out. </p>
<p>She got the free and clear title on the last payment of the one. I didn’t make any last payment of the other. I’ll call them tomorrow. </p>
<p>I did write the assessment people and say go away, but I don’t blame them for trying. Same with the DISH network people who sent her to collections over the equipment that her handyman stole (her name on it because he had no credit). I just round file them and hope they never get our phone number.</p>
<p>We paid to be legally clear of our timeshare a couple of years ago.
Ours was deeded and would have gone to our estate and the estate would be required to pay the fees. If you own the deed, you are liable for the maintenance.
We did not want that nightmare for our kids (or ourselves); figured what we paid now was worth the peace of mind.</p>
<p>Here is what I did (am doing), and I don’t necessarily recommend this. If I could pay something reasonable to legally clear myself I would consider doing that, but there are too many scammers out there that will take your money and do nothing.</p>
<p>We bought a timeshare willingly and paid all cash some time ago. We never used it, exchanged it twice, and the annual maintenance fees kept going up, including a special assessment one year for over $1000. Annual maintenance got to be close to $1000. First I tried to sell it (ha ha ha ha!!!), then I tried to donate it to charity, but the charities that accept timeshares would not accept this one. That was when I deduced that my timeshare had no monetary value, in fact had a negative value. </p>
<p>So, I simply stopped paying the maintenance. I told the timeshare billing people that I had abandoned the property, although I did nothing legally. They continue to send me bills for the maintenance and past due maintenance. (It has been 7 or 8 years now). As far as I know they have not reported anything on my credit report. Of course they won’t “foreclose” because they don’t want to own it, they want the annuity of maintenance payments. Sounds like I should be worried about my heirs? Well, not yet.</p>
<p>Esobay - some timeshare are worth money, others are black holes that have maintenance fees higher that what they would rent for the week. Dig through TUG to see where your moms fits in.</p>
<p>Here’s the link to current for sales & for rents in Hawaii. If you find the resort, click on it and you will see all the current listing for that resort. </p>
<p>I have not stayed up on the industry, but it looks as if she owns a unit in a Diamond property, she is paying very high maintenance fees. </p>
<p>Out of curiousity, I looked for the resort in Williamsburg that we sold 14 years ago. There is someone looking to sell units for $25-200 to get out from under the $1200/year maintenance fee.</p>
<p>NJres - If your timeshare is deeded, you should be concerned for its incumbency upon your estate. If leased, you have no worries.</p>
<p>You are correct, ‘they’ do not want to own it. We paid the company we used for their assistance in giving it back.
I have a recorded transfer of deed.</p>
<p>We stopped paying the maintenance fees afer receiving a large special assessment but I guess we were lucky in that our timeshare was in Orlando…after several years of collection company phone calls, they offered to take over the deed if we paid the last two years maintenance (and not the special assessment)…however we live overseas so our credit could not be impacted and the resort is very popular so they would likely easily re-sell the units; we lost the investment obviously since we bought at full price years ago…but you live and learn.</p>
<p>Timeshares are often (usually) a very poor buy for their primary use due to how costly they are, not an ‘investment’ since too many of them don’t appreciate in value (and in fact can go the other way), are usually sold using high pressure sales tactics, and in some cases border on being a scam. I don’t know why anyone would buy one and it’s not worth the free toaster or whatever to sit through their high pressure sales pitch. I assume some work out okay sometimes for some people but I’ve heard of a lot of people stuck with their decision they made during the high pressure sales pitch.</p>
<p>OP - I was wondering if your mom was scammed into buying these when she was in a state of mental decline - i.e. if she was taken advantage of (IMO everyone’s taken advantage of in these timeshares but I’m referring to taking advantage of her lack of full mental faculties).</p>
<p>I hope this can get resolved and off your plate - you have enough to deal with without this kind of stuff.</p>
<p>Thanks for the link mominVA. I’ll look at it.
I do plan to just abandon both no matter what. Credit scores are going to be immaterial to her now. </p>
<p>GGD, she didn’t get scammed more than ordinary people do with the sales. She loved a “bargain” and she bought them, I suspect at th urging of her evilx husband (rotting in the ground now). She bought in 2004 and never went or did anything but pay. She almost got out a couple of years ago, but then got some money from some sale and paid them up again… so she could pay someone to find a renter by the week. (also another scam, IMHO). </p>
<p>The trip to the Bahama’s, however, was an outright telephone scam taking advantage of her age. She bought it, but I was monitoring her credit cards/bank accounts and told her to call back within the window to cancel … but when she called back, they sold her another. And she told me that she called and had it all straightened out (and was clever enough to use the one credit card i didn’t have access to at that time.) I hate these predators.</p>
<p>Eso,
Find out if the timeshares are deeded or leased. If deeded, they belong to the estate when your mom dies.
If leased, the contract is hers and you can abandon without worry.</p>
<p>Momin VA, they are both deeded. One deed is clear (except for the $5000 fees) and one is still under lien to some finance company. The estate doesn’t want them. The one clear deed, the Hanaliea Bay company would take back. the other, guess the mortgage company will get it somehow, then they can deal with the assessments.
There is no way that her estate wants them (since it is me and my bro, I know this). I think timeshares are never worth anything. I just go on ebay and buy a week any time I want one, anywhere! next years’ maintenance fees are then not my problem.</p>
<p>^^I checked out a few all inclusive Mexican vacations FOR Couples on ebay, they all came with 90 min. time share sales pitch both of you have to sit through. And the air fares are not included. I hate that.</p>
<p>Eso,
I’d get rid of that clear one asap (before Mom passes) or it will bring estate proceedings to a grinding halt;
look into the finance company terms to be sure there isn’t any wording to encumber the estate upon death.</p>