If only you could have warned yourself. If only you could go back in time, to before that high-pressure sales presentation. You’d be able to say that it doesn’t just look too good to be true; it is too good to be true. Unfortunately, you can’t go back in time, and you did buy that timeshare.
On top of that, you’ve paid thousands in timeshare maintenance fees and assessments. But what about those annual vacations? And the ability to exchange your time at one resort for time at another? Unfortunately, none of that has panned out. Your money is disappearing into that timeshare faster than you’d thought possible.
And so you find yourself here, looking for answers. We have good news for you: You can make a successful timeshare exit. It won’t be easy, and you’re going to learn the hard truth that the timeshare was a terrible real estate investment. But you can get to the other side and be free of this particularly heavy and unpleasant albatross that has been hung around your neck.
This article will examine the timeshare exit process and how you can get started on the road to freedom from your timeshare. First, we’ll look at the challenges that you can face when you try to get out of a timeshare yourself. Then, we’ll look at the services offered by timeshare exit companies like Centerstone Group that can help you with your problem.
Finally, we’ll end on a note of caution: Not all timeshare exit companies are the same. We’ll give you some tips on avoiding companies that seek to scam you or take your money and make a half-hearted effort to help. With this information, we hope that we can empower you to take control of your situation and achieve your own successful timeshare cancellation.
Chances are, if you were targeted to pay a great deal of money to a timeshare company, you are fairly successful and smarter than average. You might think, then, that you can “do it yourself” and accomplish your own timeshare exit. This is almost always a serious error. There are many ways this scenario can play out, and almost all of them are bad.
Some people, either tired of paying exorbitant annual maintenance fees or unable to pay them, just stop. “What’s the worst that can happen?” they might think. The answer, unfortunately, is that situations arising from unpaid maintenance fees or special assessments can get quite bad.
Perhaps the most obvious negative aspect of failing to make your payments is that the timeshare resort will foreclose on your unit. Legally speaking, this is the same procedure that the resort would take if you stopped making mortgage payments, and it has the same dire consequences.
In theory, some people (and even some less-than-competent exit companies) will tell you that this is a good thing, as the resort takes back the troublesome unit.
This “forced foreclosure” approach, though, is akin to curing a disease by killing the patient. Because timeshares have no value to speak of, a foreclosed unit will likely not compensate the resort for the full amount of fees and assessments you owe. In some states and circumstances, particularly where you pay a mortgage, the resort can come after you for a deficiency judgment.
But what if you can get your debt forgiven? Setting aside for the moment that debt forgiveness in today’s society is exactly as rare as you would expect, it is not a magic bullet that can solve all your problems. Keep in mind that forgiven debt would be considered income by the federal government, which means that you are still going to be paying a hefty tax bill.
That isn’t the only problem you could have resulting from a foreclosure. Even if the resort doesn’t go after a deficiency judgment (or can’t under the applicable state law), the foreclosure will definitely hurt your credit score. According to Experian, a foreclosure will stay on your credit report for seven years.
The negative credit impact of a foreclosure is far reaching. It will likely affect whether other lenders will approve your applications for mortgage, car, or business loans. It can also result in denials of credit card applications. What credit you do get would certainly not be at the most favorable interest rates, which would cost you even more money.
To illustrate, let’s say that you are planning on buying a $200,000 home with a 30-year mortgage and a small (10%-15%) down payment. The difference between a mortgage obtained with a good credit score and a mediocre one could easily be more than 1%. For simplicity’s sake, let’s assume that the rates you would get are 4% versus 5%.
Even at that rate difference, which might look tiny, you could easily pay over $30,000 more in interest over the life of that loan. Therefore, a foreclosure would not only cost you tens of thousands on the timeshare itself, but that amount again once you try to obtain other financing down the road.
It therefore makes no sense from a financial or legal perspective to just stop paying a timeshare resort. “But,” you might ask, “can’t I negotiate with the resort for a deed back arrangement?” You are welcome to try, but don’t hold your breath.
These days, deed back provisions in timeshare contracts are more and more rare. What’s more, these provisions are often loaded with many onerous conditions before a resort will even consider the possibility. (If you’re behind in payment of any fees or assessments, forget it. This goes double if you owe the timeshare company money you took out for a mortgage.)
And, at the end of the day, who is the arbiter of whether or not you have satisfied all the conditions of the deed back provision? That’s right, the resort. And guess how eager they will be to let you use that deed back provision?
That’s why a “do it yourself” exit via deed back provision is almost certain to fail.
So, if trying to engineer your own timeshare exit is likely to end in disaster, how do you get out? Centerstone Group gives you better exit options. As a timeshare exit company that is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Centerstone Group’s professionals have collective decades’ worth of experience in the timeshare industry.
We can put that experience to work for you in several ways. We’ll use a carefully coordinated pressure campaign to persuade it to take back your unit. Where appropriate, we will also file appropriate and warranted regulatory complaints.
Perhaps something about the timeshare sales process or your contract was illegal and/or unethical.
For these types of problems, we can retain our trusted timeshare attorneys and law firms to help find a legal solution to your problem if a pressure campaign can’t get the result you desire. The fact is that sometimes your best way out of a contract is through a courtroom. If that is your situation, let us use our experience and connections to help you.
Centerstone Group has a reputation as one of the very best timeshare exit companies. Other timeshare exit companies, however, do not have the ability or the ethics of Centerstone Group.
As with anything else, be very careful and selective when shopping for timeshare exit services.
For example, Timeshare Exit Team is a company surrounded by serious legal problems. Its principals had no timeshare experience to speak of prior to getting into the business, and it shows both in the unappealing results of their work as well as the legal scrutiny of the Washington Attorney General.
Other companies, purporting to be able to get rid of units through the timeshare resale market, prey on desperate timeshare owners. These companies will promise that they can accomplish a quick sale, but they are almost always scams. These timeshare exit scams lure you in with the promise of a quick sale, then take your money and run.
Before you get involved with any timeshare company, check out its reputation online. Check any company’s BBB rating and reviews to make sure that you are dealing with the best of the best. If you have any further questions about Centerstone Group’s qualifications, we are more than happy to answer those and explain the process to your satisfaction.
Buying a timeshare was a mistake. But you don’t have to let that past mistake dictate your future. Hiring a timeshare exit company can be a smart way to pull yourself out of a bad situation. Just make sure that, when you do it, you act with knowledge and deliberate action.
Doing it right is better than doing it fast. It’s also important that you use quality people and services to accomplish your exit from an unwanted timeshare. SImply taking what seems like the least expensive path can have disastrous consequences for years afterward. A measured, sensible strategy designed by a professional can save you a lot of pain and money in the long term.
If you are trying to get out of your timeshare, let us see what we can do for you. Contact Centerstone Group today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
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