How to Exit a Timeshare Without Ruining Your Credit
Timeshare ownership isn’t just expensive. It can cause financial havoc. Between annual maintenance fees, mortgage payments, and special assessments, a timeshare purchase can cost you thousands of dollars every year. If you struggle to keep up and you start missing payments, your credit can take a major hit. Plus, if you want to exit your timeshare to try to regain your financial footing, you need to protect your credit as best you can.
The first step to exiting your timeshare while protecting your credit is to understand exactly how your timeshare impacts your credit and what happens when you make — or fail to make — different payments.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the relationship between your timeshare and your credit report. We’ll also talk about the safest ways to exit a timeshare without harming your credit and legal solutions to the problem. As the premier timeshare exit company, Centerstone Group is the authority on legal and ethical exits from timeshare contracts and has used that knowledge to help thousands.
Can Timeshare Companies Report Missed Payments to Credit Bureaus?
Yes, timeshare developers can absolutely report missed payments to credit bureaus. This is especially true when you have taken out a mortgage to buy your timeshare. These mortgages are significantly different from the ones you might be used to, with sky-high interest rates over 20% and other onerous terms.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and most banks won’t touch timeshare mortgages, and that should tell you all you need to know. If you do get one, though, the timeshare developer or a related company will be your lender. And they will certainly report you to the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) when you miss a payment.
Keep in mind that a missed mortgage payment isn’t the only thing that can land your credit in hot water. Failing to pay your timeshare maintenance fees or other costs can have the same result.
Nor is the impact of a missed payment all you have to worry about. Miss enough payments and your timeshare company may start foreclosure proceedings against you. A foreclosure alone can drop your credit score 100 points or more, and stay on your credit reports for years.
These issues are important because a lower credit score will cause you financial trouble and cost even more money in the future. While these negative marks hang around on your credit report, you won’t be able to get good terms on loans for anything (or might not be able to get approved). So you’ll end up paying even more money to buy things like cars or a home.
What Are the Safest Ways to Exit a Timeshare Without Harming Your Credit?
Given the dire consequences above, it should be clear that timeshare owners can’t just stop making payments. Yet, many people have tried that exact exit strategy and suffered for it. (One disgraced Timeshare Exit Team, even wrongly advised its customers to stop making their payments — a terrible exit process that hurt their bottom line and cost them thousands.)
There are better exit options that protect your credit, such as a timeshare transfer, a pressure campaign, or a cancellation.
For example, Centerstone Group has a robust transfer program that it has used to give its clients’ timeshares to new owners who want them, as it did for client Joelle M. in November of 2024:
“Centerstone Group Inc. was transparent and thorough in explaining the legal process for removing the timeshare from our names, ensuring it would not be transferred to our children or heirs in the future. … Their professionalism and clear communication made the entire experience much easier than we had anticipated. … The transfer was completed in a timely manner!”
Centerstone Group has also been able to convince timeshare developers, through its proprietary pressure program, to allow deed-backs of units. This lets the owners out of their timeshare agreements and the financial problems those contracts cause.
And of course, if you are a recent purchaser of a timeshare, you can use the rescission terms in your timeshare contract to cancel your purchase. This usually means sending a timeshare cancellation letter within the rescission period set by your state’s timeshare laws. While this is a great, if limited, way to get completely out of your timeshare and get all of your money back, you have to follow a strict procedure (and be able to prove that you did so) in order to make the rescission stick. Centerstone Group offers free guidance to those seeking this option.
Plus, knowing the importance of protecting your credit during a timeshare exit, Centerstone Group gives its customers credit repair and monitoring services.
Are There Legal Ways to Exit a Timeshare While Protecting Your Financial Future?
Yes, if the above strategies don’t help you, there are legal actions that you can take with the help of a timeshare attorney or law firm to get rid of your timeshare while protecting your credit. This tends to be an extreme measure that Centerstone Group does not recommend in every case. However, if you have been defrauded by a timeshare company or been the victim in a company’s credit card scam, you may need to get legal representation.
If you have failed to make payments and are involved in foreclosure proceedings, you may also need an attorney to prevent a deficiency judgment from being taken against you. (Because a judgment could result in things like garnished wages, it could affect your financial future even beyond the damage to your credit score.)
The good news is, when you consult Centerstone Group, we will evaluate your case and let you know if legal advice is needed. In at least one case in January 2025, Centerstone Group’s client (Larry J.) sought legal advice from a separate lawyer overseas to see if the advice given was correct, and they were happy to find that it was.
If we determine that you need a lawyer, we’ll help by referring you to one of our trusted legal partners, who will also give you a discount on legal fees.
Exit Your Timeshare, Protect Your Credit, and Get On With Your Life
There are many ways a timeshare can negatively affect your finances and credit, including a poorly executed exit. That’s why you need expert help from people who know a successful timeshare exit includes protecting your credit.
With its team’s decades of experience in the timeshare industry and timeshare exit strategies, Centerstone Group can help you focus on both. If your credit has been harmed, we also offer credit protection and repair services to help you get back on your feet.
Whatever services you need, rest easy and go forward with peace of mind. We are an accredited, A+-rated company with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and we have a 4.77-out-of-5-star rating from our happy clients. Contact us today for a free consultation, and we can begin figuring out your personalized exit strategy.
Timeshare ownership isn’t just expensive. It can cause financial havoc. Between annual maintenance fees, mortgage payments, and special assessments, a timeshare purchase can cost you thousands of dollars every year. If you struggle to keep up and you start missing payments, your credit can take a major hit. Plus, if you want to exit your timeshare to try to regain your financial footing, you need to protect your credit as best you can.
The first step to exiting your timeshare while protecting your credit is to understand exactly how your timeshare impacts your credit and what happens when you make — or fail to make — different payments.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the relationship between your timeshare and your credit report. We’ll also talk about the safest ways to exit a timeshare without harming your credit and legal solutions to the problem. As the premier timeshare exit company, Centerstone Group is the authority on legal and ethical exits from timeshare contracts and has used that knowledge to help thousands.
Can Timeshare Companies Report Missed Payments to Credit Bureaus?
Yes, timeshare developers can absolutely report missed payments to credit bureaus. This is especially true when you have taken out a mortgage to buy your timeshare. These mortgages are significantly different from the ones you might be used to, with sky-high interest rates over 20% and other onerous terms.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and most banks won’t touch timeshare mortgages, and that should tell you all you need to know. If you do get one, though, the timeshare developer or a related company will be your lender. And they will certainly report you to the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) when you miss a payment.
Keep in mind that a missed mortgage payment isn’t the only thing that can land your credit in hot water. Failing to pay your timeshare maintenance fees or other costs can have the same result.
Nor is the impact of a missed payment all you have to worry about. Miss enough payments and your timeshare company may start foreclosure proceedings against you. A foreclosure alone can drop your credit score 100 points or more, and stay on your credit reports for years.
These issues are important because a lower credit score will cause you financial trouble and cost even more money in the future. While these negative marks hang around on your credit report, you won’t be able to get good terms on loans for anything (or might not be able to get approved). So you’ll end up paying even more money to buy things like cars or a home.
What Are the Safest Ways to Exit a Timeshare Without Harming Your Credit?
Given the dire consequences above, it should be clear that timeshare owners can’t just stop making payments. Yet, many people have tried that exact exit strategy and suffered for it. (One disgraced Timeshare Exit Team, even wrongly advised its customers to stop making their payments — a terrible exit process that hurt their bottom line and cost them thousands.)
There are better exit options that protect your credit, such as a timeshare transfer, a pressure campaign, or a cancellation.
For example, Centerstone Group has a robust transfer program that it has used to give its clients’ timeshares to new owners who want them, as it did for client Joelle M. in November of 2024:
“Centerstone Group Inc. was transparent and thorough in explaining the legal process for removing the timeshare from our names, ensuring it would not be transferred to our children or heirs in the future. … Their professionalism and clear communication made the entire experience much easier than we had anticipated. … The transfer was completed in a timely manner!”
Centerstone Group has also been able to convince timeshare developers, through its proprietary pressure program, to allow deed-backs of units. This lets the owners out of their timeshare agreements and the financial problems those contracts cause.
And of course, if you are a recent purchaser of a timeshare, you can use the rescission terms in your timeshare contract to cancel your purchase. This usually means sending a timeshare cancellation letter within the rescission period set by your state’s timeshare laws. While this is a great, if limited, way to get completely out of your timeshare and get all of your money back, you have to follow a strict procedure (and be able to prove that you did so) in order to make the rescission stick. Centerstone Group offers free guidance to those seeking this option.
Plus, knowing the importance of protecting your credit during a timeshare exit, Centerstone Group gives its customers credit repair and monitoring services.
Are There Legal Ways to Exit a Timeshare While Protecting Your Financial Future?
Yes, if the above strategies don’t help you, there are legal actions that you can take with the help of a timeshare attorney or law firm to get rid of your timeshare while protecting your credit. This tends to be an extreme measure that Centerstone Group does not recommend in every case. However, if you have been defrauded by a timeshare company or been the victim in a company’s credit card scam, you may need to get legal representation.
If you have failed to make payments and are involved in foreclosure proceedings, you may also need an attorney to prevent a deficiency judgment from being taken against you. (Because a judgment could result in things like garnished wages, it could affect your financial future even beyond the damage to your credit score.)
The good news is, when you consult Centerstone Group, we will evaluate your case and let you know if legal advice is needed. In at least one case in January 2025, Centerstone Group’s client (Larry J.) sought legal advice from a separate lawyer overseas to see if the advice given was correct, and they were happy to find that it was.
If we determine that you need a lawyer, we’ll help by referring you to one of our trusted legal partners, who will also give you a discount on legal fees.
Exit Your Timeshare, Protect Your Credit, and Get On With Your Life
There are many ways a timeshare can negatively affect your finances and credit, including a poorly executed exit. That’s why you need expert help from people who know a successful timeshare exit includes protecting your credit.
With its team’s decades of experience in the timeshare industry and timeshare exit strategies, Centerstone Group can help you focus on both. If your credit has been harmed, we also offer credit protection and repair services to help you get back on your feet.
Whatever services you need, rest easy and go forward with peace of mind. We are an accredited, A+-rated company with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and we have a 4.77-out-of-5-star rating from our happy clients. Contact us today for a free consultation, and we can begin figuring out your personalized exit strategy.