Timeshare ownership isn’t just frustrating and expensive; it can also present serious legal problems. Sometimes, owners feel that they were tricked into timeshare contracts by misrepresentations made at timeshare sales presentations. Other times, a developer may have failed to live up to the timeshare agreement. In those cases, you might be wondering, “What are the pros and cons of hiring a timeshare exit attorney?”
It’s a good question to ask. Legal representation is expensive, and lawsuits are known for being slow and painful for everyone involved. Before you decide to hire a timeshare law firm or lawyer, you should consider all of the options available and whether legal representation is the best way to get the relief you need.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the pros and cons of getting a timeshare lawyer. We’ll also discuss what you should do and where you should turn before seeking legal representation, as you may have another route to a successful exit.
The pros of hiring a timeshare exit lawyer are as follows:
The cons are also substantial:
Let’s take a closer look at these advantages and disadvantages.
Here are two of the advantages to working with a timeshare attorney.
Many people correctly assume that, when a lawyer becomes involved in any case, everyone involved tends to take it much more seriously. People seem to be afraid of lawyers when they are brought into a dispute. As a method of getting a response, lawyers can be effective.
If you have been defrauded or unfairly tricked by salespeople using high-pressure sales tactics or outright lies, you might have to take legal action to fix it. In that case, a lawyer may just be your best option.
The same might be true if your case involves dealing with outstanding liens, deeds, or other real estate instruments. Sometimes, you just need legal advice, and you need a lawyer who can understand the intricacies of real estate law and tell you the best way forward.
Attorneys know how to set up your matter for victory on a future court case. They will also be good at collecting and preserving evidence for any future legal process, where you’ll need good legal representation to win.
While lawyers are a great resource and necessary in some cases, there are a few reasons to think carefully before hiring one.
The first advantage of hiring a lawyer (getting a response) can also work against you. While hiring legal representation can get attention, it can also cause the other side to become much more formal and rigid because they are afraid of being sued. While it is unlikely that a timeshare resort developer is scared of one owner’s lawsuit, the employee speaking with you may suddenly become uncommunicative if they think a lawyer is watching their every move.
Another problem with hiring timeshare cancellation attorneys is the old adage, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” Though attorneys are smart and well-trained people, their area of expertise is using the law to resolve disputes.
They are not going to be as effective at solving your problem in other ways, like direct negotiation with timeshare developers or simply writing a timeshare cancellation letter when that might take care of the entire problem within the rescission period set by your timeshare contract.
You might have seen some TV commercials and think that lawyers will take a contingency fee — meaning if you don’t win, you don’t pay. In reality though, most timeshare lawyers won’t take cases on contingency. Instead, they’ll charge you by the hour. The exact rate depends on the attorney and location, but you could expect to pay $200-$300 (or more) per hour for your lawyer’s time.
That means the cost of even a relatively simple legal case can quickly balloon into the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Any truthful attorney will be upfront about the fact that there’s always risk. Remember that timeshare companies have far more lawyers (and more money to pay them) than you. If you sue a timeshare developer and lose, you could be liable for paying all of the developer’s court costs, which might include their attorney fees!
This creates quite a bit of risk for you as the timeshare owner: risk of paying legal fees for both sides when you can barely even afford to pay the annual maintenance fees for your timeshare in the first place.
When you’re stuck in your vacation ownership, you may feel like you don’t know where to turn. Start by reaching out to a trusted timeshare exit company, like Centerstone Group, for a review of your situation.
Our team has decades of experience in the timeshare industry, so we bring many different kinds of knowledge to bear when determining your timeshare exit strategy.
Our services include timeshare transfers, a proprietary pressure campaign, and timeshare exits in Mexico. We also offer free advice for rescissions.
If it’s necessary at a later date to hire an attorney, our clients receive preferential rates, and we do all of the file prep, which saves our clients thousands of dollars. (Paying the attorney or their team to do the prep can equal many hours at attorney rates.)
Attorneys are an invaluable tool for some cases. We’ve referred clients to trusted lawyers for help when necessary. But you have to consider the pros and cons of hiring a timeshare exit attorney and your specific situation first. The truth is that timeshare exits are complicated and specialized, and there are many exit options that don’t require a courtroom.
Centerstone Group can give you our expert opinion on the best way to solve your vacation ownership problems and then work hard for you to successfully achieve an exit (like we have for thousands of other clients). Our sterling track record can be seen through our A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and a 4.78-out-of-5-star rating from our clients.
Contact us for a free consultation regarding your unwanted timeshare.
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