Readers weigh in on sellers’ timeshare woes
We wrote an article this past summer about the difficulty some sellers have when it comes to selling their timeshare properties. Since then, we received several comments and questions that we want to share with you.
Our first email was from a reader who sent us a song titled “I Can’t Get Out Of My Timeshare.” Thanks for sharing that — it made us laugh out loud!
A second reader asked why the timeshare owner couldn’t just let the timeshare go into foreclosure and let it get sold on the courthouse steps.
While that idea is generally good, some timeshare documents are personal in nature, and if you finance the timeshare, the lender could go after you personally for any money still owed on the timeshare property.
Some timeshare owners might no longer owe any money on their timeshare loan, but rather owe the annual assessments, taxes and other fees associated with the timeshare ownership.
Here again, the payment of those fees is typically a personal obligation made by the owner to the timeshare company.
It’s a different ball of wax from owning a condominium. When you own a condominium and stop paying the condominium association its dues and fees, that association can file a lien against the unit, foreclose on the unit and get paid from the sales proceeds from the auction or other disposition of the condominium.
Given the way the timeshare market operates, the amount received by the timeshare company from the sale of the timeshare
unit might not be sufficient to pay off the debt owed by the owner. At that point, the timeshare company can go after the former owner personally or send the debt to collections.
If they send the amount owed to a debt collector, that debt will almost certainly be reported to the credit reporting agencies, which will cause your credit score to go down. And then you’ll have to deal
with the debt collection agency going after you for the amount owed. Trust us: This won’t be fun.
Another reader suggested donating a timeshare to a charity. She was thinking of donating her timeshare located in Park City, Utah, to a local ballet company in Salt Lake City.
That’s a great idea, so long as the charity is willing to accept the donation. There’s not much difference between selling the timeshare or donating it, other than our reader would not get any money from the sale and might have to pay some closing costs to transfer the ownership of the timeshare to the charity.
If you think this might be the answer to your timeshare prayers, talk to the charity first to make sure they’re interested in receiving this gift. Not all charities are set up to handle a timeshare; and while they may be happy to have a timeshare week donated that can be auctioned off during a fundraising event, it’s quite a different matter for them to want to own it, manage it and become responsible for the annual payments.
But if they do, your next step is to contact the timeshare company to request information on the requirements to transfer ownership of the timeshare. From there, you can decide how to proceed with the transfer of ownership.
Thanks for the questions and comments. Keep them coming.