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Original Message:

Re: Has anyone used HELP4TSO (by Tanya W.):

I did it and I'm happy with the result - got rid of three Marriott units through H4TSO nearly 3 years ago. It did negatively impact my credit, but not nearly as much as I feared it would.

From your description below, i think you will have some problems, so it's best to know what you're getting yourself into.

First, you won't be able to get rid of one without having problems with the 3 others you own through the same resort. This isn't a clean process - there's no magic way to get out of the contract. You will essentially end up doing a deed-back, which is another name for deed in lieu of foreclosure. Even if your current now, the only way to get them to do a deed-back is to go delinquent. Not pretty.

Second, this definitely will not be a write off on your taxes. If you go the deed-back route, at the end of the year, you will receive a tax form (can't remember the form number) from whoever held your loan showing the amount of the loan they wrote off/'forgave'. The IRS treats that as income and you will pay tax on that money. If you do a deed-in-lieu on your primary residence, I believe in some cases you don't have to pay tax on that debt forgiveness, but timeshares are never primary residences, so plan on coughing up some extra cash for Uncle Sam. Nobody warned me about this.

Third, this took me nearly a year to complete. It may happen faster now, since timeshare companies know the drill and may just skip the fight/cut to the chase; however, then again, it may take longer or be less successful since this cancellation method has been used so much for a while now. I'm not sure which way it will go for you, but I'd plan on longer than the 4-8 weeks you say below.

The cancellation companies look at all aspects of your original transaction to see whether the timeshare company (seller) broke any laws in the process. If they did, then that is the angle they will use to get you out of it...but again, getting out of it means deed-back, which will definitely have financial and credit consequences for you.