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Re: Westgate Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure (by KC):

drewl44 wrote:

I mistakenly bought a Westgate timeshare about 20 years ago. I never paid it off and stopped paying maintenance fees several years ago. I recently received a letter from Westgate threatening foreclosure. They also offered the option to execute a "Warranty Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure"

It says "This document, once signed, notarized and forwarded to this office with he applicable processing fee of $1,735.00, will enable us to release you from your obligations and all further liability. Your account will be closed and negative reporting will be withheld from the applicable credit agency."

I have tried to find an attorney to review this before I proceed but haven't had any luck finding someone decent. I hate to spend that much money but it might be the best way out for me.

1. Has anyone else taken advantage of an offer like this and is it legit?

2. Does anyone have a recommendation for an attorney to review this?

Thanks for any feedback or recommendations!

Westgate has had a "deedback" program ("Legacy") in place for some years now, charging $1,800 for "deedbacks". However, the customary requirement (just as with any other company allowing "deedbacks") is that there be no unpaid loan balance and that all maintenance fees are fully paid up to date. By your own description, you fulfill neither one of those customary requirements, so the "offer" seems a bit unusual. Are you quite certain that the correspondence you received is from Westgate and not from some scam operation? I would recommend contacting Westgate directly by phone to verify to your personal satisfaction the legitimacy of this "offer"; Westgate corporate offices are located in Ocoee, FL. It could be legit; Westgate might be easing restrictions in order to generate cash from delinquent accounts. The actual legitimacy of this offer is something that you need to verify for yourself, directly with Westgate.

If you can verify the legitimacy of the communication you received, I'd recommend proceeding without further delay and get out of any and all further obligations to Wastegate --- legally, cleanly and permanently. Also, in my personal opinion, if the offer is indeed legitimate, you don't really need to pay an attorney good money just to "review" something as straightforward as the plain English content of the document you have quoted above.

Westgate is ultimately going to foreclose anyhow, with or without your cooperation, if you already haven't been paying your fees "for several years". It's likely that the only reason they haven't foreclosed already is the unpaid loan balance. If legit, an important difference with this particular "offer" is that you would apparently not get a credit report "ding" for defaulting on your loan obligation. Frankly, I've never heard of any such offers before, but if it's legitimate I'd get your notarized signature and check ready and get yourself removed from any and all further association with Westgate.

On the other hand, if you don't care about your credit rating, pay Westgate nothing further and just let them go ahead and foreclose. If you choose that option, it is possible (even likely) that you would receive a negative credit report "ding" for defaulting on the unpaid loan balance (developers seldom bother with negative credit reporting when it's only for unpaid fees). The effects of that negative credit report would then remain in place as a matter of record for 7 years.

Ultimately, it is your personal decision and choice --- after direct inquiry and verification with Westgate. Good luck.