WALK AWAY FROM TIMESHARE

I am thinking about purchasing a timeshare at Crystal Springs in Vernon NJ....... I know nothing about timeshares but my thought is I do not live far from this resort ( about 8 miles ) and if I owned a timeshare here I would be able to use all the amenities year round??? Like the the gym & pool. Does any one know if this is true? Thank you for any help or thoughts. Lisa

lisal581 wrote:

I am thinking about purchasing a timeshare at Crystal Springs in Vernon NJ....... I know nothing about timeshares but my thought is I do not live far from this resort ( about 8 miles ) and if I owned a timeshare here I would be able to use all the amenities year round??? Like the the gym & pool. Does any one know if this is true? Thank you for any help or thoughts. Lisa

Many resorts allow owners to use the amenities year round but I don't know about the one you're referring to. If you do buy be sure and buy a resale.

If you want to be able to use the resort facilities when not in residence, check with the resort about its policy. My guess is that those in residence take precedence when the resort is busy so you would need to call ahead, but get the answers from the "horse's mouth", not from ours. Ask also whether you may bring guests. I can't help wondering why you would buy into a nearby timeshare with all the continuing fees primarily to use the amenities. Perhaps you have frequent visitors whom you would like to house there rather than in your home? That could work. MD

Take my advice as a fellow timeshare owner. Do not buy a timeshare until you have done your research. There are many things that are involved in being a timeshare owner. Do not feel pressured into purchasing one from a cold-caller or at a presentation.

Look on the Bright side of ruining your credit. if your all set House cars and you are retired. Ruin your credit might not be a bad idea. Your 30 something kids can't have you co-sign for loans and the best part you can now go on vacation and avoid timeshare sales people for the rest of your vacation life.

Walking away won't necessarily ruin your credit. It all depends on the management company and how you obtained your loan. Some companies use 3rd party lenders and actually make most of their money from the high interest rates that they charge. In this instance they'll threaten you but actually won't follow-up with reporting to the credit agencies since this would scare away their investors. It pays to keep an active watch on your credit report and see if/when there is any activity regarding your TS loan - quite frequently it's not reported. It's also sometimes followed with a deed-back offer.

davek194 wrote:

Walking away won't necessarily ruin your credit. It all depends on the management company and how you obtained your loan. Some companies use 3rd party lenders and actually make most of their money from the high interest rates that they charge. In this instance they'll threaten you but actually won't follow-up with reporting to the credit agencies since this would scare away their investors. It pays to keep an active watch on your credit report and see if/when there is any activity regarding your TS loan - quite frequently it's not reported. It's also sometimes followed with a deed-back offer.

Yes, it's up to the HOA or management company as to whether an abandoned timeshare loan or non payment of yearly maintenance fees will be reported to the credit agencies, BUT there are HOAs and management companies that DO report non-payment(s) to the credit agencies.

A timeshare loan is a legal contract signed by both the buyer of a timeshare and the loan company and will stand up in a court of law if it is contested by the loan entity for delinquency.

jayjay is correct in her statements and it's certainly a possibility that your credit will be affected. However, there are quite a few of the TS companies who historically don't report to the credit agencies. Westgate is one of them and I'm currently following up with Wyndham who so far have also not reported - time will tell.

suggest you check on red week sales page and also on buy a timeshare.com, to see if the are any others listed for sale. at least, one can tell the sales dept. LOOK, i can buy from you or buy from the web listing.

received a call from something like timeshares walk away. it appears that for a fee, the timeshare is transferred to a corporation , that does not exist. however, I read the 4 pages of fine Print. and suggest not to follow this method.

DON"T EVER PAY AN UPFRONT FEE - THEY"RE ALL SCAMS

Walking away is a better option than that! - see my comments above.

roberts1192 wrote:

received a call from something like timeshares walk away. it appears that for a fee, the timeshare is transferred to a corporation , that does not exist. however, I read the 4 pages of fine Print. and suggest not to follow this method.

You are indeed correct ..... scammers like this will, more than likely, not transfer it out of your name and you are then still billed for maintenance fees and any other fees related to the timeshare. All they want is that fee then you're history to them.

There is a very interesting letter from ADRA (Resort Owners) to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection in which they (Resort Owners) basically state that defaulting on a TS loan isn't a major issue and that they simply resell them again anyway with rarely any major effect on the consumer. So why not just "walk away".

Test from the letter below and you can find the whole thing at http://www.ardaroc.org under "legislative" - note the last 3 sentences.

The timeshare industry has remained resilient and successful throughout this present economic downturn. According to the 2012 Second Quarter Pulse Survey: A Survey of Timeshare & Vacation Ownership Companies prepared by Deloitte & Touche LLP for the ARDA International Foundation, there has been a decrease in delinquencies (Q2 2011 compared to Q2 2010) in timeshare consumer loan portfolios and there is no foreclosure problem or credit crunch as exists in the current residential mortgage market. Additionally, and even more importantly, consumers are not at risk of losing their homes if they default on their timeshare loans. A "foreclosure" of a timeshare does not have the economic impact that it does when a lender forecloses on a consumer's principal residence; and timeshare lenders rarely, if ever, seek deficiency judgments. So in practice, there is virtually no recourse to a consumer that defaults on a timeshare loan. The developer simply takes back the timeshare interest in order to resell it.

davek194 wrote:

There is a very interesting letter from ADRA (Resort Owners) to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection in which they (Resort Owners) basically state that defaulting on a TS loan isn't a major issue and that they simply resell them again anyway with rarely any major effect on the consumer. So why not just "walk away".

Test from the letter below and you can find the whole thing at http://www.ardaroc.org under "legislative" - note the last 3 sentences.

The timeshare industry has remained resilient and successful throughout this present economic downturn. According to the 2012 Second Quarter Pulse Survey: A Survey of Timeshare & Vacation Ownership Companies prepared by Deloitte & Touche LLP for the ARDA International Foundation, there has been a decrease in delinquencies (Q2 2011 compared to Q2 2010) in timeshare consumer loan portfolios and there is no foreclosure problem or credit crunch as exists in the current residential mortgage market. Additionally, and even more importantly, consumers are not at risk of losing their homes if they default on their timeshare loans. A "foreclosure" of a timeshare does not have the economic impact that it does when a lender forecloses on a consumer's principal residence; and timeshare lenders rarely, if ever, seek deficiency judgments. So in practice, there is virtually no recourse to a consumer that defaults on a timeshare loan. The developer simply takes back the timeshare interest in order to resell it.

ARDA = American Resort DEVELOPER Association .... If a week is bought from a developer and the loan is paid off then some developers may take it back, BUT many resorts are run by HOAs and it's up to the HOA as to what to do about non payment of mortgages and maintenance fees.

Also, there are many 3rd party lenders (not resort developer lenders) that couldn't care less what a legally signed contract was signed to buy .... they want their money, so ARDA doesn't speak for all resorts concerning non payment of loans and maintenance fees.

ARDA is a voice for resort developers, not timeshare consumers. If I were a resort developer, I would not condone the above info from ARDA concerning foreclosures.

davek194 wrote:

The timeshare industry has remained resilient and successful throughout this present economic downturn.

I find the above statement by ARDA hard to believe .... in economic hard times luxuries (timeshares are a luxury) are the first things to go .... have no idea why ARDA is trying to pull the wool over our (or resort developer's) eyes.

jayjay - the letter was written trying to avoid having to give "loan estimates" and "closing disclosure" forms when providing funds to purchase a timeshare. As you're aware our "friendly" TS salesmen will try anything to get you to sign and really don't care whether or not you can afford the unit. The letter was written 6th November 2012 (and another one in September 2012).

I'm just an advocate of understanding all your options and also understanding the "dark" side of the industry and the tricks that they'll use to part you from your $$.

There is a lot of other information in the letters. You might want to read them.

BTW: On the website they also have a TS resales tab with some interesting information

davek194 wrote:

jayjay - the letter was written trying to avoid having to give "loan estimates" and "closing disclosure" forms when providing funds to purchase a timeshare. As you're aware our "friendly" TS salesmen will try anything to get you to sign and really don't care whether or not you can afford the unit. The letter was written 6th November 2012 (and another one in September 2012).

I'm just an advocate of understanding all your options and also understanding the "dark" side of the industry and the tricks that they'll use to part you from your $$.

There is a lot of other information in the letters. You might want to read them.

BTW: On the website they also have a TS resales tab with some interesting information

I appreciate your interest in informing the consumer of options in getting out from under a timeshare mortgage or yearly maintenance fees, but you tend to state unequivocally that ARDA states that all one has to do is stop making payments and no repercussions will occur to their credit.

Again, I don't even understand why ARDA (American Resort Developer Association) would make that statement in the first place .... they have no idea what ALL developers or HOAs would do in case of defaults.

If ARDA is so concerned about the lies timeshare salespeople tell to make a sale, then it's up to them to clean up the industry and to clean up developer sales presentations ..... they need to set up strict guidelines and if a developer salesperson is caught lying then that resort should be banned from ARDA .... actually, I've always thought all developer timeshare presentations should be tape recorded.

That's the only way the industry will become clean in the future in that now it's just the 'he said' .... 'she said' (verbally) syndrome .... when it's all said and done it's only the written legal contract that is binding in a court of law.

ARDA must be in the forefront by cleaning up the industry.

jayjay - we agree! I am totally with you in regard that the TS developers need to clean up their industry. However, if you read all the letter and the associated report by Ernst and Young I don't believe that's what they're trying to do. In fact they are lobbying to maintain the staus quo whereby they can conduct "tours" and then complete "same day" sales complete with their rediculously high prices and interest rates. It's partly why they can afford the deed backs.

As far as "walking away" goes - it worked very well for me with ABSOLUTELY no effect on my credit (exactly as stated in the ARDA letter), and the same is true for many others who were stuck with Westgate. I realise that this may not be the case for everyone, but ARDA do claim it to be correct and there are many developers whose names are listed in the letter including Hilton and Wyndham.

davek194 wrote:

jayjay - we agree! I am totally with you in regard that the TS developers need to clean up their industry. However, if you read all the letter and the associated report by Ernst and Young I don't believe that's what they're trying to do. In fact they are lobbying to maintain the staus quo whereby they can conduct "tours" and then complete "same day" sales complete with their rediculously high prices and interest rates. It's partly why they can afford the deed backs.

As far as "walking away" goes - it worked very well for me with ABSOLUTELY no effect on my credit (exactly as stated in the ARDA letter), and the same is true for many others who were stuck with Westgate. I realise that this may not be the case for everyone, but ARDA do claim it to be correct and there are many developers whose names are listed in the letter including Hilton and Wyndham.

I don't know about Hilton, but I read other timeshare knowledgeable forums and Wyndham definitely does not take deedbacks (from that forum).

ARDA is doing a dis-service to the public to state such information. BTW, was your Westgate timeshare paid off?

davek194 wrote:

jayjay - we agree! I am totally with you in regard that the TS developers need to clean up their industry.

Then it should start with ARDA .... as I mentioned earlier ARDA needs to set guidelines that timeshare salespeople should be forced to follow ..... if they don't then the resort/brand should be banned from ARDA.

Again, ARDA stands for American Resort Developer Association ..... it's members ARE resort developers.