Can a resort in another country sue you in America?

Can a collections company in the US collect on a debt ?

If you quit paying maintenance fees your week will go into foreclosure affecting your credit negatively. Try to use it, trade it or sell it for $1 and offer to pay the closing fees, that’s about the best you can do to rid yourself or your albatross. Try perusing the different timeshare ad sites to see what a comparable week has sold for. When you sign on the dotted line of any contract the terms must be met or there will be consequences.

Any body can sue you. They merely have to file against you in your home country. They can also just hire a collection agency in your home country, that can come after you. This is probably what they will do in fact.

Are you trying to get rid of your timeshare?

What options do you have for selling it?

Beside stopping payment or selling, what are the other options?

The first rule when you are selling is: You have to depreciate it from your original purchase price.  A little dramatic but it is very important to discount at least 30% (usually 50% is recommended).

Selling a timeshare can be really tough. You will be lucky to sell it for half of what you bought it for.

If you are looking for some  ways to get out of your timeshare,you might want to list it on ebay and craigslist which are also cheap. If  you want to try to donate the timeshare you could look into  thecharitygroup.com.

Here is some research to do before choosing a company to sell your timeshare.

1. Check the BBB report on the company for any negative feedback
2. Have the company provide traffic and offer reports
3. Act like a buyer on search engines and only inquire with easy to find, top ranked companies

So what will happen if you simply stop paying the maintenance fees? The timeshare company will probably sell the debt to a collection agency. This will ruin your credit rating, it will result in legal consequences, and all of the debt collection calls will definately iritate you. The best course of action is to contact the company to whom you owe money, explain your difficulty in paying, that you are trying to sell your timeshare and work out a payment plan that is do-able for you. 

What if you haven’t paid the principal off on the timeshare yet, and stop paying? Timeshares are treated equal to real estate in the eyes of the law, and it follows the same rules and regulations as a homeowners deed. Make Sure You Read the Fine Print. Your timeshare can foreclose in the same way as your home if you stop making payments – and this does not just mean payments on the principal balance, it also includes yearly maintenance fees. After your first missed payment, whether it be a monthly payment on the principal balance or your maintenance fees, you will start receiving calls from your timeshare resorts collection company attempting to collect a payment. You will also receive information by mail detailing the amount due, including any applicable late fees, and their intentions on reporting your delinquency to the IRS.

The foreclosure will be visible on your credit history. Lenders will take it into consideration that you didn’t pay a debt before loaning you additional money. You will either not get the new loan or will pay a much higher interest rate. It will be reported as a foreclosure.

The timeshare lender will report the foreclosure to the IRS. They will show the amount of money that was still owed at the time of the foreclosure as well as the value of the property at the time it was sold.

Say you paid $10,000 for the timeshare, had a remaining balance of $8000 and the timeshare is now worth $4000. For tax purposes you have a $4000 non-deductible loss (timeshares are personal use property) and a $4000 cancellation of debt income. If you are not insolvent or bankrupt, the $4000 will be added to your income in the year of the foreclosure as ‘other income.’ (The loan is considered separately from the property so the $4000 loss doesn’t reduce the COD income at all.)

For timeshare owners that own their property outright and simply want to get out their timeshare contract due to no longer traveling or not wanting to pay maintenance fees, the best way to go about obtaining a deed in lieu of foreclosure is to simply stop paying your maintenance fees. Eventually your home owners association (or HOA) will turn your account over to a third-party collection agency that will begin to use the traditional routes of communication including letters, email and phone calls in an attempt to collect the money owed. After this collection firm has used up all of their money-collecting ammunition, and it has been made clear that the owner has no intention of bringing the account current or continuing to pay, they will inform you that your home resort will accept a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure to sever all your ties with the timeshare property.

With regards to your credit in the case of obtaining a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, your credit should not be greatly affected at all. It is an excellent idea to obtain a written statement from the lawyer preparing the document to state that the lender and/or timeshare resort property owner will not be recording or reporting this deed to credit agencies. Some lenders/property developers will not agree to this, however, so you should at the very least obtain a signed statement acknowledging that any information reported will be accurate – including the fact that there was no delinquency or default if your payments are current. This document should be signed by the parties to whom you are returning the property, and while it is not a guarantee that the deed in lieu of foreclosure will not be reported to credit agencies, it will come in handy if any errors in reporting to FICO occur. ]]> http://timesharecouncil.net/selling/walk-away-from-a-timeshare/feed/ 0 http://timesharecouncil.net/purchasing/timeshare-maintenance-fees/ http://timesharecouncil.net/purchasing/timeshare-maintenance-fees/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:44:00 +0000 Time Share Advisor http://timesharecouncil.net/?p=112

Timeshare owners incur an annual maintenance fee. Fees may be incurred more frequently due to special assessments. As a timeshare owner you should be budget for these fees.

Timeshare maintenance fees are used by the HOA or developer to pay for the upkeep needed to keep the property in a desirable condition. As with any property, such as your home, it costs money to keep the property maintained and safe. Maintenance items like carpet, paint, and roof repairs are typically funded by owner maintenance fees.

The annual maintenance fee is established by the timeshare management company, either the developer or the HOA. Fees are typically higher with an HOA. The developer typically wants to keep the fees low in order to keep costs low for the initial buyers.

You should expect to pay at least $400/year in maintenance fees. $400 is the average. You could pay more depending on the property, and depending on what is defined in your contract. Review the contract thoroughly to understand your financial obligations.

You should be prepared to pay more in special assessment fees. Special assessment fees can be levied at any time. Unforeseen events can lead to special assessment fees. A common example of an unforeseen event is hurricane damage that exceeds the payout of the insurance company.

If you understand your costs, and budget properly, you should not have any problem paying the fees. Maybe you cannot pay the fees due to unforeseen financial events. Typically you can quick claim deed the property to the timeshare management company if you can no longer afford the fees. Donating your timeshare to a charity is another popular option. If a quick claim deed offer is not accepted, and donating does not pan out, then you can sell your property for one dollar and have the new owner assume the maintenance fees.