How To Survive Timeshare Ownership During Economic Crisis

December 1st, 2008

by Bobby Kip Hernandez

The timeshare industry depends greatly on the availability of credit in order for potential buyers to sign timeshare vacation package contracts. Without free-flowing credit, timeshare sales fall. To make up the gap in revenue, current timeshare owners are being asked to flip the bill. Relief is certainly not in sight.

In many cases, owners sign contracts that allow their home resorts to charge them special assessment fees when warranted. The size of the fees are determined by the resorts and can be rather arbitrary. Some owners are unaware of these policies.

Reports of $500 to $3,000 special assessment fees being doled out have recently surfaced. These outrageous amounts are hitting owner pocketbooks at the same time personal incomes are stagnant or falling, and as retirement funds drop like rocks thrown into a pond. The financial blow has opened some eyes as to the fragility and milk-them-for-everything mentality of the timeshare industry.

Some owners are wondering what happened to the thousands of dollars paid upfront and the timeshare maintenance fees. Wouldn’t those dollars be enough to weather the economic storm? It’s not in many cases. Timeshare entities use the revenue and accounts receivable to obtain leveraged loans to develop more resort units. In bad times, shortfalls occur in paying these loans, hence owners are assessed the extra fees.

But owners should not think about NOT paying those timeshare bills. Through decades of legal precedence, timeshare companies can and do impose stiff penalties for non-compliance. These include high interest rates on principal owed, collecting debt through employers, and placing liens on assets like homes, bank accounts, etc.

What can timeshare owners do to fight back? There is not much relief if they plan to keep their timeshares. The number of owners that try to resell or rent their timeshares spikes up tremendously during economic crisis. Many charities will not accept timeshare deeds as donations knowing the accompanying liabilities.

About the Author:
There is a unique solution to your timeshare resale problem. To find out what over 20,000 other distressed owners did with their unwanted timeshares, go to Timeshare Relief or call 800-588-1582, and request a free consultation.

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