Timeshare Nightmare: Waking Up & Walking Out Can Be Just A Pipe Dream

Blackenterprise.com spoke with real estate contract attorney Patrick Kennedy with Finn Law Group in Largo, Florida, in the Tampa Bay area.

Kennedy says when time shares first appeared they were a much better deal because they had a value to them that was intrinsic, especially for people who went to Disney World where most time shares started.

“These were your blue-collar workers who got the same fixed week off every year. And it was a great deal because one didn’t have to bother about whether hotels were booked out or times of season, whatever. In my opinion the advent of the Internet kind of killed that. Once people got a look at the discounts being offered online it was essentially over. You no longer have to buy the cow to get the milk.”

Kennedy says these days salesmen and brokers have to get creative and crafty in order to lure potential buyers into acquiring a product that is no longer what it once was and so there is a lack of disclosure. He says as far as the market goes there are some players who are worse than others.

He also maintains that there are time shares out there that are doing things the right way. He cites Disney as an example.

“We really don’t have any clients from Disney because they work with them to let them out of their contracts. Whereas most other time share resorts don’t. It’s a binding, valid contract that is most times pretty airtight because they pay brilliant attorneys very good money to write them up.” He also tells BE, “The thing is once you pay off the contract, unlike other standard contracts that end, this contract is in perpetuity where you are still on the hook for maintenance fees.”

In many cases even filing for bankruptcy is futile. A trustee would have to accept the asset back and most of these time shares don’t have any value to them. Most bankruptcy trustees don’t accept the property back, in which case you’ll still be on the hook for maintenance fees. They may wipe out the debt for that year and any residual mortgage debt but any future maintenance fees you’ll still be on the hook for. It’s a contract in perpetuity because annually these things renew.