What Happens If I Stop Paying My Timeshare Maintenance Fees?
This is a very common question. Owners unable to use their timeshares often get the urge to ignore their maintenance fees. A timeshare purchase is similar to a home purchase though. If you stop paying the mortgage on your house, lenders can sue and/or foreclose. Depending on the resort, the same will happen if you stop paying the timeshare maintenance fees. The resort’s collection agency will begin calling you in an attempt to collect payment and before you know it the foreclosure process will begin.
Resorts Don’t Want to Foreclosure
Foreclosing on your timeshare can cost the resort about three thousand dollars in legal and administrative fees. Obviously, the resort doesn’t want to pay these fees so it might create a custom payment plan just for you to help out. For example, the resort might give you more time to pay and adjust the monthly payment amount based on your income. It’s always worth a shot to ask.
With that being said, some resorts charge late fees for missed maintenance fee payments. You may also have to pay some legal fees yourself if the resort decides to foreclose.
Effects to Credit
If you stop paying your timeshare maintenance fees your credit will most likely take a hit and you could have a hard time getting a loan for a car or house in the future. It might even affect your ability to get a job because some companies look at credit reports when hiring or promoting employees. Most bad credit incidents are removed from your credit file after seven years thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, but there are some stipulations. Read more about the Fair Credit Reporting Act on ftc.gov here.
What If I’ve Paid for the Timeshare in Full?
Some owners think the repercussions are less severe if they’ve paid off their timeshare. Unfortunately, this is not the case. It makes no difference if you’re still making payments on the timeshare or if you’ve already paid it off. You’re still obligated to pay the maintenance fees.
Ability to Sell & Rent
Depending on the resort, you won’t be able sell or rent out your timeshare until the maintenance fees are paid off. This is by far the worst consequence of not paying your maintenance fee because SellaTimeshare.com makes it so easy to sell or rent out your timeshare. You can advertise your timeshare to millions of visitors per year and cancel at any time.
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