Author Topic: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??  (Read 6522 times)

newton

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 179
Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« on: December 18, 2017, 06:40:10 PM »
Hello

My dad has had a timeshare for about 35 years.  He no longer wants it as he is getting too old to travel.  He wants me to take it over.  It would cost about $700 a year for annual maintenance, about $250 for exchange membership, and $120 to exchange it each year.  I travel a lot and can afford the payments. 

A couple of questions:
1.  Can he just stop paying his fees or is he locked in?
2.  If I take it over and later decide I don't want it do I have any obligations?

Any thoughts or assistance would be much appreciated.

Another Reader

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5327
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #1 on: December 18, 2017, 07:06:52 PM »
In most cases he is locked in by contract. 

You can't give a lot of time shares away because of the onerous fees and restrictions.  Look into whether this one has any value, and help him dispose of it.  If you take it over, you will be locked in as well.

SwordGuy

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8955
  • Location: Fayetteville, NC
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #2 on: December 18, 2017, 07:12:48 PM »
1.  Can he just stop paying his fees or is he locked in?

It depends upon the contract.   If I had to bet my entire net worth on one answer, sight unseen on the contract, I would bet "Hell, yes, he's locked in."

2.  If I take it over and later decide I don't want it do I have any obligations?

Depends on how you "take it over".   If you take over the costs and usage, but don't tell the management company, probably not.  That would be because he still owns it and owes the obligations.    When he dies, his estate would owe those obligations.   If you accepted ownership of the property from the estate, you would be bound by his obligations.   If not, not.

My parents got one of these things in Branson, Missouri.    They offered it to me and I realized that it was horrible deal for me, so I declined.   They had to pay people money to get rid of it.


newton

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 179
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #3 on: December 19, 2017, 11:08:25 AM »
In most cases he is locked in by contract. 

You can't give a lot of time shares away because of the onerous fees and restrictions.  Look into whether this one has any value, and help him dispose of it.  If you take it over, you will be locked in as well.

Thanks so much for the reply.  I was afraid of that.

I assume the only place to find this would be the original paperwork?

newton

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 179
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #4 on: December 19, 2017, 11:09:28 AM »
1.  Can he just stop paying his fees or is he locked in?

It depends upon the contract.   If I had to bet my entire net worth on one answer, sight unseen on the contract, I would bet "Hell, yes, he's locked in."

2.  If I take it over and later decide I don't want it do I have any obligations?

Thanks.  What a mess!! :)

Depends on how you "take it over".   If you take over the costs and usage, but don't tell the management company, probably not.  That would be because he still owns it and owes the obligations.    When he dies, his estate would owe those obligations.   If you accepted ownership of the property from the estate, you would be bound by his obligations.   If not, not.

My parents got one of these things in Branson, Missouri.    They offered it to me and I realized that it was horrible deal for me, so I declined.   They had to pay people money to get rid of it.

Syonyk

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4610
    • Syonyk's Project Blog
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #5 on: December 19, 2017, 11:16:59 AM »
"Here, son!  I'm too old for this albatross!  It's yours now!  See how nicely it fits around your neck?"

Michael in ABQ

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2626
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #6 on: December 19, 2017, 12:22:23 PM »
Run Away!

Seriously timeshares are terrible and you should not accept this. It is a perpetual contract with ever increasing fees. You will likely end up paying to get rid of it in the future when you realize that for $1,000 a year you could have just paid for a hotel somewhere else. There's a reason people are willing to sell timeshares for $1.00.

boarder42

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 9332
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #7 on: December 19, 2017, 12:37:02 PM »
Some timeshares can have value if you're not paying the upfront costs to buy into the program and inheriting them.

I'd need to know who its with to determine if its even worth taking ownership of. 

Marriott / blue green / hilton are all timeshares that do carry some value on the after market to sell.  not much value but some value.

These programs can be leveraged properly to get you some really good deals on condos in prime areas.  - i've added my name to my grandpa's timeshare with my dad - we can use mulitple resorts but an example of a good deal is ocean front in Hawaii for a week in a 2 bedroom for 500 bucks in total out of pocket costs for a week. 

Typically you're locked in if you buy it and cant get out of maint fees once you have it unless you sell it or give it away. 

Its easy to say "timeshares are terrible" but thats a statement similar to "debt is bad" - if you travel and the timeshare can be used to make your travel cheaper then it could be a fantastic deal - but there just are very few cases where this is true.

Cassie

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7946
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #8 on: December 19, 2017, 03:02:38 PM »
WE had one we bought cheap at a tax sale but still it got expensive with all the yearly fees. I sold it on ebay for 300.  I listed it for a dollar.  I completely and filed the  paperwork myself.

thedigitalone

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 192
  • Location: PNW
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #9 on: December 19, 2017, 03:07:22 PM »
We ran into this same scenario after my dad passed away and mom didn't want to keep the old timeshare, she offered it to us kids and we all declined after running the numbers.

Like so many other places there were a number of units up for sale (ownership timeshare, so slightly different) and none were moving.  We got in touch with the other owners on the same weekly schedule and offered her unit up for free if they would take care of the legal paperwork, sure enough one couple jumped on the offer so the could have their kids stay there on the same weeks that they were there.

May not work in your situation, but one way to try and get rid of it.  Mom went on quite a nice cruise last year with the money she saved by not having the timeshare maintenance fees and other associate costs. Then went back and rented the same unit for a week to take the grand kids out for their annual trip, which cost her less than one month of the prior fees.

newton

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 179
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #10 on: December 20, 2017, 10:33:32 AM »
Some timeshares can have value if you're not paying the upfront costs to buy into the program and inheriting them.

I'd need to know who its with to determine if its even worth taking ownership of. 

Marriott / blue green / hilton are all timeshares that do carry some value on the after market to sell.  not much value but some value.

These programs can be leveraged properly to get you some really good deals on condos in prime areas.  - i've added my name to my grandpa's timeshare with my dad - we can use mulitple resorts but an example of a good deal is ocean front in Hawaii for a week in a 2 bedroom for 500 bucks in total out of pocket costs for a week. 

Typically you're locked in if you buy it and cant get out of maint fees once you have it unless you sell it or give it away. 

Its easy to say "timeshares are terrible" but thats a statement similar to "debt is bad" - if you travel and the timeshare can be used to make your travel cheaper then it could be a fantastic deal - but there just are very few cases where this is true.

Thanks boarder.  The company is called Florida Vacation Villas.  It was originally purchased in the mid 1980s.  I don't know a whole lot about it but need to get a hold of the contract I guess.

newton

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 179
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #11 on: December 20, 2017, 10:35:55 AM »
We ran into this same scenario after my dad passed away and mom didn't want to keep the old timeshare, she offered it to us kids and we all declined after running the numbers.

Like so many other places there were a number of units up for sale (ownership timeshare, so slightly different) and none were moving.  We got in touch with the other owners on the same weekly schedule and offered her unit up for free if they would take care of the legal paperwork, sure enough one couple jumped on the offer so the could have their kids stay there on the same weeks that they were there.

May not work in your situation, but one way to try and get rid of it.  Mom went on quite a nice cruise last year with the money she saved by not having the timeshare maintenance fees and other associate costs. Then went back and rented the same unit for a week to take the grand kids out for their annual trip, which cost her less than one month of the prior fees.

Interesting.  Thanks for the thoughts and tip. 

boarder42

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 9332
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #12 on: December 20, 2017, 11:58:10 AM »
Some timeshares can have value if you're not paying the upfront costs to buy into the program and inheriting them.

I'd need to know who its with to determine if its even worth taking ownership of. 

Marriott / blue green / hilton are all timeshares that do carry some value on the after market to sell.  not much value but some value.

These programs can be leveraged properly to get you some really good deals on condos in prime areas.  - i've added my name to my grandpa's timeshare with my dad - we can use mulitple resorts but an example of a good deal is ocean front in Hawaii for a week in a 2 bedroom for 500 bucks in total out of pocket costs for a week. 

Typically you're locked in if you buy it and cant get out of maint fees once you have it unless you sell it or give it away. 

Its easy to say "timeshares are terrible" but thats a statement similar to "debt is bad" - if you travel and the timeshare can be used to make your travel cheaper then it could be a fantastic deal - but there just are very few cases where this is true.

Thanks boarder.  The company is called Florida Vacation Villas.  It was originally purchased in the mid 1980s.  I don't know a whole lot about it but need to get a hold of the contract I guess.

if its a singular place with a fixed week i wouldnt bother with it unless you really love that place - sounds like an old school timeshare you should either try to help him sell or just let it die with him.  but do look at the paperwork it can be a deal but MOST are NOT good deals. which is why the resounding response here was RUN b/c that true for 99% of the cases and probably 99% of people even in the 1% case where it could make sense so you have a very small chance of it actually being value added in your life.

ohsnap

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 330
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #13 on: December 22, 2017, 03:30:54 PM »
I wouldn't agree to take ownership of this under any circumstances.  If it's something you'd like to use (trading his week for something you prefer that would be worth the approx $1k cost) just give him the $1k every year.  When he passes, his heirs can disclaim the asset and turn it back over to the timeshare company.  But you mustn't use it after he passes to do so. For example, if you have a reservation for next July and he suddenly died in June - it would be better to lose that one week than to risk an inheritance disclaimer snafu.  (not sure if they'd know about your use if it had been traded through a 3rd party). 

Anyway - search the web for timeshare disclaimer of interest for more info.

Megma

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 744
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #14 on: December 22, 2017, 04:09:50 PM »
There's no way is ever accept a timeshare. My parents bought one, they're a financial nightmare, and they ended up paying someone to get them out of it. It was several 100 s month in fees, there was no way to sell their share because there's no market. It was a total rip off. Theirs was west-something,  westmead? I'm not sure.

MrThatsDifferent

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2317
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #15 on: December 23, 2017, 06:11:03 AM »
I was in Orlando a couple years ago to go to Universal Studios and our hotel,said, if you want half off the tickets, go to this timeshare presentation for 90 min, they even give you breakfast. I thought, WTH for half off. The 90 min was excruciating because I was over it 10 min in. But I wanted that discount. They were using every sales technique in the book. And people were falling for it. Unreal. I’m not great at math but quickly ran the numbers and couldn’t believe anyone would agree to it. I declined their offer to buy in and wanted to leave but they were like, no, you agreed to 90 minutes! Oh, and the breakfast was horrible. That said, the discount was real and the savings massive so it was worth the annoyance.

Btw, run! As fast as you can away from your Dad’s offer. Tell him to give it to whatever Uncle you hate the most.

BlueMR2

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2313
Re: Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #16 on: December 23, 2017, 06:24:10 PM »
You really need to do your research as it varies.  My parents inherited one that they used and enjoyed it.  Price was reasonable for the accommodations when they used it, location was great, etc.  If they didn't, they just had to let the company know a couple months ahead and it would get rented out (which would cover the fees that they would normally pay when they used it).

Personally, I have no interest in traveling there, nor just renting it out, so I currently plan on refusing to accept it should an attempt be made to leave it to me.

Roadrunner53

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3570
Timeshare - My father wants to give to me??
« Reply #17 on: December 24, 2017, 08:39:13 AM »
Had two timeshares in Aruba and used them for years and years. Also rented out a few times. Things changed in our lives...job changes, lay offs, deaths in family and we just stopped going. We had to keep paying the yearly maintenance fees regardless if we went or not. Finally, we decided we had to get out of this insanity. The first one we got rid of I called the Timeshare and asked if they would buy back the unit. They agreed to pay us some minimal amount like $1500 and we took it. The second one I tried to do the same and they said NOPE they wouldn't pay for it but offered to take it off our hands for free. It really irked me but we signed off on the paperwork and were FREE! However, I loved both units and really pine for the good old days when we went there. If your father wants out of the timeshare try calling the place and see if they will buy it...very unlikely but they might take it for free. If so, tell your father to take it and run like hell! Another thing would be to advertise the unit in a local paper in the area of where the timeshare is. Make sure you advertise during timeframe of when unit is used. Offer a low ball price and someone who is on vacation and considering a timeshare might be tempted! Older timeshares are bad news because they start hitting you with special assessments like pool repair, roof repair, refurbishment of units, etc. They might ask for an extra $1,000 on top of maintenance. Try to help your father unload it and I would suggest you forget it. As another on here suggested, Ebay could be a way to sell it too. Good luck!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!