While timeshare maintenance fees are an important part of vacation ownership, they’re not always fun to deal with. Still, these fees are necessary for making timeshares as great as they are. You might be wondering what happens when you don’t pay timeshare maintenance fees. In this article, we’ll be covering what happens when you don’t pay these fees. We’ll also talk about what to do if you aren’t interested in managing them anymore.
What Are Timeshare Maintenance Fees?
Before we answer what happens when you don’t pay timeshare maintenance fees, it’s important to understand what they are. Timeshare Maintenance Fees are payments that timeshare owners must make periodically. These payments can be made annually, monthly, or quarterly depending on the developer. As their name implies, these fees are very important for maintaining a timeshare. They cover updates to the amenities and accommodations, upkeep for the resort, and compensation for everyone who works to keep your timeshare beautiful. Think of maintenance fees the way you would fees to service your car. A car may run well for a while, but if it’s never serviced, it will quickly fall apart. Timeshares work the same way, if you want them to keep working right, you’ll have to spend some money.
The Effect When You Don’t Pay Timeshare Maintenance Fees
So, it’s clear that timeshare maintenance fees are very important, but what happens when you don’t pay them? If you don’t pay the fees, you’ll default on your ownership. In cases like that, the resort takes ownership of the timeshare and your credit score will be hurt. Plus, defaulting on your ownership will show up on your credit score. These penalties can be very harmful in the long run. Many big purchases, like a house or car, require a credit check, and seeing these issues on your report will make those purchases much more difficult. Timeshare exit companies often claim that they can get you out of paying your maintenance fees, but they’re usually unsuccessful and in many cases, they try to have the resort or developer foreclose on the timeshare, which still impacts your credit score. Overall, the best thing you can do is keep paying your maintenance fees.
What to Do When You Don’t Want to Pay Timeshare Maintenance Fees?
People can lose interest in paying their maintenance fees for all kinds of reasons. What happens when you don’t pay timeshare maintenance fees and want to get rid of them safely without harming your credit? Fortunately, there are two solutions. First, you can contact your developer or resort. Many resorts and developers have in-house options to take care of a timeshare if you don’t want it. In fact, some will buy the timeshare back from you directly! If none of the in-house options work for you, you might want to consider the timeshare resale market.
The secondary market gives you plenty of control over how to handle your timeshare. You can decide the price to sell your timeshare for, set the terms, and ultimately choose who the timeshare goes to. Instead of paying an exit company to try to get rid of your timeshare maintenance fees, you can use the resale market to make some money back while getting rid of your maintenance fees and keeping your credit safe. Not sure how to get started? No worries, we’re here to help. Fidelity Real Estate has been in the timeshare resale industry for over 20 years, which means we have the experience needed to help you through the whole process. Fidelity’s licensed agents are experts in all of the major resort developers, and we have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, so we’re a trustworthy, credible authority in the secondary market.
How Reselling Your Timeshare Works
Reselling your timeshare may seem intimidating at first, but it’s actually pretty simple! Partnering with a credible reseller like Fidelity means you’ll be working with a licensed agent who can help guide you through the process. To start, all you need to do is create a listing. We can work with you to set the price and make sure you’re happy with the resale process. It’s important to keep your expectations in check when it comes to price. Timeshares aren’t an investment so you might not get as much as you are expecting when selling it, but it’s the best thing to do if you find yourself asking what happens when you don’t pay timeshare maintenance fees. If you’re a timeshare owner and have questions about selling your timeshare, feel free to call us at 1-800-410-8326 or email us at: team@fidelityresales.com.
If you’d like to know more about how to sell your timeshare, be sure to check out our video down below.
