Timeshare owners owe $24 million.

A timeshare resort in Canada that went into liquidation is offering to make a deal with owners who abandoned their timeshares if they agree to pay-up within 30 days.

Carriage Hills and Carriage Ridge appointed administrators by order of the court to help address financial concerns after they faced financial deficit from 2015-2018 and during this time one quarter of the 13,000 owners had defaulted on their timeshare payments. The timeshare units are part of Wyndham Destinations, but the aging properties were not maintained, and owners became tired of paying fees and not seeing any improvements made to the resorts. Many then went on to default on payments and abandon their timeshares altogether.

The contracts at these resorts are also in perpetuity, meaning owners are stuck with them for life and for those that want out, there was no option but to sell. The resort also had a decline in new timeshare owners joining which meant selling one was almost impossible and owners that wanted out were left with no other choice but to abandon them altogether.

Now that liquidators have been appointed, they have identified many owners who have stopped paying and are offering to forget the interest they owe and any late fees if they settle the outstanding amounts within 30 days. The liquidators will try to recoup $11.6 million in basic charges from Carriage Hills and Carriage Ridge owners combined. In addition, there is a $1,000 delinquency, which adds up to $2.4 million and a $500 collection fee, which is another $1.2 million for a total of $15.2 million. They say these charges add up to $10 million.

The problem is the timeshare resort ceased operating on January 6, but still wanted to charge owners for maintenance fees during the pandemic. Even though they could not visit the resort, the resort was not up to a good standard and had not been maintained adequately and they did not offer a viable exit strategy for owners. Of the 11,000 owners, there are more than 2,500 that have not paid and abandoned anything to do with the resort. This is an extraordinary number of unhappy customers and it seems unfair to go after people and force them to pay for something they cannot use and no longer want, but are trapped in. It seems for now the fate of these timeshare owners is in the courts hands and hopefully they will have a successful and fair resolution made by the courts.

People who enter into timeshare agreements often find it difficult to keep up with the mounting maintenance fees and simply cannot afford it any longer. They may also find that the timeshare no longer suits their needs and simply want to end the contract. There are too many individuals who are willing to take advantage of timeshare owners and offer fake products, along with timeshare exit schemes. Before agreeing to any timeshare termination or exit procedure with an individual or company, seek independent advice and fully research any company you are thinking of working with.

It is also important to remember that purchasing a timeshare should NEVER be viewed as a financial investment. Timeshare is an investment in lifestyle, in future holidays and family time together. There is almost no resale value to a Timeshare. If you still own a timeshare and would like to be free from the financial burden of it, give us a call for some free advice and discuss how we may be able to help you.