NFR Time Share Exit Advice?

Non-fishing related

Matt B

RAMONES
Forum Supporter
I did the exact same thing in HI. I think it was something like 50% off a helicopter tour. I just kept saying, “sorry not interested, just here for the discounted rates”. I must have said that two dozen times as they threw every pitch they had at us. Started friendly with the usual bullshit selling points, which quickly morphed into the usual sleazeball high pressure tactics; questioning your intelligence for not making this “no brainer” deal to questioning my finances “well, obviously you cannot afford this now”. All of which was met with a shoulder shrug from both of us and me saying “we have no interest, just here for the discounted rates”. In the end, doing it that way got us out of there faster than anyone else who showed up and as a bonus, really seemed to piss off the sales guy. I’m normally not that type of person. Dude was there trying to make some money. Who am I to judge. We wanted out of there fast though. First trip and we did not want to wast a lot of time. I actually felt bad at first but as the pitch progressed and became more aggressive, I have to admit I found lots of joy in repeating that phrase the last 8-10 times I did :).

Sorry, can’t help you @Irafly but hoping you find a reasonable solution.
Yeah so I also tried this with my wife in Hawaii. Show up to the place and tell them 100 times, "We are just here for the free gifts." That seemed to 1) piss them off and 2) represent a fun sadistic challenge for them. After the stated amount of time had passed and they were still pitching us, I called them on it and said they needed to give us the vouchers for the discount tours and rentals. They eventually did, and we left without signing or buying anything, and we used the vouchers, and it ABSOLUTELY WAS NOT WORTH IT on vacation. Never again.
 

Peyton00

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
Salesmen pitches while on vacation is like tripping over dollars to save a dime.
 

Westfly Refugee

Steelhead
We would like out and honestly after a lot of reading up on it, I can’t figure out a safe exit strategy. I’d love the PNW brain trust to help me out.

Through my work, I've been involved in a couple of these timeshare situations.
The very FIRST thing to do is examine your contract and determine what you can and cannot do when wanting to transfer your interest.
Can you sell it on the open market?
Is there a transfer fee?
Etc, Etc.
 

DanielOcean

Steelhead
Forum Supporter
I wish that I could help in some way. I remembered that at one time my older brother sold timeshare in San Felipe for a bit. I called him up and told him that he's a piece of shit!
 

ColinShots

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
This is actually not true. Watch that video I posted above at around 12 minutes 50 seconds and you'll learn about the horror you'd be dumping on your heirs via the contract's “in perpetuity” clauses. Pay close attention to the "disclaimer of interest" that must be filed with the court BY EVERY HEIR. It's pretty insane. This article on lawyers.com seems to have fairly straight forward non-timeshare-industry-biased info on the subject.

Some timeshare owners go as far as creating a trust to hold the timeshare so that their heirs aren't liable for any costs once they die.
Also, be careful with disclaimers. I'm an estate planning and probate attorney, and disclaimers are a pretty complicated thing. When you sign and file a disclaimer, the court treats you as if you died before the dead person. You may be pushing your interest in the timeshare onto your kids, or on to someone else. Everyone down the line of descendants (or down the chain of distribution outlined in the will/trust) has to sign a disclaimer. Very tough if there are minor children somewhere in that line.
 

Dustin Chromers

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
Also, be careful with disclaimers. I'm an estate planning and probate attorney, and disclaimers are a pretty complicated thing. When you sign and file a disclaimer, the court treats you as if you died before the dead person. You may be pushing your interest in the timeshare onto your kids, or on to someone else. Everyone down the line of descendants (or down the chain of distribution outlined in the will/trust) has to sign a disclaimer. Very tough if there are minor children somewhere in that line.

I'm generally not into government intervention in business dealings between individuals and entities but the above and the time share business in general seems shady as shit. How is this even legal in this country? This goes way beyond predatory lending etc. I'm actually shocked this industry isn't regulated to the max for good reason. This is like the mafia selling you a share in a bridge.
 

Wade Rivers

Steelhead
Forum Supporter


Also, this is a great piece on the timeshare industry. Even touches on the timeshare exit scams at the end:


John Oliver auro-rec engaged!
 

mcswny

Legend
Forum Supporter
I'm generally not into government intervention in business dealings between individuals and entities but the above and the time share business in general seems shady as shit. How is this even legal in this country? This goes way beyond predatory lending etc. I'm actually shocked this industry isn't regulated to the max for good reason. This is like the mafia selling you a share in a bridge.
I couldn’t agree more
 

CRO

Steelhead
Not a quick exit but have you looked into selling your yearly time to cover your cost of holding onto the contract until it expires.
 

mcswny

Legend
Forum Supporter
I know nothing about this industry other than my dad is part of some sort of timeshare/points situation with Wyndham Hotels. He uses it all over, from Mexico, to Spain and in Portland when he visits.

Curious if it’s a scam or not.

Welp. Looks like I need to have an awkward call with my dad to make sure I don't get the pleasure of inheriting this mess.
 
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