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To Pay… or not to Pay Management Fees

Vacation Ownerships cost you money…and it can be a LOT of money. 

First, there’s the initial cost, which can be many tens of thousands of dollars before we even get to the upkeep. The more weeks / points you own, the more expensive your maintenance / management fee charges will be.

It’s understandable that a timeshare resort needs to be maintained and kept up to date, just as you would a car or a house, and there are costs associated with this. Wear and tear is expected and timeshare units need updating at intervals. Your maintenance fees cover the cost of upgrades to appliances, beds, fresh painting, air conditioning, maintenance of gardens and onsite utilities and more.

But what if you can never get availability to enjoy the resort and get value out of the fees you are paying each year?

You still have to pay.

But what if you don’t pay? What happens?

It’s not recommended, even though financial circumstances have forced many owners to default on payment of their annual fees. This then results in collection efforts made by the management company. When you signed your timeshare contract, you would (possibly) have been made aware of the cost of the fees and when they dues. Not paying these on time can cost you extra in interest, collection efforts and a lot of stress from the pressure applied by the management company to pay the fees…phone calls, emails…etc…

If your debt is passed on to collections – either inhouse, or to a collections company, the pressure will be ramped up to include consistent phone calls, emailing demands for payment and offering settlement options. If a collections agency gets involved, a negative entry will appear on your credit report – even if you pay the bill. The negative entry will stay on your report for seven years.

What could happen is that you may likely end up defaulting on your timeshare ownership. Worse, your credit rating takes a hit, as if the resort takes back your ownership, much like a house going into foreclosure, again, it will stay on your credit report for seven years.

Therefore, your chances of being accepted for future credit could be seriously impacted, meaning you may not be able to purchase a car or a home if a loan is required.

What if you can’t pay your management fees?

You could always speak to your resort (good luck with that), to see if you have the option of either a period of grace to give you time to get the money together, renting out your timeshare to pay your yearly fees or possibly selling it (good luck again with that) if you no longer want to use it.

How do you STOP paying future management fees?

Speak to us at Timeshare Advice Centre

Part of our strategy for a successful cancellation of your timeshare does NOT involve foreclosure, which would negatively impact your credit rating. 

In certain cases we are able to assist owners who have defaulted on payment of fees and can at times, assist with the cancellation of associated finance with the timeshare.

For free, friendly advice, get in touch by filling out the short form and we’ll contact you back to see how we can help.