A timeshare maintenance fee is usually charged to property owners who put money together to upkeep or maintain their resorts. The required money for the upkeep of the property is divided among the owners of that shared real estate. There are contracts involved that bind everyone to pay the decided amount on time and for the other party’s security. 

It is natural if there is a financial problem or for any other reason, the property is of no use to you anymore; you would want to get out of paying the maintenance fee. 

However, not paying the maintenance fee can cause issues. You can quit paying, but there are a few things you need to understand beforehand. Walking away from the maintenance fee is not the smartest move since it is one of the numerous property-related responsibilities that you cover by paying the fee regularly. 

Why Should I Pay The Timeshare Maintenance Fees?

If you stop paying your maintenance fee, the entire payment train comes to a halt. The annual or monthly amount you pay to the timeshare company goes towards:

Employee Wages 

Everyone working at the resort needs to be paid on time. The timely payments you make ensure the employee wages are not distributed late. There are budgets for everything, and on top lies the responsibility to pay those who work to ensure the resort is running without an issue. 

If you abruptly stop paying the fee for whatever reasons, you will also impact the payment time as it would delay the budgets set out with the regular fee payments being received. You need to pay the fees so that all the essential employees are always motivated to work hard and are paid on time. 

The Resort Bills 

Electricity, gas, water, and many other bills need to be paid duly. If any payments are missed, that will cause issues for the resort in many ways. The power and other necessary supplies will be cut off, causing the operations to halt. Guests will be uncomfortable, and many bookings may also suffer. 

The budgets are not disturbed with your regular maintenance payments, and all payments are made in due time. It is important for you to keep paying your share so that the resort doesn’t bring in negative reviews of any sort. It will also impact future bookings and the profitability of the property. 

Emergency Maintenance Fund 

Every business has an emergency fund. This may not always be disturbed as during the good years, nothing significant happens, and you wouldn’t need to use a majority of the chunk. This usually means the resort would have some cash to cover any significant emergency payments. 

By not paying the timeshare maintenance fees, you force the management to dip into these savings and manage the payments till another source of constant cash flow is established. With timely payment, you help the fund by contributing to it. This would always be helpful for significant repairs and managing payments during the slow season for the resort. 

Beautification Updates For The Property 

The physical appeal of the property plays an essential role in attracting visitors. If the property is not updated with time, lawns are not maintained, and the pool is not cleaned, it will lead the visitors to believe the property cannot keep up with the times and is outdated. Not only will this hinder the property from attracting new visitors, but loyal and long-term visitors will also start opting for other places. 

Paying your maintenance fee will contribute towards the maintenance and beautification of the property. It will keep the visitors interested and keep the profits from dropping. If a timeshare owner replacement is not found in a specified period, it can lead to the property suffering. 

Upgraded Amenities 

You don’t only keep up with the times in terms of looks but also with upgraded amenities properties have to offer. Once the resort is profitable and running successfully, the management can consider upgrading everything from the bed sheets and pools to your resort’s activities. The opportunities here are endless. Depending on the requirements and a proper plan, these amenities are upgraded accordingly, using a significant chunk of the fees. 

Since the fee is a constant source of cash flow for the resort, the plans are usually made using the money received each month, so there are no hiccups. Stopping your due payments without notice will cause problems for these amenities to be upgraded and for the resort to maintain the updated amenities they have to offer now. 

There are many things covered in maintenance. Everything covered and what you will have to pay is decided when the contracts are first drawn out, depending on property size and requirements. Moreover, every timeshare contract varies according to the property and the number of owners.  

If this amount is not paid, it will hinder the plan, and maintenance operations will not be carried out properly. Plus, this payment is sent out to all the workers who help keep the area and buildings functioning and ensure day-to-day operations are not hindered. 

What Happens If I Don’t Pay The Maintenance Fee?

By walking away from the responsibility of paying the timeshare maintenance fees, you forfeit any right you have as one of the property owners. If a proper route is not taken, you will face legal issues. The timeshare company responsible for collecting the fee will start reaching out to you through every means possible. 

There will come a time when you will be served with a legal notice. That will be an even bigger issue to deal with, and it will take longer for you to get out of the agreement. The timeshare company will eventually sell your share and collect the funds from there. Along with the case, you might end up paying even more than you intended to save. Plus, there are added disadvantages that will be added to your name. These disadvantages will hinder any future business prospects for you. The problems include but are not limited to the following: 

Getting Sued By The Court 

The collection agency will be at your door, taking you to court for no payments. This will also lead you to be in debt and result in you being placed in foreclosure. Being sued by debt collectors brings about more issues. If you’re lucky, you would just be harassed by debt collectors, but that is not always the case. 

Damaged Credit Score

Getting charged for timeshare foreclosure due to nonpayment of your maintenance fees significantly impacts your credit. It will likely setback your credit score. Foreclosures also tend to stay on top of your credit status for at least seven years, if not more. You will face mortgage and loan issues in the future or be charged an obscenely high-interest rate of return. 

Why Are Timeshare Maintenance Fees Important?

The property value is directly impacted by its visual appeal and the functionality it provides to those who will reside there. A property that doesn’t look appealing and where most things don’t work is not worth putting up on the market to attract tourists. Most people do not want to stay in resorts or become members if they do not look nice or provide them with exceptional services. These people always look for a place with everything intact, looks stylish and modern, and provides the exceptional service being promised. 

The maintenance fee doesn’t only help keep the property clean, and the bills paid but also ensures that the resort is profitable. Not getting visitors or members will deteriorate the resort and become unprofitable.  

As a property owner, If you want to make the most of your property investment, you must always keep the property in pristine condition. This can only be done if the maintenance has been done on time. So, think through before becoming a timeshare owner; this commitment ties you down. You would want to think properly before halting your timeshare maintenance fees. There are at least 3 types of required maintenance around the property that your timeshare fee covers. 

Types Of Maintenance Required 

The maintenance fee depends on the maintenance you need around your property. This is broken down into three maintenance types that your maintenance fee is used towards, encompassing all the work that needs to be done around the property. Understanding the maintenance types helps you decide beforehand why you would be making a lifetime commitment. It will also help people newly venturing into timeshares decide whether they want to commit fully. 

The maintenance around the resort you require includes: 

Corrective Maintenance  

As the name suggests, this is the cost you pay if something breaks, also referred to as basic resort repairs. This could be for any part of your property, such as a sink, tile, or door. The corrective maintenance fee also covers something that has stopped working and needs to be corrected or repaired. 

Preventive Maintenance 

As said, prevention is better than cure; regular preventive maintenance around the resort is always better than waiting for things to fall over. Preventive maintenance requires regular payments to be made to prevent a bigger problem from taking place. All assets are inspected, cleaned/ fixed, and restored to their glory at a scheduled time. 

A pre-planned schedule is required for regular inspections and any fixing needed for various property assets. By calculating the amount received by the timeshare collectors, an amount is set aside for regular preventive maintenance, and a schedule is made. The property is saved from disruption for numerous days by preventing any event that may lead to long-term repairs through this method. Preventive maintenance deals with air conditioning, heaters, water tanks, electric wiring, and more. 

Predictive Maintenance 

Sometimes the management needs to act faster than the asset and have the maintenance done even before a problem is discovered. It could be as small as having the windows and doors oiled. But staying on top of the game is important. Even a small indication of something not working properly is all the property in-charge needs as a sign to act up and get the problem solved. These maintenances happen in stride, saving everyone from any significant loss which would affect the resort’s operations. 

A pre-planned schedule is not required for this, just an indication that something might be off. It can also be from experience or understanding of how things work around the property. 

Why Is It Important To Know The Maintenance Cost Of Various Properties?

Budgeting is essential for resort management, whether for regular payments or an unknown emergency. Your regular timeshare maintenance fee payments significantly impact these monthly budgets. It is not easy for the management to operate when taking out a hefty sum from the equation. It will make things difficult throughout the month. 

When the resort is budgeting, it takes maintenance costs and factors it in is important because: 

• Visitors are attracted based on what the resort looks like and what it has to offer. 
• It helps make the resort stand out amongst its competitors.
• Accurately calculate the potential return on investment on a property.
• Owners get to know beforehand exactly what they’re getting into.
• It ensures timeshare owners enjoy loyal revisits and have long-term profit growth. 
• It does not disturb the resort’s monthly budgets and ensures other payments can be made.  

How Are Timeshare Maintenance Fees Calculated?

Calculating the maintenance fees depends on numerous factors, including the property value, the projected amount required to manage the property, and many more, depending on the timeshare property in question. No two properties are the same, and the timeshare owner quantity also differs. Then you also have taxes in different states and many related legal payments that are factored in. So, when discussing a similar property in two states, you can come up with different calculations for both. 

The timeshare owners themselves do not do these calculations; professionals are involved. 

Laws regarding timeshares are very rigid. Hence, contracts are drawn which have tight clauses ensuring safety for everyone. This is especially the case for timeshare fee collectors, who factor in clauses that will give them the edge when you try to back out of the contract. 

Always ensure you go through proper legal channels when getting the fee calculated, signing in on the contract, and especially when you want to stop paying for your share. Through the right channels, neither you nor the timeshare fee collectors are cheated out of the due payments. 

By taking the right channels and opting to finish your contract formally, you can stop paying the maintenance fee sooner than you would end up fighting the court case. 

There are several ways you can get out of paying for the maintenance fee and avoid trouble altogether. 

How To Quit Paying The Timeshare Maintenance Fee?

You can stop paying the timeshare maintenance fee, and the timeshare debt collectors won’t even come after you. The tips are simple; you must see which option works best. 

Renegotiate Your Timeshare Contract With The Resort

The first safe option is always to go back to the source. If your mortgage is paid out and you only have maintenance payments left, there is a chance that the resort might buy back your timeshare. This may not always work as most timeshare companies don’t accommodate it. But it is always better to give it a shot and talk with the resort and see if you can come up with a compromise. If you are lucky enough, the resort just might put your timeshare back and relieve you of your regular payment duties. 

If you are someone who does not understand what to do with your timeshare, get in touch with your timeshare company. There just might be something they agree on, and they would rebuy your timeshare. If they don’t, you can always find someone else to pay and share profits with. 

Rent And Pay Your Timeshare Fee

Timeshare companies may not want to rebuy your timeshare as they want you to keep paying your share. It is completely fine. Talk to them and find a possibility to rent your timeshare. This is a tricky one, and you would want to involve professionals to explain the opportunity and terms and conditions which will be applied. These companies don’t want to change the ownership and will sometimes make it an issue to change the person making the payments. But they may agree that you rent out the timeshare for a profit percentage. 

Through renting, you avoid paying the maintenance fee and legal trouble altogether. This is simple, and your company has a higher chance of cooperating with this proposal in case the first one fails. 

Resell The Timeshare In The Market Yourself 

When reselling your timeshare, you need to clarify one thing in your head; there will be no profit for you in this scenario. Check your terms and conditions; you should be free of any liabilities of reselling the timeshare to the market. Numerous people are looking to get out of the regular payments and are already willing to sell it for the smallest dollar possible. 

You can sell your timeshare to someone offering you a good sum, but keep in mind they have the upper hand when choosing the price of the timeshare. But don’t be sad about it; it’s a little loss in return for you to quit paying the maintenance fee. 

Professional Cancelation Companies 

You can always turn to professional timeshare cancellation companies if you have tried all the routes or don’t want to go through the hassle yourself. These companies are a great help when it comes to navigating the market. They will also save you from any potential trouble you may encounter if you make the deal yourself. 

These companies have significant experience dealing with timeshare companies and help you find the safest route out of your payments with minimum to no damage. 

Conclusion

You can quit paying all your timeshare maintenance fees if you go through the right channels. Deciding out of the blue that you will stop paying is not the right way. Always get legal help from trusted sources and professionals in the field. Those who already have experience and understanding of this will help you and guide you through the entire process. This way, you will avoid facing legal charges, getting sued, and possibly ruining your credit score. 

Whether you are someone trying to get out of your payments or someone looking into investing in timeshare ownership, we recommend you understand everything before you apply for any such deals. This includes the agreement being made at the start of the contract, how it will impact your daily life, and what will happen in case of a tragedy or if you just don’t want to continue with the deal anymore.