CHARLOTTE — Carla Adams says her mother had developed breast cancer, couldn’t travel, and wanted out of her timeshare.
Adams says her parents tried, but didn’t get very far.
“Then Dad started declining in health as well,” she said. “He was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.”
Now they really wanted out because, Adams says, that timeshare was costing them around $300 every month.
“Mom wasn’t working anymore, Dad wasn’t working anymore,” she said. “They were on just fixed income, like we can’t afford to pay this.”
Fortunately, she says the timeshare gave them an out.
“They were explicitly told that there was an ‘out’ for financial and medical hardship,” she said.
She says they submitted paperwork: financial records and a doctor’s note. But Adams says the timeshare still didn’t let them exit.
“If you’re terminal, what do you consider medical hardship?” she said.
This all started around 2022.
Adams says her father died last year. She says her mother continued to struggle with her health and with the timeshare company.
“Beyond frustrated. This is, we are following what we were told to do,” she said.
Timeshare Company’s Response
Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke contacted the company, Hilton Grand Vacations.
A spokesperson said in a statement: “At Hilton Grand Vacations, we strive to help our members make vacation memories that last a lifetime. However, we understand that life circumstances change. We’re here to help members through every stage of their ownership journey, including when they’re considering an exit. Our HGV Transitions program may offer members an easy and respectful way to transition out of vacation ownership. This program can provide members with the right guidance and resources based on their needs — from exploring financial options to help them retain their ownership to exiting their timeshare safely."
The business wouldn’t discuss her family’s case for privacy reasons. But Adams says, after Action 9 got involved, it agreed to let her mother out of the timeshare. She says Hilton wanted her mother to sign a Nondisclosure Agreement in exchange. Her mother said no — she wanted people to know her story — and stopped paying anyway.
“How many people are they going to do this to? How long can they continue to do this?” Adams asked rhetorically.
Facebook Group Dedicated to Timeshare Discussions
Brian Rogers runs the Timeshare Users Group (TUG), about 26,000 members on Facebook, a forum for sharing timeshare information. And no, it’s not all bad. Even Rogers owns a timeshare. But he agrees: they can be hard to break up with.
“That is the number one complaint or the number one question we get is, ‘Hey how do I get rid of my timeshare?’” he said. “It is a problem. It’s not a new problem either.”
Options
First, the obvious: ask the company to let you off the hook. Just know: you may get out of the relationship, but not get money back.
Second, you can always see if someone will take it off your hands, but Rogers says expect to take a hit.
In fact, Stoogenke looked up timeshares for sale on eBay, people selling them for — get this — under $2. He found more than 560 results.
“We used to say back... 15, 20 years ago, you’d be lucky to get $.50 on the dollar on the resale market if you tried to sell your timeshare,” Rogers said. “Now, you’re probably lucky to get between zero and $.10 on the dollar.”
Third, there’s the more extreme option: you can simply stop paying.
“It’s not a good option, but it’s better than the option of paying for maintenance fees the rest of your life,” Rogers said. “It’s a wild situation… There’s no magic solution.”
Financial expert Dave Ramsey advises against going dark, saying “that’s just plain wrong.” You don’t want to end up in financial or legal trouble, so Stoogenke says talk to a lawyer first.
REMEMBER: Your children may inherit your timeshare
And even when you die, your family may not be free from the timeshare. Your children may inherit it. So, it may be uncomfortable, but have that discussion.
If they do end up with it and don’t want it, they need to ‘disclaim’ it — and fast.
You typically have about nine months to reject a gift. If you use or benefit from the timeshare first, you may lose that right. Then there’s paperwork and filing it. You may want a lawyer for this.
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