About Andreas Rossler Expertise I'm able to answer general questions on timeshares and specifically in regard to purchasing, renting or exchanging timeshares on the secondary or resale market and through the Internet. I have expert knowledge in sales, mechanics (how and why timeshares work), and timeshare exchanges.
I am also well versed in timeshare financing and may be able to guide you to better financing or refinancing options for your timeshare purchase.
If you ask questions of a legal nature, or those requiring tax advice - I may not be able to answer fully.
Experience I have 10 years of industry experience in sales, management and processing. I'm currently CEO of Timeshare Village, a resource for timeshare owners and industry professionals.
Organizations Mensa - Life Member
Publications I have been interviewed by Channel 7 News in the Bay Area of California regarding my opinions on Worldmark, the Club timeshares as developed by Trendwest-Wyndham Resorts.
Education/Credentials MBA - Master's in Business Administration
BS - Mathematics
BA - Economics
California Real Estate Broker
Question my husband and i have bought into 2 timeshares,at the time we had no problem making the payments. since then we have had alot of financial problems and cannot afford these payments.my husband is the sole money provider. we have had to live off credit cards to make our monlthy payments just on household expenses. our timeshare payments come out automatically out of our checking account.we have had alot of sleepless nights, just trying to figure out how we are going to meet our bills every month.. my first question is,can you file bankruptcy on timeshares? the other is if you stop paying your timeshare payment, what can the timeshare companies do to you the customer, besides reporting you to the credit reporting agencies, sending your account to a collection agency, or getting a judgement against you.. you wrote in one of the letters to another distress owner, that you may still have to pay the money on the loan but you dont get the benefit of the points, so how can they still charge you the loan amount and you get no benefit from it.. isnt that a win win for the timeshare companies, they get the money and you loose out on being able to use the services? we need help. thank you
Answer I'm not sure I wrote that... I may have mentioned this: sometimes (rarely), a timeshare company might sell their bad debt to a collection agency - this applies to maintenance fees - not the timeshare loan. The collection agency might hassle you - but in the end, it will go away.
Yes - you can bankrupt both. The only thing the timeshare company will do (at most) is report it to a credit agency and take back the timeshare invoices.
If I were you, and you are sure you are going to go bankrupt, then just move forward - the timeshare issue won't be a problem. However, if you are not going to go bankrupt and don't care about the effect on your credit then do the following - call the timeshare company and explain that you no longer want auto pay - let them mail you an invoice.
Go to the bank, close down your checking account and open it in another bank. Then stop paying the timeshare.
Be sure to have the timeshare company stop taking auto pay from your account - sometimes, even if you go to the bank and try to stop auto pay they won't do it (yeah, amazing isn't it?). Further, even after you close the account, the bank will still pay the auto pay and then send you a notice that you owe the money (owning a bank money is a bad thing - you go into a system that all banks can see and you will not be able to open another bank account until you pay off the old bank).
So, the key is to insure that the timeshare company stops the auto pay - then just don't pay the invoices and tell them to go to h***. Sorry - but I know how you feel. Don't let this keep you up at night. It's not a big deal - just take the steps necessary - if bankruptcy is it, then so be it.
These companies and credit card companies charge high interest rates for one reason - some debts go bad. We all pay those high interest rates - in a sense, we are paying THEIR insurance against bad debt. As far as I am concerned, when life takes an unexpected twist in the financial department - we have a right to bankrupt.
