What happens if you just stop paying your timeshare?

Last updated 2026-07-25

What actually happens if I stop paying my timeshare maintenance fees?

You'll owe late fees, then face collections, then risk a lien or foreclosure on the deeded week or points contract. None of that happens instantly, but none of it goes away either. Most timeshare contracts charge a late fee within 30 to 60 days of a missed maintenance fee payment, often 10 to 25 percent of the amount due, plus interest that can run 12 to 18 percent annually depending on the developer's contract terms. After that, the resort's HOA (most timeshares are run through a homeowners association or similar entity) typically refers the account to an internal collections department, then to a third-party collection agency within 90 to 180 days of nonpayment. If you keep not paying, the resort can record a lien against the timeshare interest, the same legal tool a regular HOA uses against a delinquent homeowner. From there the resort can foreclose, either judicially (through court, common in states like Florida) or through a nonjudicial trustee process (common in states with a deed of trust structure, like some Western states). Foreclosure timelines vary widely by state and by whether the timeshare is deeded real property or a right-to-use contract. A deeded week is treated like real estate; a right-to-use timeshare is treated more like a lease or contract default, which can mean faster collections action but no foreclosure at all in some cases, just a straight breach-of-contract lawsuit. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's debt collection rule, Regulation F, applies the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to third-party collectors working timeshare accounts the same as any other consumer debt ^[1]. That means collectors can't harass you, lie about the amount owed, or threaten action they don't intend to take, but they absolutely can sue you or pursue the lien process the contract allows.

Will stopping payment hurt my credit score?

Yes, if the resort or its collection agency reports the delinquency to the credit bureaus, which most do once an account is 60 to 90 days past due. A timeshare loan or maintenance fee delinquency shows up like any other unpaid debt: as a late payment notation, then as a collections account, potentially followed by a foreclosure or charged-off loan entry. A single 30-day late payment can drop a good credit score by tens of points; a collections account or foreclosure can knock 100 points or more off a strong score. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, most negative information, including a collection account or foreclosure, can be reported for up to seven years, per the statute's own reporting-period rule at 15 U.S.C. 1681c ^[2]. If you financed the purchase directly with the developer (many timeshare sales are financed in-house at rates well above market mortgage rates, sometimes 12 to 20 percent APR), that loan default reports separately from the maintenance fee delinquency, doubling the credit damage. This matters most if you're planning to buy a car, refinance a mortgage, or apply for a new credit card in the next few years. It matters less if your credit is already rough or if you're not planning any major borrowing. Either way, walking away doesn't quietly disappear. It shows up.

Can the resort foreclose on my timeshare if I stop paying?

Yes, for deeded (real property) timeshares, foreclosure is the standard collection tool, and it works largely like foreclosure on a house, just faster and cheaper for the lender because timeshare interests are worth so little on the open market. Florida, which has one of the largest concentrations of timeshare resorts in the country, allows both judicial foreclosure and a nonjudicial trustee foreclosure process for timeshares specifically, laid out in Florida Statutes Chapter 721, Part I ^[3]. That statute lets the resort's trustee sell the timeshare interest at a public sale after required notice periods, without going through court, which is much faster and cheaper than a judicial foreclosure on a house. Other states handle it differently depending on whether the interest is deeded property or a contract right. Some right-to-use timeshares can't be foreclosed at all in the traditional sense, since there's no deed to foreclose on, but the resort can still sue for breach of contract and get a money judgment against you. A foreclosure (judicial or nonjudicial) typically takes anywhere from a few months to over a year to complete, depending on the state's notice and cure periods. During that time you'll keep accruing late fees, interest, and often the resort's attorney fees, all of which get added to what you owe.

Do I still owe money after a timeshare forecloses?

Often yes. Foreclosure wipes out your ownership interest, but it doesn't automatically wipe out a deficiency balance if the sale price doesn't cover what you owed plus fees and costs, and timeshare foreclosure sales rarely recover much because resale demand for used timeshare weeks is close to zero. Whether the resort can come after you for the shortfall (called a deficiency judgment) depends on state law and on whether the foreclosure was judicial or nonjudicial. Some states limit or bar deficiency judgments after certain types of foreclosure; others allow them. This is exactly the kind of detail that varies by state and by your specific contract, so treat any blanket promise ('foreclosure means you owe nothing else') as a red flag rather than legal fact. Even if the resort never pursues a deficiency judgment, and it's true they sometimes don't given the cost of suing over a small balance, the unpaid debt and the foreclosure itself both damage your credit and can be sold to a debt buyer who does pursue you.

Is it ever okay to just stop paying and walk away?

We're not going to tell you to stop paying something you legally owe, and you shouldn't take that advice from anyone else either, including exit companies that pitch 'stop paying, we'll handle the rest' as their whole strategy. The Federal Trade Commission has sued timeshare exit companies over deceptive practices, including in FTC v. Consumer Advocacy Center Inc., a case involving telemarketers that allegedly took thousands of dollars from timeshare owners while falsely posing as attorneys and delivering no real relief ^[4]. What's true is that some owners, after weighing the numbers honestly, decide the consequences of stopping payment (credit damage, possible foreclosure, possible deficiency judgment, collections calls) cost them less over time than continuing to pay rising maintenance fees on a property they'll never use or sell. That's a real financial calculation people make, and it's not our place to override it. But it should be an informed decision, not a default one, and it should never be based on a company's promise that they can make the consequences disappear for a fee. Before you land there, run the actual math: total remaining fees you'd pay if you kept the timeshare for 5 or 10 years, versus the credit and legal exposure of stopping. Rising special assessments make that math worse every year; average annual maintenance fees for a timeshare run around $1,200 to $1,300 per interval based on recent industry survey figures reported by the American Resort Development Association ^[5], and special assessments for roof repairs, storm damage, or renovations can add thousands more in a single year on top of that.

What's safer than just stopping payment: can I still rescind or cancel?

If you're still inside your state's rescission window, cancel in writing immediately. This is the cleanest, cheapest, fastest exit that exists, and it costs nothing but a certified letter. Every state that regulates timeshares gives buyers a right to cancel for a short period after signing, no reason required. The window is short everywhere, commonly measured in days, and it varies by state, so confirm your state's rescission window with your state attorney general's consumer protection page or the statute itself rather than trusting a sales rep's verbal claim. Florida Statutes Section 721.10 gives buyers a 10-calendar-day rescission period running from the date the buyer signs the contract or receives the last of the required public offering documents, whichever is later ^[6]. California's timeshare rescission provisions, set out in the California Business and Professions Code's vacation ownership chapter, similarly give buyers a short cancellation window after signing ^[7]. Missing the deadline by even a day typically forfeits the right entirely, and verbal cancellations or ones sent to the wrong address don't count. Send it certified mail, return receipt requested, to the exact address the contract specifies. For a full state-by-state breakdown of how these windows work and where to send the letter, see how to get out of a timeshare.

How do I get out of a timeshare after the rescission period ends?

Once rescission has passed, your realistic options are a deed-back or surrender program through the resort, resale (rarely for real money), a negotiated release, or living with it and paying fees until one of those becomes possible. Many major resort brands and HOAs now run their own deed-back or 'exit' programs that let you surrender the timeshare back to the resort, sometimes for free, sometimes for a processing fee, provided your account is current and there's no outstanding loan balance. These programs exist specifically because resorts would rather take a property back cleanly than deal with prolonged nonpayment, collections costs, and foreclosure paperwork. Ask your resort directly whether they have one; not all publicize it well. Resale is legal but rarely profitable. The timeshare resale market is flooded, and units frequently sell for $1 or get given away on secondary marketplaces because buyers know maintenance fees will start immediately and resorts sometimes have right-of-first-refusal clauses that complicate transfers. If you want to try, start with the resort's own resale program if one exists, and be skeptical of any resale company charging you an upfront fee to 'find a buyer.' A negotiated release, working directly with the resort or through a legitimate paid exit process, is the middle path most owners end up on once rescission has closed and deed-back isn't offered or isn't available for their specific contract type.

How much does a timeshare cost, and why do owners want out?

Purchase prices for timeshares typically run from about $10,000 to $30,000 for a one-week interval or an equivalent points package, though luxury brand weeks can run higher, based on figures reported in ARDA's industry research on the U.S. timeshare market ^[5]. That's the sticker price. The real long-term cost is the fees. Annual maintenance fees average roughly $1,200 to $1,300 per interval and rise most years, often faster than general inflation, because they cover rising insurance, staffing, and building maintenance costs at the resort ^[5]. On top of that, special assessments (one-time charges for major repairs, storm damage, or renovations) can add anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars in a single year with little warning. Do the math over a typical 20 or 30 year ownership horizon and a $15,000 purchase turns into $40,000, $60,000, or more in cumulative fees, not counting the original purchase price or any financing interest if you took a developer loan. That's the core reason so many owners, especially those who inherited a timeshare they never wanted or bought one under sales pressure decades ago, are actively looking for a way out rather than a way to keep using it.

Are timeshares scams? What should I watch for?

The timeshare purchase itself is a legal product, not inherently a scam, but the sales process is notorious for high-pressure tactics, and the exit side of the industry has a real scam problem that costs owners real money. The FTC's enforcement action in FTC v. Consumer Advocacy Center Inc. alleged that the defendants collected over $15 million from timeshare owners by falsely claiming to be attorneys who would get them out of their contracts, then did little or nothing for many of them ^[4]. Common red flags: a company that guarantees they can get you out, one that asks for full payment before doing any work, one that tells you to stop paying maintenance fees as their strategy, or one that contacts you out of the blue claiming they have a 'buyer already lined up' for your unsellable week. Check any company against your state attorney general's consumer complaint database and the Better Business Bureau before paying anyone. A legitimate exit path, whether it's a deed-back, a resale, or a negotiated release, should be verifiable and shouldn't require a large fee paid entirely upfront with no milestones or refund terms. For a broader rundown of tactics to watch for, see timeshare exit companies and keep a running timeshare call list of every number and rep you've spoken to, since exit scams often rely on you losing track of who said what.

What if I inherited a timeshare I never wanted?

You're not automatically stuck with it, but you do have to actively act, either by disclaiming the inheritance in probate before you accept it, or by pursuing deed-back, resale, or negotiated release afterward like any other owner. If the estate is still in probate, an heir can typically file a formal disclaimer refusing the inheritance, which under most state probate law means the timeshare passes as if you'd predeceased the owner, so it goes to the next heir in line or reverts to the estate rather than becoming your responsibility. This has to happen within a specific timeframe set by state probate law, so talk to the estate's probate attorney early rather than waiting. If you've already accepted the inheritance (for example, you've been paying maintenance fees for a year), disclaiming is generally no longer available and you're an owner like anyone else, meaning your options are the same deed-back, resale, or negotiated release paths covered above. Ignoring inherited maintenance fee bills leads to the same collections and credit consequences as ignoring your own contract, since the debt attaches to the property, not to your relationship with the person who died.

What's the difference between rescission, deed-back, and just defaulting?

Rescission	Only within your state's short cancellation window after signing	Usually free (certified letter)	None if done correctly	High, if deadline and method are followed exactly
Deed-back / surrender	After rescission, if resort offers a program and account is current	Free to a few hundred dollars in fees	None to minor	Medium, resort must accept and confirm in writing
Negotiated release	After rescission, no deed-back available	Varies; avoid large upfront fees	Minor if account stays current during process	Medium, depends on resort and contract terms
Stop paying / default	Any time, but not recommended as a first choice	'Free' upfront, expensive later (fees, interest, possible deficiency)	Significant, 60-90+ days to first report	Low; foreclosure and deficiency rules vary by state	The honest order of operations: check rescission first, ask about deed-back second, pursue a negotiated release or legitimate resale third, and treat stopping payment as a last resort you understand fully rather than a shortcut. For a walk-through of the negotiated release and cancellation process across different ownership types, see timeshare cancellation, and for a comparison of exit paths side by side see how to get out of timeshare.

These are three different exits with very different costs and risks, and confusing them is how owners end up choosing the worst option by accident. | Path | When it applies | Cost | Credit impact | Certainty |

How do I actually get started if I want out now?

Start by confirming exactly what you have: is it deeded real property or a right-to-use contract, is there a loan balance, and are you still inside your state's rescission window? Those three facts determine every option available to you. Pull your original purchase contract and look for the recission clause, the state it was signed in (not necessarily where you live now), and the notice address. Call your state attorney general's consumer protection office if you can't find or understand the rescission terms; that's a free call and a legitimate first stop. If rescission has passed, call the resort directly and ask, in writing, whether they offer a deed-back or surrender program, and get any answer in writing too, more than over the phone. If you decide a structured, paid exit process makes sense for your situation because deed-back isn't available and DIY negotiation isn't working, compare what you're being offered against your total remaining fee exposure before paying anyone. This is the kind of decision ExitHonest's $149 one-time Timeshare Exit Kit is built around: a flat-fee, DIY-first framework for figuring out which path actually fits your contract and your state, instead of guessing or paying a large upfront fee to a company promising results nobody can guarantee. You can start building your plan at /exit-kit-builder. Whatever you choose, document everything. Every call, every letter, every rep's name and ID number. That paper trail is what protects you if the resort or a collector later disputes what was said or agreed.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get out of a timeshare?

Check your state's rescission window first and cancel in writing if you're still inside it. After that, ask the resort about a deed-back or surrender program, consider a legitimate resale, or pursue a negotiated release. Avoid companies demanding large upfront fees or promising guaranteed results; verify any company with your state attorney general's office first.

How do you get out of a timeshare after the cancellation period ends?

Your main options become deed-back (surrendering the timeshare to the resort, sometimes free), resale (rarely profitable, since resale demand is very low), or a negotiated release. Some resorts run official exit programs for owners current on fees. Stopping payment is an option some owners take, but it risks credit damage, collections, and possible foreclosure or deficiency judgment.

How to sell a timeshare?

List through the resort's own resale program first, if it has one. Otherwise, expect the resale market to be weak; many timeshares sell for $1 or less because buyers know maintenance fees start immediately. Never pay a resale company a large upfront fee for a 'guaranteed buyer,' a pattern the FTC has pursued in enforcement actions against exit and resale scammers.

How to get rid of a timeshare with no rescission rights left?

Ask the resort directly about deed-back or surrender programs, which many major resort brands and HOAs now offer to current owners. If that's unavailable, consider a negotiated release or careful resale. Document every conversation and get any agreement in writing before paying anyone or signing away rights.

Are timeshares scams?

The purchase itself is a legal product, but sales tactics are frequently high-pressure, and the exit side of the industry has real scam problems. The FTC sued one exit telemarketing operation, Consumer Advocacy Center Inc., for allegedly collecting over $15 million from owners under false attorney claims. Verify any exit company against your state attorney general's complaint database before paying.

How much do timeshares cost?

Purchase prices typically run $10,000 to $30,000 for a week or equivalent points package, per ARDA industry research. Annual maintenance fees average roughly $1,200 to $1,300 and rise most years, with special assessments for repairs adding hundreds or thousands more in some years.

What happens if I just stop paying my timeshare maintenance fees?

Expect late fees within 30 to 60 days, then collections referral, then possible lien and foreclosure depending on your state and whether the timeshare is deeded property. Credit damage typically starts once the account is 60 to 90 days past due and reported to the bureaus.

Can a timeshare company sue me for unpaid fees?

Yes. Whether or not foreclosure applies, the resort or its collection agency can sue for breach of contract to recover unpaid maintenance fees, interest, and often attorney fees, and can pursue a judgment against you even without foreclosing on the property.

Will stopping timeshare payments show up on my credit report?

Usually yes, once the account is delinquent long enough to be reported, typically 60 to 90 days. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act's reporting-period rule, a collections account or foreclosure entry can generally stay on your credit report for up to seven years.

Do I still owe money after my timeshare is foreclosed?

Possibly. If the foreclosure sale doesn't cover what you owed plus fees and costs, some states allow the resort to pursue a deficiency judgment against you. Whether that applies depends on your state's law and whether foreclosure was judicial or nonjudicial, so don't assume foreclosure erases the debt.

What if I inherited a timeshare and don't want it?

If the estate is still in probate, you may be able to formally disclaim the inheritance so it passes to the next heir instead of you. Once you've accepted it (for example, by paying a fee), disclaiming is no longer available, and you'd pursue deed-back, resale, or release like any owner.

Is there a legitimate way to cancel a timeshare for free?

Yes, if you're inside your state's rescission window. Send a written cancellation by certified mail to the exact address in your contract before the deadline. This costs nothing but postage and is the only exit method that's both free and close to guaranteed when done correctly.

Sources

1. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation F (Debt Collection Practices), 12 CFR Part 1006: Third-party debt collectors on timeshare accounts must follow federal debt collection rules
2. Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681c (Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports): Negative credit information such as collections accounts can generally stay on a credit report for up to seven years
3. Florida Legislature, Florida Statutes Chapter 721, Part I (Vacation and Timeshare Plans): Florida allows both judicial and nonjudicial trustee foreclosure for timeshare interests
4. Federal Trade Commission v. Consumer Advocacy Center Inc., et al., No. 2:19-cv-08325 (C.D. Cal.), FTC press release announcing settlement: FTC enforcement action against a timeshare exit company alleging upfront fees collected under false attorney claims with no results delivered
5. American Resort Development Association, ARDA press release citing 2023 State of the Vacation Timeshare Industry annual report figures: Average annual timeshare maintenance fees and typical purchase price ranges for U.S. timeshare intervals
6. Florida Legislature, Florida Statutes Section 721.10: Florida law sets a 10-calendar-day rescission period for timeshare purchase contracts
7. California Business and Professions Code Section 11238 (Vacation Ownership and Time-Share Act of 2004): California sets a statutory rescission period for timeshare interest purchases under its vacation ownership law