Purchasing a timeshare is a big decision and it’s important to understand what protections are afforded to you by the law. Hawaii is home to some of the best beaches, best resorts, and, thankfully, best consumer protection laws in the country. If you are a victim of fraud, misrepresentation, or high-pressure sales tactics, our teams’ experience with Hawaii law allows us to cancel your timeshare contract legally and permanently without negatively impacting your credit.
If you have purchased or are getting ready to purchase a timeshare in Hawaii, you need to at least know the answers to the following questions:
- What is the timeshare cancellation period in Hawaii?
- What kind of laws does Hawaii have for timeshare purchasers?
- What happens if I stop making my timeshare mortgage payments?
- What happens if I do not pay my maintenance or assessment fees?
- How do I get out of a timeshare purchase in Hawaii?
When you buy a timeshare there is a timeframe in which you may easily cancel the purchase known as the cancellation period or the rescission period. The timeshare cancellation period in Hawaii is 7 calendar days from the day you sign the contract or the day you receive all the disclosure documents, whichever is later. This right to cancel may not be waived.
Cancelling the purchase is done by sending a notice of cancellation via mail or delivery. If sent via US mail, the notice is assumed given on the date postmarked, if sent by other means of delivery, the notice is considered given at delivery. While the law does not specifically state so, we do recommend that you send your notice of cancellation via certified mail so that you have definitive proof the notice is delivered. Once the timeshare company receives your notice of cancellation they have 20 days to honor your refund, or until 5 days after your check clears, whichever is later.
If you are still within the cancellation period, don’t waste any more time! Right now, it’s as easy as sending the company a letter. So, if you are having regrets, don’t let this opportunity pass.
If the cancellation period has already passed, our team is standing by ready to help. Grab your timeshare paperwork and call or click now to get your questions answered and schedule a free consultation.
Fraud & Misrepresentation in Hawaii
Hawaiian law explicitly prohibits many types of misrepresentations made by salespeople and advertising material. Even though these tactics are forbidden by law, as many of our clients have experienced, the salespeople still do sometimes disregard the law to make a quick buck. If you think you may be a victim of this kind of fraudulent misrepresentation, please don’t feel bad. These salespeople are master manipulators and will play on your emotions, not appeal to your senses.
The law casts a rather large net, prohibiting the misrepresentation of any material fact, prohibiting representing the timeshare as a financial investment, misrepresenting usage rights, and covers much more.
It is considered a violation for any sales agent to:
- Fail to inform each purchaser orally and in writing, at the time the purchaser signs the contract, of the purchaser’s seven-day right to cancel or void the contract to purchase a time share interest in a time share plan or unit
- Misrepresent or deceptively represent any material fact concerning the time share plan or time share unit
- Make any representation that a time share interest is an investment, including but not limited to the value of the interest at resale
- Misrepresent the amount of time or period of time the time share unit will be available to any purchaser
- Misrepresent or deceptively represent the location or locations of the offered time share unit
- Misrepresent the size, nature, extent, qualities, or characteristics of the offered time share units
- Misrepresent the nature or extent of any services incident to the time share unit
- Misrepresent the amount of fees to be charged, including management fees, or the structure for future fee increase or
- Misrepresent in any manner the purchaser’s right to cancel or void any contract to purchase a time share interest in a time share plan or unit
- Include in any contract or document provisions purporting to waive any right or benefit to which the purchaser is entitled under this chapter
- Use any promotional device, including but not limited to entertainment, prizes, gifts, food and drinks, games, or other inducements without fully disclosing that the device is being used for the purpose of soliciting sales of time share interests
- Offer a prospective purchaser a prize or gift, in writing, as part of any time share advertising or sales promotion plan, if to claim the prize or gift, the prospective purchaser must attend a sales presentation, unless the written disclosure described in section 514E-11(3) is furnished to the prospective purchaser at the time the prospective purchaser is notified of the prize or gift provided that the written disclosure is written or printed in a size equal to at least ten-point bold type
- Fail or refuse to honor any valid notice of cancellation of the contract by the purchaser and, within fifteen business days after receipt of such notice, fail or refuse to refund all payments made under the contract or sale or fail or refuse to cancel and return any negotiable instrument executed by the purchaser in connection with the contract or sale and take any appropriate action to terminate promptly any mortgage, lien, or other security interest created in connection with the transaction
- Fail to include above the signature line of any sales contract or, if no sales contract is used, above the signature line of any agreement with the purchaser, in conspicuous bold type and capital letters, the following: “Any purchaser has, under the law, a seven-day right of rescission of any time sharing sales contract”
- Misrepresent the conditions under which a purchaser may exchange the purchaser’s occupancy rights to a time share unit in one location for occupancy rights to a time share unit in another location
These specific provisions regarding timeshare sales combined with Hawaii’s other consumer protections are key to our strategy. As we can see, Hawaii timeshare law is pretty clear and extensive when it comes to misrepresentation of the facts! If you think that you might be a victim of misrepresentation our team is ready to get you out. Grab your timeshare paperwork and give us a call for your free consultation. The law, and our team of experts & attorneys, are on your side.
Typically, timeshare purchases in Hawaii are financed through a mortgage on the ownership. Failure to make your timeshare mortgage payments will result in a foreclosure. In Hawaii, any regular, special, or other assessment fees are considered a debt, nonpayment of which can also result in foreclosure.
In Hawaii, foreclosures on timeshare mortgages are handled just like a mortgage on a real property. Hawaiian law explicitly states that it does not prohibit the timeshare association from obtaining a money judgement from the courts for any owed fees or payments.
While it can be possible to sell a paid-off timeshare, the resale market is practically nonexistent. You’re better off trying to find somebody to give it away to! Because of this, and because many people are desperate to get out of their timeshare, scams are rampant. Commonly, these scam-artist get lists of thousands of potential timeshare owners and call them with too good to be true offers, sometimes even claiming to have a buyer already lined up — only to take their money with upfront fees and run. Hawaii law does prohibit this behavior, but of course it can’t exactly prevent it.
In Hawaii, timeshare resellers are required by law to be licensed real estate brokers. However, scammers have been known to use fake licenses or attempt to impersonate actual licensed brokers.
Really, the safest bet is to just steer clear of the whole mess.
Resources
Hawaii Timeshare Foreclosure and Right to Cancel Laws (nolo.com)
Hawaii Revised Statutes TITLE 28, Chapter 514E (2019) – Time Sharing Plans (law.justia.com)
Our Services
Timeshare Cancellation
Timeshare Mortgage Cancellation
Credit Protection
Timeshare Tax Preparation
Ready To Cancel Your Timeshare?
We Do Not Sell Timeshares
We Do Not List Timeshares
We Cancel Timeshares
Ready To Cancel Your Timeshare?
We Do Not Sell Timeshares
We Do Not List Timeshares
We Cancel Timeshares