Purchasing a timeshare is a big decision and it’s important to understand what protections are afforded to you by the law. Being the vacation destination it is, it’s no surprise Florida is home to more timeshares than any other state. Thankfully, Florida has many consumer protection laws on the book to protect purchasers, including the Florida Vacation Plan and Timesharing Act. If you are a victim of fraud, misrepresentation, or high-pressure sales tactics, our teams’ experience with Florida 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 Florida, you need to at least know the answers to the following questions:
- What is the timeshare cancellation period in Florida?
- What kind of laws does Florida 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 Florida?
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 Florida is 10 calendar days from either the date you signed the contract or the date you received all documents required to be provided to you by law (including the Public Offering Statement), whichever is later. While Florida does have a lengthy cancellation period, it is very important to note that the law is based on calendar days, not business days. This right to cancel may not be waived.
Cancelling the purchase is done by notifying the seller in writing and sending this request by mail. The notice of cancellation is considered given on the date it is postmarked, so long as the letter is actually received by the timeshare company or escrow agent. We do recommend that you send your notice of cancellation via certified mail so that you have proof. 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 Florida
Florida 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 don’t feel bad – it’s not because you are ‘stupid’ or ‘gullible.’ These sales people are master manipulators and will play on your emotions, not appeal to your senses.
Sellers are prohibited from from making any written or oral statement that shall:
- Misrepresent a fact or create a false or misleading impression regarding the timeshare plan or promotion thereof
- Make a prediction of specific or immediate increases in the price or value of timeshare interests
- Contain a statement concerning future price increases by a seller which are nonspecific or not bona fide
- Contain any asterisk or other reference symbol as a means of contradicting or substantially changing any previously made statement or as a means of obscuring a material fact
- Misrepresent the size, nature, extent, qualities, or characteristics of the offered accommodations or facilities
- Misrepresent the amount or period of time during which the accommodations or facilities will be available to any purchaser
- Misrepresent the nature or extent of any incidental benefit
- Make any misleading or deceptive representation with respect to the contents of the public offering statement and the contract or the rights, privileges, benefits, or obligations of the purchaser under the contract or this chapter
- Misrepresent the conditions under which a purchaser may exchange the right to use accommodations or facilities in one location for the right to use accommodations or facilities in another location
- Misrepresent the availability of a resale or rental program or resale or rental opportunity
- Contain an offer or inducement to purchase which purports to be limited as to quantity or restricted as to time unless the numerical quantity or time limit applicable to the offer or inducement is clearly stated
- Imply that a facility is available for the exclusive use of purchasers if the facility will actually be shared by others or by the general public
- Purport to have resulted from a referral unless the name of the person making the referral can be produced upon demand of the division
- Misrepresent the source of the advertising or statement by leading a prospective purchaser to believe that the advertising material is mailed by a governmental or official agency, credit bureau, bank, or attorney, if that is not the case
- Misrepresent the value of any prize, gift, or other item to be awarded in connection with any prize and gift promotional offer, as described in s. 721.111, or any incidental benefit
- Misrepresent or falsely imply that the resale service provider is affiliated with, or obtained personal contact information from, a developer, managing entity, or exchange company
- Describe any facility that is not required to be built or that is uncompleted unless the improvement is conspicuously labeled as “NEED NOT BE BUILT,” “PROPOSED,” or “UNDER CONSTRUCTION.” If the facility is labeled “NEED NOT BE BUILT” or “PROPOSED,” the seller may indicate the estimated date that such facility will be made part of the timeshare plan. If the facility is labeled “UNDER CONSTRUCTION,” the estimated date of completion must be included.
These specific provisions regarding timeshare sales combined with Florida’s other consumer protections are key to our strategy. As we can see, Florida timeshare law is very clear when it comes to misrepresentations 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 Florida are financed through a mortgage on the ownership. Failure to make your timeshare mortgage payments will result in a foreclosure. Failure to pay maintenance fees, special assessments, or ad valorem taxes may also result in foreclosure; though in our experience timeshare companies are more interested in hounding owners for outstanding maintenance fees rather than foreclosing, though they will foreclose eventually.
In Florida, foreclosures on timeshare mortgages are nonjudicial and owners cannot be help liable for a deficiency judgement, so long as you do not challenge the nonjudicial foreclosure. If you choose to challenge the nonjudicial foreclosure, you may be held liable for any difference between the foreclosure sale price and what you still owe.
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. Florida law does prohibit this behavior, but of course it can’t exactly prevent it.
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. The reseller is also required to provide you with a description of all costs or fees to be paid by you or anyone else to the resale company or any other third party, and a description of when those fees are due.
In the course of offering resale advertising services, a resale advertiser may not:
- State or imply that the resale advertiser will provide or assist in providing any type of direct sales or resale brokerage services other than the advertising of the consumer resale timeshare interest for sale or rent by the consumer timeshare reseller
- State or imply to a consumer timeshare reseller that the timeshare interest has a specific resale value
- State or imply to a consumer timeshare reseller, directly or indirectly, that the resale advertiser has identified a person interested in buying or renting the timeshare resale interest without providing the name, address, and telephone number of such represented interested resale purchaser
- State or imply to a consumer timeshare reseller, directly or indirectly, that sales or rentals have been achieved or generated as a result of its advertising services unless the resale advertiser, at the time of making such representation, possesses and is able to provide documentation to substantiate the statement or implication made to the consumer timeshare reseller. In addition, to the extent that a resale advertiser states or implies to a consumer timeshare reseller that the resale advertiser has sold or rented any specific number of timeshare interests, the resale advertiser must also provide the consumer timeshare reseller the ratio or percentage of all the timeshare interests that have resulted in a sale versus the number of timeshare interests advertised for sale by the resale advertiser for each of the previous 2 calendar years if the statement or implication is about a sale or sales, or the ratio or percentage of all the timeshare interests that have actually resulted in a rental versus the number of timeshare interests advertised for rental by the resale advertiser for each of the previous 2 calendar years if the statement or implication is about a rental or rentals
- Make or submit any charge to a consumer timeshare reseller’s credit card account; make or cause to be made any electronic transfer of consumer timeshare reseller funds; or collect any payment from a consumer timeshare reseller that exceeds an aggregate total amount of $75 or more in any 12-month period until after the resale advertiser has received a written contract complying in all respects with paragraph (f) that has been signed by the consumer timeshare reseller
- Engage in any resale advertising services for compensation or valuable consideration without first obtaining a written contract to provide such services signed by the consumer timeshare reseller. Notwithstanding any other law, the contract must be printed in at least 12-point type and must contain the following information
- The name, address, telephone number, and web address, if any, of the resale advertiser and a mailing address and e-mail address to which a contract cancellation notice may be delivered at the consumer timeshare reseller’s election
- A complete description of all resale advertising services to be provided, including, but not limited to, details regarding the publications, Internet sites, and other media in or on which the consumer resale timeshare interest will be advertised; the dates or time intervals for such advertising or the minimum number of times such advertising will be run in each specific medium; the itemized cost to the consumer timeshare reseller of each resale advertising service to be provided; and a statement of the total cost to the consumer timeshare reseller of all resale advertising services to be provided
- statement printed in at least 12-point boldfaced type immediately preceding the space in the contract provided for the consumer timeshare reseller’s signature in substantially the following form
While the Sunshine State does clearly have quite a lot of regulations regarding resales, these kinds of scams do still happen. Unfortunately, quite a lot of our clients had fallen victim to these tactics before finding real help. The safest bet is to just steer clear of the whole mess.
Resources
“The 2020 Statutes Chapter 721 Florida Vacation Plan and Timesharing Act.” Online Sunshine, The Florida Legislature (leg.state.fl.us)
Florida Attorney General – How to Protect Yourself: Timeshare Sales & Resales (myfloridalegal.com)
Loftsgordon, Amy. “Florida Timeshare Foreclosure and Right to Cancel Laws.” Nolo, 21 Feb. 2020 (nolo.com)
Our Services
Timeshare Cancellation
Timeshare Mortgage Cancellation
Credit Protection
Timeshare Tax Preparation
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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