If you are thinking about buying a timeshare property in Alaska, you should become familiar with Alaska timeshare laws. Alaska law requires that sellers of timeshares provide certain information to timeshare purchasers as well as allow buyers to cancel the contract within a certain period of time. Take the timeshare contract and obligations seriously -- if you default on timeshare mortgage or assessments payments, you may lose your timeshare through foreclosure.

Keep reading to learn about a few of the important Alaska laws that pertain to timeshare purchases.

Public Offering Statement

A public offering statement contains general information about the timeshare development. In Alaska, if a condominium or shared development provides an option for timeshare ownership, the public offering statement must disclose:

• any recorded covenants, conditions, restrictions, and reservations affecting the community
• the bylaws and any rules or regulations
• copies of the contracts and leases you must sign at closing
• any initial or special fee you must pay at closing
• the projected monthly common expense assessment for each type of unit
• the number and identity of units in which timeshares may be created
• the total number of timeshares that may be created
• the minimum duration of any timeshares that may be created
• any restrictions on your ability to transfer your interest in the timeshare unit
• whether the timeshare unit is included in an exchange program (including the present cost and a good faith estimate of your future cost from the exchange program)
• whether you are required to become a member of the exchange program, and
• contract cancellation information (Alaska Stat. § 34.08.530, § 34.08.550).

The developer must give you a copy of the public offering statement before conveyance of the timeshare unit and not later than the date you sign the contract (Alaska Stat. § 34.08.580(a)).

Cancelling a Timeshare Purchase in Alaska

Generally, you can cancel a timeshare contract within 15 days of receiving the public offering statement. However, if you receive the public offering statement more than 15 days before signing a contract, you cannot cancel the purchase (Alaska Stat. § 34.08.580(a)).

To cancel the purchase, you must:

• hand deliver notice of the cancellation to the seller, or
• mail notice of the cancellation by prepaid United States mail to the seller (or to the agent for service of process of the seller).

The seller cannot charge a cancellation penalty and must refund your payments promptly (Alaska Stat. § 34.08.580(b)). (Learn more about cancelling a timeshare purchase in Nolo’s article How Do I Cancel a Timeshare Contract?)

Timeshare Foreclosure Procedure

If you take out a loan to purchase an interest in a deeded timeshare and default on your timeshare mortgage payments or fail to keep up with the assessments, you will likely face foreclosure. (In addition to monthly mortgage payments, timeshare owners are ordinarily responsible for maintenance fees, special assessments, utilities, and taxes, collectively referred to as “assessments.” Find out more in Nolo’s article Can a Timeshare Be Foreclosed for Nonpayment of Fees or Assessments?)

Alaska’s Timeshare Laws

You can access the relevant statutes that govern Alaska timeshares by going to the Alaska State Legislature’s webpage at www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/folio.asp and running a search for the statute you wish to review. For example, you should enter “34.08.550” to find the “Time shares” statute.