Alaska Timeshare Foreclosure and Right to Cancel Laws

If you buy a timeshare and regret it, most states have "cooling-off" laws. These laws let you get out of a timeshare contract if you act quickly, usually within three to ten days. In Alaska, the cooling-off period is usually 15 days after you receive the public offering statement. However, you don't get a right to cancel the contract if you get the public offering statement more than 15 days before signing the sale agreement.

Still, you need to be cautious when buying a timeshare. And you should understand that if you take out a mortgage loan to buy a deeded timeshare and stop making the payments, the lender, usually the resort developer, will probably foreclose.

Also, timeshare owners typically must pay annual maintenance fees and special assessments. If, as an owner, you don't pay the fees and assessments, you might face a lawsuit for a money judgment or a foreclosure of your timeshare. (With a right-to-use timeshare, people generally sign a contract and agree to make monthly payments. While a developer may foreclose a deeded timeshare, a right-to-use timeshare is typically repossessed, which is a different legal process than a foreclosure.)

How Do I Cancel an Alaska Timeshare?

Again, you can generally, before conveyance, cancel a timeshare contract within 15 days of receiving the public offering statement (or preliminary version of the public offering statement). But you can't cancel the purchase if you get the public offering statement more than 15 days before signing a contract. (Alaska Stat. § 34.08.580(a).)

What Is a Public Offering Statement?

A "public offering statement" contains basic information about a timeshare development. In Alaska, if a condominium or shared development provides an option for timeshare ownership, the public offering statement must disclose specific details about the project, including:

• 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're required to become a member of the exchange program, and
• contract cancellation information. (Alaska Stat. § 34.08.530, § 34.08.550.)

Under Alaska law, the developer must give you a copy of the public offering statement before the conveyance of the timeshare unit and no later than the date you sign the contract. (Alaska Stat. § 34.08.580(a).)

Steps to Cancel a Timeshare Deal in Alaska

To cancel your timeshare 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 the seller's agent for service of process. (Alaska Stat. § 34.08.580(b).)

The seller can't charge you a cancellation penalty and must refund your payments promptly. (Alaska Stat. § 34.08.580(b).)

Timeshare Foreclosures in Alaska

In Alaska, if you take out a loan to purchase an interest in a deeded timeshare and fail to make your mortgage payments, the lender (again, typically, the developer) might foreclose.

In addition to monthly mortgage payments, timeshare owners are ordinarily responsible for maintenance fees, special assessments, utilities, and taxes, collectively called "assessments." You might also face a foreclosure if you fall behind in the timeshare assessments.

Ways to Avoid a Timeshare Foreclosure

A few of the various options to avoid a timeshare foreclosure include:

• paying what you owe in full
• negotiating with the developer to reduce the amount you owe
• selling the timeshare
• donating the timeshare to a charity (not all charities will take a timeshare, but some might, and you'll have to get current on payments first)
• arranging a repayment plan, or
• working out a deal to give the timeshare back to the resort (called a "deed in lieu of foreclosure" or "deedback").

Talk to a Lawyer

If you want more information about timeshare laws in your state or need assistance canceling a timeshare, consider talking to a real estate attorney. Contact a foreclosure attorney if you're facing a timeshare foreclosure and have questions about the process or your options.