How to Cancel Bluegreen Timeshare

You can get out of a Bluegreen timeshare in a few instances, but the best way is to sell it and make some money back to offset some of your initial outlay.

If you have purchased your Bluegreen timeshare directly from Bluegreen, you have a period of time known as a recission period in which you can request to get out of your ownership. This is usually within three to ten days from your purchase date, but the length of time depends on the state law of the state in which you purchased your timeshare points.

Even though you have purchased Bluegreen points, they will be deeded to a specific resort, so check your purchase documents to see where your points are deeded to and the specific state in which your purchase was made. Your contract will also have specific steps to take to request to cancel your Bluegreen timeshare within the recission period, so follow those steps exactly as written.

If you contact Bluegreen directly, they will refer you to their customer care department and discuss options with you. However, they do not have an official in-house resale department like some timeshare companies provide, so they will refer you to a resale provider.

To sell your Bluegreen timeshare, you have a few options. One is to handle it yourself, but you will need to be fairly savvy in marketing to be able to find buyers. You could try using social media or asking family or friends, but online marketing is a complicated field that really needs the help of professionals to navigate.

Selling using a timeshare-specific advertising agency or a timeshare resale broker are your next options. An advertising company would be an option if you are confident in handling the negotiation yourself since you would be the one fielding offers and overseeing the paperwork. Plus, advertising fees are paid in advance regardless of whether your timeshare sells or not.

Timeshare resale brokers operate on a commission basis, so they don’t get paid until after a sale is closed. They can handle all the marketing, networking with other brokers and taking care of the negotiation and paperwork – similar to a conventional real estate sale.

This can result in referrals to a debt collector, legal issues with lenders or resort management companies or possible foreclosure of the timeshare. The answer depends on which type of payment you mean if you are considering not paying your Bluegreen timeshare.

The first area involves payment for the initial purchase of the timeshare. You may be paying a mortgage on your timeshare ownership, but this is not normally a mortgage in the usual sense since your loan would not be secured by the timeshare like in the case of a home loan. These loans are primarily unsecured loans, functioning more like a personal loan or a credit card payment. Your payment would be made to the lender, and if you stop paying your Bluegreen timeshare payment the lender will want their money back. Your account could be referred to a debt collector or, in extreme cases, taken to court for a decision.

If your timeshare is paid off and you are considering not paying your annual maintenance fees, then this is between you and your resort or management company. By not paying your maintenance fees, you would first be contacted by the resort to see if they can help, as many resorts have deferral programs in place for cases of financial distress. If non-payment continues, especially in the case of no contact with the resort, the case would be referred to collections with the possibility of foreclosure and the loss of your timeshare.

In both of these cases, credit bureaus would be notified - resulting in adverse impacts to your credit score. This could not only affect your ability to secure loans in the future but also potentially increase the costs of any new loans.

Bluegreen Vacations has nearly 70 resorts in its program with over 220,000 owners within its membership base. A company this large and providing the vacation services they offer couldn’t be considered a ripoff. However, some Bluegreen owners may think they have been ripped off, but this often boils down to the way they were originally sold their timeshare and the price paid for their ownership.

Like any other product or service, the more you pay, the higher the expectation level and the higher the scrutiny of the product. Therefore, it is important for buyers to first check the Bluegreen timeshare resale market, since the bargains on offer as resales can make a big difference in how the purchase is perceived.

The cost of a week of timeshare averages just under $23,000 according to ARDA, the national advocacy association for the timeshare industry. However, this is the average of the new sale prices of timeshares purchased at the resorts. Resales can be discounted as much as 60 percent, since resales remove the sales commissions and marketing costs that are baked into the resort retail prices. These lower prices can help improve the perceived value for money in the eyes of Bluegreen owners.

Other issues can involve the use of the product – since points programs can sometimes be confusing and not as straightforward as fixed or even floating week timeshare ownership. One key is understanding the point value of staying in specific resorts within the network, since some owners only find out afterwards that they may not own enough points to stay at certain resorts.

Let’s use a two-bedroom unit as an example, since that is the most popular timeshare unit configuration. A two-bedroom standard unit in red season at Bluegreen the Fountains in Orlando requires 13,000 points to vacation for a week. A two-bedroom villa at Bluegreen Harbour Lights in Myrtle Beach will only need 10,000 points for a red season week. Meanwhile, a two-bedroom red season week at Bluegreen Club 36 in Las Vegas will need 19,000 points. By now you get the idea.

Buyers should first identify their favorite vacation location or type of vacation, then determine how may points they will need for their preferred unit size. Those answers will go a long way toward avoiding a ripoff feeling afterwards.

Yes, but it depends on when you bought your timeshare. If you purchased from Bluegreen, you will have what is called a rescission period – often from three to ten days after your purchase – when you can request your timeshare be cancelled by Bluegreen. The exact timeframe is determined by state law in the state where you purchased your timeshare, so research how much time you have to cancel. Your purchase contract will also spell out the cancellation process, so make sure you follow it exactly and make your request in writing in order to eliminate any possible loopholes.

Beyond the recission period, you can try contacting Bluegreen but they normally refer owners to third-party resale companies so owners can sell their timeshare. They have a customer service program set aside for owners looking to get out of their ownership, but this is usually for long term owners in financial distress without mortgages and who are up to date on their annual fees. Even so, there are no guarantees Bluegreen will cancel the timeshare contract.

Some owners try to cancel their Bluegreen timeshare by contacting a so-called timeshare cancellation or timeshare exit company, but those companies charge from $5,000 to $10,000 upfront to do the same thing that an owner can do themselves – contact Bluegreen to request a cancellation. Plus, these companies have run into trouble with state Attorney General offices and the courts over alleged deceptive trade practices.

This can negatively affect your credit score if you decide to walk away from your Bluegreen timeshare. Assuming that your timeshare is paid off so you don’t owe any money on the original purchase (which is a separate issue with a lender) you would be under contract to pay annual fees to Bluegreen. This usually comes in the form of maintenance fees tied to your resort and annual fees to support the points program.

Because this is a contractual obligation, Bluegreen would contact you to collect the outstanding funds and could refer you to a collection department. If payment is still unpaid, foreclosure can take place so Bluegreen can retrieve the ownership.

During each step, credit bureaus could be advised, resulting in a hit, or multiple hits, on your credit score and making it difficult to obtain new loans.