[Silver Lakes] Vacation Club membership

We purchased at Silver Lakes Vacation Club in Hellendale CA, (an RCI points affiliate) 2 years ago. We do pay maintenance fees. We want to discontinue our membership (just give it away) and they want $2900 plus a $189 fee to get out of the membership.

What are my options?

I'd pay it and be happy that you have an option to get out of your timeshare legally. Most resorts will NOT take deed backs at any price.

BUT - be very sure you are really dealing with resort management and NOT a scammer or other outside entity...

I would ask for a much lower cost, based on their cost of trying to collect a California judgment from a debtor in Windsor, Ontario

David - I strongly disagree:

Since this will probably be a difficult to resale, don't we want to applaud the HOA for:

1) offering a way to get out and

2) making sure it won't be a burden on the remaining owners by collecting enough to cover the MF for 2-3 years, and cover marketing costs?

I wouldnt pay them a nickel. Offer to give it back. If they dont take it, stop paying and more than likely they will end up taking it back after realizing it is much cheaper to accept it back than to foreclose.

Two very different situations, two very different responses...

Out here on the right coast reading this thread, I'm admittedly a bit confused about whether this is just a vacation "club" or an actual timeshare facility.
I don't see that particular name in several (admittedly several years old) RCI or II directories on hand, so no enlightenment is available there either.

OP makes reference to both a "membership" (suggesting a non-facility-specific "vacation club") yet also mentions maintenance fees (suggesting a brick and mortar facility, with underlying deed). My two cents' worth would actually be polar opposite suggestions, depending entirely upon on exactly which situation exists here.

For a facility with deeded ownership and associated annual maintenance fees, I'd recommend pursuing the deedback option with the HOA if it's offered and available.
A year or two of maintenance fees, plus a few hundred dollars in legal costs for new deed prep and recording is both reasonable and (minimally) sufficient to mitigate the unwelcome negative financial impact placed upon other remaining owners from "deedbacks" until the HOA or its' resale rep can (hopefully) find a "replacement" owner.

On the other hand, if this is literally just a membership-only "vacation club" and not a brick and mortar facility with deeded ownership and maintenance fees, I'd just stop paying them anything further and just tell them to "have a nice day". An owner is not irresponsibly "stiffing" other owners by walking away if it's only a non-facility specific "membership" in the first place. More often than not, such clubs are themselves the ones suddenly folding up tent, disappearing and "stiffing" their members.

It's a timeshare: Silver Lakes Vacation Club

It's not unusual for a timeshare to call itself a "Vacation Club."

Lake Tahoe Vacation Club

Ka'anapali Vacation Club

DeniseM said:

It's a timeshare: Silver Lakes Vacation Club <snip>

Click to expand...

O.K. then. I was misled and confused by the OP inaccurately describing as a "membership" that which is apparently a deeded ownership instead.
However, my prior thoughts (post #6 above) on these two very different scenarios remain completely unchanged by this belated clarification.

IMHO

Although they may end up with a US foreclosure,[California] the risk to their Canadian Credit Report is slim to none, and the cost of collecting across international borders would be more than the debt.

Check with a solicitor in your local province

YMMV

The Silver Lakes timeshares are perpetually available as a Last Call on RCI. They have no demand whatsoever.


RCI:
The Inn at Silver Lakes #1371
The Mission Villas at Silver Lakes #A710

II:
The Inn at Silver Lakes ISL

To the OP - I do hope you can get out of the ownership by giving it back. You will not be able to sell it.