Understanding Timeshare Laws in Florida

If you’re dealing with timeshare legal issues in Florida, Timeshare Defense Attorneys can help in navigating Timeshare Laws in Florida. Call us for more details.

Duration of the Cooling Off Period

In Florida, the cooling-off period is ten days. Fla. Stat. § 721. 10(1) lays down that you can cancel your timeshare contract within 10 days of the day on which:

• The purchase contract is executed; or
• You receive all the necessary documents from the seller, whichever is later.

Such cancellation is required to be made to the designated seller in writing. It is also worth noting that this right of cancellation cannot be waived or modified.

Unfortunately, most timeshare sellers do not inform the purchasers of this right. As such, many realize they can cancel the contract only after the rescission period has elapsed.

Payment Refund

If you are within your cancellation period, you are entitled to a refund of the total amount you have paid. However, any benefits you may have received are subtracted from this value. The repayment is to be done within the following period:

• Within 20 days from the receipt of your cancellation notice; or
• Within 5 days after receiving the money from your cleared check (whichever comes later).

Consider consulting a Florida timeshare lawyer if you need help canceling your contract.

Public Offering Statement

According to Fla. Sta. § 721. 07, sellers are required to provide buyers with a copy of the property’s public offering statement. The public offering statement is a document that contains essential information such as:

• a description of the timeshare
• a description of the timeshare’s area of accommodations
• the duration of the plan (in years)
• an explanation of how expenses and ownership elements are to be shared

Resale

There are many laws governing the resale of timeshares in Florida. This is because timeshare ownership can get tedious after a while. People become desperate to get rid of their timeshares by selling them off.

Fla. Sta. § 721.205 lists the obligations of resale service providers. Among other provisions, it states that a timeshare resale advertiser must not:

• Claim that a buyer or renter is interested in the property without providing their name, number, and address.
• Engage in any resale advertising activities without a written contract.
• Charge over $75 for their services until they receive a written service contract signed by the timeshare owner.
• Represent their previous success rate without adequate documentation to back it up.

Foreclosure

Getting rid of a timeshare takes a lot of work. Some people even stop paying off their mortgages when other options have failed. If you take out a loan to pay for your timeshare and then default on your payments, the lender may foreclose your timeshare.

While this will likely affect your credit score significantly, you may not have to go to court. Fla. Stat. § 721.855 and § 721.856 lay down the provisions for non-judicial foreclosure of timeshares. Simply put, the lender (likely your resort) can retake possession of the timeshare without going through court proceedings.

However, when the lender sells your foreclosed timeshare interest for an amount less than what you owe them, they could apply for a deficiency judgment. The “deficiency” is the difference between the amount owed and how much your timeshare was sold for. A deficiency judgment mandates you to pay that difference. However, the provisions in Fla Sta. § 721.81 and Fla. Stat. § 721.855 provide that the lender cannot file for a deficiency judgment against you if you did not contest the non-judicial foreclosure. In practice, since timeshare foreclosures are rarely ever contested, deficiency judgments are also rare.