What a Timeshare Owner Should Know About Estoppel Letters

The sheer volume of paperwork necessary to become a timeshare owner can be overwhelming, to say the least. Unfortunately -- or perhaps fortunately -- most of this paperwork is essential to protect all parties involved in the process. An estoppel letter is a particularly vital such component.

• Tweet
• Share
• Email

• Tweet
• Share
• Email

When it comes to transferring ownership of virtually any residential property, it is important for all parties involved to understand all the different facts involved with the ownership transfer process. Most of this information is detailed in an estoppel letter. This estoppel letter is an important part of the process necessary to transfer ownership of a timeshare. To completely understand what an estoppel letter is and how it works, you need to dive further into the necessary paperwork that must be completed to create it.

An estoppel letter will be necessary right before the closing transaction during a transfer of real estate property.

This paperwork is generally sent to the bank and other concerned parties in the transaction. The information detailed on it includes how much is being paid for the transfer of ownership and what the new party will be paying each month or year in order to be part of the timeshare. This ensures that the other members of the timeshare are made aware of this information. They need to know what they are paying in relation to the new member in order to determine whether the benefits of ownership are worth the costs. All of the assessments and payments involved are mentioned in the estoppel letter.

The estoppel letter also clearly explains all information the new individual signing into the timeshare is agreeing to. This includes fines, additional payments and any other fees that the individual may need to pay if they are late, if they do not pay the appropriate amount, if they overstay their allotted time at the timeshare or any number of other misdeeds.

The information included in the estoppel letter is intended not only for the new individual joining into the timeshare but also for the rest of the community in general. It is important for the bank and other financial institution to receive this information so they can go over how much money must be paid out or what is required by the new member. In some situations, of course, a timeshare transaction will not involve a bank or separate financial institution, since the process is somewhat different from that involved in buying a new house.

For example, there usually is not as much of a closing fee since the new individual is not actually buying the property, but merely the right to use it along with the other members of the timeshare. If no bank or other separate financial institution is involved, the estoppel letter does not need to be sent out to these organizations. Instead, it only needs to be sent out to the property management association and the other individuals in the timeshare, ensuring that no concerned parties are left in the dark about the transaction.

During the process necessary to transfer the ownership of a timeshare property, it is of course vital to keep originals or copies of all the involved paperwork. One of the last and perhaps most important such pieces of paperwork is the estoppel letter.