This is my opinion and mine only. If I no longer wished to pay maintenance fees and my unit was paid for, I would deed back my unit to the resort where it was purchased. I have done it. It was more than 15 years ago and it did not affect my credit. I was willing to lose my investment. I know longer wished to make the payments. Nothing showed up on my credit. I walked away.Today I own 2 weeks of timeshare. One was given to me a couple of years ago and I purchased on over the Internet for a reasonable amount of money. We are using our timeshare units and enjoy every minute of our vacationing.