Chapter 707

707.38   Blanket encumbrances; liens.

707.39   Initiative, referendum and recall.

SUBCHAPTER IV

PROTECTION OF PURCHASERS

707.40   Applicability; exemptions.

707.41   Time-share disclosure statement.

707.42   Exchange or reciprocal program; additional requirements.

707.43   Multilocation developer; additional requirements.

707.44   Conversion building; additional requirements.

707.45   Amendments to statement.

707.46   Contract; minimum requirements.

707.47   Purchaser’s right to cancel.

707.48   Resales of time shares.

707.49   Deposits; escrow requirement.

707.50   Conversion building; tenants’ rights.

707.51   Protection of campground interests.

707.52   Campgrounds; breach by member.

707.53   Warranties.

707.54   Labeling of promotional material.

707.55   Prohibited advertising and sales practices.

707.56   Developer’s obligation to complete improvements.

707.57   Remedies and penalties.

707.58   Applicability to existing time shares.

707.59   Time-share units not within state.

subch. I of ch. 707 SUBCHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

707.02 707.02 Definitions. In this chapter:

707.02(1) (1) “Affiliate of a developer” means any person who controls, is controlled by or is under common control with a developer.

707.02(2) (2) “Association” means the association organized under s. 707.30 (2).

707.02(4) (4) “Campground” means real property that is available for use by campground members under a campground contract and is intended for camping or outdoor recreation, including the use of campsites and campground amenities by campground members, but does not include a manufactured and mobile home community as defined in s. 66.0435 (1) (cg).

707.02(5) (5) “Campground amenity” means a major recreational building or recreational facility at a campground, including a swimming pool, ski hill, marina, pier, tennis court, utility-serviced campsite, clubhouse, trading post or grocery store; but does not include an individual campsite or general campsite location, any minor recreational building or facility, horseshoe pit or other minor game or athletic court, or a nonrecreational building or facility, including a restroom, road, dump station or pumphouse.

707.02(6) (6) “Campground contract” means an agreement entered into within this state evidencing a campground member’s ownership of a time-share easement in a campground.

707.02(7) (7) “Campground member” means a person who enters into a campground contract with a campground operator, or a transferee of a person who enters into a campground contract with a campground operator.

707.02(8) (8) “Campground operator” means a developer who is the owner or operator of a campground for which campground contracts are offered or sold.

707.02(9) (9) “Closing” means:

707.02(9)(a) (a) With respect to time-share estates, conveyance of legal or equitable title to the time share by delivery of a deed or contract to purchase to the purchaser.

707.02(9)(b) (b) With respect to time-share easements, delivery by all parties of the documents necessary to vest in the purchaser the rights to access and use of the time-share unit.

707.02(9m) (9m) “Controls” or “controlled by” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, by common management or otherwise, including any of the following, unless the powers are held solely as security for an obligation and are not exercised:

707.02(9m)(a) (a) Owning or controlling more than 20 percent of the voting interest in a person.

707.02(9m)(b) (b) Controlling the election of a majority of the directors of a person.

707.02(9m)(c) (c) Contributing more than 20 percent of the capital of a person.

707.02(10) (10) “Conversion building” means a building that at any time before the disposition of any time share was occupied wholly or partially by persons other than purchasers and persons who occupied with the consent of purchasers.

707.02(11) (11) “Developer” means any person who offers to dispose of, or disposes of, an interest in a time share not previously disposed of or succeeds to any special developer right under s. 707.31.

707.02(12) (12) “Dispose” or “disposition” means a voluntary transfer of any legal or equitable interest in a time share, excluding the transfer or release of a security interest.

707.02(13) (13) “Dues payment” means the periodic fee paid by a campground member, other than the sales payment, for the purpose of using a campground, excluding fees charged for specific goods or services provided, such as campsite reservations, daily campsite rentals, equipment rentals or meals.

707.02(14) (14) “Manager” means any person, other than all time-share owners or the association, named or employed under the time-share instrument or project instrument to manage the time-share units.

707.02(15) (15) “Managing entity” means the manager or, if there is no manager, the association.

707.02(17) (17) “Offering” means any advertisement, inducement, solicitation or attempt to encourage any person to acquire a time share, other than as security for an obligation.

707.02(20) (20) “Project” means real property which is subject to a project instrument and contains more than one unit, including real property which contains units that are not time-share units.

707.02(21) (21) “Project instrument” means any document, recordable under s. 706.05, regulating the use, occupancy or disposition of units in an entire project, including any amendments to the document.

707.02(22) (22) “Purchaser” means any person, other than the developer, who by means of a voluntary transfer acquires a legal or equitable interest in a time share, other than as security for an obligation.

707.02(24) (24) “Time share” means a time-share estate, time-share easement, or time-share license.

707.02(25) (25) “Time-share easement” means an interest in property vesting in the purchaser and the purchaser’s heirs, successors and assigns and evidencing a right to access to and use of a unit or any of several units during at least 4 separated periods over at least 4 years, including renewal options.

707.02(26) (26) “Time-share estate” means a right to occupy a unit during at least 4 separated periods over at least 4 years, together with a fee simple absolute interest or an interest for years in a time-share property.

707.02(27) (27) “Time-share expenses” means expenditures, fees, charges, liabilities or real property taxes incurred with respect to time shares by or on behalf of all time-share owners in a time-share property and imposed on the time-share units by the entity governing a project of which the time-share property is a part, together with any allocations to reserves, but excluding purchase money payable for time shares.

707.02(28) (28) “Time-share instrument” means a document creating or regulating time shares.

707.02(29) (29) “Time-share liability” means the liability for time-share expenses allocated to each time share under s. 707.21 (1) (e).

707.02(30) (30) “Time-share license” means a right to occupy a unit or any of several units under a license or lease agreement during at least 4 separated periods over at least 4 years, including renewal options, not coupled with an interest in property.

707.02(31) (31) “Time-share owner” means a person who is an owner or co-owner of a time share, other than as security for an obligation.

707.02(32) (32) “Time-share property” means one or more time-share units subject to the same time-share instrument, together with any real estate or rights to real estate appurtenant to those units.

707.02(33) (33) “Time-share unit” means a unit in which time shares exist.

707.02(34) (34) “Unit” means real property designated for separate occupancy and use.

707.02 History History: 1987 a. 399; 1999 a. 150 s. 672; 2007 a. 11, 18.

707.03 707.03 Status of time-share estates.

707.03(1) (1) A grant of an estate in a unit conferring the right of possession during a potentially infinite number of separated periods creates a fee simple absolute interest, and a grant of an estate in a unit conferring the right of possession during 4 or more separated periods over a finite number of years equal to at least 4, including renewal options, creates an interest for years.

707.03(2) (2) Each time-share estate constitutes for all purposes a separate estate in real property.

707.03 History History: 1987 a. 399.

707.03 Annotation A contract to purchase a time-share creates an interest in real estate, which, under s. 706.02 (1) must be signed by or on behalf of the grantor in order to be valid. Section 707.46 (1) (a) requires a time-share purchase contract to contain the actual date that the contract is executed by each party, which means that a valid time-share purchase contract must include the signature of both parties. Irrespective of any statutory right to cancel a valid contract, a party to an invalid contract may, under the common law, have it rescinded and be restored to the status quo. Ott v. Peppertree Resort Villas, Inc. 2006 WI App 77, 292 Wis. 2d 173, 716 N.W.2d 127, 04-1226.

707.05 707.05 Variation by agreement. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the provisions of this chapter may not be varied by agreement, and rights conferred under this chapter may not be waived. A developer may not act under a power of attorney, or use any other device, to evade the limitations or prohibitions of this chapter or the time-share instrument.

707.05 History History: 1987 a. 399.

707.06 707.06 Unconscionable contract.

707.06(1) (1) Unconscionability; remedy. If a court as a matter of law finds that any aspect of a contract relating to the use or ownership of a time share, any conduct directed against the purchaser by a party to the contract, or any result of the contract is unconscionable, the court shall, in addition to the remedy authorized in sub. (4), either refuse to enforce the contract against the purchaser, or so limit the application of any unconscionable aspect or conduct as to avoid any unconscionable result.

707.06(2) (2) Factors. Without limiting the scope of sub. (1), the court may consider, among other things, any of the following as pertinent to the issue of unconscionability:

707.06(2)(a) (a) That those engaging in the practice know of the inability of a party to receive benefits properly anticipated from the time share and related goods or services.

707.06(2)(b) (b) That there exists a gross disparity, at the time of contracting, between the price of the time share and related goods or services and their value as measured by the price at which similar time shares or related goods or services were readily obtainable or by other tests of true value, except that a disparity between the contract price and the value of the time share measured by the price at which similar time shares were readily obtainable in similar transactions does not, of itself, render the contract unconscionable.

707.06(2)(c) (c) That the practice may enable one party to take advantage of the inability of the other party reasonably to protect his or her interests by reason of physical or mental infirmities, illiteracy or inability to understand the language of the agreement, ignorance or lack of education or similar factors.

707.06(2)(d) (d) That the terms of the contract require a party to waive legal rights.

707.06(2)(e) (e) That the terms of the contract require a party to unreasonably jeopardize money or property beyond the money or property immediately at issue in the transaction.

707.06(2)(f) (f) That the natural effect of the practice would reasonably cause or aid in causing a party to misunderstand the true nature of the contract or his or her rights and duties under the contract.

707.06(2)(g) (g) That the writing purporting to evidence the obligation of the party under the contract contains terms or provisions or authorizes practices prohibited by law.

707.06(2)(h) (h) Definitions of unconscionability in statutes, rules, regulations, rulings and decisions of legislative, administrative or judicial bodies.

707.06(3) (3) Course of conduct. Any charge or practice expressly permitted by this chapter is not in itself unconscionable, but even though a practice or charge is authorized by this chapter, the totality of a party’s conduct may show that such practice or charge is part of an unconscionable course of conduct.

707.06(4) (4) Other remedies. In addition to the protections afforded in sub. (1), a party shall be entitled upon a finding of unconscionability to recover from the person responsible for the unconscionable conduct a remedy in accordance with s. 707.57 (1).

707.06 History History: 1987 a. 399.

707.07 707.07 Obligation of good faith. Every contract or duty within this chapter imposes an obligation of good faith in its performance or enforcement.

707.07 History History: 1987 a. 399.

707.09 707.09 Conflicts with other laws. If a conflict exists between this chapter and ch. 703, the provisions of this chapter prevail.

707.09 History History: 1987 a. 399.