Buy Your Timeshare

Owning a timeshare can be expensive. The salespeople often do a great job hiding most expenses before purchasing. Yet, there's no denying that the cost of timeshare ownership has led many to consider reselling theirs.

buy your timeshare

According to American Resort Development Association studies, roughly 85% of timeshare owners regret purchasing one. Ironically, that aligns perfectly with the average rate of rescission period cancellations in the timeshare industry, which is 15%. Whether owners gradually lose interest in their vacation ownership or feel deceived into the initial purchase, they eventually look to get rid of it.

Can you sell a timeshare? This guide will walk you through the steps you need to take to sell your timeshare ownership. We'll also look at how to sell it back to the resort and a few alternative selling methods if that doesn't work.

One of the first questions timeshare owners ask when they decide to get rid of their timeshare property is whether they can sell it back to the resort. They can, but the process is tricky. See, timeshare salespeople often use the resale possibility as a selling point to potential buyers. However, this assurance is not always reliable.

Deed-back programs allow you to sell your timeshare interest back to your resort developer. Technically, you don't receive any money in return for a deed back, but it can deliver you some future savings with your mortgage payment and maintenance fee. The first step to deed the property back to the resort is finding out if it is an option.

Although many timeshare companies claim to inform owners regularly of their deed-back program's existence, it is true that no timeshare resort will go out of its way to promote it. Capital Vacations is one such organization. Capital Vacations has a deed-back program they call, "Graceful Exit."

"Capital Vacations should be your only source of guidance and solutions regarding your ownership. If you choose to work with any other third-party company, your options may be limited or nonexistent."

Canceling your timeshare with Vacation Village is possible, sort of. Contact them by contacting Vacation Village if they will buy back your timeshare. But if you just bought a timeshare, this is only an option. This is due to the possibility that you qualify for a procedure known as rescission.

Rescission laws in most states allow new timeshare owners to return their timeshares to Vacation Village and receive a full refund. Given that this is a matter of state law, Vacation Village is required to accede to your request to cancel your timeshare purchase and must do so without hesitation. The catch is that you can only revoke your timeshare purchase for one to three weeks after you've made it. You'll need to consider other options if you've already passed this window.

RCI is not a timeshare resort. To start, we must define the RCI program. This company has global affiliations with almost 4500 resorts in more than 100 nations. Nearly 4 million people belong to RCI, and they all do so to exchange their timeshare points from one of the affiliated resorts for use at another resort of their choice. Membership in RCI is frequently offered as one of the ownership "perks" at the time of the timeshare purchase by timeshare developers. In addition to the affiliated resort maintenance fee, RCI also charges an annual maintenance fee.

An entirely different issue arises when the affiliated resort's timeshare contract is terminated. If you own a timeshare but use RCI to spend points, you'll need to discuss cancellation with your home resort first.

There's a high chance your timeshare agreement doesn't have a deed-back clause, or you may not qualify for your resort's buyback program. When that's the case, it's still worth reaching out to resort management to see if any options are available to you.

When the timeshare company declines to assist you, finding reputable help can be daunting. Resorts typically give owners two alternative options. Owners can rent their timeshare to other vacation-goers to cover their annual maintenance fees. Or they can attempt to sell the timeshare on their own or with real estate agents in the secondary market.

The resorts don't tell you how difficult achieving either of these alternatives is. Timeshare owners have consistently found it challenging to rent out their units. Even though the salespeople bragged about how easy renting out the timeshare unit would be, it's much easier said than done. The chances of recouping enough money from renting to cover the annual fees are slim.

Unfortunately, selling your timeshare is no easier. The timeshare resale market overflows with listings due to the always-increasing number of owners looking to offload their timeshare. When maneuvering through the resale market, move with extreme caution. Timeshare resale scams are rampant, and many resellers are not who they say they are.

While you should be wary of timeshare resale companies, timeshare exit companies are often an excellent exit option for a timeshare owner. Exit teams represent you as they negotiate directly with the resort to cancel your timeshare agreement.

Find a well-respected timeshare exit team within the industry with a strong history of timeshare cancellation. Positive recommendations and testimonials from past clients signify a company can be trusted to help you. With a custom strategy from industry professionals, these companies make timeshare exit look easy - even though it often isn't.

You don't want to stop paying for the timeshare, even if you can't transfer the property back to the timeshare developers. You can risk foreclosure and heavily damage your credit score by refusing to pay. Many timeshare owners still try to sell their units independently.

First, look back at your original timeshare agreement and thoroughly review it. To sell your timeshare, you need all this document's vital information. You will also likely need to receive a physical copy of the deed from the resort developers.

Next, you need to accurately understand how much your timeshare is worth to get realistic resale expectations. Despite what the salespeople told you, your timeshare is not an investment, so do not be surprised that its value does not appreciate. Sadly, a timeshare's value depreciates as soon as you sign on the dotted line.

The last step is to list it for sale. However, there is usually a challenge to selling these properties as they are mortgages. Unfortunately, hundreds of timeshares get listed for proceeds of as little as one dollar. That is because owners desperately want out of their agreement, but hardly anyone is interested in making an offer. Most owners are happy enough to give their timeshare away if it rids them of recurring maintenance fees.

Timeshare scams are also heavily prevalent in the resale market, so beware of those with fraudulent motives. If you are in a situation where you were dishonestly misled into a timeshare purchase, working with a professional timeshare exit company may help.

In Florida, it is key to ensure that you follow the protocols of the timeshare resort, your contract, and the state's laws and legislation regarding timeshare sales. Finding the right buyer can be difficult even after following all these steps.

Can you return your timeshare obligation to the resort? Yes, under certain circumstances. However, most people in an unwanted timeshare deal are on their own if they want a way out. Your final solution is selling it to someone else or receiving help from a trusted timeshare cancellation company.

Chuck McDowell is the founder and CEO of Wesley Financial Group, LLC, an Inc. 500 company, which specializes in complete timeshare termination and timeshare debt elimination for individuals and families that have experienced fraud, misrepresentation, and/or lies during their timeshare sales presentations.

The laws that govern timeshares are specific to the state where the property is located. The sales staff may tell you that a timeshare is a solid financial asset, but the value of a timeshare is in its use as a vacation destination, not as an investment.

Timeshare resale scam artists call sellers of timeshares,posing as a reseller or real estate agent. The scam artistclaims to have a buyer for the timeshare or guaranteeshe can sell the timeshare for a good price.

The timeshare monstrosity has torn families apart, driven people into poverty and led to bankruptcies and suicides. And if anyone thinks that I am exaggerating, just ask St. Petersburg, Fla.-based attorney Mike Finn of the Finn Law Group (opens in new tab), a consumer advocacy firm that focuses a considerable portion of its practice on assisting timeshare owners.

But the real declaration of war on timeshare owners and exit companies began when law firms began assisting people attempting to terminate their timeshare purchase contract after their requests to the developers were ignored.

In my judgment, the developers were attempting to cause a disruption between those timeshare holders and the third-party exit company. It should be noted that the timeshare industry has always had the ability to pursue court action against all timeshare owners, since every one of them signed a promissory note, and many signed mortgage notes.

Finn points out that about 18 years ago, the business plan for timeshares changed so that buyers bought points that were usable at any participating resort. Sounds great, right? Gives you flexibility. Your contract required using their reservation system, but they did not tell the buyers they were competing, not only with other points owners, but with the public.

Timeshare and Resort Developer Accountability, Inc. (TARDA) (opens in new tab) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit (opens in new tab). Irene Parker of St. Augustine, Fla., founded TARDA in 2019 along with a team of timeshare members and owners who felt there was no true consumer voice at the legislative level.

A timeshare is a shared piece of vacation real estate that allows multiple owners to share the same property in different time increments. Typically, timeshare owners will stay at a property for a one-week interval each year. 041b061a72