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The resort was beautiful, the
amenities were abundant, and the location couldn’t be beat. At the time you
bought it, your timeshare felt like a sound investment in guaranteed vacation
getaways.
But maybe the cost and hassle
of air travel have turned your vacations into “staycations.” Or maybe you’re
chafing under that annual bill in timeshare maintenance fees that increase by
the year. Or maybe you simply aren’t using the property as much as you
expected, and the cost-to-benefit ratio has turned solidly negative.
If you’ve signed a timeshare agreement, there are valid avenues for
backing out of the deal. It all begins by taking a long, hard look at your
contract.
Check the
cancellation period
Most timeshare contracts offer
a grace period during which you’re free to terminate the agreement. If you’ve
recently purchased your timeshare, you may still fall within the window for a
no-strings-attached cancellation without breaching your contract.
If you’ve passed the grace
period but believe you were taken in by unfair and deceptive sales practices,
you may be best served by hiring a qualified
attorney to help you break your contract.
Your timeshare
ownership: leased or deeded?
If your timeshare is deeded,
you’re bound to the contract as an exclusive owner, while a leased timeshare
names you as the contracted owner for a set number of years. A deeded timeshare
gives you the option to sell it to a third party. If you have a leased
timeshare, you may have to continue paying your annual fees until the lease
expires.
Offer your
timeshare as a rental
The majority of timeshare
buyers own a specific site on a property for a particular week or month during
the year. If you know you aren’t going to be using your timeshare during your
designated dates, consider renting it out as an extended-stay vacation rental.
It’s possible the rental fees you earn will cover your timeshare’s annual
maintenance fees.
Just remember that regardless
of whether you use the timeshare or rent it to a third party, you remain
responsible for maintenance costs and other fees outlined in your initial
timeshare agreement.
Consult the
timeshare’s property manager
Some timeshare companies offer
services for owners interested in selling their timeshare, from listing the
property for you to matching you up with an interested party. The service may
come at a cost—one that will come out of your final sale price—but handing over
the sale process to someone else may be worth the fee.
In some cases, a buyer’s
annual fees may have escalated to a point where the timeshare is losing value,
or the cost of going to another resort would be markedly less expensive. If
high annual fees are the issue, ask your timeshare property management company
for permission to deed your timeshare back to the organization. In a “timeshare
deedback,” you effectively agree to give your timeshare back to the resort.
You’ll get no money in return, but you will be out from under the annual fees.
Though of course, you’ll lose any equity you had built up in the property.
Prepare to sell
If you possess a deeded
timeshare and decide to sell through a realtor, find a timeshare real estate
agent at the Licensed Timeshare Resale Brokers
Association. Listings should be made with a timeshare specialist,
ideally someone who knows your particular resort.
If you opt to sell by owner,
consider posting your property on a reputable site like RedWeek orTUG (the Timeshare Users
Group). Both sites offer a consumer-friendly source of information for those
interested in buying, selling, or renting timeshares. For a nominal fee, you
can offer your timeshare for rent or list it for sale, as well as view
up-to-date area sales data, so you can have a realistic sense of what your
property might bring in today’s market.
Beyond RedWeek and TUG, you
can also place classified ads for your timeshare on sites such as Craigslist
and eBay.
Never pay
upfront fees
Do a thorough vetting of any
company that offers to “help” sell your timeshare. Ignore the siren call of
fast money for your contract; many of these companies charge high sales fees,
and do little more than post Internet advertisements for your timeshare.
More troublesome, many
timeshare re-sellers will insist that you pay an upfront fee to unload your
timeshare, referring to it as a marketing charge or listing fee. Some
re-sellers may claim it’s a required cost to do an appraisal, a title search,
or another routine real estate action. Whatever the fee is labeled, it’s a popular and
practiced scam.
Know that any re-seller will
charge a fee for their services, and this fee is often a percentage of the
sale. Also understand that even if by signing over a power of attorney giving someone else the
right to sell a timeshare on your behalf, you still remain the property’s legal
owner and are financially responsible for it until the timeshare’s date of
sale.
Give it away
RedWeek and TUG also provide
the option to list a timeshare you’re willing to give away gratis. By finding a
taker, you’ll at least save yourself the annual maintenance fees. You can also
gift it to a family member or friend. Play your cards right, and they’ll probably
even extend an invitation.
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