Canceling the Contract or Selling Your Timeshare

Canceling the Contract or Selling Your Timeshare

All timeshares and their companies are not the same.  Unfortunately for timeshare owners, selling a timeshare is much more difficult than buying one.  Timeshares and their associated contracts are relatively easy enough to get into, but extremely difficult, if not impossible to get out of.  Despite what most owners are led to believe when they purchase a timeshare, the majority of timeshares become a liability, over time, due to the related costs with owning one.  Timeshares are not assets and rarely ever increase in value, period!  Still not convinced?  Go to your bank and ask them for an equity line of credit against your timeshare, either when it is almost or totally paid off.  Still not convinced?  Ask these listing and marketing companies, that supposedly claim that they have “buyers waiting to purchase your property,” to take their commission at the end of the sale, as opposed to charging you upfront, anywhere from $500 to in excess of $1000.  They simply will not do it.  Why?  They already know that selling a timeshare is a gamble.  Such a gamble in fact, that these same companies that claim that they are able to sell your timeshare quickly and for thousands of dollars more than you initially paid, won’t even take them back for free, because of the negative costs of owning one.  Does that sound familiar?  If so, believe me you’re not alone.

So now, how do you get out of the black hole that is sucking all of your money away?  Here are some suggestions:

• List your timeshare on a free ad site, like Craigslist or Ebay, for half of what the going rate is.
• Donate your timeshare to charity.  At least you can recoup a little of what you lost this way on your taxes.  Note that there are not many charities that will accept a timeshare, again because of the maintenance fees and other related costs of ownership.

Whatever you decide to do, be advised, as I stated above, do not pay any upfront money to any company that says it can sell or rent your timeshare.  The majority of these companies are scams.  If you're not convinced, research some of the companies on the Better Business Bureau website and RipOffReport.com.  RipOffReport.com also has many complaints and other scams listed.  Check them out.  I will be researching other ways to safely get out of your timeshare contract or ownership, so please check back often for updates.  Thank you!

Complaints and Possible Scams

Complaints and Possible Scams

Some of the complaints that I have read, state that they use misleading and/or false statements and high-pressure tactics to lure victims to attend sales presentations.  They misrepresent the character of the agreements that are offered and fail to fulfill promises that are made at the time of the sale.  Here are just a few of these complaints:

• “Not only did the sales people use common, sleazy, high-pressure sales tactics, but they became rude and insulting towards me personally when I stood my ground.  Beware, they will attempt to turn a couple against each other in order to get their sale and believe me, that's all they care about.”
• “Timeshares have got to be the all time ripoff companies ever.  We own a deeded red week, in Myrtle Beach, that will be supposedly passed on to our children.  God forbid!  I wouldn't want them to have to deal with all that we have had to deal with since we bought this.  We used it when we could, or when we couldn't we exchanged it (when I could finally get the information on how to do this), paid an exchange fee, paid 15% interest, banked and lost most of our weeks.  We don't even get information anymore, except for our annual maintenance fee bill, which has doubled!”
• “We were told we had flexibility regarding our weeks and we do not.  We were offered free vacations that do not exist.  We are being charged continuous amounts of fees for things we were never told we would have to pay.  They raise Home Owner's Association fees without informing us they’re being raised.  They misrepresented the timeshare.”

Pretty scary I agree, but that is why I am writing this....to make you aware!  If you are still not convinced, ask yourself these questions:

• Are the promised incentives that they offer you available?

• Are they telling you that this is an “investment?”

• Are there any hidden Fees?

• Do they demand that you sign the contract immediately?

These are red flags that should be warning you that you possibly are in the presence of a scam artist.  If they are really honest and professional, then they will encourage you to check them out first, before you sign.  Oh and speaking of, before you sign, think about this.  I read an article on MarketWatch.com that says, “timeshares are generally marketed and sold to people who really can't afford them.”  So if you are thinking that maybe you can afford one, you probably can't.  And even those of you that really think that you can, you can save more money in a piggy bank.

Spending money on a timeshare is not an investment and will not generate money for you.  An investment implies that you can eventually sell it and make money.  With timeshares, you're just throwing your hard earned money away.  The average cost of a timeshare in the U.S. is $14,500.  If you put that money in a mutual fund that averages 12% over 10 years, you would have almost $48,000.  In 20 years, you would have over $178,000.  In 40 years, you would have over $1.7 million!  Wow!  Now that's a lot of money!  And I didn't even include the maintenance fees, but I'll let you do the math for that.  Do you still think it's worth it to own an over glorified hotel room.  All you're really doing, when owning a timeshare, is prepaying your hotel bill, whether you use it or not, for the next 20 plus years and you're not accumulating any interest.

High-pressure Sales Tactics

High-pressure Sales Tactics

Here's something to think about.  If timeshares are such a great deal, then why do most of their sales people push so hard to sell them to you?  I mean come on, if it’s such a great deal, then there should be plenty of people willing to purchase them and high-pressure sales tactics would not be needed.  This, however, is not the case.  Getting that sale is all they care about.  If you tell them that you cannot afford the timeshare, they will often leave the room and speak to “someone who can possibly get you a better deal.”  The reality is, you will be getting one of the worst deals.  It will be made to look inexpensive, but overall, it will generally be a really bad deal.

What to Expect at the Sales Presentation/Tour

What to Expect at the Sales Presentation/Tour


Most sales presentation/tours start out the same.  The salesperson takes you on a tour of the resort/facility.  They show you the same style unit that you will stay in while vacationing, most or all of the amenities and services that they provide.  Then it's back to the sales office.

The sales pitch:

• These units are cheaper to stay in than a 5-star hotel.
• They have locations all around the world.
• You can always trade your week for another location or even another week with someone else.
• This is “real property” that is deeded.  That means that you can sell it, rent it, gift it, even put it in your will and leave it to family when you die.
• Keep the property as an investment, as it appreciates over time and you can even take out a loan against the built up equity.

What they don't tell you:

• If you take all of the money that you would sink into a timeshare, you can stay in just about any hotel, anywhere in the world, for ANY week that you choose (instead of being "assigned" one) and never have to pay another maintenance fee again for the rest of your life, for generally a lot less money.
• Yes, you can usually trade in your week for an alternate one or stay at another location, but for an additional fee.
• Timeshares are horrible investments.  Why?  Because timeshares do not appreciate!  This is why the "resale" market of timeshares are so inexpensive, because when people buy them, they only realize then, what a bad investment they actually are.  It's just a legal way to sell the same property over and over again.
• Little or no demand for Studio units (no private bedroom) or off-season (non-red) weeks.  The honest truth is that timeshares in this category can be nearly impossible to sell.  Be smart and don't focus on "what you will get out of it."  Rather, focus on "what you are getting out of it!" There are substantial financial benefits if you are relieved of ongoing, yearly maintenance fees and taxes which quickly accumulate to losing thousands of dollars, which could have been saved in the bank instead of thrown away on something you are not using.  Even if you net zero profit on the sale or take a loss, focus on the thousands of dollars you'll be saving over a few years by not having to pay out further ongoing maintenance fees.

Something to Consider before Purchasing

Something to Consider before Purchasing

For those considering the purchase of a timeshare, please be careful and make sure that you understand exactly what you are signing before you commit to buying a timeshare.  Before purchasing, you should be able to answer YES to ALL of these questions:

1. Are you absolutely POSITIVE that you want to spend ALL of your vacations there?

2. Have you visited the resort or facility that you plan to vacation?
3. Are you satisfied with its quality, the stability of the management, and with the terms of the contract? (Let's be honest.  Most people do not take the time to read through the entire contract and even if they do, almost all find it difficult to understand.  My advice is to read it thoroughly and if in doubt of anything, then tell the salesperson that you need to have your lawyer look over it first.)
4. Have you checked out this timeshare resort/developer with the Better Business Bureau, the Attorney General's Office (Consumer Protection Division) or with your lawyer?
5. Have you talked to some of the long-time owners in this timeshare resort/facility? (I would suggest inquiring around on your own and not asking for these owner's contacts from the salespeople or management, for they may put you in contact with people who could possibly mislead you in favor of the salesperson/management.)
6. Can you afford both the resort/facility (maintenance fees and other misc. expenses) and the round-trip travel costs each year?

What Exactly is a Timeshare?

Have you ever considered owning a timeshare vacation rental? Most people know what a timeshare rental is by now, but for those who don't, you came to the right place. Hopefully the information that I provide will help you make the best informed decision possible regarding your potential purchase.

What Exactly is a Timeshare?

Wikipedia defines a timeshare as a form of ownership or right to the use of a property, or the term used to describe such properties. These properties are typically resort condominium units, in which multiple parties hold rights to use the property, and each sharer is allotted a period of time (typically one week, and almost always the same time every year) in which they may use the property. Units may be on a part-ownership or lease/"right to use" basis, in which the sharer holds no claim to ownership of the property.

Owners can:

• Use their usage time
• Rent out their owned usage
• Give it as a gift
• Donate it to a charity
• Exchange internally within the same resort or resort group
• Exchange externally into thousands of other resorts
• Sell it either through traditional advertising, online advertising or by using a licensed broker