Owning a timeshare can be a great way to build vacations into your busy life, or it can feel like being tied to a financial ball and chain.
Whatever your experience, if you’ve bought a shared vacation ownership, you may want to someday sell it. Increasing maintenance fees, not using the timeshare enough, or feeling duped by high-pressure salespeople are some of the reasons timeshare owners want to sell.
Dumping a timeshare without making money on it can seem like the best way out, but there are other options:
Determine Its Value
Timeshares aren’t investments and may be worth less now than what you originally paid. To find your timeshare current value, start by asking the company that owns and manages your timeshare for recent selling prices.
Double check the figure online at such sites as RedWeek and the Timeshare Users Group. A real estate agent should also be able to help, especially one who specializes in timeshares.
Be Wary of Re-sellers
Timeshare resale companies can sometimes be found around the corner from where your timeshare is. But be wary of their offers, since they’ve been known to scam timeshare owners, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Don’t deal with a company that asks for more than $100 upfront. Real estate agents collect their commissions when the property is sold.
Sell It Yourself
If you can’t find a real estate agent to sell your timeshare, you can advertise it for sale yourself. Put an ad in the area where your timeshare is to attract locals who may want to use the resort’s recreation facilities or for a place to put up family and friends who visit.
Ask If the Resort Will Buy
Some major resort brands have buyback programs. Ask your resort if it does. A sale might be easier for the company than seeing the unit go into foreclosure.
Some resorts even have a deed back program. This allows you to sell the deed back to the company so that it doesn’t hit the resale market and possibly reduce the value of the brand or other timeshares it’s selling. You may be required to pay the next year’s maintenance fees.
