Looking for help with selling timeshare

[ctc917]

I am looking to sell or donate a non Disney timeshare that my family owns and I was wondering if anyone out there has any experience in selling or donating a timeshare other then DVC and how you went about doing it..
Any help would be appreciated, thanks...

ctc917

 

[Karenj2]

There's a DVC board here that would probably have some answers for you...

 

[ctc917]

Thanks for that idea and I will check there to see if anyone has talked about how they worked to sell a regular timeshare but I thought I would try here since the reason why I want to sell it is budget related...So anyone else have any experiences..

ctc917

 

[MillauFr]

I see many timeshares for sale on RedWeek.com. You can see what others are selling their timeshare for and determine if yours has any value.

 

[Lisa71]

We actually bought our Kauai timeshare off Redweek.com. Great site and works in a safe effective manner. Reminder you never get what you paid back for a timeshare. Redweek will help with pricing.

 

[chalee94]

for more info on selling (often more correctly stated as "giving away") a timeshare, i would go to TUG:

http://tugbbs.com/forums/

"donating" is a nice idea if the timeshare has any actual value, but if you don't own a disney, hilton or marriott timeshare, trying to donate it would be akin to donating used teabags or heavily stained clothing. supposed "donation" websites charge thousands to accept your donation and provide you with a bogus "tax value" certificate that the IRS will nail you to the wall if you tried to use.

the big thing is to avoid up-front fee "services" which are virtually always scams and won't actually accept a transfer of your deed. be careful.

but you can look on ebay to search for your type of timeshare - login to ebay and look at "completed listings" to get an idea of whether your timeshare has any resale value. ebay may be your best bet, although TUG and redweek are worth a look.

 

[hsmamato2]

try not to have a heart attack when you see what they sell for... I helped my Mom look into selling a non disney one a few years back....what she paid 10k+ for, was selling on Ebay for 1.00. No joke. (The Disney contract however kept a good resale value) She ended up keeping it. I think a good option if you can't sell is to donate it

 

[smiles_rock]

I recently contacted Donate For A Cause to try to donate my timeshare, they wanted $3000 to take it. I'm at a point where I haven't even been able to give it away with offering to pay closing costs and maintanence fees for next year. If you have any luck, please share!

 

[*pixie*dust*]

OP, instead of trying to unload it, have you looked at renting it out? That might get you better results until your situation improves.

 

[queenofthehive]

Go to tug2.net. Post it under "bargain" deals and give it away. To make it attractive to get rid of, make sure the maintenance fees are paid for the current year and offer to pay all closing costs (usually around $300). When you post, make sure to all info about the timeshare (fixed or floating week, maintenance fees, size of unit and RCI trading power points if you know it). Speaking of RCI, you could bank it there and use it to trade for other destinations. You could also rent it using tug2.net or redweek. Good luck!

 

[ctc917]

Thanks everyone for the information and luckily this timeshare is one I purchased for next to nothing on ebay a few years back and we have gotten our monies worth so selling for a $1 or giving it away as a donation wouldn't be a problem, my only problem is finding a good company that won't scam me or a person that would purchase it for a $1 the easiest and quickest way possible..
I also called the timeshare place and asked if they would take it back and they said yes they might do this if I didn't have a mortgage on it or owe any back maintenance fees(which we don't) so I'm going to try that route too, anyone heard of someone doing this without any problems?
If the above doesn't work out does anyone know of a good place to donate it that will not cost me a lot of money...

thanks
ctc917

 

[chalee94]

I also called the timeshare place and asked if they would take it back and they said yes they might do this if I didn't have a mortgage on it or owe any back maintenance fees(which we don't) so I'm going to try that route too, anyone heard of someone doing this without any problems?

of course. this is the best option if they are willing to take it back directly.

just make sure you have it in writing and confirm the change of ownership on the deed website so you don't wind up getting a bill next year.

If the above doesn't work out does anyone know of a good place to donate it that will not cost me a lot of money...

as i said above, you cannot really "donate" something that is worthless. many timeshares are less than worthless financially - they are a liability. most charities don't want to get stuck with your liability any more than they want your used tea bags or whatever.

"donate for a cause" will charge you thousands because that is what it might take them in expenses to get rid of the timeshare on ebay or by other means plus an extra profit. on the bright side, i've heard they actually will take ownership of the deed...and they also provide you with a documented "tax value" of your donation (even though they charged you to take the deed, which means that part is bogus).

but if you don't want to spend thousands and the resort won't take back the deed, you have to do the legwork yourself. you can also take the credit hit and not pay the bill (just be aware that nonpayment hurts other individual owners rather than some faceless corporation).

 

[starry_solo]

You can also contact the resort where the timeshare is located and see if they will take it back. I used to work for a timeshare management company and people behind in their dues would offer it back to the company, which we would take as long as there was no mortgage.

 

[ctc917]

I'm not really looking to pay a large amount of money to "donate" it but if I'm sure in the long run it might be worth it so I will have to look into that too..

Hopefully the timeshare place takes it back so I will send off my letter and hope for the best..

Thanks for all your help

ctc917

 

[zoemurr]

Thanks everyone for the information and luckily this timeshare is one I purchased for next to nothing on ebay a few years back and we have gotten our monies worth so selling for a $1 or giving it away as a donation wouldn't be a problem, my only problem is finding a good company that won't scam me or a person that would purchase it for a $1 the easiest and quickest way possible..
I also called the timeshare place and asked if they would take it back and they said yes they might do this if I didn't have a mortgage on it or owe any back maintenance fees(which we don't) so I'm going to try that route too, anyone heard of someone doing this without any problems?
If the above doesn't work out does anyone know of a good place to donate it that will not cost me a lot of money...

thanks
ctc917

My MIL had one that she inherited that we couldn't give away and they wouldn't take back. After years of trying her doctor wrote a note stating that it was a hardship. At that point they agreed to take it back. I don't believe she was paid for it, but at least she didn't have to keep paying on something no one was using.

 

[Belle1962]

I sold mine through craigslist to a party who was out of state.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

disney, hilton or marriott timeshare

Starwood has value too, but it varies a bit resort-to-resort, having to do with a resale buyer's right to trade within Starwood's internal (points based) trading system. For some resorts, this right does not transfer.

 

[HM]

My parents 'sold' their original timeshare (from the 70s) back to the company that ran it at the time (BlueGreen, I think) a few years ago.

I'd go with the option to revert it back to the company that you got it from as proposed OP.

 

[supersnoop]

My MIL had one that she inherited that we couldn't give away and they wouldn't take back. After years of trying her doctor wrote a note stating that it was a hardship. At that point they agreed to take it back. I don't believe she was paid for it, but at least she didn't have to keep paying on something no one was using.

An inheritance is probably the easiest way to get out of a negative-value timeshare. You can refuse the inheritance and the timeshare company has no choice but to take it back.

 

[superchime]

http://www.veteransassistance.us/florida_veterans_assistance_time_share_donations.html

We donated a timeshare to the Florida Veterans Association a few years ago and they didn't charge us anything.

http://www.americanvacationservice.com
Is another option to check. They also rent out weeks until they can sell them, so it's a good place to check for possible vacation options.

Good luck! I didn't think we'd ever get rid of our timeshare!