Timeshares

[Mom0012]

My husband purchased a timeshare when he was young. The annual maintenance fee was $200. It is now $700 or $800 and the place has not been maintained, so it is a dump. We want to get rid of the timeshare, but are not sure if that is possible.

 

Has anyone dealt with this that can share any advice? Should we consult with a real estate attorney or would that be a waste of even more money? Also, we listed it with Weichert Timeshares probably 7 years ago in an attempt to sell it. They collected $500 from us up front and we never heard from them again.

 

Lisa

[----]

.

[Guest momk2000]

We have had ours listed with Timeshares Only for several years. We also paid an upfront fee of around $500 - big mistake. I don't think we will ever hear back from them. :glare:

I don't know how to get rid of a Timeshare, it seems like you can't even give them away these days.

[Joker]

So, is it only for one place? My mom has a timeshare with maintenance fees of about $800/year but she uses rooms all over the US. We've used her timeshare several times and in many different states. It hasn't been just for the place she purchased it.

 

She usually uses a service and rents a week or more at the most popular place and uses the money she earns through that to pay her fees.

[Dobela]

My parents have had wonderful timeshare experiences. But I do know some are less than stellar. One locally went bankrupt and left the property as a hazardous place.

 

I know some who have bought and sold as individuals on eBay. Others have done Craiglist. You would have to see the particulars though - can he sell his deed, how long will the next person have on the deed, how much are other units selling for in the same timeshare? And so on. Friends here rent theirs out to other people for their week each year. So they don't pay agency fees they just advertise locally and handle it all themselves.

[carlamom2ansnm]

I sold one for a friend of my grandma's on Ebay. Wasn't too difficult and both buyers and sellers were happy! Hope you're able to come up with something!

[Mom0012]

So, is it only for one place? My mom has a timeshare with maintenance fees of about $800/year but she uses rooms all over the US. We've used her timeshare several times and in many different states. It hasn't been just for the place she purchased it.

 

She usually uses a service and rents a week or more at the most popular place and uses the money she earns through that to pay her fees.

 

Well, we can trade for other places, but then we have to pay a membership fee to the company that does the trades as well as another fee to actually trade the week. The timeshare we have is not very valuable. I think my husband paid $5000 for it and he took a week in mid-March at a ski resort (when there is no snow!), so it's not easy to rent. It is in a rural area, so if you're not going to ski, there's not much to do there.

 

My parents have had wonderful timeshare experiences. But I do know some are less than stellar. One locally went bankrupt and left the property as a hazardous place.

 

I know some who have bought and sold as individuals on eBay. Others have done Craiglist. You would have to see the particulars though - can he sell his deed, how long will the next person have on the deed, how much are other units selling for in the same timeshare? And so on. Friends here rent theirs out to other people for their week each year. So they don't pay agency fees they just advertise locally and handle it all themselves.

 

This place truly is becoming a dump. Some of the buildings have burned halfway down due to a problem with the fireplaces (probably not getting them cleaned) and the timeshare company has not rebuilt them. As you drive through the resort, there are just a number of halfway burned down buildings.

 

I sold one for a friend of my grandma's on Ebay. Wasn't too difficult and both buyers and sellers were happy! Hope you're able to come up with something!

 

I guess we could try this. I think the fact that it is such an undesirable property makes me feel a little reluctant to even try to sell it to someone. I feel like I'd be ripping them off. As I said, my husband paid $5000 for it 15 years ago and now the maintenance fees are $700 -$800/year and rising.

 

Lisa

[RahRah]

You can attempt what's called a *Deed Back* - While it is a long shot, it only takes a phone call or two to ask, and even if the resort refuses, you are in no worse situation than you are now so you can at least give it a try! In order for this to be successful, the timeshare MUST be paid in full and have no back taxes/fees/etc owed to the resort. It is simply a matter of calling the resort and speaking to the appropriate person and ask if the resort is willing to take the week(s) back. If they agree, they'll charge a transfer fee for this, but you should only pay this to the resort itself. If they agree, they'll send you the transfer paperwork and quit claim deed to return.

 

You can auction it on eBay also - open your auction at a penny with no reserve, and agree to pay the closing costs & transfer fees. They'll cost you less than $500 and you'll choose a title company to do the paperwork for you, including your deed transfer and title insurance for the buyer. All totaled, with eBay fees and title company handling things for you, it's a fairly simple way to get out from under a TS.

 

Last option to consider is donating it to a charity that will sell it (some use them BTW) - to do that you have to current on maintenance fees and any other special assessments at the resort - you'll file a quit claim deed to transfer to the charity, along with the transfer paperwork with the resort (some resorts charge up to $100 for transfers).

 

 

[Mom0012]

You can attempt what's called a *Deed Back* - While it is a long shot, it only takes a phone call or two to ask, and even if the resort refuses, you are in no worse situation than you are now so you can at least give it a try! In order for this to be successful, the timeshare MUST be paid in full and have no back taxes/fees/etc owed to the resort. It is simply a matter of calling the resort and speaking to the appropriate person and ask if the resort is willing to take the week(s) back. If they agree, they'll charge a transfer fee for this, but you should only pay this to the resort itself. If they agree, they'll send you the transfer paperwork and quit claim deed to return.

 

You can auction it on eBay also - open your auction at a penny with no reserve, and agree to pay the closing costs & transfer fees. They'll cost you less than $500 and you'll choose a title company to do the paperwork for you, including your deed transfer and title insurance for the buyer. All totaled, with eBay fees and title company handling things for you, it's a fairly simple way to get out from under a TS.

 

Last option to consider is donating it to a charity that will sell it (some use them BTW) - to do that you have to current on maintenance fees and any other special assessments at the resort - you'll file a quit claim deed to transfer to the charity, along with the transfer paperwork with the resort (some resorts charge up to $100 for transfers).

 

 

 

Thanks for this info. My husband is going to call this week to see about the deed back option. We did have a charitable organization that was interested in it a number of years ago, but we weren't comfortable with that. We were concerned we would transfer the title to the property and then still someone be responsble for the maintenance fees. There is so much scamming in the timeshare industry, it's hard to trust anyone. Also, my husband's contract specifically states that he cannot transfer the title to the property without the timeshare company's permission.

 

Lisa