Timeshares are a bit like unwanted house guests — easy to pick up and hard to get rid of. This may come as a nasty shock, as you were probably told at the timeshare sales presentation that your timeshare was a good real estate investment. They’re not. It doesn’t matter if you bought Marriott, Wyndham, or Disney Vacation Club. None of them are good investments.
Now that you know the truth about vacation ownership, you might be feeling stuck. The longer you hold on to your timeshare, the more those annual maintenance fees keep going up. You might also be facing a large bill for your home resort’s repair costs or other improvements, in the form of special assessments. How can you ever get this expensive mistake off your hands?
The good news is that you don’t have to be stuck. You have options when it comes to selling, transferring, or otherwise getting rid of your timeshare. But it’s important when you’re looking for the best companies to sell a timeshare that you’re careful and make wise decisions about which people and companies to trust with your money and peace of mind.
This article will take a look at the various companies out there that claim to be able to help you solve your timeshare problem. First, we’ll discuss the scam artists: companies that claim to be able to sell your timeshare quickly, but will really just take your money and run. Then we’ll talk about the do-it-yourself (DIY) route that many timeshare owners take.
Finally, we’ll look at the best companies to sell timeshares through and the option of using specialized individuals to help you get rid of your timeshare. Specifically, the best timeshare exit companies and licensed Realtors can help you finally be free of your timeshare burden. We’ll discuss the advantages of using these tools, and how to select the right one for you.
Fraudulent timeshare resale companies are a big problem right now. The Attorney General of Florida, in addition to law enforcement officials from other states, has warned consumers about the widespread timeshare scams perpetrated on desperate owners. Even the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) has spoken up, warning against phone calls from scammers.
These companies will often call you out of the blue with an offer. The reseller says they specialize in timeshare properties like yours and have a buyer who would like to purchase it. For a substantial upfront fee, they say, they’ll arrange the sale, transfer the unit away from you, and you won’t have to worry about it ever again.
Of course, that’s not what happens. More often than not, these “sales” are shams. The companies take the money you paid them and disappear into the night, leaving you with your timeshare and thousands of dollars poorer. Even worse, these scams are often targeted at elderly or retired individuals with fixed incomes.
If you’re contacted by any companies that behave in this manner, you shouldn’t engage with them. Compared to other types of real estate, timeshares are very difficult to sell. Any company that promises a quick sale or buyer in waiting is likely not telling you the truth. You should run the other way as quickly as possible.
Getting scammed by a fraudulent company is probably the worst-case scenario. But it’s by no means the only mistake that timeshare owners make when they’re desperate to sell their units. Many often turn to popular websites like eBay or Craigslist to end their timeshare ownership.
While these sites may be a good way to sell old furniture or books, timeshares are a different beast. Don’t expect to get anything close to market value. Getting a buyer on these websites at all would be a miracle. (In most cases, you’re lucky if you can even give a timeshare away.)
For example, this two-bedroom Orlando timeshare for $1,900 on Craigslist could be considered wishful thinking, given that so many units have famously sold for as low as $1 on these sites. Any supposed proceeds would then be immediately wiped out by the timeshare company’s transfer fees as well as the recording fees you would have to pay as part of closing.
When you sell real estate online, you’re also taking a lot of risks. State laws vary, but all of them enforce some version of the statute of fraud rule that requires real estate contracts to be in writing. If your sale doesn’t meet the legal requirements of your state, the state where the timeshare is, or the state of the buyer, you may have just wasted a lot of time and money.
Also, does one of the states involved require an escrow company for the sale? A lawyer? When you simply list real estate for sale on one of these websites, you’re not getting any professional advice or oversight to make sure you’re doing things correctly. As a result, even if you could make money on a sale like this (which is highly doubtful), you’re risking a big failure.
Those legal requirements present another reason that timeshare exit companies like Centerstone Group are necessary to help you get rid of your timeshare. Because the transfer of a timeshare does not involve sale proceeds, receivers are not going to want to pay the fees to complete the transfer.
Centerstone Group’s business, on the other hand, specifically involves negotiating and completing transfers of timeshares. Because our motivations and goals are tailored to your situation, we are a better fit for these kinds of transactions.
Not all is lost, though. There are companies that recognize the problems suffered by timeshare owners and can help you escape those problems. Timeshare exit companies like Centerstone Group exist to help owners find practical, legal, and ethical options for transferring, selling, or otherwise exiting their timeshares.
Those timeshare transfers can take a lot of forms. Perhaps your timeshare resort just needs to be pressured to adhere to its own exit policies. Or maybe it got you to sign your timeshare contract by defrauding you.
Either way, Centerstone Group can look at your situation and tailor a solution that is directly responsive to your needs. We’ll also handle any of the legal technicalities involved in a transfer so your unit doesn’t “boomerang” back to you because something wasn’t done properly.
Sometimes, the best solution can be to try and sell your timeshare unit. (In the interest of full disclosure, though, selling a timeshare is very difficult or even impossible in most circumstances.) When that’s the case, Centerstone Group recommends and works with real estate brokers and licensed Realtors who specialize in listing and selling in the resale market.
Unlike fraudulent timeshare resale companies or auction websites, Realtors are professionally trained to use all proper procedures for the states where they help sell real estate. Part of those procedures will be the proper use of escrow and closing costs, which is how Realtors should always be paid. (That time comes after the sale is made, not before!)
These Realtors and Centerstone Group will also work with any necessary escrow companies, attorneys, and other individuals needed to make sure that the sale of your vacation property happens as smoothly and legally as possible.
Sometimes, it’s good to have a lot of options. But when you have an important decision to make, weeding through potential scams to find the best companies to sell timeshares can be exhausting. Before you decide on any timeshare exit company or Realtor, it’s important to do your homework. That might start with word of mouth, but you will probably need to follow up with more research.
For example, Centerstone Group is an accredited company with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), along with tons of great reviews. Realtors and real estate brokers are also managed by state agencies. For example, California Realtors are overseen by the state’s Department of Real Estate. Before you make any decision about who to trust, you should do your research.
Chances are, you bought your timeshare because you were rushed into a decision that you didn’t really have time to think about until long afterward. Don’t make the same mistake when you’re picking a company to help you get out of your timeshare. They may require a greater amount of time and effort, but those resources will be well spent.
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