Is There a Legal Way to Relinquish a Florida Timeshare When Nobody Wants to Buy It?
The Bella Vista Corporation (Sheraton Vistana is the resort) says they will not "take back" a week that I own. There is no mortgage and all prior years maintenance fees have been paid. Only 2009 maintenance fees are due. I wanted to sign a quit claim deed but they said the only way I can dispose of it is to sell it or it will go into foreclosure if dues are not paid. This would seem unprofitable for both parties. I am not unhappy with the timeshare, per se, just that life circumstances have changed for me and I do not wish to travel in the same way as in the past. There are no family members who want to take it, my friends all have their own timeshares or methods of travel, and after a year of trying to sell a week my mother owns with no success, I am hoping there is a solution in lieu of foreclosure. Any suggestions?
Many companies want money upfront to list and sell which, according to consumer reports, is not a good way to handle a sale. I used a time share specialist for my mom’s week which kept the listing for a year. No one wanted it. Not even for nominal closing costs. Look on ebay and you will find very, very few timeshares ever sell, even for pennies on the dollar. I am looking for an alternative to selling.
If there is a mail box or a community bulletin board at your home resort, you can put a “For sale” sign. This will pressure the developer specially if they sell it for $20,000 USD and you offer it for $5,000. Sometimes on the fine print of some sale agreements says that the developer has the first right to buy if your place is ever sold. I have heard of developers paying the money (as long as is not too much) just to take the sign out.
To resale or rent a timeshare is a hard task, the basic rule is not to pay money up-front, don’t be another victim of a scam.
Unfortunately over 50% of people that really need to sell their timeshare falls for this resale scams where they charge money upfront and less than 10% of them use their only real option which is to post it or offer it trough free advertising options as much, and as many sites as they can (it is ok to pay a few dollars to post in a great place but no more that $20 to $30).
Timeshares do not have resale value and in most situations you would take a loss in what you paid for, as they resale for less than $2000 USD.
There are some free classified ads where you can start posting:
http://timeshareownerscommunity.com/
http://craigslist.com
http://ebay.com
http://recycler.com/
http://usfreeads.com/
http://www.inetgiant.com/
Another alternative is donation, some charities take these timeshares.
Donating a timeshare is a quick way to resolve your real estate burden. There are no upfront fees, the charity will handle the timeshare transfer process for you, and it is taken care of quickly. Many charities will let you start the process online, and then contact you to finish up all of the paperwork. And of course, you will have the knowledge that your donation went to help a worthy cause.
One of the main advantages of donating is the tax write-off benefit. While you will generally receive more money if you sell your timeshare, if you like the idea of donating, you will still get some financial benefits. Once the timeshare transfer is complete, the charity will send you a receipt as proof. There is usually not a dollar amount attached, which is what you will need to determine yourself. Keep in mind that if the fair market value of your timeshare is over $5,000, you will need to get an appraisal to claim that amount on your taxes. You will need to pay for the appraisal yourself, which is often in the $300-$500 dollar range.
You can see a list of them here:
http://timeshareownerscommunity.com/Charities-Accepting-Timeshares-Donations.html
There are companies that do nothing but buy and sell time shares.