Walt's Timeshare Relief

What Is the Best Way to Sell My Timeshare with No Upfront Fees?

When trying to sell a timeshare owners generally have two main goals: to sell the property as quickly as possible and to do so as affordably as possible. Generally, the fastest way to sell a timeshare is with the help of a timeshare resale company. These companies can significantly expedite the sales process and help you get out of your timeshare in as little as a week, but with so many scams out there it can be daunting finding one that you can trust and who won’t charge you expensive upfront fees. In order to help you out, here are some tips for finding a company that won’t only be able to sell your timeshare quickly but also without charging upfront fees for their services.

Tip #1: Research Your Options

With so many timeshare owners trying to sell their timeshares, there certainly isn’t a shortage of companies that claim to be able to help out with this process. However finding one that won’t rip you off can seem difficult. The best way to find a company you are comfortable with is to research your options and treat timeshare resale companies the same as any other business you would consider working with. Create a short list of recommended companies and compare them noting the differences in their sales approach and, most importantly, whether or not they charge upfront fees.

Tip #2: Know What “Normal” Is

Timeshare resale companies may try to convince you that paying for their services upfront is a “normal” part of the industry. This isn’t true! You wouldn’t pay for someone to fix your roof before they did the job, and it is no different here. However, it is important to understand that some companies may ask you to pay for listing or assessment fees before they sell your timeshare in order to market the property and assess its value. Scams may call their upfront costs “listing and assessment fees”, but the difference is in the dollars. A “normal” fee should usually be $20-$50 and should never be more than $100. If a company wants you to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars upfront, walk away!

Tip #3: Get It in Writing

Before you agree to work with any timeshare company it is important to get the terms of their agreement upfront. This is important to ensure they are legally obligated to do what they say they will do and will help to cover you in the event that they do try to scam you. This is so important that many states are trying to pass legislation that requires timeshare resale companies to disclose their sales agreements and fees before a seller commits to their services, so asking for this information before you agree puts you one step ahead of the game and lets you know what to expect from the company.

Tip #4: Use Trusted Resources

When researching timeshare resale companies it is important to follow up on their references and use trusted resources for finding timeshare resale professionals. A great resource that we recommend is TimeshareSecrets.com. These experts have spent years gathering information about timeshare resale companies and other industry professionals so that timeshare owners like you can make educated decisions and find safe and successful help. They offer a free consultation and the companies they recommend never charge upfront fees for their services so your satisfaction is guaranteed!

Selling your timeshare doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money and stress you out. By only working with established companies with proven track records who don’t charge upfront for their services you can be on your way to timeshare freedom with almost no hassle and with the peace of mind knowing that you will get exactly what you pay for.

What is My Timeshare Worth?

When people first purchase a timeshare, they often feel like they are making an investment in their family's future. Since timeshares are legally considered pieces of real estate, many first-time owners feel that can only go up in value as time goes on. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Timeshare sales representatives often trick people into thinking that they are investing in a piece of property when they aren't. The value of the timeshare behaves more like a car than a piece of property, and the only thing that goes up every year is the cost of ownership. This often leads many owners to consider trying to sell their timeshare, but it also leaves many more wondering what their timeshare worth.

The value of a timeshare depends heavily on the perspective of the owner. Many timeshare owner believe that their timeshare is worth a lot when in reality it's not. The value that a timeshare holds to the person who owns it can vary greatly depending on how they feel about the property. If you've spent years building family relationships and memories in the property, then you probably feel that your timeshare is worth quite a bit. Unfortunately, when it comes to what your timeshare is worth on the resale market, these perspectives tend to vary greatly.

In reality, timeshares are only worth what people are willing to pay for them on the resale market. This is often referred to as fair market value. In other words, if you paid $10,000 for a timeshare that you bought five years ago, but the most someone is willing to pay for that property on the resale market is $3000, then the fair market value of your timeshare is going to be around that figure because you simply can't sell it for more than what people are wiling to pay. You may be able to get more for your timeshare depending on the quality of the property and the resort, but it is still often only going to be a fraction of what you originally paid for the property when you bought it.

Determining what your timeshare is worth can be a tricky process. If you're trying to sell your timeshare for the first time on your own, you may be expecting to get a lot more for your property and what it's really worth. In order to get a better idea of what a timeshare is really worth, you have to consult the professionals or do a fair amount of research. Timeshare assessment and timeshare resale companies can usually help you determine what your timeshare is worth and how much you can expect to get for it on the resale market. Since this is often substantially less than what people are expecting, many people choose to just let the professionals handle it for them. Timeshare resale companies can often sell your timeshare quickly for about what it would cost you to sell it on your own, but with far less hassle. Resources like TimeshareSecrets.com can help you get in touch with timeshare resale specialists who can help you determine your options, find out what your timeshare is worth, and help you fid reputable companies who can help you get rid of your timeshare fast.

Once you realize that the value of your timeshare is not what you think may be, you can open doors to get rid of your timeshare quickly, safely, and with as little hassle to you as possible. There's no need to keep a timeshare you no longer want or can afford. With the help of professionals, you can be rid of your timeshare and the burdensome costs that accompany it once and for all!

Is It Better to Donate A Timeshare Rather Than Sell?

If you are like the many other timeshare owners out there who are trying to get rid of their properties, you may be wondering whether it is better to donate a timeshare or sell it since these are the two most common ways that people often get out of their timeshare agreements. However, the answer to that question may be a little bit more complicated than many realize. In order to help you decide which way might be best for you, we will go over the pros and cons to each.

First, let's take a look at timeshare donation. Since timeshares don't hold much value on the resale market and can take a long time to sell, many owners are interested in knowing more about this option. It involves a charity, rather than a person, taking possession of your timeshare. They then often auction off the time in order to raise funds for their cause. You may also be eligible for up to a $5,000 tax deduction. This may sound like a great option, but unfortunately it can be very difficult to find a chart that is interested in taking your timeshare since the costs to keep it often outweighs any funds it could potentially bring in. You may also not be able to donate your timeshare, since not all types of timeshares are eligible for donation. Because of these difficulties, people interested in timeshare donate often still have to enlist the help of professionals.

When considering the other option when deciding whether to donate or sell a timeshare, it is important to realize what it really means to sell your timeshare. When you think of "selling" something, you generally assume you will get money in return. However, when you sell a timeshare you are really just trying to get rid of it. Generally, timeshares aren’t worth very much on the resale market. Even though they are legally considered pieces of real estate, these properties behave more like cars in terms of value and usually depreciate the longer you own it. This means that when you sell your timeshare you will usually only be able to get a fraction of what you paid for it, and may not get anything for it at all after you factor in the costs and time associated with selling the property on your own.

Because of the hassle and complicatedness of the timeshare resale market, many timeshare owners usually opt to hire a timeshare resale company to take their property off their hands. In this case, you are paying someone to sell your timeshare for you and will not receive anything for the property. The price for these services often vary depending on the type of timeshare you have and what its resale value is, but is usually less than what you would pay in annual maintenance fees on the property. This means that after the first year of getting rid of your timeshare this service has already paid for itself and all you had to do was sit back and wait for the anticipated news that you are officially timeshare free.

Whether or not you can donate or sell your timeshare rests on a variety of factors and what you expectations are. Consulting with a professional timeshare resale specialist will help you better understand your options and help you make an informed decision based on your unique situation and what works best for you!

How to Avoid Timeshare Scams

Timeshare scams are some of the most common business frauds out there. So much so that the Better Business Bureau ranked them at a shocking #4 spot on their annual list of consumer frauds for the past year. And not only are they extremely common, but they can be potentially devastating if you don't know what to watch out for. So how can you avoid timeshare scams and successfully sell your timeshare? Let me tell you how.

 

There used to be a time when owning a timeshare was a great thing for vacationing families to have. It provided guaranteed lodging at affordable prices in favorite vacation destinations. However, in the past decade we have seem people scramble to get rid of their timeshares as their families outgrow the units, need to reel in their budgets, or can no longer afford the soaring maintenance fees and other costs associated with these properties. The influx in timeshares for sale on the secondary market has not only created and extremely competitive and complicated sales process, but has brought out the scammers. If there is an opportunity to take advantage of people in need, unfortunately there are always people willing to do so.

 

The best way to avoid timeshare scams is by knowing how these frauds work. Usually, these scammers obtain contact information when you search for timeshare resale companies online. They then contact you and often claim to be from a reputable broker and pitch you their "services". They promise to be able to sell your timeshare fast, and in fact already have interested buyers lined up and waiting to purchase your property. All you have to do is pay them some money upfront, which can range from a couple hundred to several thousand dollars, and a portion of the fees will be returned to you once the sale is final. Unfortunately, the sale never takes place, the money is never returned, and the owner is left stuck with their timeshare and out whatever fees they paid. Timeshare resale scams con millions of dollars out of people's pockets each year, but you don't have to be one of them!

 

Only negotiate with timeshare resale companies you have researched and contacted yourself, follow up on references and claims the company makes, and NEVER pay upfront fees for someone to sell your timeshare! If you use these simple steps you will be able to smell a scam from a mile away and be able to effectively sell your property and avoid timeshare scams!

How to Sell Your Timeshare Fast – Part 3

We're almost there!

I hope you've got a few tips out of the first two parts of this series on how to sell your timeshare fast.  I'm trying to streamline all of this as much as possible so that you don't get hung up on useless information or steps.

And as I promised in part 2, now I'm going to talk about the company that I really like...

It's kind of funny because I contacted a lot of companies to help me with selling my timeshare.  We're talking about 10-20 timeshare companies!

What's funny is that this company was a little hard to find.  But I found them and I'm glad I did.  They were very transparent about the whole process of selling.

Here are the specific things I look for in a good company:

  • Guarantee results - this is the part that sold me on the whole deal.  Instead of up-front garbage, they get paid when they deliver results for you.
  • Licensed real estate broker - I know other timeshare companies probably have licensed brokers working for them, but these people made it very clear on their website.
  • Proven track record - I looked on their website and it said that they have a record of over 65,000 timeshare closings since 1999.  Pretty impressive and this made them stand out above the other companies I was considering at the time.
  • Online Business Bureau - I checked and they have a good standing.  I checked on the other companies and those ones had complaints.  So it's a good thing I did my homework here.

And here is the company I recommend you work with:

Ok, so now let me share how I got in touch with this company.  The interesting part is that this company is actually working with some people I happen to know of.  Dan and Donna over at timesharesecrets.com have a page setup where you can contact the company directly.

The easiest way to to contact this company...

I filled out the form on this page (click here to contact them).  About a day or so later, I received a call from them.  From there, they gave me some options, answered a few questions I had, and I thought it over.  And as you know, I ended up calling them back and the rest is history now - along with my timeshare :)

That's it for this series on selling your timeshare fast.  I hope you enjoyed it and got a lot out of my experience with timeshares.  I know that I'm not an expert, but that might be a good thing.  When I was trying to sell, a lot of "experts" kept telling to do it myself.  As we both know, that is not only time consuming, but very risky (remember Tom?).

Gotta run right now because it's grocery day!

Talk to you soon,
-Walt

How to Sell Your Timeshare Fast – Part 2

Hi there,

I hope you're having a good morning (or night - depending on when you read this).

This is the second part of the How to sell your timeshare fast series that I started recently.  Today we are going to talk about how I picked a company and exactly what I looked for.

Real quick, I just want to stress why I chose to go with a company instead of doing this on my own.  Of course there are pros and cons to choosing a company, but I think the pros out-weigh the cons of working with a company.

After you figure out how to avoid timeshare scams, it's not to hard to pick out a few good companies and decide on one.  And with that out of the way, let's talk about what I looked for in a company...

What to look for in a company:

Picking a good company is part common sense and the other part is doing your home work.  Hopefully you can handle the first part, because I'm about to give you the "homework" part.

Credibility and Trust

This is fairly easy to spot... in the real world.  But when you are on the Internet, you need to be careful.  Always make sure that a company has the following traits/items on their website.

  • Phone Number
  • Contact us page
  • Information about the company
  • A professional looking website

Can you talk to a person on the phone... a person from the US?

You should be able to either call a company or have them call you.  Regardless of how you get a hold of them, make sure that the person is from the United States.  A lot of timeshare scams are run from overseas.  Not to say that we don't have them in the US, but they are more common outside of the United States.

Can you find reviews of this company?

After you talk to the company, write down the options they give you, and also write down their company info - go do some research.  Can you find past timeshare owners that have dealt with them?  If not, it could be a bad sign.

How to find a company:

Finding a company isn't very difficult.  I recommend that you ask around, search on the Internet, and get as much information as you can on as many companies as you can.

I will talk about the company that I went with in the last part of this series.

Thank you for reading!

How to Sell Your Timeshare Fast - Part 3

-Walt

How to Get Rid of Timeshare Weeks

Are You Ok With Your Timeshare Becoming a Complete Loss ? - I Wasn't With Mine

Today I'm going to address something that I've seen a lot of lately.  People on sites like Ebay appear to be selling timeshare weeks for as little as $1!  And I'm not sure about you, but those must be some hopeless souls selling for pennies.  (Ebay are probably higher than that heh).

Regardless, I want to express my opinion on this whole concept of selling for practically nothing.  I understand that you might be wanting to flat out get rid of your timeshare, and I don't blame you.

Here's a few reasons why I hate timeshares & what you can do about it:

  • Maintenance fess go up every year!
  • Vacationing in the same place!
  • Why should I pay for the deadbeats that don't pay for their portion?

But if you look around at your options, you might not have to settle for losing out on the $20,000 or whatever you invested in your timeshare.

Of course you can find ways to get rid of your timeshare right away ($1.00 on ebay hah).  You can try to donate it.  But if you are looking to get at least something back, then keep looking at your other options.

Here's what you can do about it...

  • My favorite timeshare selling resources - This is an ever-growing list of resources I come across.  Take a look to see if any of these will help you.
  • Quick answers for your selling questions - This is something fairly new that I think will really help a lot of people.  If you have a question that hasn't been answered, please ask!
  • How to sell your timeshare fast - A 3 part series that I created for sellers who need to be taken by the hand.  I show you what to look for and what to avoid.  At the end (part 3) I show you how I chose a company and the specific company I picked.

I hope that this helps.  I'm betting that a lot of timeshare owners are desperate and just looking for a way out.  Hopefully, one of my tips or resources will help you find the best exit strategy. :)

-Walt

How to Sell Your Timeshare Fast – Part 1

3 Part Article Series All About Selling Timeshares Fast...

I thought that you might be interested in seeing how to sell your timeshare fast, so I'm giving you exactly what you're looking for.  After all, a lot of the selling methods are no good in my opinion.  They either take a lot of two different things: money or time.

Thankfully, I've found a way that you can avoid spending too much of either or those.  It involves leveraging the experience of current sellers and only paying on a results basis.  For what I just said to make sense, please keep reading. This is a 3 part article series, but I think you'll get a lot out of it.

Before we get started, let's talk about the cold hard truth.  I know for a fact that 90% of you are going to have a tough time selling - and here is why.

I'm just as guilty, but the toughest part of selling a timeshare fast is letting go of the reigns and letting an experienced seller take over.

Wasted time... stupid mistakes...

I remember back when I first got motivated enough to sell.  I picked up the car keys, drove to the Barnes & Nobel, and bought 4-5 books on timeshare selling.  I read every single one of them front to back, but I still didn't feel confident enough to sell on my own.

Luckily, Tom made a few mistakes for me to learn from...

My good friend Tom had just tried to sell.  And when I say "tried to sell", I mean that he spent 4 months with paying 3 different listing services.  In the end, he lost a chunk of money and was still stuck with the timeshare that didn't sell.  So you can probably see my hesitation with jumping into this selling business.

A week or so later, I was able to get past my fear and I started doing some research on the Internet.  One thing I figured out is that you don't have to pay these up-front fees like Tom did.  (I'd tell him that now, but he'd probably punch me in the chops because there's no joking with how much money he spent).

Important Tips For Every Timeshare Owner:

And after figuring that out, selling my timeshare was fairly straight forward.  I had just learned some good tips, which you now know to:

  • Books can be helpful, but a lot of this information can be found on the Internet for free.
  • Paying up-front fees is foolish and a waste of money
  • Doing it yourself seems like a bad idea for most people.  The legal problems alone are the reason why I didn't do it.

That's it for today.  Please stay tuned for part 2 of my How to sell your timeshare fast series.

Next time we talk, I'm going to tell you about how I picked a company and exactly what I looked for.

How to Sell Your Timeshare Fast - Part 2

-Walt

Wow! Did you Know That Timeshare Scams Are #4?

I Can't Believe What Some People Will Do...

I was looking around on the Internet tonight and I came across this website at selltimesharewith.com.  According to the site, timeshare scams are number 4 on the Better Business Bureau's overall scam list.  Crazy to hear that!

I knew that the timeshare resale market was chock full of fraudsters and scam-artists, but I didn't realize that it was this bad.

That website I mentioned was pretty neat.  It's a survey for checking to see if you know about the common scams in the industry.  I knew about all of these but one - really surprised me that people stoop that low to rip money out of your hand.  (click here to check out the timeshare quiz).  The quiz says that it only takes 3 minutes, but it took me about 5 minutes (slow reader-itis).

My advice for anyone avoid scams is to just use your head.  I think that the survey on that site might be good for some of you to be prepared.  Then again, nothing beats common sense with these things.

Well, that's all for today.  I have some great tips I want to share with you either tomorrow or the next day.  We've go the grand kids coming tomorrow so I'm not sure if that is going to happen :)

Stay tuned

-Walt