Donating our timeshare

Can I "will" my paid off and paid up timeshare weeks to someone (say, the timeshare property, or the government) other than my wife (co-owner) when I die so she isn't stuck with the yearly dues?

What is your experience with Donate For A Cause? Donate For A Cause timeshare resales will accept my timeshare, and will collect their fees at closing (two step process..sell then donate). If they don't make the sale, will they come back to me with fees?

There are so many many scams out there. They all want an up front fee to connect you with an eager buyer (who I've heard doesn't actally exist). Even RCI (a well known player in this business) has this predatory business model in their resale arm.

rond168 wrote:

Can I "will" my paid off and paid up timeshare weeks to someone (say, the timeshare property, or the government) other than my wife (co-owner) when I die so she isn't stuck with the yearly dues?

What is your experience with Donate For A Cause? Donate For A Cause timeshare resales will accept my timeshare, and will collect their fees at closing (two step process..sell then donate). If they don't make the sale, will they come back to me with fees?

There are so many many scams out there. They all want an up front fee to connect you with an eager buyer (who I've heard doesn't actally exist). Even RCI (a well known player in this business) has this predatory business model in their resale arm.

This is a new one .... DFAC will take your timeshare for a huge fee but if they don't resale it then you're still responsible for future yearly fees ????? Will the scams ever stop ???? Anybody that falls for this crap is brain dead.

Do you actually have experience with DFAC...or is this just a general statement for the whole timeshare industry (which I would agree with)?

Do you know of a regular realtor who will sell on commission that is collected at closing?

http://www.timesharebrokersmls.com/

No, I don't have personal experience with DFAC .... I was merely going by what you stated in your previous post.

rond168 wrote:

Do you actually have experience with DFAC...or is this just a general statement for the whole timeshare industry (which I would agree with)?

Do you know of a regular realtor who will sell on commission that is collected at closing?

The reality is that there are a few charities that will actually accept the title to your timeshare. Once that's done the resort, jayjay or anyone else that works for the the resorts can do nothing to reverse it and you remain free. Willing it to a non-heir is a legal question, but I have seen where such actions have been rejected by the recipient and it's held up in court so that probably wouldn't work.

The unfortunate reality is that timeshares used to have value on the secondary market which meant when a charity took the donation, they didn't actually take title, they were able to find a buyer who gave them the money while the donor signed over the deed to the buyer. The purpose of the process was to convert it to cash for the charity operating expenses.

Charities aren't finding magic buyers any more easily than anyone else today. So, the charity will charge a fee at closing so they can cover potential ownership costs until they can finally unload the timeshare somewhere somehow. It's the same purpose, convert the asset donated to cash for operating expenses.

We are a charity that charges a $500 fee to accept a timeshare donation. It must be done through a licensed closing company of your choice. That closing company will require you to deposit their fee plus any other costs, including our fee, into their bonded escrow account. After all, this is a real estate transaction just like buying a house. Hopefully, no one is foolish enough to think real estate transactions don't require upfront deposits into escrow accounts.

Once the deed has been recorded by the closing company the funds are released to their designated destinations. If the deal doesn't go through, all the money is returned to the donor or seller. This is normal legal common every day real estate business. Unfortunately, some people don't understand that or don't want to believe it.

In the worst case scenario check with different charities. Make sure they will take actual title into their name at closing. Make sure any money you pay is into a licensed escrow account so it's protected by law. At that point just consider it a cost of business or future maintenance payments to finally get rid of it.

drk14 wrote:

Charities aren't finding magic buyers any more easily than anyone else today. So, the charity will charge a fee at closing so they can cover potential ownership costs until they can finally unload the timeshare somewhere somehow. It's the same purpose, convert the asset donated to cash for operating expenses.

So, socalled charities like yours get into the scamming business now that the market has dried up on timeshare values.

Quote:

We are a charity that charges a $500 fee to accept a timeshare donation. It must be done through a licensed closing company of your choice. That closing company will require you to deposit their fee plus any other costs, including our fee, into their bonded escrow account. After all, this is a real estate transaction just like buying a house. Hopefully, no one is foolish enough to think real estate transactions don't require upfront deposits into escrow accounts.

Home closings are legitimate and don't involve scams like yours. A new home owner takes responsibilty for paying all future finances regarding the home .... you say you don't pay any future maintenance fees regarding the timeshare transfer into your socalled charity's name (it's stated in black and white on your webpage).

Quote:

Once the deed has been recorded by the closing company .....

You plainly stated in the other thread on this subject that you don't take deeds .... you merely do some kind of contract .... contradicting yourself once more.

Sorry...I didn't mean to start this flame. I'm just trying to find folks that have actually done business with a timeshare reseller that will give a positive comment. I can't even tell who the two parties in the flame are. It's nigh impossible to tell the scams from the honest businesses. You can't trust self promotion, and nobody will just state planely that they had a good or bad experience with a company. I have paid two companies to resell my timeshare weeks without success, so I'm leary. My criteria now is whether the reseller behaves like a real estate salesman, promoting a contract to sell for a fee at closing. The scams are so sophisticated with license #s (from unknown entities) and false promises that I'm completely confused. I think that some licensing is needed for the industry. Even the seemingly reputable RCI came across as a flim flam artist with its complex mumbo jumbo. The overly complex contract to try to sell, followed by a deed transfer after the sale seems contrived, and of course, the selling of the property is conveniently forgotten by many resellers once their up front money is collected.

rond168 wrote:

Sorry...I didn't mean to start this flame. I'm just trying to find folks that have actually done business with a timeshare reseller that will give a positive comment. I can't even tell who the two parties in the flame are. It's nigh impossible to tell the scams from the honest businesses. You can't trust self promotion, and nobody will just state planely that they had a good or bad experience with a company. I have paid two companies to resell my timeshare weeks without success, so I'm leary. My criteria now is whether the reseller behaves like a real estate salesman, promoting a contract to sell for a fee at closing. The scams are so sophisticated with license #s (from unknown entities) and false promises that I'm completely confused. I think that some licensing is needed for the industry. Even the seemingly reputable RCI came across as a flim flam artist with its complex mumbo jumbo. The overly complex contract to try to sell, followed by a deed transfer after the sale seems contrived, and of course, the selling of the property is conveniently forgotten by many resellers once their up front money is collected.

We are a charity that actually takes the deed into our company name generally without the intent to use it or pay it. Since we don't resell it we convert the process to cash for us by charging a $500 service fee paid to us by the title company at closing. You don't pay us anything up front. We don't do any of the paperwork, try to promise anything other than when it's completed you will be free. We use the law to fight the collection hounds the resorts hire.

The best way for you to do some checking is to talk to someone in charge at Resort Closing, Inc. or Trejesto Title Transfers. Both are on the Internet and easily found. They are the title companies that are expert handlers of timeshare deed transfers. Because it is an actual deed it is defined as real estate and must be handled according to legal requirements for houses, farms, bare land, commercial buildings, apartments condo, etc. Money is deposited with the title company to cover estimated closing costs. They charge their fees for their work and know we have a charge of $500 due us when the deed is finally sent to us. That is a form of a closing cost and not paid to us unless the transaction actually goes through. That money is held in escrow and given back to you, by law, if the deal doesn't go through. The title company make sure everything is done right and you have no lingering threat or concern once the deed is transferred.

You'll hear lots of wild and nasty claims of fraud, scam, crook, etc. from a few people I've come to believe work for the resorts. However, your best course of action would be to contact a couple of title escrow companies, ask then what the process is, how you're protected, and how closing expenses can range from a low to a high. Then select a charity that follows what the title escrow company tells you to be safe. After all, they're the ones under the close eye of the law and don't want to lose their license.

I hope this helps.

We are a charity that occasionally has timeshares donated to us. The vast majority of the time it finalizes after the use week has passed. If not, we can often use it for deserving people in the local area. It might only be 1 or 2 or 3for the year and they would have to be used where is, as is, when is but we'd be happy to help support you with what we can. Unfortunately, other than that first year, we never have access again. We don't use it and therefore don't bother paying for it. Sounds bad, but our goal is to pressure the resort into taking the unpaying asset back since their collection efforts have no bearing on us. Look us up on the Internet at CommunityHealthTraining.org if you would like to see what we can do.

rond168 wrote:

Sorry...I didn't mean to start this flame. I'm just trying to find folks that have actually done business with a timeshare reseller that will give a positive comment. I can't even tell who the two parties in the flame are. It's nigh impossible to tell the scams from the honest businesses. You can't trust self promotion, and nobody will just state planely that they had a good or bad experience with a company. I have paid two companies to resell my timeshare weeks without success, so I'm leary. My criteria now is whether the reseller behaves like a real estate salesman, promoting a contract to sell for a fee at closing. The scams are so sophisticated with license #s (from unknown entities) and false promises that I'm completely confused. I think that some licensing is needed for the industry. Even the seemingly reputable RCI came across as a flim flam artist with its complex mumbo jumbo. The overly complex contract to try to sell, followed by a deed transfer after the sale seems contrived, and of course, the selling of the property is conveniently forgotten by many resellers once their up front money is collected.

Bottom line is to never ever pay any entity a large upfront fee or put money in an escrow account to supposedly sell or rid yourself of timeshare ownership .... they're all scams.

Legit real estate agents aren't allowed to take their fee upfront .... upfront fee resellers are merely selling advertising where they list your timeshare in a database no one will ever see BUT they have what they wanted in the first place ..... your large upfront fee.

This economy is the worst market in timeshare history. If your timeshare has no value (supply and demand of the resort where you own and time owned). The best you can do is give it away and offer to pay for closing. Redweek and Tug both have bargain basements where you can list your timeshare to give away.

drk14 wrote:

We are a charity that actually takes the deed into our company name ....

You blatantly stated in the other forum on this subject that you do not take the DEED .... you merely write up some bogus contract.

jayjay wrote:

You blatantly stated in the other forum on this subject that you do not take the DEED .... you merely write up some bogus contract.

Again you make bogus claims without reference. Would you please tell me where we claimed such a fantasy contract? If you can't, it may be time for you to admit who you work for and stop giving out such idiotic advice.

jayjay wrote:

Bottom line is to never ever pay any entity a large upfront fee or put money in an escrow account to supposedly sell or rid yourself of timeshare ownership .... they're all scams.

Legit real estate agents aren't allowed to take their fee upfront ....

What planet did you fall from? Have you ever even talked to a title escrow company or a real estate broker? Timeshares with deeds are real estate. They have to be handled just like any other real estate. Placing money into an escrow account is protected by law. Before you get too far into your fantasies, try checking with Resort Closings, Inc. in Montana or Trejesto Title Transfers in Colorado, who does all our processing and holds all the money in their escrow accounts until the title is transferred. Nobody gets paid until its done but the money must still be in the escrow account ready for closing.

If you're not willing to even check them out and are stupid enough to call them crooks, they have a real libel issue they could bring against you. I suggest you get your foot out of your mouth and get your facts straight.

For anyone else, do the simple thing. Check out these companies yourself or check with their respective state Department of Real Estate for their licensure.

It's obvious that you're not recruiting many timeshare owners since you seem to have the time to be here 24/7 espousing your scam.

It's obvious that you and the two closing companies you mentioned are into the same scam. If anybody falls for your scam after reading this forum then they get what they deserve.

I read just today in AARP's monthly magazine that bogus charities are some of the most rampant scams out there.

DRK, I'm tired of arguing with you (scammer). If Redweek continues allowing your bogus scam charity to be advertised in the forums (ads are NOT supposed to be placed in the forums .... I can't understand why they're allowing you to) then so be it. If people want to throw good money after bad to you and your two partners in crime closing companies (totaling $900) then I really don't give a damn. I've given them advice .... if they don't take it then there's nothing else I can do and I'm weary of trying.

Your posts here are blatant ads.

jayjay wrote:

It's obvious that you're not recruiting many timeshare owners since you seem to have the time to be here 24/7 espousing your scam.

Actually I do work for my own company involved in non-timeshare business, travel quite a bit, manage investment properties I and my family have, and donate my time to the charity you prefer to claim is a scam instead of bothering to even check out the truth. I only deal with three forums dealing with helping people sell or get out of their timeshares. I only check on alerts in those threads.

On the other hand, you are here much more than I am. You seem to have you nose in almost every forum here on almost every topic. What's worse is the almost constant subject content of "scam, Scam, SCAM" you spout on anything you don't like. As I've said before, the scam is you trying to "protect" owners so they can waste future time and money by continuing to be stuck in their timeshare.

jayjay wrote:

DRK, I'm tired of arguing with you (scammer). If Redweek continues allowing your bogus scam charity to be advertised in the forums (ads are NOT supposed to be placed in the forums .... I can't understand why they're allowing you to) then so be it.

As for your giving up the argument, what is here is only half of what has been covered in the "Getting rid of your timeshare" forum. Others can read that thread to get far more information if they wish. You gave up there, too.

Thank you for the continued irresponsible and immature discussion. It has given all of us a good opportunity to present and/or read actual IRS regulations, how to check out charities, and what does work.

As for RedWeek, it's my belief they saw this as an informative discussion for the benefit of many readers. My presentation has been more in defense due to your accusations than any "advertising". I thank RedWeek for their willingness to allow diverse opinions to be discussed generally without censure.

In addition, I can't help but think that someone at RedWeek HAS checked out everything we've written and found that what we have said is not a scam or they would have weighed in on it on your side long ago. I have challenged you to do this and you've refused. I would ask them and any other reader to do the same and then report to us all here what their results are. This comes from knowledge that what we do is honest, legal, forthright, effective, and can be checked out independently by anyone any time.

drk14 wrote:

Actually I do work for my own company involved in non-timeshare business, travel quite a bit, manage investment properties I and my family have, and donate my time to the charity you prefer to claim is a scam instead of bothering to even check out the truth. I only deal with three forums dealing with helping people sell or get out of their timeshares. I only check on alerts in those threads.

On the other hand, you are here much more than I am. You seem to have you nose in almost every forum here on almost every topic. What's worse is the almost constant subject content of "scam, Scam, SCAM" you spout on anything you don't like. As I've said before, the scam is you trying to "protect" owners so they can waste future time and money by continuing to be stuck in their timeshare.

As for your giving up the argument, what is here is only half of what has been covered in the "Getting rid of your timeshare" forum. Others can read that thread to get far more information if they wish. You gave up there, too.

Thank you for the continued irresponsible and immature discussion. It has given all of us a good opportunity to present and/or read actual IRS regulations, how to check out charities, and what does work.

As for RedWeek, it's my belief they saw this as an informative discussion for the benefit of many readers. My presentation has been more in defense due to your accusations than any "advertising". I thank RedWeek for their willingness to allow diverse opinions to be discussed generally without censure.

In addition, I can't help but think that someone at RedWeek HAS checked out everything we've written and found that what we have said is not a scam or they would have weighed in on it on your side long ago. I have challenged you to do this and you've refused. I would ask them and any other reader to do the same and then report to us all here what their results are. This comes from knowledge that what we do is honest, legal, forthright, effective, and can

SCAM .... I'm surprised Redweek hasn't banned you from posting your scam time and time again and using Redweek for advertising it. Redweek, I'm ashamed of you. Other companies are not allowed to use Redweek's forums to advertise even legitimate companies much less scams.

My husband and I donated our Maui timeshare to Donate For A Cause (DFAC) in 2010. The deed was transferred out of our name, we no longer received a Maintenance fee from the resort. I know that there were a few persons who were skeptical about this organization, but we did thorough analysis on DFAC before committing to it. I checked with IRS, as well as to several of the charitable organizations they work with (Cancer Association, Kidney Assoc, Heart Assoc, etc). Yes we paid a fee upfront but not until after I did my homework and felt comfortable that the organization was legit. As with any company, do YOUR homework first; don't take my or anyone's word for it. Hope things work out well for you.

patw170 wrote:

My husband and I donated our Maui timeshare to Donate For A Cause (DFAC) in 2010. The deed was transferred out of our name, we no longer received a Maintenance fee from the resort. I know that there were a few persons who were skeptical about this organization, but we did thorough analysis on DFAC before committing to it. I checked with IRS, as well as to several of the charitable organizations they work with (Cancer Association, Kidney Assoc, Heart Assoc, etc). Yes we paid a fee upfront but not until after I did my homework and felt comfortable that the organization was legit. As with any company, do YOUR homework first; don't take my or anyone's word for it. Hope things work out well for you.

Well, that's good that it worked out for you. I'm assuming that DFAC charged you thousands of dollars to do this. while this is one option to dump an unwanted timeshare, it's avery expensive one.

There are cheaper ways to do it if you're willing to put a little time and effort into it.

They probably accepted your Maui timeshare because Maui ones can usually be easily resold for a few bucks. There are a number of timeshares out there that charities won't accept because of the difficulty getting rid of them.

mike1536 wrote:

sarahc93 wrote:

I haven't had any luck selling our timeshare so I am looking into donating the stupid thing.

We've slashed the price and to be honest, I work outside the home, have two small children and just do not have the time to invest in getting this thing sold.

My husband is fine with just holding onto the darn thing and our maintenance fees(which just went up) are due this month and it irritates the crap out of me!

I heard about where you can donate your timeshare www.donateforacause.org. Has anyone done this and what was your experience like? TIA,

Sarah

=========== I contacted them to see about donating my father's TS, but they would not accept it. However,It’s worth a try to contact them and see if they will take your unit.

When you donate a timeshare, the charity is not actually taking the unit. Instead, you are giving the organization the right to try and sell your unit; when sold, the title/deed transfer occurs. During this time you are still liable for all maintenance fees, taxes, etc. Whether or not the charity accepts the unit depends on whether or not it can be sold. Unfortunately if YOU can’t sell it, then the charity probably can’t sell it either.

If you decide to go this route, check the terms and conditions carefully. First, there cannot be any liens on the unit. If an organization accepts your donation, and they cannot sell it in a certain time period, it will be “returned” to you. According to the Donate for a Cause website, they will list the unit for four weeks. Others may list it longer.

What is the name of your resort, and which season do you own? Other RedWeek posters might be able to give you an idea of whether or not it has rental value. Have you tried bidshares or ebay to sell your unit or have you tried renting your unit?

Finally another donation option is to donate your annual week to a local charity that may be having a fundraising auction. While you won’t get rid of the TS this way, you should be able to deduct the value of the week as a charitable contribution. Depending on your tax bracket you might save $200-$300.

Good Luck Mike

The REAL TRUTH about possibly donating your timeshare to a charity (bogus or legit):

http://helpdesk.blogs.money.cnn.com/2012/03/20/how-do-i-ditch-a-timeshare/?iid=HP_LN