Getting rid of your timeshare

nancye31 wrote:

Who even cares about the tax deduction? All I care about is getting it out of my name. I don't care what the new place does with it nor do I care if they do or do not pay the maintenance fees. I would love to get rid of mine for $500 and I'd just as soon pay this place as some individual who I don't know either. JMO

Best I can tell, there are way too many of us that are in this position - especially in these economic times - and that is why drk14's option sounds reasonable. There are many companies out there that want an upfront fee, paid directly to them, before they then TRY to get rid of your timeshare for you. At least drk14's company has that upfront fee put into escrow and they don't get it unless the change of deed ownership actually goes through.

While many may feel that it is unethical or immoral to buy a timeshare with the sole intent of never ever paying the dues and letting it go into foreclosure, you have to remember that 'unethical' and 'immoral' are really just judgement calls because the definition of such is different for everyone. In the US at least, LEGALITY is all that matters to most timeshare companies - they don't care at all about morals or ethics. The timeshare companies use the law ruthlessly in their favor and too often the only way to fight that is to use every legal loophole you can find so that you are also in the legal right. Unfortunately, if a resort will not buy it back, the owner's options really are pretty limited.

As drk14 said in a previous post - if a person is willing to pay a specific amount of money to get rid of their timeshare and if the transfer of deed does go through, then the person got what they wanted and it is not a scam. It is only a scam if the person pays money for something they never get.

If you are worried about the legality of the donation amount, then don't claim it. The only question that matters is: Is it worth $500 (or whatever amount some company wants to charge you) to you to get rid of your timeshare?

Thank you. My sentiments exactly.

Before my resorts agreed to take my weeks back I considered paying someone with nothing to lose to transfer them into his or her name and I would pay all the closing costs. It might not be ethical but it gets the timeshare out of your name. The timeshare companies aren't playing fairly so why should we.

As I have written earlier in these posts, I did donate my Timeshare to a 'charitable organisation' - Donate for a Cause. The fact that they requested money upfront initially frightened me... I checked them out thoroughly with the media and the better business bureau (which also didn't allay my suspicions.) However I felt that after speaking with them on a number of occasions that this was a genuine company trying to be of service to me and decided to take the chance, as I live in the UK the tax part was of no concern to me. The full cost to me was $1500 and I had to wait for a nervous 2 months before I knew that this was a legitimate process. I have confirmed that I am no longer the owner of this timeshare and I am delighted. After months of trying to sell or give it away I am thankful that Donate for a cause did exactly what they said they would do. Desperation makes us do strange things, but I don't regret taking the chance and would recommend anyone who feels in the same position to at least check them out. Just my opinion...........

While DFAC might do everything legally, it's also expensive. That's why many timeshare owners recommend trying to sell or give it away yourself.

If the resorts won't accept the timeshares back, then try listing it here on RedWeek using the Bargain Basement. Bidshares is also free but not very effective.

Also, Timeshare Users Group (aka "TUG"; tugbbs.com) has a Bargain Deals section where you can list your timeshare for free that you want to give it away.

One thing that I dont understand and that doesnt seem to have been brought up is how "first right of refusal" (FROR) would play into the title transfer. Im assuming that if the property has "first right of refusal" in the contract then they would see the whole idea about trying to transfer my name to a non-profit corporation and somehow not allow it to happen.

If FROR is in my contract am I pretty much not able to go through the charity route? Or would it matter? I dont care about the tax deduction issues.

davec251 wrote:

Im assuming that if the property has "first right of refusal" in the contract then they would see the whole idea about trying to transfer my name to a non-profit corporation and somehow not allow it to happen.

That's not quite how ROFR works. If ROFR is in your contract, the resort does not care to whom you sell it. The resort cares about the resale price. This is to try to keep units from drastically devaluing.

So let's say you have found a buyer for your unit and the agreed upon price is $500. The resort might not like to see units being sold at that price. The resort can then exercise its ROFR and buy it from you for a certain price that prevents the drastic devaluation.

Either way, you'll get rid of your timeshare either by selling to that other person or the resort buying it from you.

However, because of the poor state of the timeshare industry, it's quite a rarity now that you see resorts exercising ROFR.

The one thing that you might have to worry about is if you knowingly sell or transfer ownership of your property to a company that then deliberately defaults on the maintenance fees so as to let it go into foreclosure. Some resorts now are going after these companies and the original owners.

As for going "the charity route", it's generally not recommended seeing that charities usually charge at least $2500 to take ownership off your hands.

You can do that yourself by listing your property here in the Bargain Basement for $1 and perhaps offer to pay the closing costs and, if you're desperate enough, also pay the next year's maintenance fees.

But, if you've already tried to give it away and maybe even offered to pay next years maintenance fees, etc., and there are still no interested parties then you are out of choices. Believe me, I hate to pay someone to take it off my hands but I don't need it anymore and don't want to continue to pay maintenance fees so there's just no choice after a certain point.

nancye31 wrote:

But, if you've already tried to give it away and maybe even offered to pay next years maintenance fees, etc., and there are still no interested parties then you are out of choices. Believe me, I hate to pay someone to take it off my hands but I don't need it anymore and don't want to continue to pay maintenance fees so there's just no choice after a certain point.

Much of this discussion repeats. if you will go back to page 1 you will find that there is a charity that will accept timeshare donations, take the title into their name, and release you from any further financial worries. However, since they don't sell it, there is a cost to you of about $800 total for the process.

Charities will charge you a sum (I am guessing $800 since that is what drk14 said) so that they will be able to pay for the maintenance fees. You should contact them and ask them about their process and any fees associated with donating.

victorial73 wrote:

Charities will charge you a sum (I am guessing $800 since that is what drk14 said) so that they will be able to pay for the maintenance fees. You should contact them and ask them about their process and any fees associated with donating.

drk14 has stated frequently that his company has no intention of ever paying your resort for the maintenance fees, the $ 800 he charges is pure profit for him and his scam operation. Be careful, many resorts have policies in place to protect themselves from such transactions and have the right to refuse it.

Have been following this topic of trying to "unload" a timeshare and am I reading all the information correctly. THERE IS REALLY NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO GET RID OF YOUR TIMESHARE? I am ashamed to admit but I have been "taken" by a couple of scam companies because first I simply wanted to get rid of a couple of my timeshares, but with the sudden passing of my husband, it is no longer a choice, but necessary to unload these timeshares. Have tried rental as well as selling...and in all cases, just threw my money away, regretfully. I live in Canada and although not having investigated the idea of given to charity, feel certain none here in Eastern Canada where I live would be interested. Also, in Canada we do not have an income tax deductions for contributions such as this to a charity. I am at the stage that I know my purchases were a very expensive decision, having been told by all the slick salespersons that they respective companies would buy back (what a laugh), I must forget about the money now gone. But it is the Maintenance Fees I have to get rid of having to pay. How??? Although I have a perfect credit rating and wanted to go to the grave with same intact, have come to the conclusion that to default with these several companies is the only thing I can do. Don't want to, but have no choice. Do you think I would be still be hounded here in Canada?? Any suggestions for a desperate widow would be much appreciated. Please.....

Has anyone used Groupwise Inc. to get rid of their timeshare? Did you you have any problems with them? Is there a better way to get rid of five timeshares as they are asking for $7000, They give you with that a year subscription to a travel club. Is just another scam?

harryd40 wrote:

Has anyone used Groupwise Inc. to get rid of their timeshare? Did you you have any problems with them? Is there a better way to get rid of five timeshares as they are asking for $7000, They give you with that a year subscription to a travel club. Is just another scam?

There is this thread about them on Timeshare Users Group:

http://tugbbs.com/forums/search.php?searchid=4058129

I would never pay anyone any up front fees to get rid of a timeshare. I was able to get rid of two by just deeding them back to the resort. I would advise you to try that first. I belong to the NTOA, National Timeshare Owners Association. They give you a subscription to Timesharing Today with your membership and there is valuable information available to members in it. That's where I got the information I needed to get rid of my timeshares. I now have peace of mind and no obligations anymore. If I want to use a timeshare I can go to this site or another one and find someone elses to rent without any obligation for future fees. Do your homework and make it a priority to get out of your timeshares.

lancec13 wrote:

harryd40 wrote:

Has anyone used Groupwise Inc. to get rid of their timeshare? Did you you have any problems with them? Is there a better way to get rid of five timeshares as they are asking for $7000, They give you with that a year subscription to a travel club. Is just another scam?

There is this thread about them on Timeshare Users Group:

http://tugbbs.com/forums/search.php?searchid=4058129

Keep in mind, these companies are scams, I would bet they just changed their entity name to avoid being known as previous "scammers"! Try offering your resort maintenance fees for at least 3 years and deed the week to them. Timeshare owners have actually paid $ 7000 only to find out that the company never transferred ownership. Resorts also have policies in place to protect themselves from the postcard companies, always contact the resort.

Many companies like this are scams. I had a friend who paid for the services of a company and in the end the company just took the money and gave her the run around. She still owns her timeshare.

did you own your timeshare outright when you deeded it back or were you still making payments?

brandys35 wrote:

did you own your timeshare outright when you deeded it back or were you still making payments?

No resort would take a timeshare back if the owner was still making payments .... the owner wouldn't get the deed until it's paid off.

beverlycl wrote:

Have been following this topic of trying to "unload" a timeshare and am I reading all the information correctly. THERE IS REALLY NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO GET RID OF YOUR TIMESHARE? Do you think I would be still be hounded here in Canada?? Any suggestions for a desperate widow would be much appreciated. Please.....

There are lots of stories of being taken by scammers. First let's define a scammer as someone who takes you money, usually upfront, and never get you out of your timeshare. Because of the immature and highly opinionated rantings of some posters here I would include people who lead you to believe there is only one way to get rid of your timeshare in an acceptable way. That is to sell it for something. They cost you and others to continue losing money and risk your credit.

If you want out, there are ways, but they will cost you money. The key is to secure your money with legal guarantees of recovery if you are not ultimately released from your ownership. The best way to do that is make sure your closing company is a licensed real estate office using and depositing your money into their escrow account. This is protected by law and your money MUST be returned to you if the final deed is not done and you are not finally released. Those funds remain in that account until closing, which is when the deed is recorded and you are free.

As a charity that does charge for accepting timeshare donations we have been called scammers and worse. The reality is that we require that each donation go through a licensed escrow company to protect the donor and us. We've had people simply deed their timeshare to us directly trying to not pay our service fee. The two closing companies we recommend on our website are both licensed and bonded real estate offices. One, Resort Closings Inc., is actually owned and run by an attorney who has been doing it for many years and is well known and trusted in the industry. However, the donor always can select a different closing company so long as the above guarantees are in place.

We charge a $500 service fee. The closing companies generally charge from $300 to $400 for their services so the final total cost is usually about $850 to the donor. That's not our pure profit. We only get the $500 when the new deed is mailed to us.

As was pointed out above, is the tax incentive the reason for the transaction? No. The donor simply wants out. That's well worth the cost. Because we are a charity and have researched deeply the IRS regulations, we can justify giving a $5,000 income deduction. It's always up to the donor if they want to use all, part or none of that with their tax return. The IRS specifically states that a distressed sale, which most donors are doing, is NOT a factor in determining FMV. In additions, the IRS requirements for an appraisal make it clear that all the distressed sales you find on the Internet are not qualified for an appraisal. Even worse is trying to look at offered prices of $1. Those are not even sales and are never considered in FMV.

In answering your last question, if you do nothing and stop paying the resorts will send you to collections which will certainly come to you in Canada. Can the resorts reverse a transaction they don't like as some people suggest? No. That's not legal. The only parties that have the right to challange a recorded deed are those parties named in the deed. Since the resort is NOT named in ownership, they have no legal right to try to reverse a transaction for any reason. All they have the right to do is continue to bill and place liens against the property in hopes of future payment.

The honest answer is that there is a way to get rid of a timeshare you don't want. Try giving it back to the resort. If they don't want it, try selling it for $1. If that doesn't work contact a few charities to see if they will actually take the deed or only try to sell it for you. If they don't take the deed, a few charities will charge you a fee to take it. Since we never pay resort fees once its in our name, we don't try to charge for future maintenance fees. there are far more expensive ways to deal with your problem, but these are the simple answers.

As I and others have pointed out, look back to the beginning of this forum thread to see specific questions, responses, legal citations and references before you make any decision. Protect yourself by knowing the law and not just listening to opinions.