marriott timeshare
1. Try redweek first (and no, I don't own it or work for it!) 2. Don't pay anyone money to sell your timeshare. 3. Don't expect to get anywhere close to what you paid if you bought through Marriott :( 4. If you really want to sell, price it to move. Consider your loss a learning experience. If it's seen as a bargain, someone will buy it.
The economy isn't good, and unfortunately (and for me too, since I own three Marriott weeks!), timeshares are not an investment, but instead a continued drain with the annual assessments! If I'd known then what I know now, I'd have taken my money and done something else with it. Instead of buying I'd have rented something every year from Redweek.
Good luck!
Kathi
Kathi L.
There are a number of excellent timeshare brokers that can guide you through the sale process. I used an excellent company when I purchased a TS resale several yrs ago and spent quite a bit of time online and on the phone asking questions and getting comfortable with the process. She charged me a flat fee of five bills for everything. I don't know what the seller was charged. Some States require a closing attorney to close the transaction and that could add another 2-4 bills. (My purchase did not). There are Marriott attorneys that operate at resorts that can handle the transaction - for a fee. Another factoid - if you wish to sell, privately, you must offer Marriott "first right of refusal, known as FROR". If they have plenty of weeks to sell, they will defer your offer. (Re: the new Marriott Destination Points purchase system, I don't know if it has changed any of this buy/sell process. We have NO interest in DP's, not to be confused with Marriott Reward Points. I couldn't begin to explain how the average TS user would like it. A good broker can clarify this IF he/she knows the Marriott system well). If you own at a very popular locale, you could rent it out for a fee that is slightly higher than the annual maintenance fee to recoup your expenses and avoid selling if you aren't cash-poor. If you have a deeded TS, you can assign it to your children/heirs (with their knowledge that they will have to pay the maintenance fees thereafter). If you have used the TS for say 8 yrs, subtract the typical rental fee for each yrs usage from the original purchase price and consider that figure as your depreciated value. TS's are NEVER investments. Those who purchase under that delusion are foolish. We have 3 weeks at 2 ocean resorts. They are great. We enjoy our weeks alone or with family and then go home. We don't worry about replacing a couch, a refrigerator, or how much it will cost to install Wi-Fi. We don't worry about storms ruining the landscaping or if the pool pump and heater will burn out - it's all taken care of and replacements are automatic. What's not to like? Disclaimer: We don't work for Marriott. TS's are not for everyone. If you hate organizing a week's vacation a year in advance, don't like using a computer, don't like paying fees when you are not using a unit, then forget about TS's. Don't buy from a no-name company and avoid purchasing a TS in a foreign country.
Ray S.