What should I do?

I have a deeded 15th week timeshare that I inherited 7 years ago located in Myrtle Beach. I've used it once in 7 years. Nice place but it's on the intercoastal not the ocean and the 15th week's weather is still a little cool out! I also have to request that week a year in advance from my employer as a vacation week which are limited if I plan to visit. I joined Interval International once and tried to trade out for another location and another time but had no luck at all. Seemed to be a waste of money. No availability. I thought of renting it in the past but feared any cost I would be responsible for if damage occurred from renters. I'm tired of paying the $625 annual maintenance fee for something I am not benefiting from! What should I do?

A.Convert the week to points? Is this a good idea vs having a fixed week? What do I need to watch out for? Is there normally fees associated with this? Can you use these points with Interval, RCI, etc?

B. Sell it? Are there any real success stories out there of resales? Looks like people are almost giving them away. C. Give it up? Stop paying the maintenance fee and let Bluegreen reclaim the week. Will this work?

A) Converting the weeks to points would only make sense if there is a very minimal fee for doing so like maybe a couple hundred or less. You usually have to get this done by the resort or timeshare company (eg., Diamond, Wyndham, etc.). However, they are likely going to charge you thousands of dollars to do so. Not a good use of your money.

B) You can try to sell it but from what you are describing, it looks like it has little or no resale value. As you said, people are almost giving them away. If that is the case, I would try one of two things. Either ask the resort if it will take the unit back. It might require you to pay closing costs and perhaps the next maintenance fee. Or you could try advertising it for sale (giveaway) on sites such as RedWeek, My Resort Network, Craigslist, E-Bay, or Timeshare Users Group (aka "TUG"; tugbbs.com). If you're really serious about giving it away, you can advertise that you will pay all closing costs (about $200) and even the next maintenance fee.

C) Before just defaulting on maintenance fees, I would try the suggestions in "B", asking the resort to take it back or advertising it for giveaway. If you explain to the resort in no uncertain terms that you are not paying another dime in maintenance fees, the resort might realize that it would be in its best interests to take it back.

Of course, the biggest pitfall to watch out for are these outfits that claim, if you pay them an upfront fee, that they can magically make your timeshare disappear into thin air or "cancel" it. Many come on RedWeek's forums as shills pretending to be satisfied customers. Never ever pay anyone a large, upfront fee to sell, rent out, market, or "cancel" your timeshare.

Thanks for the advice! I put two calls into bluegreen's sales dept yesterday concerning switching to points and still have not received a callback. There must be little or no commission involved in this process!