How to get rid of your timeshare

Many people come to the stage where they realise that their timeshare is more of a burden than an asset. Each year you receive demands from the timeshare resort and/or their appointed collection agent. You have tried to hand the timeshare back to the resort, but the resort is unwilling to accept even the gift of your weeks. This is despite the fact that their salesman had told you what a wonderful asset you were purchasing having had a purchase price from you, why on earth this is such a valuable asset at a timeshare resort not take the timeshare weeks back for nothing!

You have also begun to realise the increasing desperation that you need to transfer your timeshare, because unless you are able to sell or transfer the timeshare upon your death, your charges will form part of your estate. Rather than receiving a valuable asset, your children and their children will in fact potentially be faced with claims for these annual charges even after your death.

If you are unhappy with your timeshare, the first thing you need to do is to try and sell it at the best possible price, even if that is significantly less than you originally paid for it.

This may be difficult, because the problem with timeshare and maintenance fees is so well publicised that willing buyers are scarce.

You could try to see if the timeshare resort will accept a surrender of your weeks. Usually the resort will not agree to this. Remember the resort relies on your maintenance fees, and in the present market it will be difficult for the resort to sell on your timeshare weeks. There is no incentive to allow you to surrender your timeshare.

The only other alternative is to take legal advice to ascertain whether or not you can be released from the agreement. You will need advice on the following:

1. What are your legal obligations under the timeshare agreement and/or the resort’s constitution?
2. What were you told by the salesman when you purchased? Were you seriously mis led or told outright lies to persuade you to purchase? If so you might be able to argue that you are entitled to terminate the timeshare agreement.
3. Did you purchase your timeshare with a credit card or a loan? Potentially the lender is jointly liable for any mis representations made by the salesman.
4. What options are available for you on the resale market? What common scams do you need to avoid?

The law in this area is extremely complicated. There are a number of statutes and statutory instruments which have to be considered. The people that sell you these products are clever sales people. The contracts are deliberately complicated.

Ultimately my advice is to not buy a timeshare, but if you have then you should take advice urgently.