HELP! Newbies to Timeshare ownership

[momsfirststop Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close momsfirststop]

My husband and I bought a Mayan Palace Vacation Club timeshare (1 bedroom; 1 floating week; 1 vacation fair week) in 2003. 2004 we started our family and haven't been able to get away to use the timeshare since. We have been donating our timeshare to charity which has been a good deal for the tax benefits so we aren't in a big hurry to do anything with our timeshare.
We are now in a position to start taking vacations again but I'm not sure I want to be locked into a certain resort. I've looked into selling our timeshare but the pay up-front companies seem like it could be a scam.
SO, my question:
Is it really that difficult to sell a timeshare without the use of these pay up front companies? Is the paper work and cost that prohibitive?
I would like to hear anyone that has experience with selling timeshares ESPECIALLY anyone that has used the pay up front method.

Even though we've owned our timeshare for almost 6 years we haven't really understood what we have and how we can use it to our benefit so any advice or words of wisdom is appreciated.
Thanks.
Angela

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

You are lucky you found us and do not ever use any pay up front companies.

Look around this forum for help, IMO you own at a nice resort you can trade it or rent it but if you want to sell keep in mind you will be taking a huge loss. You can list it here for free if you like.

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

You can easily exchange it to go to another location. I've never been to my primary TS but it's taken me to Hawaii, Scotland, and Sedona, AZ, to mention a few places.

Do a lot of reading here and see how you can use what you own.

Sue

[momsfirststop Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close momsfirststop]

Where can I list my TS for rent or exchange on this site? Any tips on renting or exchanging?
Thanks!
Angela

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

You could join an timeshare exchange company and deposit your week and exchange it for something in their inventory. RCI, Hawaii Timeshare Exchange, Trading Places, Platinum Interchange, Dial an Exchange and probably even SFX would be interested in having your deposit.

Where you want to exchange into might have a bearing on who you should use to try to get it.

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

Mom, where would you like to vacation? SFX appears to be strongest in the western US, including Hawaii. But they got me Scotland in July a couple of years ago. I also got Las Vegas from them and an upcoming trip to Santa Fe. They got me a last minute bonus week in San Francisco that a friend of mine used, and a week in London that another friend used. So, they have some interesting places that you can exchange into. As I mentioned on the other board, you can join them for free as a gold member. PM me if you have specific questions, or you can post on the ASK SFX board. Mark, an SFX spokesperson usually answer questions there quickly.

Sue

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

You can easily exchange it to go to another location.

Including the word 'easy' in connection with anything related to timeshare always make me nervous The ease, or otherwise, of obtaining a successful exchange depends on many factors so a bald statement such as that above can give false expectations to new owner.
I've owned timeshare for over 20 years and have got good value, both occupying my own and exchanging, so I'm absolutely not anti-timeshare, just nervous of over simplification.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

My husband and I bought a Mayan Palace Vacation Club timeshare (1 bedroom; 1 floating week; 1 vacation fair week) in 2003. 2004 we started our family and haven't been able to get away to use the timeshare since. We have been donating our timeshare to charity which has been a good deal for the tax benefits so we aren't in a big hurry to do anything with our timeshare.

I hate to say this but you are improperly claiming tax benefits. The only time you can claim a deduction for a timeshare is if you donate ownership of the timeshare, in which case you can claim a deduction for what you could sell it for (which of course is far less than you paid when you bought it from Mayan Palace).

But donating use of the timeshare is not deductible. Your timeshare is personal property, and there is never a deduction for the use of personal property. It's the same as if you used your pressure washer to clean the walls and sidewalks for a church or synagogue. You can't claim a deduction for cost of renting a pressure washer to do the same job.

[kittimeow Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kittimeow]

tax deduction question

You say that you cannot take a tax deduction for donating personal property, but what if it is considered rental property. If you're not using your timeshare yourself and you rent it out to someone you can then consider it rental rather than personal property. In that case, can a donation be a tax deduction?