How to give away a timeshare that is paid off...

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

A few recent threads have touched on this issue, so I thought a specific thread would be appropriate..

Please take a moment to provide advice for relative newbies on classified advertising venues and other strategies they can explore to get out from an unwanted timeshare..

1) Post it on this site in either TS4MS Classifieds - Timeshare Forums or Freebies - Timeshare Forums

2) Contact a resale brokerage. Most require a minimum commission of around $2,000. Some offer discounted commissions if you pay for a classified ad to an affiliated company. Your property must have a realistic resale value for a broker to accept the listing in many cases. However, Progressive Real Estate Agency, also has a program for liquidating an unwanted timeshare with no upfront fees. Others may as well.

3) Other timeshare classifieds. There are hundreds of sites which offer classifieds for timeshare. Costs range from free to thousands of dollars. I considered placing a list here, but decided to simply add my thoughts as others make suggestions. There are just far too many (and I have relationships with several- so I'm not truly impartial in many instances).

4) Donate the timeshare to charity- http://www.timeshareforums.com/forum...-work-you.html
This thread provides info on a number of charities.

5) Your developer or HOA may also have a deedback option. Hopefully others with past or current HOA ties can provide more information on this possibility.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

Diamond Resorts took back my week at Powhatan. In order to deed it back to them, I had to
1. Not use this year's week; it had to have maint. fees paid and not be
deposited with RCI
2. Pay Diamond Resorts $50.00 to accept my week.

Interestingly, when I first spoke with them about giving back the week, no one told me I could not deposit this year's week. Someone on this forum mentioned having to give the week to Diamond Resorts, so I called to ask. I had to speak with several different people before they acknowledged that I did, indeed, have to surrender this year's week. It made me wonder if the intent was to ultimately say "We're sorry, but you'll have to pay the maint. fees for 2010 and then give back the week."

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

Thanks For the reminder - I have several I would like to Just give away - I have too many weeks.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Diamond Resorts took back my week at Powhatan. In order to deed it back to them, I had to
1. Not use this year's week; it had to have maint. fees paid and not be
deposited with RCI
2. Pay Diamond Resorts $50.00 to accept my week.

Interestingly, when I first spoke with them about giving back the week, no one told me I could not deposit this year's week. Someone on this forum mentioned having to give the week to Diamond Resorts, so I called to ask. I had to speak with several different people before they acknowledged that I did, indeed, have to surrender this year's week. It made me wonder if the intent was to ultimately say "We're sorry, but you'll have to pay the maint. fees for 2010 and then give back the week."

While it might be easier to give it back to DRI, it would likely be a lot cheaper to give it to someone else.

If you are able to give it away to anyone other than DRI, you don't have to pay the MF's or, if you do pay the MF's, you can still use the week. The person taking the week may also pay any closing costs and transfer fee's.

DRI is really taking advantage of people down on their luck by making them pay the maintenance fee's AND taking their week for that year from them. I wouldn't feel so bad about it if they either allowed the owner to use the week they paid for or gave them the option of not paying the fee's. As they have it now, they have a free week to rent or give away and you give them $50 to boot. Great deal for DRI. Poor option for an owner down on their luck. Sort of reminds me of Mr. Potter from "It's a Wonderful Life."

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

I offered it free; no one wanted it. While it was annoying to have to pay the maint. fee and not use the weeks, that was the problem: I'd been paying the maint. fee and not using the week, so for me, just getting rid of it was a good thing.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

Often, there are seller costs associated with most transactions (be that in the form of advertising fees, brokerage fees, etc).. When an ownership is difficult to sell, an opportunity such as Diamond's deedback program can be a good option for an owner.

I give credit to Diamond simply for having this program in place. Some developers don't have any type of relinquishment program at all..

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

And the lack of a relinquishment program just makes for more delinquencies and non-paying units, making foreclosures necessary and requiring the resort to resell or rent those HOA owned units or pass on the costs to paying units. There are some weeks at resorts that are very undesirable and very hard to give away.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

It's not necessarily easy to give away a timeshare in this economy unless the maint. fees are low. My week was a 3 bedroom that banked as two weeks, ostensibly red, but really pink. I think people are considering carefully before acquiring permanent maint. fees.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

Developers needs secondary markets...

And the lack of a relinquishment program just makes for more delinquencies and non-paying units, making foreclosures necessary and requiring the resort to resell or rent those HOA owned units or pass on the costs to paying units.

Amen... I've been trying to convince both developers and HOA's that this vicious circle exists for years.. Funny how they are just now starting to catch on! Problem now is that in some cases it's like trying to stop an avalanche..

For every type of timeshare ownership- if both a resale market and reacquisition program exist- it creates a stronger and healthier product for everyone..

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

I offered it free; no one wanted it. While it was annoying to have to pay the maint. fee and not use the weeks, that was the problem: I'd been paying the maint. fee and not using the week, so for me, just getting rid of it was a good thing.

If it's an option of last resort then it's the best option to take.

Often, there are seller costs associated with most transactions (be that in the form of advertising fees, brokerage fees, etc).. When an ownership is difficult to sell, an opportunity such as Diamond's deedback program can be a good option for an owner.

I give credit to Diamond simply for having this program in place. Some developers don't have any type of relinquishment program at all..

I agree that it's good they have a program in place. It serves DRI well in that it gives desperate owners and option, it reduces the expense of foreclosing on a property, keeps the HOA's funded and gives DRI free inventory to rent out or give away for sales incentive vacations.

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

looking for timeshare

is anyone keen to give away (or sell very cheap) a timeshare at the marriott d'ile-de-france?

i also have another question...
a buddy of mine wants to sell me his timeshare in spain. i phoned marriott vacationclub to ask how to go about transfering ownership. i honestly felt verbally assaulted by those a**holes. what i found out was that private sales lose all "point privilages", specifically
- can not transfer to marriott reward points
- can not transfer to other marriott vacationclub properties

they very eloquently underlined that i would ONLY be able to use my timeshare at the spain property and would be restricted to exchanges via interval international.

obviously, their sole aim is to have me buy my timeshare directly from them.

what are your experiences? can anyone back up these claims? or are they just full of hot air?

thanks for your help!!!!

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

Another option is a free auction listing at Bidshares ( Timeshare Rentals Resales Timeshares for Sale Rent Vacation Condos ) with starting bid of $1.

There are also brokers out there MUCH cheaper than the $2,000 you cite. The listing fee of the broker on the Outer Banks, for example, who will list property from anywhere, is ~$50. (Outer Banks Resort Rentals Home ) and after that it is a percentage. I have seen ads of others with cheap commissions.

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

Often, there are seller costs associated with most transactions (be that in the form of advertising fees, brokerage fees, etc).. When an ownership is difficult to sell, an opportunity such as Diamond's deedback program can be a good option for an owner.

I give credit to Diamond simply for having this program in place. Some developers don't have any type of relinquishment program at all..

Hapimag goes them one better. Hapimag will buy it back from the owner at a set percentage of the then current developer price, if the member has owned it the required number of years. That helps set a floor under resales prices, and means one cannot buy a Hapimag week for peanuts.

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

Pelican took back weeks until they closed

Between family members and I, we gave back a total of 7 weeks to Pelican resort in St. Marteen over the past 3 years with me finally giving back my week 51 ( great RCI trader before points lite) this past December, as the maintenance fees kept skyrocketing to about $790. We all bought these weeks during the fire sale reported on TUG several years ago and paid about $750 per week when maintenance fee was under $500.

Resort has now closed, since week 8 of this year after bankruptcy and sold at auction to new owner. Since closure it appears that II and RCI have suspended trading and new owner may not be taking back weeks any longer so I got out just in time.

Hopefuly for current owners the resort will re-open soon as several issues including labor issues need to be resolved. Don't know if and when new owner will take back weeks?

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

An aquaintance looking to dump an offseason week he used to trade in the 45 day window asked me about this company: Timeshare Resales & Timeshares for Resale of Timeshares Worldwide. Looking at their website, they seem to be a regular broker on one hand, with no upfront fees, but they also have a quasi-PCC side, too. Anyone know anything about them?