One of the major problems with timeshares is that they are difficult to sell. First, you need to find a timeshare resale market. Such a market might be a website, the classified section of a newspaper, an independent Realtor who specializes in timeshare sales, a real estate broker who works for a developer, or a developer’s sales operation. The three most successful ways to sell a timeshare are:
Sell your timeshare online
There are several major websites that establish a timeshare resale market where you can list timeshares for sale such as eBay, Craig’s List, and specialized timeshare resale websites.
Sell your timeshare in the local market
Often there is a timeshare resale market where the resort is located. Several local real estate brokers may list timeshares for sale. But typically one local real estate broker specializing in timeshare resales makes the local timeshare market. Sometimes a real estate broker who works at the timeshare resort makes the local timeshare market in the timeshares for that particular resort. A broker’s commission will be a huge percentage of the sale price with a minimum of $1,500 or more.
If there is no local market for a timeshare resale, make one yourself. The way you make a local timeshare resale market is simply to advertise in a local newspaper or magazine. Indeed, local newspaper advertising is the only timeshare resale market in many resort locations. Advertising in the Detroit Free Press to sell a timeshare in Galveston, Texas isn’t going to work well. But advertising in the local newspaper in Galveston, particularly a newspaper that tourist read, may just land you an offer for you to sell your timeshare.
Sell your timeshare to the resort developer
If the resort developer still sells timeshares at your resort, the developer may be a potential buyer for your timeshare. The resort developer becomes, in effect, a timeshare resale market. The developer sells timeshares in your resort everyday with an active sales force. Your timeshare has to be one the sales force can sell easily; it has to be a desirable timeshare (i.e., high season) and free and clear. This way of selling your timeshare is not something you can count on, but it’s a possibility that’s worth a try. Unfortunately, the developer is unlikely to pay you more than nominal percentage of the timeshare’s original purchase price (e.g., 10%).
A Fourth Way to Sell Your Timeshare
What if you can’t sell your timeshare the normal way in a timeshare resale market? In other words, when you’re desperate, you have to ask yourself: if I can’t sell my timeshare, how can I get rid of it? And you have to be realistic.
There are services that will promise to take your timeshare off your hands through some method or other. Many of the instigators of such schemes will find you. And many such schemes are scams.
One of these services that may work for you is actually paying the service to take legal title to your timeshare. The way this works is that you pay several thousand dollars, and the service will accept a deed from you. Now your timeshare and all the obligations thereof are the service’s property. If you get into one of these schemes, you want to make sure that there’s absolutely no possible way your ownership will continue once you have agreed to the offer and paid the service. The deal should be in writing and should close just like a normal real estate deal (i.e., in escrow). The service shouldn’t get your money until they’ve accepted delivery of the deed, recorded the deed, registered the transfer with the resort developer, and paid the requisite fees.
A twist on such a scheme is that a service acts as agent for a nonprofit organization (e.g., foundation). The idea is that the organization will accept delivery of your deed and take over the ownership of the timeshare. You may get to write it off as a charitable donation (consult your tax adviser), and presumably the tax-exempt organization will sell the timeshare to a new user (perhaps at a charity auction) and get a profit.
Sounds great! Unfortunately, many such charity schemes are bogus, and require a substantial fee. Again, be very wary of such schemes. If you decide to get involved in one because it seems legitimate after consulting with the non-profit organization, make sure that it closes like any other real estate transaction.
All things considered, you are best off getting involved in such schemes only where you can absolutely be assured that they are legitimate.
A Fifth Way to Sell Your Timeshare
You will get solicitations from firms dealing in timeshares for sale and claiming to have ready buyers for your timeshare at an attractive sale price. They require a substantial upfront fee (typically about $600), and you can be sure that they will never deliver a buyer. They have well-trained salespeople who will reach you by phone in an attempt to convince you that they will be able to easily sell your timeshare quickly. They won’t.
Price
Ask yourself, at what price should I sell my timeshare? Try to answer based on evidence. There is not a blanket answer to this question. There are many variations in timeshares, and there are many corresponding variations in value. Different resorts have different popularity. Any resort at different times of year has a different popularity. Among timeshare resort developers some are more popular than others. Even the economies in different part of the country are different, and any particular economy itself differs from time to time; such economics may have an effect on the viability of a timeshare.
The online timeshare markets will give you some idea of what your timeshare might be worth. Don’t look at the offering price; look at the prices of completed sales if published (e.g., eBay).
Marketing
How do you promote timeshares for sale? First, you must make potential buyers feel secure in dealing with you. Perhaps the best way to do that is to state in any advertising that the timeshare purchase transaction will be closed by a professional timeshare-closing firm in escrow. It’s even better if you can actually name the firm that will do the closing so that potential buyers can look up such an organization via its website.
Second, if your timeshare is one with a low value, the closing costs might be greater than the selling price of the timeshare. Closing costs run between $300 and $900 including fees to be paid to various entities, but not including a Realtor’s commission or title insurance. If you agree to pay the closing costs, that will make it easier for someone to make a decision about buying your timeshares for sale. Otherwise offer to split the closing costs.
Third, write a nice advertisement with all pertinent information about the timeshare. Don’t leave anything out. Information sells. If you provide only scant information, don’t bother to waste your time. Your timeshare will never sell.
If there’s something negative about the timeshare that people should know, include that information. They will likely find out anyway, and the fact that you haven’t disclosed such information will make a potential buyer very suspicious. The fact that you do disclose such negative information will build trust.
For instance, I had a timeshare near Breckenridge, Colorado that I wanted to sell. It was in a somewhat remote area seven miles south of town. So I disclosed in my advertising that anybody using the timeshare would need to have a car in order to enjoy the attractions and benefits of Breckenridge, such as downhill skiing, shopping, and dining in nice restaurants.
If you have good photos of the timeshare, include those with your ad. If they’re not good photos, and particularly if they’re not in focus, look on the web to see if you can find some photos of the timeshare resort to include. Attractive color photographs help sell.
Complete information encourages a potential buyer to make a decision and also builds trust.
List of Information to Sell Your Timeshare
- Name of resort, location, website
- Price, terms
- Name of resort developer, website
- Unit and week or float weeks or number of points, high/low season
- Short description of unit
- Short description of resort
- Short description of area and list of activities available
- Means of transportation to timeshare resort
- Legal interest (e.g., real estate)
- Liens (e.g., free and clear)
- Closing costs, list, indicate who pays
- Closing entity (e.g., local title insurance company)
Assume that potential buyers know very little about the timeshare resort. Use common sense as to what information you might include. For instance, if you can refer potential buyers to specific websites for information, you can relieve yourself of some of the burden. If so, you need to supply accurate web addresses (URLs).
Best of luck to sell your timeshare.
