Selling a Time Share: It Can be Done

Throughout the last few decades, people have had mixed emotions concerning time-shares and time-share ownership. Some people tout them as the best thing since sliced bread while others turn up noses and disdainfully accuse them of being scams and those who utilize them for being gullible. Unfortunately it’s quite difficult to change these preconceived ideas; especially when the one most common complaint about time-shares is that they are virtually impossible to get rid of.

First of all, most people are trying to get their initial investment out of the sell. That almost never works out. People tend to forget that overall, even if they don’t get the same investment on the outside, they had years of vacation enjoyment out of the deal, which was the original purpose of a time-share. It was to allow families that may not be able to afford two homes the amenities of two homes for less than a fraction of the cost, without the worry of maintenance, and without the ‘other’ expenses that would traditionally come along with maintaining two properties. It’s someone else’s problem to fix the leaky roof or to put in new carpet or replace the AC, etc.

Before deciding to sell, find out why you want to sell and see what your options are. Perhaps you want a different location, a different sized room, more time, less time, more luxury, whatever, it is possible that you can work out something with the company that owns your unit. If you do decide that selling is right for you, here are a few suggestions to help you along.

1)    Be honest in your description of your property. Shouldn’t have to be said but you’d be surprised how many people exaggerate the positive while completely glossing over the negative.

2)    Do your homework before deciding whether or not you wish to use a broker. If you chose to avail yourself of the services of a broker, be sure to do your homework and chose the broker that you feel will represent you and your interests best. If you choose to represent yourself check out websites such as Tug2.net or any number of other sites for an idea of the price you can expect for your time-share.

3)    Don’t get greedy. If you are able to get 50% of what you put into a time-share out of the timeshare then you’ve gotten a really good deal. Most time-shares resell for 10-20% of the purchase price; so don’t expect to see big dollar signs on this particular transaction.

4)    Don’t let anyone talk you into getting an appraisal. It simply isn’t necessary.

Keep in mind that when you originally purchased a time-share, most of the cost that you were paying was marketing budget. Time-share companies invest huge amounts of money into ‘prizes’ to get people to look at their promotions. They are also all too happy to pass those expenses along to you, the consumer.

This being said, I wouldn’t expect people to be lining up outside your door to make the purchase on a time-share. If you need the money quickly or simply don’t want the hassle you may consider a business that simply buys timeshares rather than attempting to market to the average consumer. The profit margin may be smaller, but if you count time as money as many of us do, it may be worth the loss of a little money.