Breaking up is hard to do

How to ditch your timeshare

Breaking up is hard to do, particularly when you are trying to get out of a timeshare. Here are a few tips if you’ve decided that time is up:

1 Buyer beware

Buyers can cancel a timeshare purchase if they do so within the “recission period,” which ranges from three to 15 days. After that, for most owners there’s no easy way to get rid of a timeshare. That angers Jeff Weir, chief correspondent for RedWeek, a timeshare rental and resale site. He says the industry has failed to provide a dignified exit for owners, which opens the door to crooks trying to take advantage of owners. A common scam is to promise to sell an owner’s timeshare, often for an unrealistically high price, in exchange for an upfront fee, says Brian Rogers, owner of Timeshare Users Group, another forum. Or the fraudsters may promise to find a charity that will accept the timeshare. But in reality, few charities are willing to take timeshares.

2 Be realistic

Timeshare owners need to be wary — and realistic. Far more people want to sell timeshares than want to buy them. Timeshares at higher-end properties — those owned by Disney, Marriott, Wyndham or Hilton, for example — sell for at most 15 percent of their original price, Weir says. Those at older and less swanky resorts may find no buyers, or sellers might have to continue paying annual fees for a year or two to persuade someone to take their shares. A few resorts have the discretion to buy some timeshares back but few do.

3 Sell it

Consider selling it online; the Timeshare Users Group and RedWeek both have active marketplaces to facilitate sales. Owners also list their timeshares on Craigslist and eBay. Or search the Licensed Timeshare Resale Brokers Association site to find a broker. Some owners discover they can rent their timeshares for enough to pay or at least significantly offset annual fees.