Selling Timeshares

Selling a timeshare can be difficult.  Sometimes it is necessary to unload the burden of timeshare ownership.  You should know that you will rarely make money selling a timeshare.  As a matter of fact, in the current economic times I have read that when selling timeshares owners usually get about 10-25% of what they paid for it.  However, hopefully you got all the value out of the timeshare by having wonderful vacations in them.  Below is a list of things to den when you are selling timeshares.

Find a real estate agent.  Make sure you are dealing with a licensed agent or broker.  You will need to research the local governing agencies where your timeshare is located to find out what licenses are available.  There are many scammers out there, so it is important to make sure you are dealing with a legitimate agent.  Agents can help you market your timeshare to a wider market than you may be able to do on your own.

Do not pay upfront fees.  This is a major red flag for a scammer. If you pay a broker a flat free upfront to sell your timeshare, then you have thrown your money away.  First of all, the broker or agent has no incentive to get you the most money for your timeshare.  Additionally, they could run with your money and not do anything at all for you.

Consider selling your timeshare by owner.  Obviously this would require much more work than using a real estate agent, but it could save you a ton of money in fees and commissions.

Use an appraisal service.  Hire a respected timeshare appraisal company to come and tell you what your property is worth.  This will give you leverage when negotiating a deal.

Price your unit correctly.  If you try and sell your unit for what you paid for it you is going to sit on it forever, especially if you bought your unit from a large company.  These companies will spend enormous amounts of money marketing their timeshares and then pass the cost down to you.  This may help you get an inexpensive vacation.  However, you will be upside down in value.

Advertise your sale.  There are special venues for advertising timeshares for sale and it is important to invest in this.   It is not like people who are shopping for timeshares are going to actually go down to the place they are considering.  They are going to purchase the timeshare from home, and then go on their vacation.  So if you are selling your timeshare by owner make sure you invest in good timeshare advertisements.

A timeshare is shared ownership in a piece of property.  For instance, if you and your friends wanted to pool your money together and buy a house you would each own a percentage of the house that is proportionate to what you paid.

Timeshares are a similar concept, except you will go in on the purchase with people you do not know.  There is a management company that takes care of finding multiple buys for a timeshare.

Timeshares are typically setup in vacation spots.  They are used to sell property in areas where you do not live, but want to vacation in.  Ski and beach resort towns are usually very hot for timeshare locations.  Timeshares are available all over the world.

There are different types of timeshares available.  In some cases, you are actually buying a piece of property and have ownership rights.  When selling timeshares, if you have ownership then you will get your share of the sale price.  In other cases, you are just paying for a right to use.  You pay to be able to use the property for a certain period of time every year for a pre-determined number of years.

The current trend for timeshares is more of a vacation club situation.  There are companies that will bring people together who own timeshares and you can trade if you want.  So if you have a timeshare on the beach but want to go skiing, you can trade your designated week with someone who owns a beach timeshare.  This is a good way to be able to travel to new places every year.

It is extremely easy to waste money on a timeshare.  It is important to do a lot of research before you purchase one.  In many cases, it is cheaper just to reserve a condo every year than it is to pay for a timeshare.  However, if you view it as an investment then you could make money.  Some people are into buying and selling timeshares.  You buy a percentage of a vacation home with the price is low, and sell when the price is high – just like a real estate investor may do.

Be careful when purchasing timeshares.  If you do not vacation a lot, then it can be a waste of money.  Additionally, if you get into a bad deal you will have problems selling timeshares if you need to unload it.