5 Ways to Get Rid of a Timeshare

*Collaborative Post

When you start to feel financial stress, the first thing you should do is look at unnecessary costs.

You can do this by eliminating luxuries, managing your finances, and cutting down on day-to-day living expenses. But what about cancelling that timeshare that’s been sapping money for years? How do you get rid of it?

It’s a fact that more people want to sell their timeshares than people want to buy them – but there’s still hope.

If you’re wondering how to get out of worldmark timeshare or you’re considering giving it away for free, you’ve come to the right place.

Here are five ways to get rid of a timeshare – and they’re all legal.

1. Check Your Contract

The first thing you should do when you want to get rid of your timeshare is check your contract. Many timeshare contracts contain a “cooling off” or rescission period. This is the defined period after you signed the agreement in which you may cancel for any reason.

However, the “cooling off” period usually only applies for a few days after you signed the timeshare agreement and, sometimes, additional requirements must be met before the “cooling off” period even begins.

Sometimes the “cooling off” period is called a deed-back clause –this means you can give the timeshare back to the resort within a specific timeframe.

You may be able to annul the contract if you signed it recently, but take note that cancellations need to be confirmed in writing.

2. Hire a Timeshare Exit Company

If you don’t want the hassle of hiring an attorney to get you out of your timeshare contract, consider hiring a timeshare exit company. This is also a good option if the resort you bought the timeshare from won’t take it back.

If you decide to go this route, choose a timeshare exit company that uses Escrow for payments – this means that the full fee won’t be released until the timeshare has been cancelled.

3. Ask the Resort to Take it Back

While most resorts won’t buy a timeshare back, many will take them back for free. Although this is a lot of wasted money, it’s still better than letting the fees from the timeshare continue to add up.

It’s not an easy decision to make because giving your timeshare back to the resort may result in thousands of wasted dollars. But it’s still better than potentially losing thousands more on something that you don’t use or can’t afford to keep.

4. Sell It

You can hire a specialized realtor to sell your unwanted timeshare to someone else, but beware that you’ll probably get less money back than what you paid for it.

Another option is to use a timeshare listing site to advertise your timeshare. This makes the chances of selling it higher because the listing will get more exposure to the right people.

Although online resale markets are a good way to sell your timeshare, it’s important to note that they require a fee.

Always read the fine print before listing your timeshare on an online sales site. If you don’t want to pay a fee, try free advertising sites like Craigslist.

5. Give it Away

Let’s face it, you may have trouble selling your timeshare. If you’ve tried to sell it to someone else but there are no takers, consider cutting your losses now and give it away.

Although you may lose thousands of dollars, you won’t have to pay annual fees. Still, it’s better than continuing to pay for something you don’t use or want.

Look for online timeshare forums to connect with people who want them for free.

As you can see it can be possible to get rid of your timeshare, it is just a case of working out which way will work for you.

*This is a collaborative post. For further information please refer to my disclosure page.