Over the past years, several people have decided timeshare ownership is not the right choice for them. However, when these timeshare owners attempt to sell their timeshare, they find it to be very difficult. 

The fact of the matter is, your timeshare is not a financial asset.

Many people own a timeshare for years before realizing it’s a liability. However, due to high pressure sales tactics, people are led to believe that their timeshares are an asset. Oftentimes, timeshare salesmen will falsely tell owners that their timeshares have financial value on a resale market.

Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.

Due to the fact that timeshares have no value, very many people have a hard time selling them. Many people are led to believe that when they sell their timeshare, they will be making money. However, most people who actually succeed in selling their timeshare find that they’re losing money. When you list a timeshare on a resale site, you will have to list it for a very low price.

It all boils down to one simple fact – people don’t want to buy timeshares as much as they used to.

As people learn more about the shoddy sales tactics and increasing fees, they begin to realize that timeshares are more of a liability than an investment.

Falsifications in Timeshare Sales Pitches 

Timeshare sales pitches are no stranger to misinformation. If a timeshare resort includes in their contract that nothing represented verbally has to be factual, then timeshare salesmen can pretty much say whatever they want during the course of a sales pitch. 

Many timeshare salesmen will describe a timeshare as an investment. However, in a lot of timeshare contracts, resorts will admit that there is virtually no resale value for a timeshare. While timeshare resorts do typically note this in their contract, these contracts can be up to 300 pages long. 

Due to the high pressure environment of a timeshare sales pitch, many people will agree to the purchase of a timeshare without reading the contract in full. Many timeshare owners feel that they were lied to and express that they would not have purchased a timeshare if they knew the information above.

People are allowed to resell just about anything that they purchase, so why does the rule change when it comes to timeshares?

Despite what you may have been told in a timeshare sales pitch, the resale market for timeshares is practically nonexistent. This is due largely in part to the fact that the IRS values timeshares at $0. 

The depleting resale market is also due to the fact that timeshares have become less marketable over the past decade or so. 

As more people realized timeshares came with increasing maintenance fees and interest, less people wanted to buy them. Due to this, a lot of timeshare owners will try selling their timeshare with no luck. As a matter of fact, sometimes timeshares are listed for as little as one dollar on resale sites such as Craigslist.

What Do Resorts Say About Selling Your Timeshare?

You may be wondering what timeshare resorts have to say about owners selling their timeshares. 

The following are quotes taken directly from the leading timeshare resorts: 

• “If a viable VOI resale market were to develop in the future, our members may choose to resell their interests to third parties.” – Diamond 
• “There is not currently an active, organized or liquid resale market for VOIs. Resales of VOIs generally are made at sales prices substantially lower than their original customer purchase prices.” – Diamond 

• “The sale of vacation ownership interests in the secondary market by existing owners could cause our sales revenues and profits to decline.” – Marriott 
• “The resale market for Vacation Ownership Interest could adversely affect our business.” – Bluegreen 

As you can see, resorts have a very real reason to be against reselling timeshares. The intention of timeshare sales is to recruit as many new owners as possible. When a large group of people resell their timeshares for a low price, it has a negative impact on resorts selling new timeshares. 

While these statements are what the resorts publicly state, many timeshare owners recall being told otherwise during the original sales presentation.

So if you can’t sell your timeshare to another owner, then how do you succeed in getting rid of it? 

Sell Your Timeshare Back to the Resort 

Even those who list their timeshares for very low costs have a very hard time finding a buyer. Due to all of these reasons, people have had to resort to other methods of timeshare exit.

A timeshare contract is basically lifelong. Some timeshare resorts even have clauses where the timeshare owner’s family will inherit the timeshare after the original owner passes away.

That being said, sometimes contacting the resort and asking to be released from your contract is a good way to get out of your timeshare agreement. In the current pandemic, a lot of resorts have offered a COVID-19 relief program for timeshare owners.

The following resorts are the ones who have offered a COVID-19 relief program:

• Capital Vacations
• Club Wyndham 
• Diamond Resorts 
• Hilton Grand Vacations
• Holiday Inn Club Vacations 
• Orange Lake 
• Hyatt Residence Club 
• Wyndham Vacations 
• Marriott Vacation Club 
• Shell Vacation Club 
• Sheraton Vacation Club 
• Bluegreen Vacations 
• Vistana Signature Experiences 
• Welk Resorts 
• Westgate Resorts 
• Westin Vacation Club 

If you are a timeshare owner and you don’t see your resort on the list above, it’s still a good idea to reach out to your resort developer and ask to be released from your contract. Financial restraints and travel restrictions are both valid reasons to need to get out of your timeshare agreement. COVID-19 has simplified time sure exit.

All of that being said, some resorts are still refusing to release owners from timeshare agreements despite the pandemic. Due to what you agree to when you sign a timeshare contract, there is no legal reason a resort will have to let you out of your contract. 

Consequently, you may have to pursue another method of timeshare exit.

Finding a Timeshare Exit Company 

Some people have no success in resale or contacting the resort. It can begin to feel like there’s no hope in getting out of your timeshare. 

This is when many people decide to enlist the help of a timeshare exit company. Hiring a timeshare exit company can be very beneficial, because they are skilled in negotiation. 

The downfall with hiring a timeshare exit company is the fact that many of them are scams. There are a few things you will want to avoid when seeking a timeshare exit company: 

• They have negative reviews that they will not respond to online. Or, the company has just a few positive reviews. 
• The company has been in business for less than five years. 
• They require a high upfront payment and do not use an escrow payment plan. 

When working with a timeshare exit company, do not make the same mistake than many timeshare owners do. You need to thoroughly review the timeshare exit company’s contract.

You need to keep an eye out for new timeshare exit companies. Since the start of the pandemic, a lot of new companies have popped up, looking to take advantage of those who are desperate to get out of their timeshares. The ARDA wrote a great article about how to avoid timeshare exit scams during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can read more about that here.

A lot of these fraudulent companies do not employ attorneys, which is another red flag. Additionally, they operate sheerly on the premise that you will provide them a high upfront payment. 

Fraudulent timeshare exit companies will take thousands of dollars from clients, and then never complete the service. Many times, these companies will go out of business and refuse to pay their unsatisfied clients back. Unfortunately, in most cases, these clients will never see this money again. 

In Conclusion… Why Can’t You Sell Your Timeshare?

The resale market for timeshares is practically non-existent, mainly due to their loss of allure over the past decade or so. Purchasing a timeshare is not as much of an investment as a sales pitch may make it seem. 

It is virtually impossible to sell your timeshare. The fact of the matter is, timeshares have practically no value. 

When you do succeed in selling your timeshare, resorts are not very happy about it. When you put your timeshare on the resale market, you are competing directly with timeshare resorts. 

Resorts are attempting to sell timeshares for much more money than you pay on the resale market. To combat owners from selling their timeshares, some resorts have put limitations on amenities for those who buy their timeshares secondhand. 

All of these issues, and the impracticality, of selling your timeshare is why it is not a very viable option for timeshare exit. 

Many people find that they have more success when using a timeshare exit company instead. You can read more about finding a reputable timeshare exit company here.