Backing Out Of Your Timeshare Contract? 4 Ways To Make It A Seamless Process
A timeshare contract is a holiday property agreement that allows you to share a property’s costs with others to ensure time at the premises. Unfortunately, the agreement doesn’t mention yearly maintenance fees and other expenses that make it unbearable to own one. There are different kinds of contracts, such as and not limited to, fixed week timeshare purchases, floating week timeshare purchases, right to use, fractional ownership, and vacation clubs. Some people cancel their contracts because there is little or no investment, they can’t afford the increasing fees, or the contract has been disappointing. Following are four ways to cancel the contract seamlessly.
Write A Letter
Every timeshare sold in the United States has a legally mandated rescission or cancellation period ranging from 3 days to 10 days. Within that rescission period, you are entitled to a full refund of anything you’ve paid towards the timeshare. A few things to remember:
- You must follow the instructions for cancellation that are in your paperwork exactly or else the resort will not honor your wishes.
- Oftentimes, these instructions are deliberately hidden or placed in mysterious folders. It’s imperative to ask to see the information while you are in the presence of the closing or verification person.
- Do not hand deliver the letter to the resort. Instead, send it and all the necessary documents certified. If you attempt to cancel in person, you’re setting yourself up for another hard sales pitch.
- You can not be even one day past the rescission period, so double check dates carefully.
Sell It To The Company
I don’t like to use generalizations, so I’ll simply say that the chances of this happening are less than winning $10 million in your state’s lottery.
If the timeshare is not paid in full and the annual fees are not current, there’s no chance the developer or anyone else for that matter will buy it back.
There are rare instances where, if your contract contains what is called a Right of First Refusal clause, the developer has the right to match whatever offer you may receive. More often than not though, these clauses cause more harm than good as they typically take months for the developer to respond by which time your buyer will drop out.
Give It For Free
Again, this is possible only if the timeshare is paid in full and fees are current.
There are tens if not hundreds of thousands of timeshares being sold or given away. Some developers have placed significant restrictions on how you can advertise your timeshare and even more restrictive rules limiting usage by anyone other than the original owner. Any prospective purchaser should know about these restrictions which will severely limit your options.
Sell Your Timeshare
In addition to everything I’ve previously covered, attempting to sell your timeshare can be fraught with issues.
The number of scams involving secondary market purchases is growing each day. Here’s some tips:
- Your timeshare is not worth what you paid for it and certainly not more than what you paid.
- Anyone who contacts you first regarding selling your timeshare must be avoided.
- Do not pay anyone anything upfront to sell your timeshare.
- Anyone who promises you a sale, particularly a quick one, is lying.
There you have it. For more information, subscribe to my blog at https://thetimesharecrusader.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter at @LisaLooksAt.
I’ve also come up with “19 Questions You Must Ask Before Purchasing Any Timeshare (And 9 Additional Ones If You’re Purchasing On The Secondary Market”, which I’ve made available for only $18.99. Email me at [email protected].
In closing, avoid these 4 words in any timeshare transaction: free, perfect, always and never. Free and perfect don’t exist and always and never are exceedingly long periods of time.