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Anyone have experience with timeshares? (by Lance C.):

harryk67 wrote:

Is there any way to get out of the damn thing!?

The first and most important rule in this situation is to never, ever pay anyone a large, upfront fee to sell, rent out, market, or "cancel" your timeshare. That will likely be a scam. It doesn't matter if it is a law firm, charity, or some other outfit with a name attached to it like exit, relief, escape, cancel, etc.

You are in a good position right now seeing that it is paid off and the maintenance fees are up to date. I don't know whom you contacted at the resort asking to take it back. It helps if you contact the right people. Make sure you contact the resort's Homeowners' Association and not just some desk clerk there who answers the phone. Make it clear that you are not going to pay any more money in maintenance fees except maybe to have the resort take your unit back. It would be better for the resort to take your unit back without it going through the rigors and expense of foreclosure.

The other thing you can try is to list your unit for sale or giveaway here on RedWeek. Mention that it is free and, if necessary, you will pay the closing costs and maybe even the next maintenance fee. Timeshare users Group (aka "TUG"; tugbbs.com) has a Bargain Deals section where you can list for free that you want to give your unit away. Just follow the instructions at the top of that page.

You can also try listing it on E-Bay with a starting bid of one dollar and offer to throw in a gift card or some other incentive. Other people have used Craigslist but just be prepared to deal with a lot of spammers and scam attempts.