Should People Try To Sell Their Timeshares?

As the editor of a few timeshare based websites, I have gotten several messages asking if selling timeshares is a bright idea. The reasons for wanting to sell a timeshare ranges from financial hardship to not being able to use the timeshare. However, all the messages seem to be asking the same question, “Should I sell my timeshare?”. The only person that can answer this question is the consumer that is asking it. With that said, I will go over the facts of selling timeshares and you can decide if selling a timeshare makes sense to you.

The first thing that people think about when deciding to sell their timeshares is financial relief. With maintenance fees consistently rising and mortgage payments to make, many Americans are interested in selling their timeshares simply to get rid of the monthly payments it takes to keep the property. But, when people sell their timeshares, do they usually realize this relief. Unfortunately, for reasons that will be explained later in this article, this is not usually the case. As a matter of fact, even after selling their timeshares, many consumers find that they still owe multiple thousands of dollars for the mortgage on the timeshare.

OK, so do you want to know the reason that Americans don't usually make money when selling timeshares? It's simply the law of supply and demand. When there is an overwhelming supply of a product or service that people have little demand for, it becomes extremely hard to sell that product for a desirable price. I know you may be thinking, “I was willing to pay this price for this timeshare, why wouldn't someone else?”. In all reality however, if you are one of the consumers asking this question then you most likely purchased your timeshare years ago.

As a matter of fact, over the past couple decades, many timeshare developers have made a name for themselves due to exponential growth. Selling timeshares at an extreme rate, timeshare developers have nothing left to do but grow. However, due to the world wide economic recession that started just a few years ago, this growth has stopped and consumer demand for timeshares has followed. With that said, if you are looking to sell your timeshare, you have to be willing to take a little bit of a loss.

So, what should people do to get rid of the burden associated with a timeshare in time of hardship? Unfortunately, there is no simple one size fits all answer to this question. In most cases however, I would personally suggest timeshare cancellation. Timeshare cancellation is the process of deeding a timeshare back to the developer based on discrepancies in the sales process and contract associated with the timeshare. Although, not everyone will qualify for timeshare cancellation, for those who do qualify, this process provides a great deal of relief!