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Re: Getting rid of your timeshare (by Dr. K.):

beverlycl wrote:

Have been following this topic of trying to "unload" a timeshare and am I reading all the information correctly. THERE IS REALLY NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO GET RID OF YOUR TIMESHARE? Do you think I would be still be hounded here in Canada?? Any suggestions for a desperate widow would be much appreciated. Please.....

There are lots of stories of being taken by scammers. First let's define a scammer as someone who takes you money, usually upfront, and never get you out of your timeshare. Because of the immature and highly opinionated rantings of some posters here I would include people who lead you to believe there is only one way to get rid of your timeshare in an acceptable way. That is to sell it for something. They cost you and others to continue losing money and risk your credit.

If you want out, there are ways, but they will cost you money. The key is to secure your money with legal guarantees of recovery if you are not ultimately released from your ownership. The best way to do that is make sure your closing company is a licensed real estate office using and depositing your money into their escrow account. This is protected by law and your money MUST be returned to you if the final deed is not done and you are not finally released. Those funds remain in that account until closing, which is when the deed is recorded and you are free.

As a charity that does charge for accepting timeshare donations we have been called scammers and worse. The reality is that we require that each donation go through a licensed escrow company to protect the donor and us. We've had people simply deed their timeshare to us directly trying to not pay our service fee. The two closing companies we recommend on our website are both licensed and bonded real estate offices. One, Resort Closings Inc., is actually owned and run by an attorney who has been doing it for many years and is well known and trusted in the industry. However, the donor always can select a different closing company so long as the above guarantees are in place.

We charge a $500 service fee. The closing companies generally charge from $300 to $400 for their services so the final total cost is usually about $850 to the donor. That's not our pure profit. We only get the $500 when the new deed is mailed to us.

As was pointed out above, is the tax incentive the reason for the transaction? No. The donor simply wants out. That's well worth the cost. Because we are a charity and have researched deeply the IRS regulations, we can justify giving a $5,000 income deduction. It's always up to the donor if they want to use all, part or none of that with their tax return. The IRS specifically states that a distressed sale, which most donors are doing, is NOT a factor in determining FMV. In additions, the IRS requirements for an appraisal make it clear that all the distressed sales you find on the Internet are not qualified for an appraisal. Even worse is trying to look at offered prices of $1. Those are not even sales and are never considered in FMV.

In answering your last question, if you do nothing and stop paying the resorts will send you to collections which will certainly come to you in Canada. Can the resorts reverse a transaction they don't like as some people suggest? No. That's not legal. The only parties that have the right to challange a recorded deed are those parties named in the deed. Since the resort is NOT named in ownership, they have no legal right to try to reverse a transaction for any reason. All they have the right to do is continue to bill and place liens against the property in hopes of future payment.

The honest answer is that there is a way to get rid of a timeshare you don't want. Try giving it back to the resort. If they don't want it, try selling it for $1. If that doesn't work contact a few charities to see if they will actually take the deed or only try to sell it for you. If they don't take the deed, a few charities will charge you a fee to take it. Since we never pay resort fees once its in our name, we don't try to charge for future maintenance fees. there are far more expensive ways to deal with your problem, but these are the simple answers.

As I and others have pointed out, look back to the beginning of this forum thread to see specific questions, responses, legal citations and references before you make any decision. Protect yourself by knowing the law and not just listening to opinions.