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Original Message:
Exit Strategy (by Lance C.):
hollyh117 wrote:Can you give me a few points that are important to know when the time comes that a person wants to exit their timeshare? Naturally, my first contact would be to the resort.
The first important point to know is to not pay anyone a large, upfront fee to get rid of your timeshare. There are a number of questionable law firms out there that will gladly take your money upfront and then might not do anything. Other avenues not recommended are charities, Post Card Companies (PCCs), or Viking Ship operations (although they won't tell you that they are Viking Ship operations).
Contacting the resort is a good start. Make sure your mortgage, special assessments, and maintenance fees are all paid up. Then make sure you contact someone at the Homeowners' Association (HOA) rather than a desk clerk at the resort.
If you are willing to do a little bit of work, you can try advertising your unit for giveaway here on RedWeek, My Resort Network, Craigslist (just watch out for the many spam and scam attempts), or Timeshare Users Group (aka "TUG"; tugbbs.com). You might have to offer to pay closing costs and maybe even the next maintenance fee, but that will always be cheaper than paying a law firm.