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Re: Getting rid of a time share. (by Tam M.):
lancec13 wrote:You are the first person claiming that this company actually "transfers ownership" in legal terms. I don't believe it, period.traudem wrote:koolray wrote:It's a scam, pure and simple. Stay as far away as possible.Has anyone used the site Donate For A Cause? If so, please enlighten me on your thoughts? Thank you. ----RayI wouldn't refer to Donate For A Cause (DFAC) as a scam per se. DFAC will do what you pay them to do and there are no hidden charges.
Right from the get-go they tell you what it will cost you ($2500 or more) for them to take over ownership from you. If you pay that fee, then they will indeed take over ownership and continue to pay maintenance fees until they can legally transfer it to another willing owner.
That being said, there are at least three things to watch out for:
1) You can get rid of your timeshare for a lot less than $2500 by advertising that you want to give it away. If you offer to pay the closing costs and 1 (or even 2) year's maintenance fee, you might find a taker.
2) DFAC won't accept a timeshare that they don't think they can quickly turn around and resell or at least give away. So, if they say they will accept yours, it might just be cheaper for you to try to give it away yourself.
3) The one thing that bothers people in these timeshare circles and forums about DFAC is the tax advice DFAC gives. DFAC tells you that you can write off close to what you paid the developer. So in other words, if you paid the developer about $15,000 for your timeshare, then you should be able to write off about $12,000, or so, on your tax return. That advice is sketchy at best. Writing off a timeshare donation on your tax return is a complicated, risky process. My personal advice (FWIW) is to not bother with any tax deduction if you decide to "donate" your timeshare.