Please help! Anyone!?!

Im looking to give someone my timeshare but dont know how to do it. I just want to walk away from it and have a few people who want it but I dont know how to go about giving it away. I see there are places that will handle closing costs and transferring/escrow or whatever, but we are just giving it away and walking away.

Can anyone help me with this? Im so fustrated trying to search the internet and forums, they just confuse me more then I already am. I just want to give this to someone else, no money changing hands and the my name to come off it.

Any and all help would be great, thanks!

andrewp100 wrote:

Im looking to give someone my timeshare but dont know how to do it. I just want to walk away from it and have a few people who want it but I dont know how to go about giving it away. I see there are places that will handle closing costs and transferring/escrow or whatever, but we are just giving it away and walking away. Any and all help would be great, thanks!

An owner in our local parish, raffled off his TS as a fundraiser for the church.

andrewp100 wrote:

Im looking to give someone my timeshare but dont know how to do it. I just want to walk away from it and have a few people who want it but I dont know how to go about giving it away. I see there are places that will handle closing costs and transferring/escrow or whatever, but we are just giving it away and walking away.

Can anyone help me with this? Im so fustrated trying to search the internet and forums, they just confuse me more then I already am. I just want to give this to someone else, no money changing hands and the my name to come off it.

Any and all help would be great, thanks!

Regardless of your apparent frustration and/or confusion, you still need to make certain to part with your ownership correctly and legally. To do so is really very simple.

Step 1. Dig out a copy of your deed (I am assuming that there is no debt, financing, or other unpaid timeshare bills involved here. If there is any such unresolved debt associated with this timeshare, all bets are off and none of the following will apply --- the debt needs to be fully resolved first).

Step 2. You indicate that you already have someone who wants the timeshare. Have them contact and hire a legitimate closing company like Timeshare Transfer or JRS Closing Services. It will cost them (not you) about $300, but it's to gain ownership to a "free" timeshare. The closing company will then handle ALL of the necessary details of preparing and recording a new deed (the closing company will expect and ask you for a copy of the current deed, or they will charge a fee if they have to go locate one on their own). If you are truly desperate, YOU can choose to pay the closing company yourself. There is no free lunch, however --- SOMEONE has to pay the closing company to get it done right.

Step 3. Apply your signature to the new deed in front of a notary public and return it back to the closing company, in the pre-addressed envelope they will provide to you. They will get it officially recorded in the appropriate county. Upon recording (...but not one moment before) you will officially become the FORMER owner. The closing company will send you (as well as the resort) a photocopy of the new deed with official book and page reference info, after recording. New owner will get the ORIGINAL new deed back from the closing company after recording.

There isn't much to be confused about here; it's very simple. Just don't "walk away" until and unless the change of ownership has been completed --- correctly and legally. Good luck.

ken1193 wrote:

You indicate that you already have someone who wants the timeshare.

I must've misread his post and missed the part about him already having someone to take his TS. I just assumed he was looking to give it away to somebody, anybody.

I guess I'm still a bit hung over from all those "tankards of ale" :)

prior post deleted

carvana has stated: >> You have a legal right to do this yourself.<< =========================================

You are very kind to take the time and make the considerable effort to prepare a deed template for Andrew.

I do not for one moment profess to know the applicable law in all states. That said, it has been my understanding (subject to correction) that in some states (North Carolina or South Carolina --- I forget which one --- comes immediately to mind as one specific example), a state-barred attorney must actually prepare a timeshare deed. Perhaps that belief is mistaken...

In any event, I also don't know the state in which Andrew's soon-to-be-former timeshare is actually located.

post deleted

Has anyone transfered the paid up ownership of a timeshare legally to an LLC and later walked away from paying the maintenance fee? If so, can you provide some details as to how this worked out in the long term? Eric G.

ericg88 wrote:

Has anyone transfered the paid up ownership of a timeshare legally to an LLC and later walked away from paying the maintenance fee? If so, can you provide some details as to how this worked out in the long term? Eric G.

Do you mean that the LLC was set up by the owner of the timeshare (for the sole purpose of "disposing" of the timeshare) or do you mean the owner transferred it to LLC owned by someone else (again, solely for the purpose of "disposing" of timeshares)?

If the owner is setting one up just for this purpose, then it would be an expensive and rigorous way of trying to get rid of the unit.

Either way, why not save the potential legal troubles and hassles by just trying to sell or give away the timeshare to someone. Advertise it here on RedWeek for a $1 sale.

There have been various management companies and HOAs trying to crack down on these transfers where the new "owner" deliberately defaults on maintenance fees. Some may be looking at fraudulent conveyance.

Thank you for your comments. I was actually exploring the possibility of setting up an LLC myself in order to walk away if I could not sell it at all. However, I will follow your advice and try to sell it first.

lancec13 wrote:

There have been various management companies and HOAs trying to crack down on these transfers where the new "owner" deliberately defaults on maintenance fees. Some may be looking at fraudulent conveyance.

As Lance stated, catching bogus charities and LLCs taking ownership of timeshares and then forcing a foreclosure is becoming a thing of the past .... many management companies and HOAs are making sure (verifying) that transfers are not to bogus charities or LLCs.

Does anyone have the names of legitimate charities that one could consider?

ericg88 wrote:

Does anyone have the names of legitimate charities that one could consider?

Donate For a Cause (see the thread in the "Ask The Timeshare Crusader" Forum) and apparently Florida Veterans Association.

But please keep in mind that they will charge you thousands of dollars to take your timeshare off your hands. And even at that, they will probably only take timeshares that can easily be sold or given away.

A cheaper way, as has been mentioned in this thread, is to advertised it here on RedWeek, BidShares, E-Bay, Timeshare Users Group (TUG), or My Resort Network.

Offer it for free and also absorb the closing costs and even pay the next maintenance fee for the new taker. That will come out to a lot less than what these charities are charging.

Thank you, that is good advice. I would be happy to list my timeshare and pay reasonable fees in order to sell it but, reading all the comments, it could be just another waste of time and money. Is there any reliable info out there if any of these services, including Red Week, have a success ratio that would be encouraging to proceed with them?

ericg88 wrote:

Thank you, that is good advice. I would be happy to list my timeshare and pay reasonable fees in order to sell it but, reading all the comments, it could be just another waste of time and money. Is there any reliable info out there if any of these services, including Red Week, have a success ratio that would be encouraging to proceed with them?

You can do the research yourself .... go to the resort in question that you are interested in selling, buying and/or renting and if either has been successful it will say 'rented' or 'sold' (ex: I looked up Orange Lake in Orlando and there are several units there that have been rented or sold).

I am willing to gift my timeshare to anyone willing to get it. But I understand it's not that easy. Just spoke with my resort and apparently to "deed over" the timeshare back to resort (seems as the least expensive option) will cost me over $1000!!!!! That includes the maintenance fee plus the legal transfer fee.

Anyone knows easier way to get read of TimeShare? N

ninab70 wrote:

I am willing to gift my timeshare to anyone willing to get it. But I understand it's not that easy. Just spoke with my resort and apparently to "deed over" the timeshare back to resort (seems as the least expensive option) will cost me over $1000!!!!! That includes the maintenance fee plus the legal transfer fee.

Anyone knows easier way to get read of TimeShare? N

Well again I will emphasize to never ever pay anyone a large, upfront fee to sell, rent out, market, or "cancel" your timeshare. There are many operations doing this that are scams.

What the resort is charging you is actually normal and not far out of line. Most resort Home Owners Associations (HOAs) that do take units back usually charge one or two years' maintenance fees plus closing costs. So what this resort's HOA is asking is actually pretty low. Besides, a lot of HOAs do not even take deeds back.

If you feel that paying $1000 to relieve you of further maintenance fee (and possible future special assessments) is worth it, then I would advise you to jump at this offer.

If you do not like the offer, try listing your unit in RedWeek's Bargain Basement, E-Bay, My Resort Network, Bidshares, or Timeshare Users Group's (aka "TUG"; tugbbs.com) Bargain Deals section. Keep in mind though, that many units are listed here with the owner offering to pay closing costs and the following maintenance fee. That would work out to about the same as what the resort is offering you.

Just be reasonable in your expectations.

Thank you for your quick response, that really grounded me.

What I was told is that the board meeting is in May and my unit will be presented on this meeting. So I guess it is not a sure thing yet. Hoping to get more info tomorrow. N

Ninab.... I would take their offer in a heartbeat. You don't want to deal with a scammer to lose thousands. If you deal directly with the HOA it's safe and done. I did that with two timeshares last year and I'm so glad that they are gone. I will save tens of thousands of dollars in years to come by getting rid of them. Let us know what you decide and how it works out for you

Definitely will. You guys are the best, I feel my eyes are opening now... :) N