Buying, Renting, and Selling Timeshares

sELLING MY TIMESHARE

kathi32 wrote:
teresaw57 wrote:
I am wanting to sell my Timeshare because I don't use it like I thought I would. I am not trying to make ANY money off of it, I just need to get out from under the payment. I would even be interested in someone taking over the payments and putting it in their name. Help Please...
You don't say where your TS is located, or what the season (week) is, or what type unit it is (lockoff, 1 bdrm, 2 bdrm), whether TS is a floating week yearly, etc. If you provide some info, maybe someone could respond better.

My TS is at Fairfield Smokey Mountains. It is a 1BR. I have points not weeks. I have still now over 200 thousand points not used.

Teresa W.

teresaw57 wrote:
kathi32 wrote:
teresaw57 wrote:
I am wanting to sell my Timeshare because I don't use it like I thought I would. I am not trying to make ANY money off of it, I just need to get out from under the payment. I would even be interested in someone taking over the payments and putting it in their name. Help Please...
You don't say where your TS is located, or what the season (week) is, or what type unit it is (lockoff, 1 bdrm, 2 bdrm), whether TS is a floating week yearly, etc. If you provide some info, maybe someone could respond better.
My TS is at Fairfield Smokey Mountains. It is a 1BR. I have points not weeks. I have still now over 200 thousand points not used.

Hi. I assume the payments you are speaking about are the monthly maintenance fees. Place your property for sale on eBay.com with no reserve. If that does not work, Place it for sale with no reserve and you agree to pay the transfer costs for the new owner. I have seen ads for ts for $1.00, but they don't sell because the maintenance cost are high relative to the value of the timeshare offered. If that happens to you, then you are stuck. In the meantime, offer your 200,000 2007 points for sale, and keep lowering the price until they sell. At least that way you would lower your cost of ownership. What are the maintenance costs? I am not in the market now, but yours might be a property that would interest me in the future. Stan.

stanleyf5

To obtain information and help in using, renting, and/or selling your Fairfield Points, I recommend that you join the Fairfield timeshare Yahoo Group. It costs nothing. You fill out a brief form applying for membership and the Moderator should approve you within a day or two. There are 3800+ registered members, most of whom are FF owners

Start by reading and studying the information contained in the "Files" section (left hand column). Then read the questions and answers that have already been posted by members. There's a wealth of information there however, it will undoubtedly take time and dedication to absorb what you need to know for your own needs. One issue I have noticed is that the FF Yahoo group members get quite perturbed (almost to the point of rudeness)if you ask things that have already been explained in the files. IMHO, they are not nearly as nice as the people who respond here at the Redweek forums.

In general, Fairfield Points sell for about .02 cents a point on the resale market, although lately they have been going for as low as a penny a point on Ebay. Have you paid in full for the purchase of the Points you own, or are you still making loan payments? Unless you own the Points free and clear, it will be almost impossible to sell them. There are ways to rent out the Points you do not want to use. Info about how to do it is at the Yahoo group.

Here's the link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fairfield_timeshare/

Marie M.

I am still making loan payments.

Teresa W.

teresaw57 wrote:
I am still making loan payments.

How much is the balance on the principal for this loan? If you're paying off over time, you are paying much more than the orginal loan amount.

If there is no prepayment penalty, consider paying off the loan balance, so you can sell the TS if you choose, or at least avoid the expense of financing. If you have enough saved, pay it off, and pay the monthly payment to your savings. That way, YOU earn the interest.

These things are called timeshares, but all I hear is anxiety about time trading. I bought where I wanted to be the most, so I don't worry about trading. Even so, I have had trades without problems through II.

Carrie S.

Last edited by carries25 on May 25, 2007 05:08 PM

I will not get what I owe on it. I am not sure what the over time piece means.

Teresa W.

"Over time" means you are paying off a loan (financing), and those payments include principal and interest. Over th length of the loan, you will pay two to three times as much as if you had paid cash for your unit.

Sometimes, it is better to take a loss than pay out that much. Check with your tax man to see if the loss is a deduction. Then read Suze Orman to learn about how real estate and loans work, so you can understand them.

Carrie S.

What do you mean by take a loss. Where do I find this information about Suze Orman

Teresa W.

Taking a loss means you will lose money on your developer bought timeshare whether it's paid off or not.

Also it's very hard to sell any timeshare that has a lien on it (money owed). The best you can do is pay off your loan and then sell your timeshare (at a loss), use it or exchange it. If you stop making payments your credit will be ruined just as if you stopped making payments on a car, house or any other bill you owe.

Suze Orman is the author of various financial books. She is down to earth and practical concerning how to handle money.

teresaw57 wrote:
What do you mean by take a loss. Where do I find this information about Suze Orman

R P.

jayjay wrote:
Taking a loss means you will lose money on your developer bought timeshare whether it's paid off or not.
Also it's very hard to sell any timeshare that has a lien on it (money owed). The best you can do is pay off your loan and then sell your timeshare (at a loss), use it or exchange it. If you stop making payments your credit will be ruined just as if you stopped making payments on a car, house or any other bill you owe.
Suze Orman is the author of various financial books. She is down to earth and practical concerning how to handle money.
teresaw57 wrote:
What do you mean by take a loss. Where do I find this information about Suze Orman

Suze Orman is on the cable/dish at CNBC. She also has lots of books. Check Amazon.com . They have used books. You can save money by buying used ones. You don't need to buy a new book to learn from them.

As a woman, I like her style and approach.

Carrie S.

carries25 wrote:
[[Q=teresaw57] What do you mean by take a loss. Where do I find this information about Suze Orman

As a woman, I like her style and approach. You can always sell a ts with a loan on it. Just say you will give clear title in escrow, and pay off the loan in escrow. Be sure to use an escrow company and specify you want to transfer a clear title. Home resales are done this way.

Carrie S.

Last edited by carries25 on May 30, 2007 04:46 PM

That would be lying as the loan will not have been paid off. The loan wouldn't be paid off until after the sale of her timeshare should she even make enough money from the sale to pay off the loan balance in the first place.

You're comparing apples to oranges concerning home resales and timeshare resales. Fincncial corporations handle home loans, balances and pay offs. There's no such entity in timesharing. She will have to pay off her loan and then sell the timeshare with a legitimate clear title.

carries25 wrote:
You can always sell a ts with a loan on it. Just say you will give clear title in escrow, and pay off the loan in escrow. Be sure to use an escrow company and specify you want to transfer a clear title. Home resales are done this way.

R P.

jayjay wrote:
That would be lying as the loan will not have been paid off. The loan wouldn't be paid off until after the sale of her timeshare should she even make enough money from the sale to pay off the loan balance in the first place.
You're comparing apples to oranges concerning home resales and timeshare resales. Fincncial corporations handle home loans, balances and pay offs. There's no such entity in timesharing. She will have to pay off her loan and then sell the timeshare with a legitimate clear title.
carries25 wrote:
You can always sell a ts with a loan on it. Just say you will give clear title in escrow, and pay off the loan in escrow. Be sure to use an escrow company and specify you want to transfer a clear title. Home resales are done this way.

Jayjay, The entire purpose of escrow--including title insurance--is to transfer purchase funds and convey clear title. Part of conveying clear title is to pay off any amounts--loans, taxes, maintenance fees, etc.--that cloud a title. That's why is is so necessary to use an excrow/title company to handle a ts sale.

In housing resales, you don't have to require clear title, title insurance or using equity, either, but it's very important to ensure you end up with a clear title. No one pays off their mortgage to go in to excrow. It is paid off in escrow whether the purchase price covers it or not.

Carrie S.

Last edited by carries25 on May 31, 2007 03:46 PM

Timeshare closing companies do not handle paying off loans, maintenance fees or taxes for the title to become clear. That would have to be the responsibility of the seller. Timeshare closing companies do the paperwork and they hold all funds in escrow until the transaction is complete and signed by all parties involved.

As I said before, buying a resale timeshare and buying a resale house are two completely different entities.

BTW, fincancial institutions and banks will not make loans on any timeshare. It's obvious why they do not.

R P.

Then get a competent RE escrow company.

Carrie S.

Does anyone know anything about etimeshareresales.com? They say there is no upfront fee. Judy

Judith K.

There are so many resale companies out there. The one you inquire about "sounds okay" BUT I don't like the fact that they tell you nothing about themselves--where they are located (name, address, phone number), who owns and/or manages the company, what licenses they possess, what percentage commission they charge upon sale, etc...

Are they a member of ARDA? How long have they been in business etc...Almost every reputable company I can think of puts all of this type of information on their home page, or at least in the "Contact us" link. This company gives only an 800 number and requires you to contact them. I guess there's no harm in doing so but make sure to check them out thoroughly before entering into any agreement with them. Run Google searches, contact the Better Business Bureau in their hometown, etc...

Marie M.

Thank you for your reply I will take your advice. Judy

Judith K.

judithk29 wrote:
Does anyone know anything about etimeshareresales.com? They say there is no upfront fee. Judy

They do not charge an upfront fee but they only deal with high end timeshares like Marriott.

Jay K.

terryb82 wrote:
Has anyone here used Resorts INT'l Marketing to sell their timeshare? i listd my timeshare with them back in July and that was the last time i heard from them. i called 4 or 5 times to talk to the broker that listed my timeshare and every time they tell either he is busy and he would call me back, out sick, on vacation etc.. Any feedback would be appreciated.

I also registered a property with RIMC and your dead on with my results as well. I am waiting on the line as I write this waiting for customer service. It's been a solid 15 mintues and it's my second go round at this today. They said that the first time was due to heavy rain dropping phone calls. I still could hear the music in the background so don't believe them. The Mayan Palace resort reduced our cost by buying our other timeshare from elsewhere from us, sold it back to us for $1 and said we could sell it through 1 of 6 firms for a one time fee. We chose RIM and nothing has happened. Here is a website regarding timeshare fraud that I came across today. http://www.mexicantimesharefraud.com/CancellationLetter.htm Let lots of people know.

Darcy S.