Donating my timeshare to a charity

The reason why these charities charge such an outrageous fee is because they need to have a 1-2-yr. "buffer". They want to test the rental market. As well, they need to have 1-2 years' maintenance fees in case they can't sell it immediately.

Also, you might see some of these donated properties for sale on E-Bay. The seller (the charity) will include closing costs and possibly the next year's maintenance fees. That is covered by, you guessed it, the fee the original donor made to the charity.

That being said, there are cheaper ways to get rid of a timeshare.

Please tell me what are the cheaper ways to get rid of a timeshare where you wont be scammed. I was told Donate for Cause was a good organization, but they want me to pay them 2495 processing fee + 598 transfer fee to transfer the deed from myself to a charity of my choice and then once the charity sells the timeshare I also have to pay for the deed to be transfered from the charity to the new owner. I owe nothing on the timeshare except for maintenance dues which are current. I thought that you could just not pay the maintenance dues and of course you wouldnt be allowed to use the timeshare and be done with the timeshare. But it seems if you just stop paying the maintenance fees your credit will be damage. I am not sure what to do.

call the florida veterans assistance program in tampa. it still costs some money but to get rid of the timeshare it's not too bad!

Thanks so much I appreciate your reply.

I've been in touch with the florida veterans assistance to get rid of my two timeshares but they want the administrative fee (which has been reduced to $800 each) up front. After hearing about not paying anything up front I'm not comfortable doing that. Do you or has anyone used them to get rid of their timeshare? Are they legit? They are less expense than Donate for a Cause but Donate for a Cause does not ask for any money up front.

marieb169 wrote:

call the florida veterans assistance program in tampa. it still costs some money but to get rid of the timeshare it's not too bad!

I just heard back from this same group and they want me to pay 1200.00 up front and if I want to take more than 5000 tax write off, I will need an appraisal that will cost an additional 300. All these fees are not considered commission so they are due and payable upfront.

Don't forget rule #1: Never pay an upfront fee to anyone to take your timeshare off your hands. That includes charities.

Interested in donating timeshare and Laura's Journeys sounds very worthwhile. Please let me know how it works.

Thanks,

Kathy Howard

Via research, it looks like donations to 'Laura's Journey' is only a week of timeshare .... not ownership of the week.

Hi, I tried to find your website but I'm not sure if it's still accurate. It's a Mount Sinai Cancer website. If you are still taking donations for timeshares, can you please respond with current information? Thank you

donp196 wrote:

You can only deduct the actual value of the item donated. Since most timeshares have little or no value the deduction is nothing.

Absolutely correct. The IRS uses "fair market value" for donation valuation. If someone cannot even give a particular timeshare away for free, or without paying someone several thousand dollars just to take it, then it is very obvious that the "fair market value" of that timeshare is ZERO (...or less). Donate For a Cause (principal / owner attorney James Tarpey) got into big trouble with Uncle Sam by providing phony inflated "appraisals" to "donors". I think DFAC may have subsequently shut down entirely --- I'm not entirely sure about that. If so, good riddance.

Think about it, people. Any and every timeshare in existence has maintenance fee obligations. It's simple common sense that NO legitimate charity on Planet Earth would EVER want to "adopt" someone else's unwanted, burdensome ongoing financial obligation as their own. To somehow believe otherwise is just naive and foolish.

This thread started in 2011 it looks like, and thank goodness I ran across a suggestion from someone who posted years ago. I have an HGV property in Florida and usually banked my week and stayed at an RCi property. Like many others I have spent countless hours trying to offload my timeshare. After several years of use I wanted more flexibility than this old model of travel allows (thank goodness for Airbnb and VRBO!) and to get away from the fees that continue to grow each year. I'm fortunate in that it was gifted to me, so I didn't need to recoup an investment. After wasting a few months with HGV listing it for sale, and with the Jan 1 fees coming due, I got serious about digging into this.

Charities no longer want timeshares because they have the same problems we do with liquidating them. Even if you find one, you're probably going to have to pay a few hundred dollars in fees for the transfer.

I called the salesperson representing my property and asked about the deedback option I read at the top of this thread. After first trying to convince me to let her drop the price again and give it a little more time to sell, she said the property can't say that's an option (officially) but if that's the route I plan to go then I should call a specific title company, and she gave me a name and phone number.

Finally, some headway! I paid just under $300 in title search and related fees, and waited patiently. After about a month I received a copy of the registered and finalized deed - now back in the name of the property. I'm no longer responsible for fees and it's time to celebrate. I sincerely hope this helps someone else out there!

The above post reports a successful "deedback" to HGVC, although Hilton does not openly advertise that they accept "deedbacks".

Wyndham, Diamond and Westgate have all established "deedback" programs, openly offered and even given cutesy program names (e.g., Ovation, Legacy, etc.). Wyndham's "Ovation" costs absolutely nothing (but the account must be current with no outstanding loan balance or unpaid fees). Westgate charges $950 (maybe more now). I don't know about Diamond's fees or policy for "deedbacks".

Unfortunately, other "chains" (BlueGreen comes immediately to mind) and most independent timeshares (i.e., with no corporate or "chain" affiliation of any kind) still do not offer or ever consider "deedbacks" and don't plan to do so in the foreseeable future. That said, it still can't hurt to pursue the "deedback" option directly with individual resort HOA's, as long as your fees are fully paid up to date.

I think Diamond charges $750 per contract and per their official policy the deed back offer only applies to those who purchased from the developer directly not resale owners although it wouldn't hurt to check to see if they will accept on a case by case basis. I have a feeling if you have a particularly good week at a Deeded resort.