Timeshare Donation

We donated our timeshare to a charity that only accepts timeshare donations.

At first we were very skeptical but we just got our recorded deed and being in the real estate biz

i ran a title search and sure enough we are NOT the owners anymore!!!

it did cost us $299.00 Transfer fee and it went into a new owners name a MR and MRS ....

the Resort did confirm that the transfer was completed and it only took 45 days.

I have confirmed with my CPA that the documents i have from the charity do allow me to write off

$5000 withOUT any type of Appraisal.

We are so happy to be timeshare free!!!

if you are interested in the charity i used email me anytime

btw...i owned a westgate timeshare...

denniss333 wrote:

We donated our timeshare to a charity that only accepts timeshare donations.

At first we were very skeptical but we just got our recorded deed and being in the real estate biz

i ran a title search and sure enough we are NOT the owners anymore!!!

it did cost us $299.00 Transfer fee and it went into a new owners name a MR and MRS ....

the Resort did confirm that the transfer was completed and it only took 45 days.

I have confirmed with my CPA that the documents i have from the charity do allow me to write off

$5000 withOUT any type of Appraisal.

We are so happy to be timeshare free!!!

if you are interested in the charity i used email me anytime

btw...i owned a westgate timeshare...

That socalled IRS write-off will come back to haunt you in the future. It's the fair market value that counts and if you gave your timeshare away to some sort of bogus charity then the fair market value would be ZERO .... and with the IRS it could take years to contact you all the while they're adding penalties and interest on top of the bogus $5000 write off.

Anyone believing your crap gets what they deserve. One such charity scam has tried to advertise on Redweek's forums time and time again and they have since been banned.

It's a SCAM !!!!!!!!!!! stay away from this scammer.

These people usually charge thousands of dollars to donate your timeshare or get from under your timeshare. I would stay away from it because I highly doubt that it is tax deductible and you will probably just get yourself in a mess.

Can you please share the name of the charity that accepts timeshare donation? Thanks.

denniss333 wrote:

We donated our timeshare to a charity that only accepts timeshare donations.

At first we were very skeptical but we just got our recorded deed and being in the real estate biz

i ran a title search and sure enough we are NOT the owners anymore!!!

it did cost us $299.00 Transfer fee and it went into a new owners name a MR and MRS ....

the Resort did confirm that the transfer was completed and it only took 45 days.

I have confirmed with my CPA that the documents i have from the charity do allow me to write off

$5000 withOUT any type of Appraisal.

We are so happy to be timeshare free!!!

if you are interested in the charity i used email me anytime

btw...i owned a westgate timeshare...

teserachk wrote:

Can you please share the name of the charity that accepts timeshare donation? Thanks.

Google is your best friend (I'm sure there are thousands of bogus charities that will take your timeshare, if it's resellable, for a hefty fee). IF they do take your timeshare and it doesn't sell then you're still stuck with yearly maintenance fees and the deed.

denniss333 wrote:

I have confirmed with my CPA that the documents i have from the charity do allow me to write off

$5000 withOUT any type of Appraisal.

From the publication 'Smart Money' below (evidently your CPA knows nothing about timeshare donation and tax write-offs). I know of very few timeshares that are valued at $5000 no matter what may have been paid a developer initially (possibly some Hiltons, Disney, Hyatts, some Marriotts such as Newport Coast CA, 4 Seasons, Harborside at Atlantis etc. which are all considered high end timeshares ..... AND depending on supply, demand, location and time owned even with those):

"If the determined fair market value of the timeshare donation is greater than $500 you will need to file Form 8283 (pdf) with your tax return. If the value exceeds $5,000 then you must get a formal appraisal from a qualified appraiser to support the value of your deduction. “It’s ultimately up to you to determine the value of the donation that you report to the IRS and, of course, there are penalties for inflating those values to increase your tax deduction,”.

what was name of charity you used? thanks.

Q=denniss333, I am interested in the outfit that took your donation.

Thanks, thomasj276

denniss333 wrote:

We donated our timeshare to a charity that only accepts timeshare donations.

At first we were very skeptical but we just got our recorded deed and being in the real estate biz

i ran a title search and sure enough we are NOT the owners anymore!!!

it did cost us $299.00 Transfer fee and it went into a new owners name a MR and MRS ....

the Resort did confirm that the transfer was completed and it only took 45 days.

I have confirmed with my CPA that the documents i have from the charity do allow me to write off

$5000 withOUT any type of Appraisal.

We are so happy to be timeshare free!!!

if you are interested in the charity i used email me anytime

btw...i owned a westgate timeshare...

One more time from 'Smart Money' below:

""If the determined fair market value of the timeshare donation is greater than $500 you will need to file Form 8283 (pdf) with your tax return. If the value exceeds $5,000 then you must get a formal appraisal from a qualified appraiser to support the value of your deduction. “It’s ultimately up to you to determine the value of the donation that you report to the IRS and, of course, there are penalties for inflating those values to increase your tax deduction,”.

What was the charity you donated to? Thanks, Jo Ann

joa157 wrote:

What was the charity you donated to?

I don't know to whom the question was addressed but just remember that any charity will probably charge you thousands of dollars to "donate". They won't take your timeshare for free like Value Village or Goodwill.

If you're looking to get rid of your timeshare, a cheaper option would be to list it here in RedWeek's Bargain Basement or other timeshare websites like E-Bay, My Resort Network, Craigslist, or Timeshare users Group (aka "TUG").

Offer to pay the closing costs and perhaps even the next maintenance fee. That will work out cheaper than paying a charity thousands of dollars.

I'm new to this site and forum, so please excuse me if I should post this inquiry somewhere else . . .

I have a relative who is sinking in debt, but has still maintained (for now) an excellent credit rating. He owns his timeshare outright (paid cash on original sale). He can no longer afford all the annual fees. I've seen that "Resale Companies" are predominantly scams. I've also seen conflicting info on "Donation Companies", including large fees for even the "legit" Donation Companies.

Can anyone give any insight or input on the idea of my friend selling his timeshare for $1.00 to an older relative, with the assistance of a paralegal, and then possibly letting that older relative take the hit on their credit report if they end up not paying the fees? The older relative already has poor credit, and no attachable assets; she's a senior citizen on Social Security.

It would seem much simpler if my friend could simply hand the Timeshare over to the resort and sign it over, but I have found no instances of that ever happening in my research so far. Please feel welcome to be honest with me, as my friend and I are pretty clueless about all of this.

Hi I would love to know who you used to transfer the title of the deed of your timeshare out of your name for 299.00. My husband and I have three timeshares and we only need one. Also you said they gave you a 5000 tax write off without an appraisal. How did they do that? Please share any information you feel would be beneficial to me about getting rid of my timeshare for a nominal fee and possibly getting a tax write off as well. We paid 12,000 for this timeshare.

NEVER pay anyone money upfront to sell or rent your timeshare. Anyone foolish enough to try to take a $ 5,000.00 deduction for donating a worthless timeshare is begging to pay penalties and interest to the IRS. Thery are wise to these scams. A charity that tells you that you are entitled to the deduction is a scam operation and there a lot of them out there. Just be glad to get it out of your name.

kathyv27 wrote:

Hi I would love to know who you used to transfer the title of the deed of your timeshare out of your name for 299.00. My husband and I have three timeshares and we only need one. Also you said they gave you a 5000 tax write off without an appraisal. How did they do that? Please share any information you feel would be beneficial to me about getting rid of my timeshare for a nominal fee and possibly getting a tax write off as well. We paid 12,000 for this timeshare.

The most legitimate way to rid yourself of your timeshare is to offer to give it away and pay closing costs. Redweek has a bargain basement where you can list it.

I believe the "transferee" is writing a bogus letter to attract Red Week owners to something bogus... Why, after repeated requests for info to whom he transferred the deed, has he only reprinted the same brag. If there are Donation acceptors, why wouldn't a party like Marriott not make a counter offer to buy it back for an amount equal or possibly more than the $299 he paid for the transfer of deed? It smells of bad fish.

If Redweek has a bargain basement for give aways, I would like info on it as I have two to give away. Who knows anything about who to contact? This I would like to know.

williamb344 wrote:

If Redweek has a bargain basement for give aways, I would like info on it as I have two to give away. Who knows anything about who to contact? This I would like to know.

You have to sign up for RedWeek's $15 annual membership to post ads.

Once you do that, the go to the green tab at the top "Sell or Rent Your Timeshare". There it will give step-by-step instructions how to list your timeshare.

After you have it listed, any interested party who sees your ad can contact you through RedWeek (you'll receive e-mail notifications). Then after you agree on the terms of the sale (sale amount, who pays closing costs, etc.), you can contact a reputable resale broker or closing company who will do the deed transfer for you.

And watch out for these clowns who tell you they can sell your timeshare for scads and scads of money if you pay them an upfront fee. These are scams.

williamb344 wrote:

I believe the "transferee" is writing a bogus letter to attract Red Week owners to something bogus... Why, after repeated requests for info to whom he transferred the deed, has he only reprinted the same brag. If there are Donation acceptors, why wouldn't a party like Marriott not make a counter offer to buy it back for an amount equal or possibly more than the $299 he paid for the transfer of deed? It smells of bad fish.

If Redweek has a bargain basement for give aways, I would like info on it as I have two to give away. Who knows anything about who to contact? This I would like to know.

I have no idea to whom you are referring, but many resorts are starting to catch on to 'donation scams' and are requesting that sellers name the new owner with verification included to make sure it's not from a Viking Ship LLC bogus donation scam:

Copy and paste url below for Redweek's Bargain Resales:

http://www.redweek.com/featured/bargain-timeshare-resales

Could you please share the charity you donated your time share. I am trying to do the same but everybody wants 2.000$ Thank you, Victoria Delrosso vikadelrosso@yahoo.com