Why Owner's Sell Timeshares

Decrease in Timeshare Value

Another common reason that owners sell timeshares is due to degradation of the property owned. The decrease in value of a timeshare property is sometimes referred to as value erosion. The value of a timeshare resort property is highly dependant on the age of the resort. Sometimes resorts renovate or update their properties to prevent value erosion, but this does not always have the desired outcome. Value erosion can also be directly related to the resort area when a destination loses popularity with vacationers because of factors such as high travel costs, crime rate or loss of interest in the area. Sometimes, the popularity of a resort destination decreases because of factors like competition, outdated design or failure to provide increasing demands of vacationers.

Change in Financial Status or Family Status

Not all owners sell timeshares for the above reasons. Sometimes a change in financial status or family status becomes the driving force behind the sale of a timeshare. Some families grow, and need to sell their timeshare to make way for larger more accommodating timeshare properties. The opposite is also a common reason to sell timeshares. Sometimes a family vacation is no longer in order once the only people left in the household are parents. Sometimes singles or couples, or even parents of a large family find that as they near retirement, their idea of a vacation begins to differ from what it used to be years prior. All of these are common factors on which people sell timeshares.

High Maintenance Fees

When you begin to think about selling your timeshare, there are many things in which you should consider before making a decision. Sometimes you may find that you are in a position in which it is no longer feasible to continue owning your timeshare due to the maintenance costs that must be paid each year. Another common trend in timeshare resales is the desire to seek a less expensive vacation destination. It is not rare to find timeshare owners who do not utilize their timeshares but continue to keep their maintenance fees paid. Sometimes financial reasons prevent owners from taking a vacation and being able to use their timeshare property and they have to deal with finding someone to rent their week so that some of the value can be recovered.

Another factor you may consider when you want to sell timeshares is whether you want to pay your maintenance fees the year of the sale. Some owners allow proceeds from the sale at closing to cover the maintenance fees when their property is put on the market to sell. It may be more appealing to pay the maintenance fees at the sale closing. Depending on the resort, a property may foreclose due to unpaid maintenance fees, and the amount of arrears unpaid varies as well from one resort to the next. It is not uncommon for some owners to find that they are hard pressed to sell their timeshares with arrears before a foreclosure occurs. A property can be sold when fees arrear, however, all delinquent fees must be brought current before the property can be transferred. Any outstanding balances must be paid from the proceeds of the sale by the closing company.

Exchanging Your Timeshare

There are alternatives to selling your timeshare. The options available may vary from one resort to another. These can include transactions such as a exchanging timeshares for other incentives offered by the resort or transfer the property under the ownership of another person. Some resorts have destinations in multiple areas and sometimes are willing to allow you to trade your property at one destination for a property located somewhere else. Another option is to exchange your weeks if you would rather utilize your timeshare at a different time of the year. If you are an RCI group member that utilizes the RCI points system, your points can be used at a different resort. Another trade option that has emerged on the scene gives you the ability to trade your property for cruises.

Learn more about Timeshare Exchange

Transferring Ownership to a Friend or Family Member

You may find that you have no desire to reclaim value from your timeshare and you simply want to relinquish your responsibility and no longer pay maintenance fees on your property. In this case you may simply transfer ownership to someone else. If you want to give up the responsibility of ownership, but still have an option to continue utilizing your vacation property, an option would be to transfer ownership to a friend or family member.

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