The TCA are dedicated to giving advice to Timeshare owners, and providing overall industry news that may be useful. So today, we have decided to write about what we suggest you take into consideration when it comes to Timeshare resale.
You have come to the point that you no longer wish or can use your timeshare; there are several different avenues to explore, the most popular is trying to sell your timeshare. What is quite understandable, is that you may have had the week(s), points or pack for a length of time, had your use of it, and for one reason or another you are not able to use it anymore. Quite rightly so, there are many in this situation that start to put their feelers out to find a buyer, or find out how they can go about selling their product. One thing that many of us do not think about at the time of resale are the many years of enjoyment or use that they have had from the unit, and look to make a profit. Or have taken the word of the original sales person that told you this would be an investment. Forget it.
First and foremost we should advise that you should not expect to make a profit, or anywhere near the price that you originally paid for the timeshare. This is a common first stumble block, and although it is reasonable to believe you can sell your product, it is only worth what the next person is prepared to pay for it. Then there is the maintenance, the invoice that you may or may not have been paying each year to enjoy the level of upkeep at the said resort. If this is not paid up to date, then you will more than likely not be able to sell your timeshare. Furthermore, without going off track, if this has not been paid in many years, you may want to check that the timeshare is still yours to sell.
With these two points covered, consider what you would be happy to sell your timeshare for, and look into the regulations of selling a timeshare unit. You may want to look at others in the same resort that are already for sale, consider the size of the unit, the location of it, which resort it is in, and speak with other owners or the owners committee, if there is one. More often than not, you will have to pay a fee to the resort itself to transfer the deeds into another name. Selling your timeshare is not an easy business; it also may be a lengthy one, however it is not impossible.
Now down to the details, one must read up on all of the approved procedures relating to resale at their particular resort, these all differ slightly, and if the sale is processed incorrectly, it may not be a legal sale at all. Be flexible on your asking price, you may think that it is worth more than it is, so if you get an offer, consider it.
We recommend using your own resort to process the resale if this is possible (some still try to upsell in these cases so beware), if this is not an option, we would then suggest looking into reputable resale companies. These are few and far between, but they do exist, we can only suggest patience in this matter. Watch out for companies that ask for fees up front, unfortunately the majority of these are just that, and then nothing else happens. Avoid hard selling upgrades, these are very common, and may result in you having two unwanted products with the pretense of making a profit.
Finally, we at the TCA wish you good luck in your resale, and if you have any questions along the way, do not hesitate to get in contact with us.
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk