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Is there a way to legally sell my timeshare?

Kim1742

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We own week #35 on a point system every even year at Orange Lake Resorts and have been interested in selling for a while now but I'm not sure how to do that without being scammed. When we bought the timeshare there was a buy back department which was one of the reasons why we bought it, however, when we tried to sell it back to them they told us the buy back department was no longer available. They said they would take it back but would not give us anything for it. Is there anyway to legally sell our timeshare to re-coop some of the money we paid in or is giving it away our only option to getting out? Any advise would be appreciated.
Thank you
Kim
 

vacationhopeful

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Rethink your position. Orlando is glutted with timeshares and to basicly walk away, is as good as it will get. Many resorts want/demand fees upfront to deed back an ownership; others will take only the Best of the Best deeded weeks ... most just ignore their owner's plight.

Look on eBay for other Orlando resorts .. but be sure to check the completed auctions... not what is listed. Check our TUG website (the Marketplace) and Bargain Deals.

A Marriott week might find a new home ... but the price would still be very low. I own at Wyndham resorts ... fixed week units, but mostly South Florida beach resorts. Very limited number of units during Snowbird season ... 93 units on the beach (Royal Vista) or 90 units across from the beach (Santa Barbara) or 250+/- units (Sea Gardens) .... the last 2 resorts, still have SOME fixed weeks verses the Wyndham points system. The offseason fixed week units. if found, are basicly free also ... Wyndham will take the deeds back for FREE and they are rolled into their Club Wyndham Access points system.
 

paxsarah

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A quick scan of completed listings on eBay shows a lot of weeks closed at $1, or at least under $100. Some of the weeks that went for larger amounts appeared to have 2017 MFs prepaid and one even included a gift card, and/or were for peak mid-summer weeks. The majority of timeshares don't have much value on the resale market.
 

theo

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They said they would take it back but would not give us anything for it. Is there anyway to legally sell our timeshare to re-coop some of the money we paid in or is giving it away our only option to getting out?

I do not know your particular resort, but the unfortunate truth is that many timeshares have little or no resale market value, regardless of the original developer purchase price. Resale market value is purely a matter of supply and demand --- no one (including the developer) cares what you may have paid the developer in yesteryear --- supply and demand and resale market value today quite simply "is what it is".

You should look at various sites where resale timeshares are advertised to find prices asked for a comparable week / unit size at your resort (RedWeek.com, MyResortNetwork.com, eBay). As Linda correctly notes above, "asking prices" mean little, but if you see a week comparable to yours offered somewhere for a dollar, or a completed eBay listing for a dollar, you will promptly have your "resale market value" answer.

Very few resorts "buy back" intervals; only a few high end chains. Many resorts will not accept "deedbacks" at all, even for free; you are fortunate to at least have that option available. After a little research, you might well find that option to be the best and easiest one to pursue.
If you are going to pursue that option, don't delay --- deedback acceptance policies can change at any time, suddenly and without notice.
 
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alwysonvac

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SOLD (DVC, FSRC)
We own week #35 on a point system every even year at Orange Lake Resorts and have been interested in selling for a while now but I'm not sure how to do that without being scammed. When we bought the timeshare there was a buy back department which was one of the reasons why we bought it, however, when we tried to sell it back to them they told us the buy back department was no longer available. They said they would take it back but would not give us anything for it. Is there anyway to legally sell our timeshare to re-coop some of the money we paid in or is giving it away our only option to getting out? Any advise would be appreciated.
Thank you
Kim

As suggested, I would take them up on their offer to take back your week.

Regardless of what they might have told you when you bought, timeshares are not an investment. Many have very little resale value. There are more sellers than buyers.

There are lots of threads on this topic and lots of online articles as well.
Here's a recent one - http://www.marketwatch.com/story/6-things-to-know-before-you-buy-a-timeshare-2015-02-17

Good Luck and Welcome to TUG.
 

jhac007

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We own week #35 on a point system every even year at Orange Lake Resorts and have been interested in selling for a while now but I'm not sure how to do that without being scammed. When we bought the timeshare there was a buy back department which was one of the reasons why we bought it, however, when we tried to sell it back to them they told us the buy back department was no longer available. They said they would take it back but would not give us anything for it. Is there anyway to legally sell our timeshare to re-coop some of the money we paid in or is giving it away our only option to getting out? Any advise would be appreciated.
Thank you
Kim

Give it to them before they change their minds!
 

taterhed

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Rethink your position.

A Marriott week might find a new home ... but the price would still be very low. .....

I'm really not sure why you threw in a comment about Marriott. Few Marriotts are in the 'Free' category these days.....and 'very low' is ambiguous at best. Besides, comparing Marriott and Orange Lake resorts is like saying "your Yugo is worthless, you might get some money if you owned a BMW, but still very low prices" Obviously, this could change, literally, overnight.

For the OP; most timeshares have little value in the resale market, that much is certainly true. I'd take advantage of the opportunity to 'give-back' your unit/points to the developer.

Run....
 

LannyPC

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but I'm not sure how to do that without being scammed.

As most have already pointed out, your week has very little resale value. So watch out for those pesky phone calls and other websites that claim they can fetch you tens of thousands of dollars for the sale (or rental) of your week. No, there are not corporations buying large chunks of TSs to use as corporate retreats and conventions, etc.

As others have suggested, if you no longer want your TS, take the deed back option ASAP before they change their mind.
 

tschwa2

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There are a few unit types and weeks that have a little resale value. Week 35 regardless of the size and village is not one of them. I own a week 52 (which gets a free week 53 in years when there is one) 3 br (and 3br have the same MF's as 2 br's). I can always rent it out for a little more than MF's. I tried to sell for $2000 and went 2 years without a nibble. I decided to keep and rent out. I doubt you would be able to rent for enough to cover MF. Weeks like your sell on ebay for $1 with the seller paying closing fees and if they want a taker they usually have to throw in free usage for the first year. Since you paid your MF if you can go then go this year and enjoy it one last time and then start the give back process.
 

theo

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Since you paid your MF if you can go then go this year and enjoy it one last time and then start the give back process.

I disagree with this suggested plan / timetable, specifically because the "deedback" option could just be suddenly pulled off the table at any time, without any advance notice, in which case the OP would be SOL and remain the unwilling owner of a worthless interval that they then can't get rid of by any means --- other than to not pay any future fees and just await the inevitable foreclosure.
By my calculation, there are about seven months from right now in which that scenario could very easily unfold.

I'm not a gambler. I would take the "clean and easy" exit available now. I would just bid adieu to the 2107 mf's paid and get out while the gettin' is good --- and guaranteed --- by proceeding with a deedback now. Just my personal opinion and I readily acknowledge that it's not my money that has already paid those 2017 mf's. Personally, I just don't like the gamble involved in delaying for 7 months before initiating a "deedback" option that could suddenly disappear in the meantime. "A bird in the hand" and all that. YMMV. :shrug:
 
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tschwa2

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My understanding is that Orange Lake has had the deed back offer for paid in full weeks for at least the last 2 years and unlike some other companies they have never indicated that it is a limited time offer. That certainly could change and they could pull the offer or start charging to accept the return. So there is a small risk.
 

theo

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My understanding is that Orange Lake has had the deed back offer for paid in full weeks for at least the last 2 years and unlike some other companies they have never indicated that it is a limited time offer. That certainly could change and they could pull the offer or start charging to accept the return. So there is a small risk.

That's exactly my primary point and concern --- that the deedback option could simply be "pulled" at any time without advance notice. Few entities accepting deedbacks will ever openly admit that deedback acceptance is a "limited time offer", even when they already know that to be the case. At some juncture, the "house" might very well simply (and suddenly) decide that "o.k., we've taken back plenty of inventory for us to resell, so we're now closing that door --- today".

It's up to the OP whether or not to roll those dice. :shrug:
 
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taterhed

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Of course, you could simply deposit the week with your favorite exchange (that would take this resort...) and then cheerfully deedback.

you would want to make sure the deposit was accepted/honored/exchanged prior to the completion of the deedback....
 

jhac007

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Of course, you could simply deposit the week with your favorite exchange (that would take this resort...) and then cheerfully deedback.

you would want to make sure the deposit was accepted/honored/exchanged prior to the completion of the deedback....


...........probably even before the the deedback is requested!
 
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