Options for unloading parents' timeshares?

[RobertWF51]

My parents own two timeshares, Marriott's Canyon Villas at Desert Ridge (floating 2 bedroom 2 bath) and Marriott Vacation Club Destinations (points property, varying bed & bath), which they no longer use and would like to sell.

My mother was sucked into signing a contract with Sell My Timeshares Now in January 2023, paying an upfront fee in exchange for advertising on their website.

No luck selling the timeshares through SMTN, even after halving the selling prices three months ago.

At this point my sister and I are willing to deed the properties back to Marriott to avoid paying maintenance fees in perpetuity.

Recommendations on our next course of action? Thank you!

 

[LannyPC]

First of all, I'm sorry to hear that they got "sucked into signing a contract with Sell My Timeshares Now" as that company has many negative reviews here on TUG. They can still use SMTN since they have already paid the fee.

In the meantime, they can also try listing it for sale here in TUG's Marketplace. They can also contact the resorts' respective Homeowners' Associations asking if the HOAs will take their timeshares back. But as your parents found out the hard way, do not enlist the help or services of these companies, law firms, or charities that claim they can sell or get your parents out of their contracts.

 

[TUGBrian]

very sad she fell for the pitch to list with an upfront fee company, even at half the suggested price its probably still too high by a large margin though these companies are well aware of that fact!

The Number one reason you cant sell a Timeshare

The number one reason why owners are unsuccessful in selling a Timeshare

tug2.net

 

[HudsHut]

Welcome to TUG @RobertWF51

TH:ANK YOU for helping your parents.

Look on Redweek.com (the LARGEST timeshare marketplace.)

Marriott's Canyon Villas at Desert Ridge Timeshares For Sale | RedWeek

Buy a timeshare directly from Marriott's Canyon Villas at Desert Ridge owners, starting at just $500. Resales are almost always 30 - 50% cheaper than buying the same unit from the resort!

www.redweek.com

Find the size and season they own. Is it annual or every two years? find the price range for similar units. Price it lower than any other unit out there, and it will sell.

This chart will tell you what season (based upon the week on their Deed.)

https://www.marriottvacationsworldwide.com/common/cms/mvc/pdfs/helpfulTools/resortCalendar/Marriott%27s_Canyon_Villas_Resort_Calendar.pdf

If it is Platinum season, it has some value. If it is Gold or lower, you will get very little for it.

---
Unfortunately, Sell My Timeshare Now allows ads to be placed for exorbitant amounts, and they know damn well, the week will never sell at that price. The uninformed timeshare owner gets taken advantage of, once again.

 

[ScoopKona]

Recommendations on our next course of action?

Explain precisely what you own. Cunningham's Law absolutely applies here -- if you're making a wrong decision, you'll find out quickly.

Location, floor, view, season, points -- every bit of detail you can find.

 

[RobertWF51]

First of all, I'm sorry to hear that they got "sucked into signing a contract with Sell My Timeshares Now" as that company has many negative reviews here on TUG. They can still use SMTN since they have already paid the fee.

In the meantime, they can also try listing it for sale here in TUG's Marketplace. They can also contact the resorts' respective Homeowners' Associations asking if the HOAs will take their timeshares back. But as your parents found out the hard way, do not enlist the help or services of these companies, law firms, or charities that claim they can sell or get your parents out of their contracts.

Thank you, good advice! I'll look at the TUG Marketplace.

 

[RobertWF51]

Welcome to TUG @RobertWF51

TH:ANK YOU for helping your parents.

Look on Redweek.com (the LARGEST timeshare marketplace.)

Marriott's Canyon Villas at Desert Ridge Timeshares For Sale | RedWeek

Buy a timeshare directly from Marriott's Canyon Villas at Desert Ridge owners, starting at just $500. Resales are almost always 30 - 50% cheaper than buying the same unit from the resort!

www.redweek.com

Find the size and season they own. Is it annual or every two years? find the price range for similar units. Price it lower than any other unit out there, and it will sell.

This chart will tell you what season (based upon the week on their Deed.)

https://www.marriottvacationsworldwide.com/common/cms/mvc/pdfs/helpfulTools/resortCalendar/Marriott%27s_Canyon_Villas_Resort_Calendar.pdf

If it is Platinum season, it has some value. If it is Gold or lower, you will get very little for it.

---
Unfortunately, Sell My Timeshare Now allows ads to be placed for exorbitant amounts, and they know damn well, the week will never sell at that price. The uninformed timeshare owner gets taken advantage of, once again.

Both are annual, platinum season.

The prices on similar timeshares (2 bedroom, 2 bath) at Marriott's Canyon Villas at Desert Ridge are all over the place on the SMTN ad site, from $1(!) to $34,000. My parent's timeshare is priced at $20,000 - too high.

You'd think SMTN would place an ad for my parents' timeshare on Redweek.com, but I don't see their unit selling for $20,000 - prices are in the $1,000 to $7,900 range.

 

[LannyPC]

Both are annual, platinum season.

The prices on similar timeshares (2 bedroom, 2 bath) at Marriott's Canyon Villas at Desert Ridge are all over the place on the SMTN ad site, from $1(!) to $34,000. My parent's timeshare is priced at $20,000 - too high.

You'd think SMTN would place an ad for my parents' timeshare on Redweek.com, but I don't see their unit selling for $20,000 - prices are in the $1,000 to $7,900 range.

Make sure you are aware of the difference between what these are listed for and what they are selling for. As you and your parents are finding out the hard way using SMTN, you can list your TS for super high bucks but you won't necessarily sell it for that much. One recommendation we have here on TUG is to log into your E-Bay account (if you have one) and see what similar TSs have sold for by checking completed (not active) listings. The hard, painful truth might be that similar ones have sold for only a dollar (sometimes with the owner throwing in an incentive such as the next year's MFs already being paid) or even closed without garnering any bids.

As for SMTN using Red Week to place an ad, that's not going to happen seeing that these two entities are competitors.

 

[CaliSunshine]

I'd say the difference between RedWeek and SMTN is RedWeek's business model is centered around selling timeshare weeks and rentals to buyers, whereas SMTN's business model seems to be selling unrealistic expectations to timeshare sellers.

The only silver lining here is that platinum weeks generally do have a market for a nonzero price, and you may also find you're able to trade them or rent them profitably.

 

[CaliSunshine]

I once submitted four or five 1 dollar bids for a timeshare that was reselling for free in the used market. And I remember SMTN wanted over a thousand dollars for the buyer's fee. So I asked the agent who called, politely, to see if they would reach out to the seller and explain the situation and see if the seller would cover half of the buyer's fee from SMTN, and he said "oh no we don't do that."

I don't know if those bids ever made it to the sellers, but I'm guessing many of them are still paying thousands of dollars a year in maintenance fees to this day for timeshares they no longer use or want.

 

[HudsHut]

Of the 23 resales on Redweek,
1 is week 52, Platinum Plus (that's the $7900).
4 are Gold Season: $1000, $1750, $1995, $3500
That leaves 18 Platinum Season, with asking prices between $2900 and $6999

So, now you know the range within which you can try to sell yourself.
You may also have the option of Marriott selling it for you. Ask them. They take 40% (or thereabouts), but they also sell for a lot more than Redweek prices. If they already have too many in inventory, they may not take your week.

Have they reserved their 2024 and 2025 weeks yet? If not, get that done before doing anything else. Don't let the 2024 week expire unused. Rent it out or deposit it into Interval - exchange for a Marriott somewhere else.