Time shares seem like a good idea when you purchase them, but after a few years of mounting maintenance fees, that great deal suddenly looks more and more like a bad investment. Time shares are extremely hard to sell, even thought time share companies make it look easy. According to "The New York Times," a time share is sold as a real estate investment, but since you don't actually own any property, it is a hard sell. Financial guru Dave Ramsey has a few ideas on how to get out of a time share.
Step 1
Understand that the money that you spent on your time share is essentially gone, and redefine your idea of "selling" a time share. Getting out of the time share will mean you don't have to pay yearly maintenance fees each year, but you will not recover your initial investment money.
Step 2
Call the company that sold you the time share in the first place. Pretend that you are a prospective buyer, and let them know you are considering several properties and are looking for general pricing before you make a decision. They may give you the runaround before giving you a ballpark figure that you can work with.
Step 3
Hang up the phone and complete some quick calculations. Cut the price that they've given you in half to get a number that you can live with. Call the time share company back again and this time, ask for a manager or supervisor and identify yourself as a time share owner, rather than a potential customer.
Step 4
Explain the manager that you are willing to give up the time share and sell it back to them at half of the going rate that they are currently selling the time shares for, along with a double commission for the agent who buys it. It is an attractive deal that many time share managers will happily accept. If she seems to waver on the deal, triple the commission. Your goal is to get out of a time share, not to make money on the deal.
Step 5
Thank the manager for his time if he still declines. "Smart Money" magazine notes that your next step is most likely giving it away to someone who is happy to pay the maintenance fees each year without the initial investment that you paid.
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