Last updated 2026-07-24
TL;DR
Selling a timeshare rarely returns real money. Most resale listings on sites like eBay and the Timeshare Users Group close for $1 to a few thousand dollars, and many owners end up paying to get rid of one through a deed-back or licensed transfer instead of getting paid. Confirm your rescission window first if you just bought, avoid any company demanding an upfront fee, and check your state AG and the FTC before signing anything.
How much is a timeshare actually worth on resale?
Almost nothing, compared to what you paid. That's the blunt truth most sales presentations never mention. A timeshare bought new from a developer typically costs somewhere between $10,000 and $40,000, plus a maintenance fee that averages around $1,373 per year across the industry according to the American Resort Development Association's 2023 owner survey. Points-based systems and larger units can run higher. But on the resale market, those same weeks and points routinely sell for $1 to a few thousand dollars. Search completed listings on eBay or browse the Timeshare Users Group classifieds and you'll see weeks at well-known resorts listed for $1, with the buyer only responsible for transfer fees and back maintenance dues. Why the collapse in value? Developers sell a lifestyle and a sales commission structure, not an appreciating asset. There's no scarcity, because the resort (or a new points system) keeps selling fresh inventory every year. There's no secondary market maker propping up prices. And maintenance fees keep rising, which makes an ownership more of a liability than an asset to whoever might buy it from you. So when you're asking "how much can I sell my timeshare for," the honest range is: probably $0 to $2,000 for most weeks, occasionally more for prime fixed weeks in high-demand locations like Hawaii or Aspen during a fixed high season, and genuinely nothing (or negative, once you factor in fees) for most points-based and off-season deeded weeks.
How to sell a timeshare step by step
If you still want to try selling rather than exiting through a deed-back or other route, here's the realistic process, not the pitch you'll get from a resale broker who cold-calls you. First, get your ownership documents together: the deed or contract, the most recent maintenance fee statement, and any points balance. Buyers and title companies will ask for these before closing. Second, check whether your resort has a right of first refusal (many deeded contracts do) and whether it operates a licensed internal resale or transfer program. Some resorts will take back a paid-off deed for a small transfer fee, which is often a better outcome than a private sale that nets you nothing anyway. Third, list it yourself on a marketplace where real transactions happen: the Timeshare Users Group (tug2.net), RedWeek, or eBay's completed listings as a price check. Price it based on what comparable weeks actually sold for, not what a broker tells you it's "worth." Be transparent about annual maintenance fees in the listing; buyers will find out anyway and hidden fees kill deals. Fourth, use a licensed title or closing company for the actual transfer, particularly for deeded weeks, so the deed gets recorded and you're not still liable for fees after the sale. Skipping this step is how people end up owning something on paper for years after they thought they sold it. Fifth, never pay an upfront fee to a company that claims it has a buyer lined up. That's the single most common scam pattern in this space, covered more below.
How do you get out of a timeshare if you can't sell it?
If resale value is zero and nobody's buying, selling isn't really the goal, exiting is. There are a handful of legitimate paths, and which one fits depends on timing and what you still owe. If you're still inside your rescission period (sometimes called a cooling-off period or right to cancel), that's your cleanest and cheapest exit. Every state sets its own window and rules for timeshare purchases, and the details matter a lot, so confirm your state's rescission window and follow the cancellation instructions in your contract exactly, usually written notice sent by a specific method within a specific number of days of signing or receiving the public offering statement. Miss the technical requirements and you can lose the right even inside the calendar window. If your window has closed, a deed-back (sometimes called a deed-in-lieu or a developer's own exit program) is often the most realistic no-cost or low-cost route for a paid-off deeded week, especially if the resort operator has an official program. Some developers, including several large chains, run structured deed-back or surrender programs specifically because they'd rather take a unit back than deal with foreclosure and delinquent fee collections. You typically need the mortgage paid off and fees current to qualify. If you still owe a mortgage balance, your options narrow. You generally cannot deed back a timeshare you still owe money on, and stopping payments to force the issue will hurt your credit and can lead to foreclosure, which the resort is legally entitled to pursue like any other secured lender. Don't stop paying what you owe as a strategy; talk to the resort about hardship options or a licensed attorney about your specific contract instead. For a full walkthrough of exit paths by scenario, see how to get out of a timeshare and how do you get out of a timeshare.
Are timeshares scams?
The ownership product itself usually isn't illegal, but the sales tactics and the exit industry around it attract real scams, and regulators have been saying so for years. The Federal Trade Commission warns specifically about resale and exit scams targeting existing owners: "If you're contacted out of the blue by someone who wants to help you sell or get out of your timeshare, and they ask for money upfront, that's a red flag" is the substance of the FTC's consistent guidance on advance-fee resale schemes. The pattern is well documented: a company cold-calls or emails an owner claiming they have a buyer ready, or that they specialize in cancellations, collects a fee ranging from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars upfront, and then delivers nothing or vanishes. Multiple state attorneys general have sued timeshare exit companies over exactly this pattern. Missouri's Attorney General, for example, has pursued enforcement actions against exit companies for deceptive upfront-fee practices [1], and Wisconsin, Nevada, and other states have brought similar cases. The FTC itself sued and won judgments against several exit firms, including a 2023 action that resulted in a settlement against Timeshare Exit Team's parent entities. So: the original timeshare purchase is a real, often overpriced product sold through high-pressure presentations. The bigger scam risk, dollar for dollar, tends to be in the secondary market of resale brokers and exit companies preying on owners desperate to get out. Before paying anyone for resale or exit help, check them against your state attorney general's consumer complaint database and the FTC's scam alerts page. For a rundown of the tactics to watch for, see exit scam awareness resources and the timeshare exit companies comparison.
How much do timeshares cost, total, over time?
| Purchase price (cash) | $20,000 | $20,000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintenance fees (~$1,373/yr, 3% annual increase) | $1,373 | ~$15,700 | |
| One special assessment (typical range) | $0 | $500 to $3,000 | |
| Total rough 10-year cost | $36,000 to $39,000+ | Compare that to a resale value at year 10 of, realistically, $0 to $1,500 for most weeks, and the shape of the problem is clear. This is why the maintenance fee line, not the purchase price, is what actually drives most owners toward wanting out. If rising fees are your main pain point rather than a recent purchase, the maintenance fees hub covers fee disputes and assessment challenges in more depth. |
The sticker price is only the start. A realistic cost picture has four layers: purchase price, annual maintenance fees, special assessments, and financing interest if you didn't pay cash. ARDA's most recent owner survey data puts the average maintenance fee at roughly $1,373 a year, and that number has climbed steadily for over a decade. Special assessments, separate one-time charges for major repairs, storm damage, or renovations, can add anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars in a bad year, and they're not optional; they're enforceable the same way maintenance fees are. Financing makes the math worse. Timeshare loans through the developer commonly carry interest rates in the mid-teens, sometimes higher, according to consumer finance research; that's well above typical unsecured personal loan or credit card promotional rates, and it's applied to an asset losing value the moment you sign. Here's a simple 10-year comparison for a mid-range week bought for $20,000 with a typical maintenance fee schedule: | Cost component | Year 1 | 10-year total (rough) |
How to get rid of a timeshare when nobody wants to buy it
"Getting rid of" a timeshare and "selling" one are different problems once you accept the resale value is likely near zero. The realistic paths, roughly in order of cost to you: 1. Deed-back or surrender program through the resort or developer, if your deed is paid off and fees are current. This is often free or low-cost (some charge a transfer or processing fee in the low hundreds). 2. Donate the timeshare, which some owners pursue, but be careful: donation acceptance groups are rare, most charities won't take on the fee liability, and "donation" services that charge you a large upfront fee are often just exit scams with different branding. 3. Give it away for $1 to a real buyer willing to take on the fees, using a licensed title company, if there's genuinely no deed-back program available and you have a documented paid-off deed. 4. Hire a licensed real estate attorney in the resort's state to review your contract and negotiate directly with the developer, particularly useful for points-based systems and complicated multi-week ownerships without a clear deed-back path. 5. As an absolute last resort with mortgage balances still owed, understand that walking away leads to foreclosure and credit damage; that's not a strategy, it's a consequence, and you should talk to a licensed attorney before deciding anything, not a marketing company. What you should not do is pay a large upfront fee to any company promising to get you out or claiming they can cancel your contract no matter what, regardless of how the offer is worded. No legitimate company can promise a resort will accept a surrender, and "money-back guarantees" from exit firms have historically been hard to collect on once the company folds or gets sued. For a broader menu of exit mechanics, see timeshare cancellation and how to get out of timeshare.
What is a rescission window, and how do you use it to cancel instead of sell?
A rescission window (also called a cooling-off period) is a legally required number of days after signing during which a buyer can cancel a timeshare purchase for a full refund, no reason required. If you're inside it, this is dramatically better than trying to resell later, because you get your money back rather than getting cents on the dollar. Every state that regulates timeshares sets its own rescission period and procedural rules, and they are not uniform; some states count from the day you sign, others from when you receive required disclosure documents. Because the count and the required cancellation method (often certified mail, sometimes specific delivery to a specific address named in the contract) vary so much, the only safe move is to confirm your state's rescission window directly from your contract's cancellation clause and your state's timeshare statute, and to send your cancellation notice in a way that creates a paper trail (certified mail with return receipt is standard advice from consumer protection offices). Don't wait to "think about it more" if you already know you want out. These windows are short by design, often measured in single-digit to low double-digit days, and there is generally no extension for buyer confusion or a slow-moving mail carrier. If you've missed the window, rescission isn't available anymore and you're into deed-back, resale, or exit-company territory, each with very different cost and risk profiles.
Can you just stop paying and walk away?
You can stop paying, but you shouldn't treat it as a plan, and no article, including this one, should tell you to. Timeshare maintenance fees and mortgage payments are contractual debts. If you stop paying, the resort or its collections agency can report delinquency to credit bureaus, charge late fees and interest, and eventually pursue foreclosure on deeded weeks or lien and legal action on right-to-use products, similar to how any secured lender would handle a defaulted loan. Some owners are told by exit companies that "the resort will just take it back" if you stop paying long enough. Sometimes that happens eventually, after a formal foreclosure process, but it's not automatic, it damages your credit in the meantime, and some contracts allow the resort to pursue you for the deficiency balance afterward depending on state law. This isn't a shortcut; it's a slower, messier, and more expensive version of a deed-back done properly. If fees have become unaffordable, the better move is contacting the resort directly about hardship programs (some do have them, informally or formally) or consulting a licensed consumer attorney in your state before missing payments. The FTC's consumer guidance on timeshares specifically cautions owners to verify any company's claims before paying anything or changing your payment behavior.
How do you spot a timeshare exit or resale scam before you pay anyone?
The tells are consistent enough that you can screen most scams out in a five-minute check before signing anything. Red flag one: an unsolicited call, email, or postcard claiming they have a "ready buyer" for your exact timeshare, especially right after you've listed it somewhere or attended a resort presentation. Real buyers don't typically materialize that fast, and legitimate resale platforms don't cold-call sellers with buyer promises. Red flag two: any request for a large payment before services are rendered, often framed as a "transfer fee," "closing cost," or "advertising fee." The FTC's consumer alert on timeshare resale explicitly flags upfront payment requests as the core warning sign. Red flag three: pressure to act today, sometimes paired with a claim that a buyer or the offer will disappear. Legitimate transactions, deed-backs, and legal cancellations do not expire in hours. Red flag four: no verifiable business address, no state bar attorney involved despite claims of "legal representation," and no ability to find the company in your state attorney general's business or complaint search. Red flag five: promises of a sure thing. No one can promise a resort accepts a deed-back or that a lawsuit against a developer succeeds. Multiple state AG offices, including Missouri's, have specifically pursued exit companies over claims of certain success that didn't hold up [1]. Before paying anyone in this space, run a search of the company's name plus "complaint" through your state attorney general's website and the Better Business Bureau, and check the FTC's scam alert pages. If you want a structured way to organize your documents and evaluate legitimate exit paths yourself before you pay a company anything, ExitHonest's $149 one-time Exit Kit Builder at /exit-kit-builder walks through the deed-back, rescission, and documentation steps without charging a percentage or requiring you to sign over anything to a third party.
Should you hire a company to sell or exit your timeshare for you?
Sometimes, but be narrow about which services you'll actually pay for and how much. A licensed real estate attorney billing hourly to review a contract, confirm a rescission deadline, or negotiate directly with a developer is a legitimate, bounded expense, often a few hundred to low thousands of dollars depending on complexity, and you can verify their bar license through your state bar association's website before hiring them. A licensed title or closing company handling an actual deed transfer for a sale is a legitimate, bounded expense too, typically a few hundred dollars, standard for any real estate closing. A "timeshare exit company" that charges a large flat fee (commonly reported in the $3,000 to $10,000-plus range across consumer complaints) upfront, promises a sure-thing cancellation, and tells you to stop paying your maintenance fees while they "work on it," is the highest-risk category, and it's the category regulators keep suing. Compare structures carefully; see timeshare exit companies for a breakdown of how different exit firms structure fees and what complaints tend to cluster around. If you decide to try selling first, a licensed, fee-transparent resale platform (RedWeek and the Timeshare Users Group are two frequently cited by consumer advocates as more transparent than cold-call brokers) charging a flat listing fee, not a percentage held hostage until a sale materializes that never comes, is reasonable. Anything charging you before a sale closes, with vague promises about buyer demand, deserves the same scrutiny as an exit scam.
What should you do first, this week, if you want out?
Start by pulling your actual paperwork, not by calling the first company that emails you. Find your original purchase contract and check the cancellation clause for your rescission deadline and required method, even if you think you're past it; sometimes disclosure defects extend rights, which only a licensed attorney can properly evaluate. Then find your current deed status: is it fully paid off, or is there still a mortgage balance? If you're still inside a rescission window, cancel in writing today, using the method your contract specifies, and confirm your state's exact rule through your state attorney general's consumer protection page rather than guessing from something you read online, including this article. If you're past rescission and the deed's paid off, call the resort directly and ask, specifically, whether they have a deed-back, surrender, or exit program, and get any answer in writing. If you're past rescission, still owe money, and fees have become unaffordable, talk to a licensed consumer attorney in the resort's state before missing a payment, and check your state AG's site and ftc.gov/timeshare-related consumer alerts before paying any exit or resale company a dollar upfront. For the fuller decision tree by circumstance, how to get out of timeshare walks through each branch in more detail, and the timeshare call list has the specific offices and numbers worth having on hand.
Frequently asked questions
How to get out of a timeshare?
Confirm your state's rescission window first if you recently bought; cancel in writing per your contract's instructions. If that window's closed, ask the resort about a deed-back or surrender program for a paid-off deed. If you still owe money, talk to a licensed attorney before missing payments. Avoid any company demanding a large upfront fee to promise you an exit.
How to sell a timeshare?
Gather your deed and fee statements, check if the resort has a right of first refusal or internal resale program, then list on a transparent platform like RedWeek or the Timeshare Users Group at a price matching recent completed sales, often $0 to a few thousand dollars. Use a licensed title company to close, so the deed actually transfers and fee liability ends.
How do you get out of a timeshare if the mortgage isn't paid off?
You generally can't deed back an ownership with a balance still owed. Contact the resort about hardship options, and consult a licensed consumer attorney in the resort's state about your specific contract. Don't stop paying as a strategy; that leads to credit damage and possible foreclosure, and the resort can pursue you like any secured lender would.
How much is a timeshare worth on resale?
Most deeded weeks and points resell for $0 to $2,000, sometimes listed for $1 just to escape ongoing maintenance fees. Occasional fixed high-season weeks at premium resorts fetch more, but the typical outcome for an owner is that resale returns little or nothing compared to the original $10,000 to $40,000 purchase price.
How much do timeshares cost per year?
The average annual maintenance fee across the industry is about $1,373, according to ARDA's owner survey data, and that figure has risen fairly steadily for years. Add occasional special assessments of a few hundred to several thousand dollars, plus financing interest if the purchase wasn't paid in cash, and total ownership cost runs well beyond the fee alone.
Are timeshares scams?
The ownership product is legal but often oversold relative to its real resale value. The bigger scam risk sits in the resale and exit industry: the FTC and multiple state attorneys general have pursued companies that charge large upfront fees while promising sure-thing cancellations or promised buyers that never materialize. Verify any company through your state AG's site before paying.
How to get rid of a timeshare with no buyers interested?
If nobody's buying, look at a deed-back or surrender program through the resort first, which is often free or low-cost for a paid-off deed. Donation groups rarely accept timeshares. A $1 sale through a licensed title company works if a resort deed-back isn't offered. Avoid paying large upfront fees to companies promising you a sure way out.
What is a timeshare rescission period?
It's a legally required window after signing during which a buyer can cancel the purchase for a full refund without giving a reason. Every state sets its own length and procedural rules (method of notice, what starts the clock), so confirm your specific state's rule and your contract's cancellation clause rather than assuming a standard number of days applies.
Can a timeshare company guarantee they'll get me out of my contract?
No legitimate company can promise a resort will accept a deed-back or that a legal challenge will succeed; every case depends on the specific contract, state law, and resort policy. State attorneys general have sued exit companies specifically over these kinds of promises. Treat any "100% sure thing" pitch as a serious warning sign, not reassurance.
Is it better to sell a timeshare or just walk away?
If the deed is paid off, a deed-back or a low-cost transfer through a licensed title company is usually cleaner than "walking away," which really just means defaulting and risking foreclosure and credit damage. If a mortgage balance remains, walking away isn't a real plan; talk to an attorney about your options before missing payments.
How much does it cost to hire someone to sell or exit a timeshare?
A licensed attorney reviewing a contract might run a few hundred to low thousands of dollars, hourly. A title company closing an actual sale often runs a few hundred dollars. Exit companies charging $3,000 to $10,000 or more upfront for a promised cancellation are the highest-risk, most-complained-about category; check them against your state AG's database first.
Do timeshares ever appreciate in value like real estate?
Essentially never, based on decades of resale market data from platforms like RedWeek and the Timeshare Users Group. Developers keep selling new inventory or new points, so there's no scarcity driving value up, and rising maintenance fees make an existing ownership less attractive over time, not more, to a resale buyer.
What happens if I stop paying my timeshare maintenance fees?
The resort can report delinquency to credit bureaus, add late fees and interest, and eventually pursue foreclosure on a deeded week or lien and legal action on a right-to-use product, similar to any secured lender. It's not a reliable path to a fast, clean exit, and some contracts allow pursuit of a deficiency balance afterward under state law.
Sources
- Federal Trade Commission, FTC v. Timeshare Exit Team-related entities enforcement action: FTC action and settlement against a major timeshare exit company over deceptive practices
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Explanation of what a timeshare is and how ownership and maintenance fee obligations work over time.
- Cornell Legal Information Institute (15 U.S.C. § 1601): Federal Truth in Lending Act provisions relevant to rescission rights that can apply to timeshare financing contracts.
- Better Business Bureau: BBB tracks complaints and scam reports related to timeshare resale and exit companies to help consumers vet them before paying.
- Internal Revenue Service: Tax implications for selling real property such as a timeshare, including treatment of gains and losses.