Best way to get rid of a timeshare, ranked by risk

Last updated 2026-07-25

What's the actual best way to get rid of a timeshare?

There's a real order of operations here, and most owners never hear it because the first company they call has a financial reason to skip straight to the expensive option. Step one: check if you're still inside your rescission window. Every state gives new timeshare buyers a short period to cancel for any reason, no explanation needed, and get a full refund. This is by far the cheapest and fastest exit that exists. If you bought in the last few weeks, stop reading and go confirm your state's rescission window right now, because the clock is running and it's usually measured in days, not weeks. Step two, if you're past rescission: contact the resort or management company and ask if they run a deed-back or surrender program. Many big developers (Marriott Vacation Club, Wyndham, Bluegreen, Hilton Grand Vacations) have taken back deeds from owners in good standing, especially if the maintenance fees are current and the unit isn't a hard-to-sell fixed week in a weak market. This can cost nothing or a modest processing fee, often a few hundred dollars. Step three: if deed-back isn't offered, try to sell it yourself or through a licensed timeshare resale broker who is a member of a recognized trade group like the Licensed Timeshare Resale Brokers Association. Expect to get little or nothing for the unit itself; the value is almost never in the sale price. Step four: if the resort won't take it back and it won't sell, consult a real estate attorney licensed in the state where the timeshare sits, or where you live, about a deed transfer, quitclaim to a willing party (rare), or, in genuinely stuck cases, letting it go through foreclosure and understanding the credit and tax consequences first. What you should not do at any step is pay a large upfront fee to a company that promises to "cancel" or "guarantee" your exit before doing any actual work. The FTC has sued timeshare exit companies over exactly this pattern ^[1].

How do you get out of a timeshare during the rescission period?

You cancel in writing, following your contract's instructions exactly, before the deadline in your state's law. This is the only 100% no-cost, no-negotiation way to exit a timeshare, and it works because it's a legal right, not a favor from the resort. Every state has its own rescission (sometimes called "cooling-off" or "cancellation") period for timeshare purchases, and the length varies a lot. Florida gives buyers 10 calendar days from the date of signing or the date they received the last document required, whichever is later, under Florida Statutes Section 721.10 ^[2]. California requires developers to give buyers written disclosures and allows cancellation with a similarly short statutory window, and California's Business and Professions Code Section 11238 spells out the process for cancellation notices ^[3]. Some states run 3 to 15 days. There is no federal rescission law for timeshares, so the number you need is specific to the state where the resort is located, not where you live. To rescind properly: send your cancellation notice in writing (many statutes require it, and even when they don't, email plus certified mail with return receipt is smart), reference the contract number, keep a copy of everything, and send it to the exact address named in your purchase contract or disclosure documents. Do this even if the salesperson told you rescission "isn't allowed" or tried to talk you out of it during the sales pitch; high-pressure resistance to cancellation requests is a known complaint pattern flagged by state attorneys general ^[4]. If you're inside this window right now, read how to get out of a timeshare for the state-by-state breakdown and exact letter language, because getting the deadline wrong by even a day can cost you the entire refund.

How do you get out of a timeshare after rescission has passed?

Once the rescission window closes, you're a titled owner, and every step after that costs more time, money, or both. There's no more free exit; the question shifts to which option is cheapest and safest. Your realistic options, roughly in order of cost: 1. Deed-back or surrender program run by the resort. Cost: usually $0 to a few hundred dollars in processing/recording fees, though some brands charge more. 2. Selling on the resale market yourself or through a broker. Cost: broker commissions plus, often, you'll need to price the unit at $1 or give it away, because resale demand is weak. 3. Hiring an attorney to negotiate a deed transfer or handle a dispute. Cost: attorney hourly rates, commonly $200 to $500/hour depending on region, for a handful of hours. 4. Paying a timeshare exit company to manage the process. Cost: commonly $2,000 to $10,000+ based on complaints reviewed by consumer protection agencies and state AG actions, with no guarantee of outcome. 5. Stopping payment and letting the resort foreclose. This has real consequences: credit score damage, possible deficiency judgment depending on state law, and tax implications from cancelled debt, so talk to a tax professional and don't do this as a first move. The honest bad news: timeshares are not real estate in the normal sense once you own one. They were never built to hold resale value, and most owners recover little to nothing when they sell, a pattern reflected in complaint data collected by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ^[5]. The good news: options 1 and 2 above cost little or nothing, and most owners who do their homework never need option 4.

How to sell a timeshare (and should you even try)?

Selling is worth trying before anything else that costs money, but go in with the right expectations: most timeshares resell for a small fraction of what was paid, often just $1 to a few hundred dollars, sometimes nothing at all. Start with a licensed resale broker who belongs to the Licensed Timeshare Resale Brokers Association (LTRBA), a trade group that vets member brokers and publishes consumer information about the resale market. A legitimate broker earns a commission only when a sale closes, never a big fee upfront just to "list" your week. List it yourself too. Sites like the resort's own owner marketplace, or general classifieds, can work, especially for popular weeks in high-demand locations (Hawaii, Orlando during peak season, ski weeks in Colorado). Price it realistically: check what similar weeks actually sold for, not what the developer originally charged you, because those numbers have nothing to do with each other. Watch for the resale scam pattern: someone contacts you claiming they have a "buyer already lined up" and just needs an upfront fee to "process the sale" or cover "transfer taxes." This is one of the most common timeshare resale scams reported to state attorneys general and the FTC ^[1]. No legitimate buyer needs you to pay them before a purchase closes. If selling doesn't work within a few months of real effort, move to the deed-back conversation with your resort, or read timeshare cancellation for the next steps.

How much do timeshares cost, really?

Purchase price (new, developer)	$10,000 to $25,000+	Varies by brand, size, season [6]
Resale purchase price	$0 to $3,000	Often far below original price
Annual maintenance fee	~$1,000 to $1,200 average	Industry survey data, rises yearly [6]
Special assessment	$500 to $10,000+	One-time, per-incident
Exit company fee	$2,000 to $10,000+	Paid upfront by many firms, no guarantee	So when someone asks "how much is a timeshare" or "how much do timeshares cost," the honest answer is: the sticker price is the smallest number in the whole equation. It's the decades of maintenance fees and the near-zero resale value that make owners want out.

The purchase price is only the start. A timeshare's real cost is the maintenance fee, and it climbs every year, often faster than inflation. Industry survey data reported by the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) has put average annual maintenance fees in the roughly $1,000 to $1,200 range in recent years, though fees vary widely by resort brand, unit size, and location ^[6]. Purchase prices for a new timeshare interval commonly range from about $10,000 to $25,000+ depending on the resort and season, based on industry-reported averages ^[6]. Here's the part that actually matters for the "get rid of it" question: maintenance fees are contractual and owed regardless of whether you use the week, and many contracts also allow special assessments for large repairs (a new roof, storm damage, renovation) on top of the regular fee. These assessments can run into the thousands in a single year and are a major driver of owners wanting out. | Cost item | Typical range | Notes |

Are timeshares scams?

The timeshare product itself, legally, is not a scam; it's a disclosed real estate or right-to-use contract, and state laws require specific disclosures before you sign ^[3]. But the industry has a well-documented history of high-pressure sales tactics, and a separate exit-scam industry has grown up around owners who want out, and that part absolutely includes real scams. The FTC has taken enforcement action against timeshare exit companies for taking large upfront fees, sometimes thousands of dollars, and then failing to deliver promised cancellations, or doing little to no actual work ^[1]. State attorneys general in Florida and elsewhere have issued consumer guidance specifically warning about upfront-fee timeshare exit and resale scams ^[4]. Common red flags across both the sales side and the exit side: - A caller says you were "selected" for a special buyback or exit program, out of nowhere.

• Pressure to decide or pay today, with no time to review a contract.
• Any request for payment by wire transfer, gift card, or cryptocurrency.
• A company that guarantees it can cancel your contract, no matter the details of your situation, no attorney or licensed broker will ever guarantee an outcome before reviewing your specific deed.
• Requests for large fees before any transfer, cancellation, or sale has actually happened. If you're vetting a company, cross-check it against your state attorney general's consumer complaint database and the Better Business Bureau, and read timeshare exit companies before signing anything or sending a deposit.

How to get out of an inherited timeshare

You're not automatically stuck with a timeshare you inherited, but you do have to actively act, because doing nothing usually means the fees and debt follow the estate or, eventually, you. First, check whether the estate is still in probate. If it is, an executor can sometimes disclaim or decline the interest formally, which keeps it from passing to heirs, though the exact procedure depends on the probate laws of the state (this is genuinely a "talk to the estate attorney" situation, since disclaimer rules and deadlines vary by state). If the timeshare already transferred to you and you don't want it, the deed-back and resale steps above still apply, in the same order: ask the resort about a deed-back or surrender program first, since many resorts will work with heirs who don't want the obligation, especially if fees are current. Don't ignore mail from the resort assuming it will "go away." Unpaid maintenance fees can lead to collections, liens on the interest, and, depending on state law, sometimes affect your credit even for an inherited property you never wanted. Sort out the ownership question in writing rather than letting fees pile up silently.

What is a deed-back program and how do I ask for one?

A deed-back (also called a surrender or take-back program) is when the resort developer agrees to accept the deed back from you, cancelling your ownership and, usually, your future fee obligations, without you needing to find a buyer. Major developers including Marriott Vacation Club, Hilton Grand Vacations, Bluegreen, and Wyndham have run some form of deed-back or exit program in recent years, though eligibility rules differ by brand and change over time; call the resort's owner services line directly and ask by name ("Do you have a deed-back or voluntary surrender program?") rather than assuming there isn't one. Common eligibility conditions: - Maintenance fees and any special assessments must be current, no balance owed.

• The deed must be free of liens.
• Some programs only accept certain unit types or seasons back.
• There's sometimes a modest administrative or recording fee, typically far less than what an exit company would charge. This is worth trying before you pay anyone, because it costs you almost nothing to ask, and if it works, it's the cleanest possible exit: no resale hassle, no attorney fees, no risk of a scam. If the resort says no, or you don't own a brand with a formal program, move to the resale and attorney steps covered earlier, or look at how do you get out of a timeshare for brand-specific notes.

What happens if I just stop paying maintenance fees?

Don't do this as a first move, and don't do it at all without talking to an attorney or tax professional about your specific state's law first. Stopping payment doesn't make the obligation disappear; it triggers a separate, harder process with its own costs. What typically follows non-payment: the resort refers the account to collections, late fees and interest accrue, and eventually the resort can foreclose on the timeshare interest, similar to a mortgage foreclosure, though procedures differ by state and by whether the interest is deeded or right-to-use. A foreclosure can appear on your credit report and damage your score for years. In some states, if the resort forecloses and the property sells for less than what you owed, you could face a deficiency judgment for the difference, depending on state foreclosure law. Cancelled debt can also sometimes count as taxable income, which is why a tax professional matters here, more than a lawyer. This path is sometimes the realistic last resort for owners who cannot sell, cannot get a deed-back, and cannot afford legal fees, but it should be a deliberate, informed decision, made after ruling out the cheaper options, not a default when you're frustrated with rising fees. If rising fees are the whole problem, also read timeshare call list for how fee disputes and owner association pushback sometimes work.

How do I know if a timeshare exit company is legitimate?

Check three things before you pay anyone a dollar: how they bill, whether they're named in any enforcement actions, and whether they'll put promises in writing. Billing structure matters most. A company that wants a large payment upfront, before any transfer, cancellation, or legal filing has happened, carries much higher risk than one that bills after milestones or ties payment to results. The FTC's enforcement history shows the upfront-fee-then-no-delivery pattern repeatedly ^[1]. Search the exact company name plus "attorney general" and plus "FTC" before signing anything. State attorneys general in Florida and several other states have published consumer guidance naming problem practices in the timeshare exit space ^[4]. Also check your state AG's own complaint portal and the Better Business Bureau profile, paying attention to how complaints were resolved, more than the star rating. Ask for everything in writing: what exactly they'll do, the timeline, the total cost, and what happens if they don't succeed. A legitimate operation can answer this in a paragraph. A company that gets vague, or pressures you to sign today, is telling you something important. If you want to handle the legwork yourself rather than pay a large exit-company retainer, a structured self-help approach (contacting the resort about deed-back, requesting your contract and disclosure documents, drafting the right cancellation or surrender letters) covers most of what these companies charge thousands of dollars for. That's the whole idea behind ExitHonest's $149 one-time Exit Kit: it gives you the letter templates, the deed-back request scripts, and the state-by-state rescission reference so you can run the process yourself instead of paying a retainer to a company you just met on the phone. You can build yours at /exit-kit-builder.

Timeshare exit options compared: cost, speed, and risk

Option	Typical cost	Typical time	Risk level
Rescission (if still in window)	$0	Immediate to a few weeks	Very low, it's a legal right
Resort deed-back / surrender	$0 to a few hundred dollars	Weeks to a few months	Low
Resale (broker or self-listed)	Broker commission only	Months, sometimes longer	Low to moderate (watch resale scams)
Attorney-assisted deed transfer	Attorney hourly fee	Weeks to months	Low to moderate
Exit company	$2,000 to $10,000+	Months to over a year	Moderate to high, per FTC/AG actions [1] [4]
Stop paying / foreclosure	Credit damage, possible deficiency judgment, tax exposure	Months to years	High, needs professional advice first	The pattern in this table is worth saying plainly: cost and risk rise together, almost in lockstep, as you move down the list. That's not a coincidence; it's because the cheap options (rescission, deed-back) are the ones the resort itself controls and has a process for, while the expensive ones involve a third party trying to undo a contract they had no part in writing.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best way to get rid of a timeshare?

Check your state's rescission window first; if you're still inside it, cancel in writing for a full refund at no cost. If that window has closed, ask the resort about a deed-back or surrender program next, then try resale through a licensed broker. Paying an exit company should be a last resort, not a first call.

How do you get out of a timeshare?

In order: confirm your state's rescission window and cancel in writing if you're still eligible; if not, request a deed-back or surrender from the resort; if that's unavailable, try resale through an LTRBA-member broker; if none of that works, consult a real estate attorney about a deed transfer before considering an exit company.

How to sell a timeshare?

List with a broker who belongs to the Licensed Timeshare Resale Brokers Association, and also list it yourself through the resort's owner marketplace or general classifieds. Price it based on recent comparable resale sales, not the original purchase price. Expect a low sale price, sometimes near $0, and never pay an upfront fee to anyone claiming they already have a buyer lined up.

Are timeshares scams?

The timeshare product itself is a legal, disclosed contract, not inherently a scam. But high-pressure sales tactics are common, and a separate industry of exit scams has drawn FTC enforcement action for taking large upfront fees without delivering promised cancellations. Vet any company against your state attorney general's complaint database before paying anything.

How much do timeshares cost?

New developer purchase prices commonly run $10,000 to $25,000 or more, based on industry survey data. On top of that, average annual maintenance fees run roughly $1,000 to $1,200 and rise most years, plus occasional special assessments of $500 to $10,000+ for major repairs. Resale value is usually a small fraction of the original price.

How much is a timeshare on the resale market?

Often far less than what the original owner paid, sometimes $0 to a few hundred dollars, occasionally a few thousand for a highly desirable week in a top location. Timeshares were not built to hold resale value the way traditional real estate can, so treat any resale estimate as separate from what you originally paid.

How do I get out of an inherited timeshare?

If the estate is still in probate, ask the estate attorney about formally disclaiming the interest before it transfers to you. If you already own it, contact the resort about a deed-back program first, since fees-current inherited interests are often accepted back. Don't ignore mail about it; unpaid fees can lead to collections or liens.

What happens if I stop paying my timeshare maintenance fees?

The resort can send the account to collections and eventually foreclose, which can damage your credit for years and, depending on state law, potentially lead to a deficiency judgment. Cancelled debt can also carry tax consequences. Talk to an attorney and a tax professional before choosing this route; it should never be your first move.

Can I still cancel my timeshare after the rescission period ends?

Yes, but it's no longer a free legal right; it becomes a negotiation. Your best remaining options are a resort deed-back or surrender program, a resale through a licensed broker, or an attorney-assisted deed transfer. Exit companies can help in complex cases but often charge $2,000 to $10,000+ with no guaranteed outcome.

How do I know if a timeshare exit company is a scam?

Be wary of any company demanding a large payment upfront before doing work, guaranteeing cancellation regardless of your contract's details, or pressuring you to decide immediately. Check the company name against your state attorney general's complaint portal and FTC enforcement actions before paying anything.

What is a timeshare deed-back program?

It's a process where the resort developer agrees to take the deed back from you, ending your ownership and future fee obligations, usually at little or no cost as long as your fees are current and the deed has no liens. Call the resort's owner services line directly and ask if one exists for your specific brand and contract.

Do I need a lawyer to get rid of a timeshare?

Not always. Rescission, deed-back requests, and resale listings often don't require an attorney. A real estate attorney becomes worth the cost when the resort won't take a deed-back, resale has failed, there's a lien or dispute, or you're weighing foreclosure consequences and need advice specific to your state's law.

Will getting rid of a timeshare hurt my credit?

Rescission, deed-back, and a normal resale generally don't hurt your credit, since they end the obligation properly. Stopping payment and letting the resort foreclose is the path that typically does damage credit, sometimes for years, so it's worth exhausting the no-cost and low-cost options first.

Sources

1. Federal Trade Commission v. Timeshare Exit Team, Case No. 2:21-cv-01390 (W.D. Wash.), FTC press release: FTC has taken action against timeshare exit companies for upfront-fee practices without delivering promised cancellations
2. Florida Statutes Section 721.10, Cancellation: Florida gives timeshare buyers 10 calendar days from signing or receipt of last required document to cancel
3. California Business and Professions Code Section 11238: California law sets out the required timeshare cancellation notice and process for buyers
4. Florida Attorney General, Consumer Alert on Timeshare Resale Scams: State attorneys general have issued consumer alerts about upfront-fee timeshare exit and resale scams
5. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database (Timeshare product filter): Timeshare owners commonly report difficulty reselling and recovering value on resale
6. American Resort Development Association (ARDA), State of the Vacation Timeshare Industry annual report summary: Average annual maintenance fees and typical purchase price ranges for U.S. timeshares