Last updated 2026-07-25
TL;DR
You cancel a Bluegreen contract fastest inside your state's rescission window, usually 5 to 15 days, by sending written notice per your contract's instructions. After that window closes, Bluegreen's Vacation Club has an owner deed-back program for eligible accounts. There is no automatic legal exit after rescission closes; be very wary of any company promising one for an upfront fee.
How do I cancel a Bluegreen timeshare contract right after signing?
If you signed a Bluegreen Vacation Club contract in the last few days, your first and best move is rescission, the legal right to cancel during a short window that starts running the day you sign. Every state sets its own length for this window, and it is short. Florida, where Bluegreen is headquartered, gives buyers a statutory rescission period; you should confirm your state's rescission window because the count and start date differ by state and by contract type [1]. Rescission has to be done in writing, following whatever method your contract specifies. Most Bluegreen contracts (and most timeshare contracts generally) require notice sent by certified mail with return receipt, sometimes also fax or email to a specific address named in the paperwork. Read the cancellation clause in your own contract word for word. It will tell you the deadline, the required method, and the address. Do not rely on a phone call or a verbal promise from a salesperson; get it in writing and keep proof of mailing. The Florida Vacation Plan and Timesharing Act requires that cancellation notices be effective if properly addressed and postmarked within the statutory period, and it also requires the developer to refund all payments within 20 days after receiving a valid rescission notice or the cancelled contract, whichever is later [1]. If your contract was signed in a different state, check that state's timeshare or vacation plan statute; some states extend the window if required disclosures were missing. For a state-by-state breakdown of window lengths and required notice methods, see how to get out of a timeshare.
What if my rescission window already closed?
Once the window closes, you are contractually bound the same as any other buyer, and there is no federal law that lets you back out of a timeshare purchase later just because you changed your mind [2]. That is the blunt truth. It is worth hearing plainly instead of from a company that wants your money to "fix" it. From here your realistic paths are: keep the contract and manage the fees, try Bluegreen's own deed-back or exit program if you qualify, sell it yourself (expect little to no resale value), or hire a licensed real estate attorney to review your specific contract for a legal defect. There is no automatic exit at this stage, no matter what a salesperson on either side of the table tells you. Bluegreen Vacations runs an owner services program that, at various points, has accepted qualifying deeds back at no cost when the owner is current on fees and the resort will take the deed. Availability changes by resort and by year, and Bluegreen does not accept every property or every owner. Call Bluegreen owner services directly and ask specifically about their current deed-back or exit program terms; get any offer in writing before you rely on it. The Federal Trade Commission has warned that timeshare exit companies target owners with promises that don't hold up. That warning is exactly why the decision to buy deserves more scrutiny than most sales presentations allow for, and why the decision to hire an exit firm deserves the same scrutiny in reverse.
How do you get out of a timeshare you no longer want or can afford?
Start by separating "get out legally" from "stop paying," because those are not the same thing and confusing them causes real financial damage. Stopping maintenance fee payments without a legal release triggers late fees, collections calls, credit reporting, and in many states a lien or foreclosure process against the deeded interest, even for a relatively small unpaid balance [3]. Your options, roughly in order of cost and risk: 1. Rescission, if you are still inside the window (cheapest, cleanest, time-limited). 2. Developer deed-back or surrender program, if the resort offers one and you qualify (often free or low-cost). 3. Selling on the resale market yourself or through a licensed timeshare resale broker (slow, often nets $0 to a few hundred dollars, sometimes negative after closing costs). 4. Donating or gifting the deed to someone willing to take on the fees (rare to find a taker, and you generally cannot donate to a charity that doesn't want it). 5. Hiring an attorney to review the contract for a legal defect, such as a disclosure violation, that could support a legitimate cancellation claim. 6. Working with a timeshare exit company, which should be a last resort and only after heavy vetting, since this industry has a well-documented scam problem. Avoid any company that asks for a large upfront fee, tells you to stop paying your fees, or promises a specific legal outcome. State enforcement actions have targeted exit companies for exactly these practices [4].
Are timeshares scams?
The timeshare product itself is legal, regulated, and disclosed under state vacation plan statutes, so calling the whole industry a scam overstates it. But the sales process has a long, well-documented history of high-pressure tactics, and the exit side of the industry has a genuine, serious scam problem that regulators actively pursue. The FTC has published consumer guidance warning that resale and exit-relief companies often target timeshare owners, especially older owners, with unsolicited offers that demand payment upfront before any service is delivered [2]. State attorneys general have separately pursued companies that took upfront fees and delivered nothing. So the honest answer: timeshares are a legitimate but often overpriced and illiquid product, and a meaningful slice of the businesses that promise to get you out of one are scams or close to it. Both things are true at once, and treating either half as the whole story will cost you money.
How much do timeshares cost?
| Average purchase price (new, developer) | ~$24,140 | ARDA 2023 [5] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average annual maintenance fee | ~$1,205 | ARDA 2023 [5] | |
| Typical resale price | $0 to low thousands | Market observation, varies widely | |
| Special assessment (major repair) | $500 to $5,000+ per incident | Varies by resort | If rising fees, not buyer's remorse, are what's driving your decision, read more in timeshare cancellation for how fee disputes intersect with cancellation rights. |
The American Resort Development Association's 2023 State of the Vacation Ownership Industry report puts the average purchase price of a timeshare interval at roughly $24,140, and average annual maintenance fees at roughly $1,205 [5]. Both numbers vary a lot by brand, unit size, season, and points-club structure; a studio-week resale can run a few thousand dollars while a large points package bought new from a developer can run well into six figures. Maintenance fees also rise almost every year, typically in the low single digits percentage-wise, and special assessments (for roof replacement, storm damage, or renovation) can add thousands more in a single bill with little notice. That combination, rising fees plus a hard-to-exit contract, is the single biggest driver of owners searching for a way out. | Cost item | Typical range | Source |
How do you sell a timeshare?
Selling is legal and sometimes possible, but you should walk in with low expectations on price. The resale market is flooded, because so many owners are trying to exit at once, and developers usually will not buy back a used interval at anything close to what you paid. Realistic steps: get a current maintenance fee statement and deed copy ready, price it honestly (search completed sales on sites like the timeshare resale marketplaces, not asking prices, since asking prices are often fantasy), and use a licensed real estate broker or timeshare-specific resale platform rather than a company that cold-calls you claiming a buyer is "already lined up." That claim is one of the oldest resale scam scripts in the industry, and the FTC specifically warns owners to be skeptical of it [2]. Expect the sale, if it happens at all, to bring in little to nothing after fees, and expect it to take months. Many owners find selling for $1, or even paying a small amount to a taker, is more realistic than expecting a profit. Never pay a large fee upfront to a resale company before a sale actually closes.
How do you get rid of a timeshare permanently?
"Getting rid of it permanently" really means one of two things: a legal deed transfer off your name (sale, deed-back, gift, or attorney-negotiated release), or death and estate settlement, which just passes the obligation to your heirs unless they formally decline it. There is no way to simply walk away and have the obligation disappear on its own; deeded timeshares are real property interests, recorded with the county, and they don't expire. If you inherited a timeshare and don't want it, an estate can typically disclaim the inheritance under state probate law before accepting it, which keeps the obligation from passing to you personally. Once an heir has accepted a deed transfer or started paying fees, disclaiming becomes much harder. Talk to a probate attorney in the decedent's state before you pay a single maintenance fee on an inherited timeshare you don't want. For an owner who is current and just wants out, working through Bluegreen's own deed-back channel first, before paying any third party, is the lowest-risk move, since it costs nothing to ask and doesn't require signing anything with an exit company. See timeshare call list for questions to ask before you call anyone claiming they can get you out.
How do I contact Bluegreen about canceling or deeding back my contract?
Call Bluegreen Vacations owner services directly using the number on your account statement or membership card, not a number found through a third-party search ad, since impersonation scams targeting timeshare owners are common. Ask specifically: "Do you currently have a deed-back or exit program, and am I eligible?" Eligibility typically depends on being current on fees and owning at a resort Bluegreen is willing to take back. If you are still inside your rescission window, do not rely on a phone call alone. Send written notice by the method your contract specifies (usually certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address printed in the contract's cancellation section) before the deadline, and keep your postal receipt and a copy of the letter. A phone rescission request with no paper trail is much harder to prove if there's ever a dispute. Bluegreen, like most developers, does not publish a single standard exit program that applies to every owner and every year; terms shift. Get any deed-back offer confirmed in writing, including who pays closing costs and what happens to unpaid special assessments, before you sign anything.
What should I know about timeshare exit companies before hiring one?
Exit companies are a real, sometimes legitimate industry, and also the part of this space with the worst scam rate. State enforcement agencies have brought actions against timeshare exit or relief companies for deceptive practices, including taking large upfront fees without delivering promised cancellations [4]. Red flags worth memorizing: a demand for full payment before any work is done, a promise that your contract "will" be cancelled, pressure to stop paying your maintenance fees or mortgage, and refusal to put fee structure or refund policy in writing. A legitimate attorney or exit service will explain that outcomes cannot be promised in advance and will usually offer some form of escrow, milestone billing, or fee structure tied to actual progress. Before hiring anyone, check the company's name plus "complaint" against your state attorney general's consumer complaint database and the Better Business Bureau, and check whether the company or its principals have been named in FTC or state enforcement actions. This is exactly the vetting step our $149 Timeshare Exit Kit walks owners through: a structured worksheet for comparing rescission deadlines, deed-back eligibility, and exit-company red flags, before anyone signs a contract or pays a fee.
What does the FTC say about timeshare cancellation and exit scams?
The FTC's consumer guidance treats timeshares as real estate purchases with real costs and real difficulty exiting once you've signed, not as something you can walk away from on a whim. That framing is the best summary of why the exit process is hard in the first place; you are not fighting a subscription, you're trying to unwind a recorded real estate interest. The agency also specifically flags resale and exit-relief scams as an active enforcement priority, warning owners to be suspicious of unsolicited calls offering to sell or cancel a timeshare for an upfront fee [2]. If you believe you've been targeted by a scam, you can file a complaint directly with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and with your state attorney general's consumer protection division. Neither the FTC nor any state AG office will cancel your contract for you, but their complaint data is what drives future enforcement, and filing a complaint costs nothing and takes about ten minutes.
Can I just stop paying my Bluegreen maintenance fees to force an exit?
No, and this is worth stating clearly: stopping payment on fees you owe under a valid contract is not a legal exit strategy, and it can seriously damage your finances. Unpaid timeshare fees typically accrue interest and late penalties, get reported to credit bureaus, and can lead to a lien against the timeshare interest and eventually foreclosure, similar to a mortgage default, depending on state law [3]. Some owners hear that "the resort will just take it back eventually if I stop paying," and sometimes that does happen, through foreclosure, but it comes with credit damage first and no assurance of a clean release; deficiency judgments for the unpaid balance are possible in some states. This is a genuinely risky path, not a shortcut, and nobody should choose it without talking to an attorney about what their specific state allows. If fees are the real problem, contact Bluegreen directly about hardship options or a deed-back before you ever miss a payment. A conversation while you're current is a much stronger negotiating position than one after you're already in default.
Frequently asked questions
How to get out of a timeshare with Bluegreen after the rescission period ends?
After rescission, your realistic options are a Bluegreen deed-back or exit program if you qualify, a resale attempt with modest expectations, or attorney review for a contract defect. There is no automatic legal exit once the window closes. Avoid any company promising a specific outcome for an upfront fee; verify claims with your state attorney general first.
How do you get out of a timeshare contract legally?
The only automatic legal exit is rescission during your state's cancellation window, done in writing per your contract's instructions. After that, legal exits require either the developer's voluntary deed-back program, a negotiated sale, or an attorney identifying an actual contract defect. There's no statute that lets you cancel a valid timeshare contract just because you changed your mind later.
How much is a timeshare, on average?
ARDA's 2023 industry report puts the average developer purchase price around $24,140, with average annual maintenance fees around $1,205. Actual prices range from a few thousand dollars for a small resale week to well over $100,000 for a large new points package, and fees typically rise a few percent each year.
Are timeshares scams?
The timeshare product itself is legal and state-regulated, so it isn't a scam by definition, though sales tactics are often aggressive. The bigger scam risk sits on the exit side: the FTC and multiple state attorneys general have documented resale and cancellation companies that take upfront fees and deliver nothing.
How to sell a timeshare for a reasonable price?
Price it based on actual completed resale sales, not developer purchase price or inflated asking prices you see online. Use a licensed real estate broker or reputable timeshare resale platform, never a cold-caller claiming a buyer is already waiting. Expect a low sale price, often near $0, and a slow process measured in months.
How to get rid of a timeshare I inherited but don't want?
Before accepting the inheritance, talk to a probate attorney about formally disclaiming it under your state's estate law, which can prevent the obligation from ever transferring to you. Once you've accepted the deed or started paying fees, disclaiming is much harder, so speak to an attorney before paying anything on an inherited timeshare.
Does Bluegreen have a deed-back or exit program?
Bluegreen Vacations has, at times, offered an owner deed-back option for eligible accounts that are current on fees, but availability depends on the resort and changes over time. Call Bluegreen owner services directly using the number on your statement, ask specifically about current deed-back eligibility, and get any offer confirmed in writing.
How long do I have to cancel a Bluegreen contract after signing?
Rescission windows are set by state law and vary; you must confirm your state's specific window and required cancellation method, since it is not the same nationwide. Check the cancellation clause printed in your own contract, which will state your state's deadline and required notice method, typically certified mail.
What happens if I stop paying my Bluegreen maintenance fees?
Unpaid fees typically accrue late charges and interest, get reported to credit bureaus, and can eventually lead to a lien or foreclosure against the timeshare interest under state law. Stopping payment is not a legal exit strategy and can hurt your credit; contact Bluegreen about hardship or deed-back options before you miss a payment.
How much does it cost to get out of a timeshare through an exit company?
Exit company fees vary widely, often several thousand dollars, and pricing structure is a key red flag indicator. Legitimate services generally avoid full payment upfront and tie fees to progress or escrow. Large upfront demands paired with promises of a specific legal outcome are the two clearest warning signs of a scam, per FTC and state AG guidance.
Can a timeshare exit company guarantee my contract will be cancelled?
No legitimate company can promise a specific legal outcome, since exits depend on contract terms, state law, and developer cooperation. Any company that claims it can guarantee a cancellation, especially for an upfront fee, should be checked against your state attorney general's complaint database before you pay anything.
Where do I report a timeshare exit scam?
File a complaint with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and with your state attorney general's consumer protection division. Both track complaint patterns that lead to enforcement actions against timeshare exit companies using complaint data from owners like you.
Sources
- Florida Legislature, Florida Vacation Plan and Timesharing Act, Section 721.10: Florida's statutory rescission period and refund requirement for timeshare cancellation
- Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice: Timeshares: Timeshares can be difficult and costly to get out of; warning about resale and exit scams targeting owners
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Ask CFPB: What is a timeshare?: Unpaid timeshare fees can lead to liens, foreclosure, and credit damage similar to other real property debt
- Missouri Attorney General, consumer protection press release on timeshare exit companies: State enforcement activity against timeshare exit/relief companies for deceptive practices
- American Resort Development Association, State of the Vacation Ownership Industry 2023 (press summary): Average timeshare purchase price (~$24,140) and average annual maintenance fee (~$1,205)