If there is a mail box or a community bulletin board at your home resort, you can put up a “For sale” sign. This will pressure the developer especially if they sell it for $20,000 USD and you offer it for $5,000. Sometimes on the fine print of some sale agreements says that the developer has the first right to buy if your place is ever sold. I have heard of developers paying the money (as long as is not too much) just to take the sign out.

To resale or rent a timeshare is a hard task, the basic rule is not to pay money up-front, don’t be another victim of a scam. Unfortunately over 50% of people that really need to sell their timeshare falls for resale scams where they charge money upfront and less than 10% of them use their only real option which is to post it or offer it through free advertising options as much, and as many sites as they can (it is okay to pay a few dollars to post in a great place but no more that $20 to $30). Timeshares do not have resale value and in most situations you would take a loss in what you paid for, as they resale for less than $2000 USD.

There are some free classified ads where you can start posting:

http://timeshareownerscommunity.com/

http://craigslist.com

http://ebay.com

http://recycler.com/

http://usfreeads.com/

http://www.inetgiant.com/

In the meantime you can put any and all extra money you have towards paying off the loan. You could even get a second income to do so. This really should be thought of as throwing good money after bad; because if you do pay it off you will still be on the hook for maintenance fees and taxes etc.

Timeshare owners incur an annual maintenance fee. Fees may be incurred more frequently due to special assessments. As a timeshare owner you should be budget for these fees.

Timeshare maintenance fees are used by the HOA or developer to pay for the upkeep needed to keep the property in a desirable condition. As with any property, such as your home, it costs money to keep the property maintained and safe. Maintenance items like carpet, paint, and roof repairs are typically funded by owner maintenance fees.

The annual maintenance fee is established by the timeshare management company, either the developer or the HOA. Fees are typically higher with an HOA. The developer typically wants to keep the fees low in order to keep costs low for the initial buyers.

You should expect to pay at least $400/year in maintenance fees. $400 is the average. You could pay more depending on the property, and depending on what is defined in your contract. Review the contract thoroughly to understand your financial obligations.

You should be prepared to pay more in special assessment fees. Special assessment fees can be levied at any time. Unforeseen events can lead to special assessment fees. A common example of an unforeseen event is hurricane damage that exceeds the payout of the insurance company.

If you understand your costs, and budget properly, you should not have any problem paying the fees. Maybe you cannot pay the fees due to unforeseen financial events. Typically you can quick claim deed the property to the timeshare management company if you can no longer afford the fees. Donating your timeshare to a charity is another popular option. If a quick claim deed offer is not accepted, and donating does not pan out, then you can sell your property for one dollar and have the new owner assume the maintenance fees.