Selling a Timeshare

At some point, you may wonder if the leaks in your budget—such as annual maintenance fees—due to timeshare ownership are worth it. While timeshares are a goldmine of memories, they may become obsolete.

So, if you want to learn more about selling a timeshare and whether it would be a smart financial move, let’s dig deeper into the matter to help you finalize your decision.

An Overview of Selling a Timeshare: A Primer

Selling a timeshare might not be a walk in the park as it requires a lot of planning and going through legal documents like timeshare contracts. If you’re not a real estate agent, it may seem daunting.

However, with some good planning and understanding of optimizing the time you have access to the timeshare, you can break even the costs and income you get from it. Ideally, you can also make some profit out of the whole setup.

How Much Can Selling a Timeshare Earn You?

How much you can make selling timeshares depends on several factors, such as the location of the timeshare, its size, how appealing it is to vacationers and market conditions like the supply and demand for timeshares.

Instead of selling the timeshare itself, you can lease or rent it, in which case you’ll be selling its “right to use.”

You can check out websites similar to VRBO, where you can list your property for rental or lease so you can benefit from it when you’re not planning to use it.

It’s important to keep in mind, however, that the market demand for timeshares isn’t typically huge. This means that the resale market for timeshares comes with fierce competition, given the surplus of supply.

To understand whether your endeavor is a profitable one, you might want to conduct some research and consult with real estate brokers, especially timeshare broker associates.

How Much Does It Cost to Start a Side Hustle Selling a Timeshare?

To start a timeshare selling business or side hustle, there are some basic costs that you’re going to have to incur. Others aren’t necessary costs but might help you sell your timeshare faster.

We’ll break down these costs in this section to help you plan your spending and facilitate a cost-benefit analysis on your end.

• Timeshare Upfront Price: Owning a timeshare in the first place will cost you the upfront price. They can range from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands or even more, depending on the location, size, and amenities. Yet, you can find some opportunities for fewer than a thousand bucks by browsing the timeshare resale market.
• Advertising and Marketing: A bit of marketing goes a long way when it comes to selling a share. There are some advertising websites to help you do it, such as eBay, Timeshare Users Group (TUG), Facebook, Redweek, and Craigslist.
• Membership Fees: This one is tied to the point above, as you may want to opt for memberships with websites like RedWeek to facilitate the timeshare resale process, especially when it comes to resale prices.
• Administrative Costs: Another aspect to keep in mind is that you’ll have to settle some paperwork and might need some legal advice regarding the contracts and documents. Both of these processes will cost you some money, which you have to take into account when considering selling a timeshare.

Let’s assume that you have access to a timeshare for 2 weeks per year. You can use a week to vacation and rent the other one to cover at least the majority of your timeshare maintenance fees.

With enough renovations and negotiation skills, you might even be able to use the rental money to cover the entire maintenance bill.

Where Can You Find Timeshares to Buy?

There are a couple of sources that you can seek to find timeshares to buy easily, and these include:

• Resort Developer: Since plenty of timeshares are sold by resort developers or vacation clubs, you can try the sales office of the resort. They will offer you a wide selection of timeshares in various locations, and you can get some that are in the pre-construction stage.
• Timeshare Resale Company: You can look for a timeshare developer from a company. They’ll help you browse listings on the secondary market and land the best option according to your budget and plans.
• Real Estate Market: Some real estate agents specialize in the timeshare resale industry, and they’ll do all the negotiations on your behalf. Of course, that’ll cost you a commission that’s typically a portion of the final sale price.

Why You Should Consider Selling a Timeshare As a Side Hustle

If you’re interested in the real estate and hospitality industry, buying and reselling timeshares can be a cost-effective way to make some money out of your passion.

• Solid Return on Investment: You might need some money to invest in buying timeshares and learning how to sell them. Once you do, you can make a considerable amount of money reselling them—sometimes for more than the original price!
• Market Expansion Opportunities: After establishing your business, you can collaborate with multiple resorts, destinations, and developers. This will help your business bloom and increase your sales potential and reach a wider audience of consumers.
• Diversification: Selling timeshares is a viable way to expand your portfolio instead of focusing on traditional real estate sales only. Not to mention, timeshare property is a lot more affordable.

Problems With Selling a Timeshare

• Supply and Demand: With competitors like Airbnb, the supply for rentals is quite extensive, which makes it harder to find customers. You’ll have to do a lot of calculations to sell at a competitive price yet offer an attractive price to the potential buyer.
• Deedback Programs and Resale Fees: Some resorts offer deedback programs, making it easier to sell the timeshare back to the resort. Not to mention, the resale process comes with plenty of fees (advertising, listing, etc.), which can hinder your reselling process.
• Depreciation: Unlike regular real estate, timeshares lose value in the secondary market, which makes them less of an investment than plenty of other options out there. This makes buyers more likely to buy from a timeshare developer than to opt for a high price offered for a used timeshare.

Frequently Asked Questions