Last updated 2026-07-26
TL;DR
Stonegate isn't a single resort, it's a name used by several timeshare developers and management companies. Your exit path depends on your specific contract: check if you're still inside your state's rescission window, ask the resort directly about a deed-back program, and never pay a large upfront fee to a company that promises a certain cancellation. The FTC and most state AGs warn against upfront-fee exit scams.
What is Stonegate timeshare and who actually manages it?
"Stonegate" shows up in the timeshare world attached to a handful of different properties and management arrangements, not one national brand like Marriott Vacation Club or Hilton Grand Vacations. If you own at a resort with Stonegate in the name or paperwork, the first thing to nail down is who your actual managing entity is and who holds your contract, because that determines which laws and which office apply to your fees, your rescission rights, and any deed-back request. Pull your original purchase contract, your most recent maintenance fee statement, and any welcome letter you received at closing. These documents name the actual seller, the management company collecting your fees, and sometimes the homeowners' association or vacation club that governs the property. Don't guess based on the resort's marketing name. Timeshare ownership is legally a real estate interest or a club membership, and the entity named in your deed or contract is who you'd need to contact about a deed-back, not a call center. If you can't find your paperwork, your county recorder's office (where the property sits) can usually pull the recorded deed for a small fee, and that deed will name the grantor and any HOA. This step costs nothing but a little patience and maybe a $5 to $20 document fee, and it saves you from wasting money on a company that claims to specialize in "Stonegate exits" without ever confirming they know your specific contract terms.
How to get out of a timeshare: what actually works
There is no single button that gets anyone out of a timeshare. What exists is a short list of legitimate paths, and your options narrow fast depending on how long you've owned it and whether you're current on payments. The cleanest exit is rescission, but that window is short and it's calculated from your state's law, not from when you feel ready to cancel. Every state sets its own rescission period for timeshare purchases, some as short as 3 business days, others up to 15 calendar days or more depending on the state and how the contract was signed. Florida, for example, gives buyers 10 calendar days after execution of the contract to cancel, and the statute states the purchaser "has the right to cancel the contract until midnight of the 10th calendar day following whichever of the following days occurs last" [1]. California requires timeshare interval sellers to give buyers a minimum 7-day right to cancel [2]. If you just signed, stop reading generic advice and confirm your specific state's rescission window immediately, because sending a cancellation letter one day late can forfeit the right entirely. Outside the rescission window, your remaining options are: a deed-back or surrender program run by the resort or management company (some call this a "deedback" or "exit program"), a resale on the secondary market, a documented gift or transfer to someone willing to take over the deed and fees, or, in rare hardship cases, letting the HOA foreclose (which the FTC warns will damage your credit and doesn't erase amounts already owed) [3]. There is no legal mechanism that cancels a timeshare contract outside rescission just because you're unhappy with the fees. For a full state-by-state breakdown of rescission periods, see how to get out of a timeshare.
How do you get out of a timeshare if the rescission window already passed?
Once rescission has closed, the fastest legitimate route is asking the resort or developer directly if they run a deed-back or surrender program. Many larger operators, and some HOAs at smaller resorts, will take a paid-off, fee-current timeshare back for free or for a modest administrative fee, because it's cheaper for them than chasing an owner through years of unpaid assessments and eventual foreclosure. Call the HOA or management company (not a third-party "transfer" company) and ask specifically: "Do you have a deed-back, surrender, or takeback program for owners who are current on their fees?" Get any answer in writing. Some programs require you to be fully paid off with no mortgage balance remaining, and some charge a closing or transfer fee in the low hundreds of dollars. This is normal and very different from paying thousands upfront to a stranger who promises to "negotiate your exit." If there's no deed-back program, look at a documented transfer or resale next. It costs little to try, though the resale market for most timeshares is genuinely bad, which we cover below. What you should not do is stop paying maintenance fees hoping the resort will "just take it back." Unpaid fees can go to collections, get reported to credit bureaus, and in HOA foreclosure states can still leave you owing money or facing a judgment even after the deed is gone. For step-by-step guidance on approaching your specific HOA, see timeshare cancellation.
How much do timeshares cost, really?
| Upfront purchase price (resale) | $0 to $3,000 (many resell for near nothing) | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront purchase price (developer/new) | $15,000 to $30,000+ [4] | |
| Annual maintenance fee | ~$1,170 average, often $800 to $2,000+ [4] | |
| Special assessment (occasional) | $500 to $5,000+ depending on damage/project | |
| Closing/transfer fee if you sell or gift | $200 to $600 typically | That maintenance fee gap between what you paid and what a resale interval sells for is exactly why timeshare resale prices are often close to zero. Buyers know the fees keep coming whether they use the week or not. |
The upfront purchase price is only the first cost, and often not the biggest one over time. According to the American Resort Development Association's 2023 State of the Vacation Ownership Industry report, the average price of a timeshare interval purchased in 2022 was about $23,940, and the average annual maintenance fee was $1,170 [4]. Those maintenance fees aren't flat either. They rise most years to cover repairs, insurance, and rising labor and materials costs, and owners can also get hit with special assessments after storm damage, a roof replacement, or a lawsuit settlement, sometimes running into the thousands of dollars in a single year. Here's a rough cost picture for a typical one-week fixed-week timeshare, using industry averages: | Cost type | Typical range |
How much are timeshares on the resale market?
Brutally little, in most cases. Timeshares are not an investment and they do not appreciate like a house. Many owners list weeks for $1 on resale sites just to get someone, anyone, to take over the deed and the annual fee obligation. ARDA's own data and years of consumer complaints to state attorneys general point to the same pattern: developer-sold timeshares routinely resell, if they sell at all, for a small fraction of the original purchase price [4]. A week that cost $20,000 new might list for $500 to $2,000 on the resale market, and plenty sit unsold for years. High-demand brands in strong locations (certain Disney Vacation Club or Marriott resorts) hold value better than most, but a generic fixed-week interval at a lesser-known resort, which is closer to what many Stonegate-affiliated properties look like, often has almost no resale demand at all. This is worth knowing before you pay anyone a large sum promising to "find a buyer" for your week. If a company makes big claims about a fast sale at a good price, ask for that promise in writing with a specific refund clause if it doesn't happen. Most legitimate resale brokers work on commission after a sale closes, not on a large upfront retainer.
How to sell a timeshare without losing more money
If you want to sell rather than deed back or gift, go in with realistic expectations and skip anyone who wants a big check before they've done anything. First, get your fees current. No one, including a legitimate broker, can transfer a deed with fees in arrears in most HOA structures. Second, get a written payoff and transfer-fee statement from your HOA or management company so you know exactly what a buyer would be taking on. Third, list through a licensed timeshare resale broker or a reputable marketplace, and expect the sale price, if there is one, to be low. Some owners have better luck simply giving the timeshare away for $0 to $1 to a willing family member or through a timeshare-specific transfer service, as long as the transfer is done through a proper deed change, more than a handshake. Watch for the classic upfront-fee resale scam: someone cold-calls or emails saying they have a "buyer already lined up" for your exact unit, but you need to pay a few hundred to a few thousand dollars in "closing costs" or "taxes" first. The Federal Trade Commission has published repeated warnings about exactly this pattern. The FTC's consumer guidance describes fraudulent resellers who "contact timeshare owners and offer to sell or rent their timeshare, often guaranteeing a buyer or renter, and asking for money up front" [3]. If you're asked to wire money or send a prepaid card before any signed sale agreement exists, stop and verify the company independently.
How to get rid of a timeshare permanently
"Getting rid of it" and "getting out of paying for it forever" aren't always the same thing, and that distinction matters legally. A clean deed-back, an approved HOA surrender, or a completed resale/gift with a recorded deed transfer are the only ways to permanently end your ownership and your future fee obligation. Simply stopping payment does not end the contract. It typically leads to late fees, collections calls, a ding on your credit report, and in some states the HOA foreclosing on the interval, which can still leave a debt judgment against you depending on state law and whether it's a deeded or right-to-use product. If your ownership is inherited, you have the same set of options plus one more: some estates disclaim (formally refuse) the timeshare interest before probate closes, which can prevent the obligation from passing to you at all. Federal tax law governs how a qualified disclaimer must work: under 26 U.S. Code Section 2518, a disclaimer must be in writing and delivered within nine months of the transfer creating the interest for it to be treated as a qualified disclaimer [5]. Talk to the estate's probate attorney about disclaiming an inherited timeshare before you accept any transfer paperwork, because once you're the recorded owner, you own the fee obligation too. For a practical walkthrough of exit paths ranked by how fast and cheap they are, see how to get out of timeshare and how do you get out of a timeshare.
Are timeshares scams? What's legitimate and what isn't
The timeshare product itself is legal and regulated in every state, it's just usually a bad financial deal, and that's different from being a scam. What is a genuine scam, and something regulators pursue actively, is the exit and resale industry that preys on frustrated owners. The FTC has brought enforcement actions against companies that charged large upfront fees, sometimes $2,000 to $10,000 or more, promising to cancel timeshare contracts or promising a sale, then delivered nothing. In one such case, the FTC sued a timeshare exit company called Resort Release (also doing business under related names), and the FTC's press release on that action states the defendants "charged consumers thousands of dollars in upfront fees, falsely telling them the fees were being placed in escrow accounts to pay maintenance fees" while failing to cancel the timeshares as promised [6]. State attorneys general in Florida, Tennessee, Missouri, and elsewhere have pursued similar cases against exit companies. The pattern regulators flag again and again: high-pressure sales tactics, demands for payment before any service is performed, and promises that sound too certain. No legitimate company can promise a certain timeshare cancellation, because the outcome depends on your contract, your state's law, and whether the resort agrees to a deed-back. Be skeptical of anyone who says otherwise, and be equally skeptical of "timeshare attorneys" who cold-call you out of nowhere. If a company won't explain, in plain terms, exactly what steps they'll take on your specific contract before you pay them anything substantial, walk away. For a rundown of exit company red flags by name and pattern, see timeshare exit companies.
What should I actually do this week?
Start with the paperwork, not a phone call to a stranger. Pull your contract and confirm three things: whether you're inside your state's rescission window, whether your fees are current, and who your actual managing entity or HOA is. If you're inside rescission, send your cancellation notice in writing, by the method your contract specifies (often certified mail), before the deadline, and keep proof of mailing. If you're past rescission, call your HOA or resort directly and ask about a deed-back or surrender program in writing. If that's not available, look into a documented resale or transfer, keeping your expectations about price realistic based on the resale data above. This is also the point where a lot of owners get contacted, sometimes because their information ends up on lead lists that circulate in the timeshare exit industry, by companies offering to "handle everything" for a large upfront fee. That's the moment to slow down. A timeshare call list explains how your contact information ends up in these pipelines and how to reduce unwanted solicitation. If you want a structured way to organize your documents, rescission deadline, HOA contact requests, and dispute letters yourself rather than pay a company thousands of dollars to do it, ExitHonest sells a one-time $149 Timeshare Exit Kit built around this exact process. It's a toolkit, not a promise of cancellation, and it won't contact the resort for you. You can build yours at /exit-kit-builder.
How can I tell a legitimate deed-back program from an exit scam?
A legitimate deed-back program is run by, or directly authorized by, your actual HOA or management company, requires you to be current on fees (sometimes fully paid off), and either charges nothing or a modest, disclosed administrative fee, often in the low hundreds of dollars, not thousands. A scam pattern usually involves a third party you didn't contact first (cold call, email, or a booth at a "timeshare update" seminar), demands a large payment before any paperwork is filed, and can't or won't name the specific deed-back or legal process they're using on your specific contract. The FTC's consumer guidance warns that legitimate assistance never comes with a certainty attached, and advises being wary of anyone asking for payment via wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift cards, which are hard to reverse [3]. When in doubt, call your state attorney general's consumer protection office before signing anything with a third-party exit company. Most state AG offices keep public complaint databases and can tell you if a company has an active pattern of complaints against it.
Frequently asked questions
How to get out of a timeshare fast?
The only fast, sure exit is rescission, canceling in writing within your state's specific window (often a matter of days) right after signing. Outside that window, there is no fast sure exit; deed-back programs, resale, and gifting all take weeks to months and depend on your HOA's cooperation and your fee status.
How do you get out of a timeshare after the rescission period ends?
Ask your resort or HOA directly if they run a deed-back or surrender program for owners current on fees. If not, pursue a documented resale or a gift transfer with a properly recorded deed. Never simply stop paying, since that can trigger collections, credit damage, and possible foreclosure depending on your state.
How to sell a timeshare when nobody seems to want it?
List through a licensed timeshare resale broker or reputable marketplace, get your fees current first, and price realistically; many resales go for a few hundred dollars or less. If no buyer emerges, consider gifting the deed for $0 to $1 to a willing party, or ask about your HOA's deed-back program instead.
Are timeshares scams, or just bad investments?
The timeshare product is legal and regulated, not inherently a scam, but it's rarely a good financial decision because resale value is usually near zero and fees rise every year. The real scam risk sits in the exit and resale industry, where the FTC has documented upfront-fee schemes that promise cancellation and deliver nothing.
How much do timeshares cost per year in maintenance fees?
ARDA's 2023 industry report puts the average annual timeshare maintenance fee at about $1,170, though many owners pay $800 to $2,000 or more depending on resort size, amenities, and location, and special assessments can add hundreds or thousands more in a given year.
How much is a timeshare to buy new versus resale?
New from a developer, intervals average close to $23,940 according to ARDA's 2023 report. On the resale market, the same or similar interval often sells for a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, sometimes as little as $1, because ongoing fee obligations scare off buyers.
How to get rid of a timeshare I inherited?
Before accepting the transfer, ask the estate's probate attorney about formally disclaiming the inherited interest under 26 U.S. Code Section 2518, which can prevent the fee obligation from passing to you if done in writing within nine months. If you've already accepted it, the same options apply as any owner: rescission (if newly purchased and still in window), deed-back, resale, or gift.
What happens if I just stop paying my timeshare maintenance fees?
Unpaid fees typically go to collections, get reported to credit bureaus, and can lead to HOA foreclosure on the interval. Depending on your state and whether the product is deeded or right-to-use, you may still owe a deficiency judgment after foreclosure. It's not a clean or cost-free exit.
Is Stonegate a single timeshare company I can call for an exit?
Not exactly. Stonegate is used as a name across different properties and management structures rather than one national brand. Find your specific deed and contract paperwork first to identify your actual managing entity or HOA before contacting anyone about an exit.
How do I know if a timeshare exit company is a scam?
Red flags include demanding a large payment before doing any work, promising cancellation with certainty, pressuring you to act immediately, and asking for wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or gift cards. Regulators including the FTC and state attorneys general warn that legitimate help never comes with a certain outcome attached and shouldn't require large sums upfront.
Can I rescind my timeshare contract if it's been years since I bought it?
No. Rescission windows are short, typically days to a couple weeks depending on state law, and start running from the date you signed or received required disclosures. Once that window closes, rescission is no longer available; you'd need to pursue a deed-back, resale, or other exit path instead.
Where do I report a timeshare exit scam?
File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov and with your state attorney general's consumer protection division. Many states also let you check a company's complaint history before you sign anything or send payment.
Sources
- Florida Statutes Section 721.10, Cancellation: Florida gives timeshare buyers 10 calendar days after contract execution to cancel
- California Business and Professions Code Section 11238: California requires a minimum 7-day right to cancel a timeshare purchase contract
- Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice: Timeshares, Vacation Clubs, and Related Scams: Scammers pose as resellers claiming a buyer is lined up and demand upfront fees; FTC warns against certainty-based promises and upfront-fee schemes
- American Resort Development Association, State of the Vacation Ownership Industry 2023 (as reported in ARDA industry statistics): Average 2022 timeshare purchase price was about $23,940 and average annual maintenance fee was about $1,170
- 26 U.S. Code Section 2518, Disclaimers: A qualified disclaimer of an inherited interest must be in writing and delivered within nine months of the transfer creating the interest
- Federal Trade Commission, FTC v. Resort Release, LLC, Press Release: FTC Action Leads to Ban from Timeshare Exit Business: The FTC has brought enforcement actions against timeshare exit companies that charged consumers thousands of dollars in upfront fees without delivering promised cancellations