Last updated 2026-07-25
TL;DR
You can cancel a timeshare fastest during your state's rescission window, which is short (often 3 to 10 days) and starts at signing. After that, deed-back programs, resale, or (rarely) surrender are your realistic paths. Skip any company demanding a big upfront fee to promise a fast exit. The FTC and state AGs have both flagged that pattern repeatedly.
How do you get out of a timeshare, exactly?
There's no single button to press. What you do depends entirely on timing: are you still inside your rescission window, or did you close on this thing years ago? If you just signed, the fastest and cheapest exit is rescission (some states call it "cooling off"). Every state that regulates timeshares gives buyers a window to cancel with no reason needed and no penalty, but the length varies a lot and the clock usually starts the day you sign or the day you get the public offering statement, whichever your state's law says. Florida gives 10 calendar days [1]. California gives 7 calendar days [2]. Some states are shorter. You have to confirm your state's rescission window before you do anything else, because guessing wrong here is the single most common way people miss their shot. If that window already closed, you're in the second phase: post-rescission exit. That means one of a few realistic paths. A developer deed-back or surrender program, where the resort takes the unit back (sometimes for a fee, sometimes free, sometimes only if your fees are current and the unit is mortgage-free). Reselling on the secondary market, which for most timeshares nets close to zero dollars or even negative money once you count closing costs. Or, in narrow cases, walking away and accepting the credit and collections consequences, which is not something we'd tell you to do lightly and is not legal advice. What doesn't work: paying a stranger who cold-called you $6,000 upfront and promising to get you out fast. We'll get into why below. For a state-by-state breakdown of rescission rules, see how to get out of a timeshare.
What is a timeshare rescission window and how long do I have?
A rescission window (also called a right of cancellation or cooling-off period) is a legal right written into state law that lets a timeshare buyer cancel the purchase for any reason, penalty-free, within a set number of days after signing. It exists specifically because timeshare sales presentations are high-pressure, and lawmakers know it. The number of days is not the same everywhere. Florida Statute 721.10 sets a 10-calendar-day rescission period for timeshare purchases, running from the date of execution of the contract or the date the buyer receives the last document required to be given, whichever is later [1]. California's Civil Code sets a 7-calendar-day window for timeshare interests [2]. Other states set their own numbers, and some set different windows depending on whether the property is in-state or the buyer is out-of-state at signing. Here's the part people get wrong: they think the window starts when they get home from vacation, or when the resort mails paperwork. Usually it starts at signing. If you signed on a Tuesday during a beach vacation and don't think about cancelling until you're back home two weeks later, you have likely already lost your rescission right in most states. To cancel inside the window, most states require written notice, sent in a specific way (often certified mail, return receipt requested), to a specific address named in your contract. Verbal cancellation, or telling your sales rep "I changed my mind," is generally not enough and is not proof if there's ever a dispute. Check your actual contract for the rescission clause and the notice address, and confirm your state's rescission window on your state attorney general's consumer protection page or through your state's statutes directly, since resort sales staff have an incentive to downplay this right, not explain it clearly. See our timeshare cancellation guide for the mechanics of sending notice correctly.
How do I cancel a timeshare after the rescission period ends?
Once rescission has passed, cancellation isn't a legal right anymore. It becomes a negotiation, and how much room you have to negotiate depends on your fee status, your mortgage status, and which resort or developer you're dealing with. Step one: check whether your resort has a deed-back or voluntary surrender program. A growing number of developers, including some of the larger branded systems, now offer official ways to hand the deed back, sometimes at no cost if your maintenance fees are current and the timeshare has no mortgage balance. This is the cleanest post-rescission exit that exists, because it's the developer agreeing to take the liability off your name through their own paperwork, not a third party promising to "negotiate" on your behalf. Step two, if there's no deed-back program or you don't qualify: look at resale. Be honest with yourself about value here (more on that below), because most timeshares resell for a small fraction of purchase price, if they sell at all. Step three: if you're getting solicited by a company promising a fast, easy exit for an upfront fee, slow down. Call your state attorney general's consumer protection line and ask if that company has complaints on file before you send anyone money. Throughout all of this: keep paying your maintenance fees and any loan payments until the timeshare is legally out of your name. Stopping payment doesn't cancel a contract, it just adds collections activity and credit damage on top of a timeshare you still legally own. That's true whether you're negotiating a deed-back, waiting on a resale listing, or dealing with an exit company. For a broader list of exit routes, see how to get out of timeshare.
Are timeshares scams?
The timeshare product itself is legal in every US state, so "timeshares are scams" isn't quite accurate as a blanket statement. But the sales process and the exit industry around timeshares both have real, well-documented scam problems, and you should treat both stages with suspicion. On the sales side: high-pressure presentations, misrepresented resale value ("this will appreciate" is essentially never true), and undisclosed fee increases are common complaints to state attorneys general and the Better Business Bureau. Timeshares are not investments. They almost never appreciate, and the resale market for them is thin to nonexistent for most brands outside a handful of strong ones. On the exit side, the FTC has taken action against timeshare exit and relief companies for allegedly charging thousands of dollars upfront and failing to deliver promised cancellations. The FTC's guidance to consumers states plainly: "Before you pay anyone to help you get out of your timeshare, contact your timeshare developer... Some timeshare developers have exit programs." [3] That's the agency's own recommended first move, and it costs nothing. So: is the product a scam? No, it's a real, if often overpriced and hard-to-exit, real estate or right-to-use product. Is there a scam layer built around confused, desperate owners trying to get out? Yes, well documented, and it's the layer you need to be most careful about right now if you're reading this article. See timeshare exit companies for how to vet one before paying anything.
How much does a timeshare cost, really?
Two separate numbers matter here: what you pay to buy in, and what you pay every year after, forever, whether you use it or not. According to the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), the trade group for the timeshare industry, the average price of a timeshare interval was about $23,940 in 2022. Other industry surveys have put average purchase price closer to $16,000 to $22,000 depending on the year and product type (points-based vs. fixed week vs. fractional). Either way, we're talking five figures for most buyers, financed at interest rates that can run considerably higher than a mortgage, sometimes 12% to 18% through developer financing. Then there's the part that catches people off guard years later: annual maintenance fees. ARDA's own data put the average annual maintenance fee at $1,313 in 2023. That number climbs almost every year, often faster than general inflation, and special assessments (one-time charges for a new roof, storm damage, renovation) can add thousands more in a single bad year, with zero ability to opt out as long as you own the interval. Do the math over, say, 20 years of ownership: a $20,000 purchase plus $1,300 a year in fees (growing) plus at least one or two special assessments easily puts total cost of ownership north of $50,000 to $70,000 for a single week of vacation lodging per year. That's the number resort sales presentations don't walk you through. For more on fee trends, see our maintenance fees coverage.
How much are timeshares worth if I try to sell?
Almost always far less than you paid, and often nothing. This is the hardest truth in timeshare ownership, and it's worth saying plainly instead of softening it. The secondary market for timeshares is flooded. Thousands of owners list their weeks or points every year on sites like RedWeek, Timeshare Users Group, and eBay, often starting at $1 just to get out from under maintenance fees, because a buyer taking over the deed also takes over the annual fee obligation. Some resale points sell for a few hundred to a few thousand dollars if the resort or brand is strong (certain Disney Vacation Club or Marriott Vacation Club resale points hold value better than most). Most other brands, especially smaller or older resorts, get little to no resale interest at any price. Industry surveys generally agree that timeshares depreciate immediately and heavily after purchase, similar to driving a new car off the lot, except the car doesn't come with an annual bill that grows every year. If you do want to try reselling, a few rules: never pay an upfront fee to a resale "broker" who promises a sale (a legitimate broker earns commission on a completed sale, not a fee to list). Price to move, not to recoup your original cost. And be ready for the honest possibility that giving the timeshare away for $1, or handing it back through a deed-back program, may be the more realistic outcome than a paid sale.
How do I sell a timeshare (if I want to try)?
If you want to attempt resale rather than deed-back, here's the realistic sequence. First, find your resort's own resale or resale-referral program, if one exists. Some developers will list your unit on an internal resale board or connect you with a resort-affiliated resale channel, and buying resale through the resort's own system tends to filter out scam brokers because the resort has some reputation on the line. Second, check reputable third-party resale marketplaces like RedWeek or the Timeshare Users Group forums, where you can see actual recent sale prices for units similar to yours, not asking prices, which are usually fantasy numbers. Third, if you use a licensed real estate broker in the state where the resort sits (timeshare resales are real estate transactions in most states and require a licensed broker to legally handle the transfer in many jurisdictions), confirm the broker is paid by commission at closing, not an upfront listing fee. Fourth: expect it to take months, not weeks, and expect that closing costs, transfer fees, and the resort's right of first refusal (many contracts give the resort the option to buy back the unit before it goes to your outside buyer, at the price you negotiated) can eat much of whatever sale price you land. If, after all that, nobody bites, a deed-back or the resort's own surrender program is usually a faster and cheaper outcome than continuing to chase a private sale.
What's the difference between a deed-back, resale, and an exit company?
| Developer deed-back / surrender | Often free to a few hundred dollars in admin fees | Weeks to a few months | The resort/developer directly | Not all resorts offer one; eligibility rules (fees current, no mortgage) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private resale | Often $0 to low hundreds in closing costs, or you may net nothing | Months, sometimes over a year | You, a broker, or a resale marketplace | Little to no buyer interest for many brands; scam "resale" listing fees | |
| Third-party exit company | Commonly $2,000 to $8,000+ upfront, per FTC and state AG complaint patterns [3] [4] | Weeks to years, or never | A company you've hired, that may or may not contact the resort | FTC and state AGs have documented companies that took fees and delivered nothing | The deed-back route is the one to check first, always, because it costs the least and the resort has direct legal ability to release you. Resale is a reasonable second try if your unit has real market demand. Third-party exit companies are the highest-cost, highest-risk route, and if you go that direction, verify the company's standing with your state attorney general and the Better Business Bureau before paying anything upfront. |
These three routes get confused constantly, and they have very different cost and risk profiles. Here's a straight comparison. | Route | Typical cost to you | Speed | Who's doing the work | Main risk |
What should I do if a timeshare exit company contacts me?
Slow down before you sign anything or pay anything. This is the single highest-scam-risk moment in the whole timeshare exit process. The FTC's consumer guidance on timeshare resales and exits is direct: contact your timeshare developer first, since "some timeshare developers have exit programs," before paying a third party [3]. That's free advice from a federal agency, and it costs you a phone call. Red flags to watch for, based on patterns the FTC and state attorneys general have pursued in enforcement actions: a company that cold-calls you out of nowhere claiming to have "a buyer already lined up" for your unit; demands for a large upfront fee before any service is performed; pressure to pay by wire transfer or gift card (a payment method almost never legitimate for this kind of transaction); refusal to put cancellation terms and a refund policy in writing; and claims that you must act "today" or lose the opportunity. Before paying anyone: call your state attorney general's consumer protection division and ask whether the company has complaints on file. Check the Better Business Bureau. Ask for the company's cancellation and refund policy in writing, and read it before you sign, not after. We built a $149 one-time Exit Kit at ExitHonest precisely because most owners just need an organized, step-by-step way to gather their contract, confirm their state's rules, and draft their own deed-back or rescission correspondence, rather than paying a company thousands of dollars to "handle" a process that, for a lot of owners, they can walk through themselves with the right documents in hand. It's not a law firm service and it doesn't contact the resort for you. If you want a structured starting point, the exit-kit-builder walks through your situation and generates the right documents for your state. For a running list of programs and contacts by resort, see our timeshare call list.
I inherited a timeshare I never wanted. What now?
This is one of the most common situations we hear about, and it has its own wrinkle: you didn't sign anything, so there's no rescission window to use. When someone dies owning a timeshare, the interval typically becomes part of their estate and passes according to the will or state intestacy law, same as any other piece of property. If you're an heir or executor, you generally are not automatically personally liable for the maintenance fees just because you inherited the interest, but the estate is, and once the deed transfers into your name, you become the owner of record and the ongoing obligation follows the property. Some states allow an heir to formally disclaim an inheritance (refuse it) within a set time, which can keep the timeshare from ever transferring into your name in the first place, redirecting it back into the estate or to the next heir in line. This is a legal filing, not something you do by ignoring mail, and the timing and requirements vary by state, so this is a genuine case where talking to an estate attorney in the decedent's state is worth the consultation fee. If the deed has already transferred to you, your options are the same as any other owner's: check for a developer deed-back program first, consider resale if the brand has any market value, and avoid upfront-fee exit companies. Some resorts have specific inherited-ownership surrender programs, since this situation is common enough that developers have built a process for it.
How do rescission windows compare across states?
| Florida | 10 calendar days | Fla. Stat. 721.10 [1] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 7 calendar days | Cal. Civ. Code 11024 [2] | Most other states set their own period, commonly somewhere in the 3-to-15-day range, and some distinguish between resident and non-resident buyers or between timeshare estates and timeshare licenses/right-to-use products. Because this list is not exhaustive and laws do get amended, treat any number you read online, including the two above, as a starting point to verify against your own contract and your state's current statute or your state attorney general's consumer page, not a final answer. |
Because state law governs this directly, the exact number of days is not something to guess at or assume is uniform. Below is a small sample to show how much the range varies; always confirm the current statute for your specific state before relying on a day count. | State | Statutory rescission period | Source |
Frequently asked questions
How to get out of a timeshare fast?
The only fast, no-cost, legally protected option is rescission, and it only works if you're still inside your state's rescission window (commonly single digits to about two weeks from signing). Confirm your state's exact window and send written cancellation notice exactly as your contract specifies, usually by certified mail, to the address named in the contract.
How do you get out of a timeshare after the rescission period has passed?
Check for a developer deed-back or surrender program first, since some resorts take the unit back for free or a small fee if your account is current and mortgage-free. If that's not available, try resale through your resort or a reputable marketplace like RedWeek. Avoid third-party companies demanding large upfront fees to promise an exit.
How to sell a timeshare?
List through your resort's own resale channel if one exists, or a reputable marketplace like RedWeek or the Timeshare Users Group. Price based on recent actual sales, not your purchase price. Most timeshares resell for a small fraction of what was paid, and many sell for $1 or don't sell at all, since the buyer inherits the annual maintenance fee too.
How to get rid of a timeshare with no resale value?
If nobody will buy it, your best remaining options are a developer deed-back or surrender program, or in rare cases donating it (some charities occasionally accept them, though most decline because of the ongoing fee liability). Keep paying fees while you pursue any of these, since stopping payment doesn't remove your name from the deed.
Are timeshares scams?
The product itself is legal, but sales tactics are often high-pressure and resale value claims are usually false, timeshares almost never appreciate. The bigger scam risk today is in the exit industry: the FTC has pursued companies that charged large upfront fees and failed to deliver promised cancellations, so vet any exit company before paying anything.
How much is a timeshare?
ARDA, the industry's own trade association, reported an average purchase price around $23,940 in 2022, with other industry data putting typical prices in the $16,000 to $22,000 range depending on product type. On top of that, ARDA reported average annual maintenance fees of $1,313 in 2023, and that fee typically rises most years.
How much do timeshares cost per year in maintenance fees?
ARDA's 2023 data puts the average annual maintenance fee at $1,313, and fees generally increase annually, sometimes faster than general inflation. Special assessments for repairs or renovations can add thousands more in a single year on top of the regular fee, with no ability to opt out while you own the interval.
What is a timeshare rescission window?
It's a state-law right letting a timeshare buyer cancel the contract for any reason within a short period after signing, with no penalty. Florida sets 10 calendar days (Fla. Stat. 721.10); California sets 7 calendar days (Cal. Civ. Code 11024). The window usually starts at signing, not when you get home, so confirm your specific state's rule immediately if you're reconsidering a recent purchase.
Can I just stop paying my timeshare maintenance fees to get out?
No, and we wouldn't advise it. Stopping payment doesn't cancel the contract; it puts you into fee delinquency, potential collections activity, and credit damage while you still legally own the timeshare. Work through a deed-back, resale, or documented rescission instead, and keep payments current until the ownership is formally transferred out of your name.
What happens if I inherited a timeshare I don't want?
You generally aren't personally liable for old fees just from inheriting, but once the deed transfers to you, the ongoing obligation follows the property. Some states let an heir formally disclaim an inheritance within a set deadline before it transfers; if it's already in your name, look at deed-back and resale options like any other owner, and consider an estate attorney for the disclaimer question.
How do I know if a timeshare exit company is a scam?
Watch for upfront fee demands before any service is done, pressure to pay by wire or gift card, promises of a fast exit or a buyer already lined up, and refusal to give written terms. Call your state attorney general's consumer protection office and check the Better Business Bureau before paying anyone, and call your resort's own exit or deed-back program first, it's free.
Is a deed-back program the same as an exit company?
No. A deed-back or surrender program is run directly by your resort or developer and lets you hand the deed back, often for free or a small admin fee if your account is current. An exit company is a separate, third-party business you'd hire, commonly charging thousands of dollars upfront, with no guarantee of results, according to FTC enforcement patterns.
Sources
- Florida Legislature, Florida Statutes Chapter 721.10: Florida sets a 10 calendar day rescission period for timeshare purchases
- California Legislative Information, Civil Code Section 11024: California sets a 7 calendar day rescission window for timeshare interests
- Federal Trade Commission, "Timeshares, Vacation Clubs, and Related Scams": FTC advises contacting the timeshare developer first since some developers have exit programs, before paying a third party
- Federal Trade Commission, "FTC Action Leads to Court Order Banning Operators of Timeshare Exit Scheme" press release: FTC has taken enforcement action against a timeshare exit company for deceptive upfront-fee practices
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database: Consumers file complaints related to timeshare loans and exit companies that regulators track through this public database
- Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Consumer Services, timeshare resale advisory: State consumer protection agencies warn owners to verify resale and exit companies before paying upfront fees