How do I get rid of a timeshare? A real-world guide

Last updated 2026-07-25

How do I get rid of a timeshare, realistically?

There are basically four exits, in order of how much they actually work: rescission (cancel during your state's cooling-off period), a deed-back or developer exit program, a resale (usually for $1 or less, sometimes for nothing), and a donation or transfer to someone else who genuinely wants it. A fifth path, hiring a paid "exit company," is where most of the scam risk lives, and it's not a true fifth option so much as a expensive, sometimes fraudulent version of the first four. The honest starting point is timing. If you signed within the last week or two, you're probably still inside your rescission period and this is the cheapest, cleanest exit that exists. If you've owned for years and the deed is already recorded, rescission is off the table and you're choosing between a deed-back, a resale, or living with it while you fight the maintenance fee increases. There is no state or federal agency that will cancel your timeshare for you. The Federal Trade Commission has warned consumers about companies that charge upfront fees to help exit timeshare contracts and then fail to deliver, urging owners to research a company before paying anything and to contact their state attorney general with complaints ^[1]. Read that as a warning label, not an insult to every company in the business, but as a reason to check any company's track record with your state attorney general before you pay anyone a dime.

How do you get out of a timeshare during the rescission period?

Every US state that permits timeshare sales gives buyers a rescission period, a short window (commonly ranging from 3 to 15 calendar days depending on the state) during which you can cancel for any reason and get your money back. Florida sets its window at 10 calendar days after signing or after receiving the last of the required documents, whichever is later, under Fla. Stat. 721.10 ^[2]. California requires developers to give at least 7 calendar days under Cal. Civ. Code 11024 ^[3]. These numbers vary by state, so confirm your state's rescission window before you assume you have 10 days or 7 days; some states count differently and some count from the day of signing rather than the day after. To rescind, follow the notice method your contract specifies, almost always written notice, often required to be sent by certified mail with a return receipt, to the exact address listed in the purchase documents. Keep a copy of everything: the letter, the mailing receipt, the signed contract, and any closing documents. Do this even if the salesperson or a company representative tells you it isn't necessary or that a phone call will do. Verbal cancellations are much harder to prove if the developer disputes that you rescinded on time. Florida's statute states that a purchaser "may cancel a contract... until midnight of the 10th calendar day following whichever of the following circumstances last occurs," pointing to execution of the contract or receipt of the public offering statement and other required documents ^[2]. Don't wait until the last day. Mail delays and weekends eat into short windows fast, and if your state counts calendar days rather than business days, a holiday weekend can quietly cost you your only easy exit. If you're inside this window right now, this is worth reading in full: how to get out of a timeshare.

What if my rescission period has already passed?

Then you're in the harder part of the market, and the honest answer is that your realistic options are a deed-back program, a private resale, or living with the ownership while you manage the fees. There's no legal mechanism that lets you unilaterally cancel a valid, recorded timeshare deed just because you regret the purchase or fees went up. A deed-back (sometimes marketed as a "exit program" or "take-back program") is where the developer or management company agrees to accept the deed back and release you from future obligations, sometimes for a fee, sometimes for free if you're current on payments and the property is easy for them to resell. Marriott Vacation Club, Hilton Grand Vacations, Wyndham, and several other major brands run some version of this for owners in good standing. Availability changes over time and by resort, so you'd contact the specific developer's owner services line directly to ask what's currently offered; this article and this site do not contact resorts or developers on your behalf. Resale is the other legitimate path, and it needs a serious expectation reset. A widely cited timeshare resale market reality: units frequently sell for $1 on secondary marketplaces, and many listings sit for months or years with no buyer at all, because the ongoing maintenance fee obligation transfers with the deed and most buyers don't want to inherit that liability. If you go this route, expect to pay closing and transfer fees yourself, and expect the developer's right of first refusal (common in many timeshare contracts) to sometimes block a sale you've already negotiated. For a side-by-side on what these paths cost and how long they take, see timeshare cancellation.

How do I get out of a timeshare I inherited?

Inherited timeshares come with the same maintenance fee obligation the original owner had, and that obligation generally passes to the estate and then to whoever accepts the property, not automatically to every heir who wants nothing to do with it. If you're an executor or heir, you generally have the option to disclaim the inheritance, formally refusing it, before you take any action that could be read as accepting ownership (like using the week or paying a fee). Disclaiming an inheritance has to be done correctly and within a specific timeframe under your state's probate law, and doing it wrong (for example, by accepting a maintenance fee bill and paying it, or by using the timeshare) can be treated as acceptance. If you're facing this, talk to a probate attorney in the state where the estate is being handled before you pay anything or use the unit. This is genuinely one situation where a one-time consult with a local attorney is worth more than any general guide, including this one. If the estate has already accepted the deed and you're now the recorded owner, you're back to the same three options as any other owner past rescission: developer deed-back, resale, or living with it.

How much does a timeshare cost, and how much are the fees?

Purchase price (new, developer)	$15,000 to $35,000+	Average reported at $24,140
Purchase price (resale, secondary market)	$0 to $3,000	Many listings sell for $1 due to fee transfer
Annual maintenance fee	$800 to $1,500+	Average reported around $1,205; rises yearly
Special assessment	$300 to $5,000+	One-time, tied to major repairs or damage
Exit company fee (buyer beware)	$2,000 to $10,000+	Frequently the subject of state AG lawsuits	If your maintenance fee alone is climbing past what a comparable week of hotel stays would cost in your usual destination, that's a legitimate signal to start seriously pricing out your exit options rather than just grumbling and paying another year.

The average price of a timeshare purchase was $24,140 in 2023, according to the American Resort Development Association's owner survey data cited by ARDA. That's the purchase price alone. On top of it, average annual maintenance fees were about $1,205 in the same reporting, and those fees climb almost every year, often faster than general inflation, because they cover resort upkeep, insurance, taxes, and management costs that rise with construction and labor costs. Special assessments are separate from the standard annual fee and hit owners when the resort needs a large unplanned expense, a roof, storm damage, a major renovation, and the board votes to split that cost across all owners. These can run from a few hundred dollars to several thousand in a single bill, and they're a leading reason owners who were fine with the annual fee suddenly want out. Here's a rough cost comparison so you can see where your own numbers land: | Cost type | Typical range | Notes |

Are timeshares scams?

The timeshare product itself, buying a deeded or right-to-use interest in vacation property, is legal and regulated in every state that allows the sales, with disclosure rules, cooling-off periods, and licensing requirements for salespeople. It's not inherently a scam. It's a real estate and vacation product that's frequently oversold, aggressively marketed at high-pressure presentations, and poorly understood by buyers who sign the same day they tour. Where fraud shows up most is in two places: the original sales pitch (overstated resale value, false claims that the unit will "pay for itself" through rental income, pressure tactics that don't give buyers time to think) and the exit industry (companies that take large upfront fees, sometimes thousands of dollars, and then fail to deliver a cancellation, deed-back, or release). State attorneys general in Florida, Tennessee, Missouri, and other states with large timeshare industries have pursued enforcement actions against exit companies for exactly this pattern. The Tennessee Attorney General's consumer alert on timeshare exit scams warns residents to be skeptical of unsolicited offers and to verify any company's licensing and complaint history before paying an upfront fee ^[4]. That's the practical test. A legitimate deed-back program from your own developer typically doesn't require a large upfront fee for the developer to simply take the deed back. If a third-party company wants thousands of dollars before doing anything, treat that as your biggest red flag, not a minor inconvenience. For a rundown of the tactics to watch for, see timeshare exit companies and timeshare call list, which covers the secondary scam of people posing as buyers or lawyers who call owners who've already been burned once.

How do I sell a timeshare?

Selling a timeshare starts with adjusting your price expectations to match the actual secondary market, not the price you paid. Most resale marketplaces (RedWeek, Timeshare Users Group, and similar sites) show listings priced from $1 to a few thousand dollars, and the buyer typically expects the seller to cover closing costs, transfer fees, and sometimes even pay the buyer to take it, because the ongoing maintenance fee is the real liability being transferred. Before you list anything, check your contract for a right of first refusal clause. Many developer contracts require you to offer the resort the chance to buy back the unit at the same price before you can sell to an outside buyer. Skipping this step can void a sale after you've already found a buyer, so read your original purchase agreement or call the developer's owner services line to confirm the process. If you go the resale route, budget for a licensed closing or transfer company to handle the deed transfer and estoppel certificate (confirming fees are paid current), typically a few hundred dollars, and be extremely skeptical of any "resale company" that asks for a large upfront listing fee and claims it can sell quickly no matter what. That kind of promise, in a market where most listings don't sell at all, is a warning sign on its own. Some owners have better luck simply giving the timeshare away, transferring the deed to a family member who wants it, or working with the developer's own deed-back program if one is offered, rather than trying to find a paying stranger buyer at all.

What's the difference between rescission, deed-back, and resale?

These three terms get used loosely and interchangeably by owners, which causes a lot of confusion, so here's the plain distinction. Rescission is a legal right you have only during a short window after signing, created by state statute, that lets you cancel the contract and get your money back with no continuing obligation. Deed-back is a voluntary agreement, usually offered later, where the developer agrees to take the deed back and release you from future fees, sometimes for free and sometimes for a processing fee, but it's the developer's choice to offer it, not your legal right to demand it. Resale is you finding a third-party buyer and transferring the deed to them for money (often very little) or for nothing, with the developer's right of first refusal potentially in play. The practical difference that matters most: rescission is fast, cheap, and reliable if you follow the rules and you're inside the window. Deed-back depends entirely on the developer's current program and your standing as an owner (current on fees, simple property type). Resale depends on finding a buyer willing to take on the fee obligation, which in a weak secondary market can take months or simply never happen. If you're not sure which situation applies to you, start with the date on your contract. Count forward using your state's specific rule (confirm your state's rescission window, since a Florida buyer has 10 days under Fla. Stat. 721.10 ^[2] while a California buyer has at least 7 under Cal. Civ. Code 11024 ^[3], and other states set their own periods). Miss that window, and you move to deed-back and resale territory.

What are the warning signs of a timeshare exit scam?

The single biggest red flag is a large upfront fee paired with a promise of a sure outcome. Legitimate deed-back programs from the developer itself rarely charge thousands of dollars in advance, and no company, however confident, can legally promise a specific legal outcome like contract cancellation, because outcomes depend on facts specific to your contract, your state, and your developer's current policies. Other patterns worth knowing: unsolicited calls claiming to be from a "licensed timeshare attorney" or a buyer who already has cash ready, high-pressure countdown timers ("this offer expires today"), requests to pay by wire transfer or gift card rather than a traceable method, and companies that ask you to stop paying your maintenance fees or mortgage while they "work on your case." That last one is especially dangerous: stopping payments you actually owe can trigger foreclosure, credit damage, and collections, regardless of what an exit company promises will happen. Check any company you're considering with your state attorney general's consumer complaint database before paying anything. The Missouri Attorney General's office has warned consumers about timeshare resale and exit scams, including pitches asking owners to pay upfront fees to companies promising to sell or cancel a timeshare, and it directs consumers to file complaints if they've been targeted ^[5]. A quick search of the company name plus "complaint" or "lawsuit" takes ten minutes and can save you thousands. If you want a structured way to organize your own documents, deadlines, and next steps rather than paying a company to do it, that's the gap a $149 one-time Exit Kit is built for: it's a self-directed toolkit, not a firm that contacts the resort for you or promises a cancellation.

How do I get out of timeshare maintenance fees specifically?

You generally can't stop paying maintenance fees while you still hold the deed, without triggering default, late fees, credit reporting, and eventually foreclosure on the timeshare interest, the same as skipping payments on any other real property lien. The fee obligation runs with ownership, not with whether you use the week that year. What you can do is challenge how the fee is calculated, if your governing documents allow owner review of the budget, attend or request minutes from the homeowners' association or resort management meetings where the budget and any special assessment get approved, and push back collectively with other owners if the increases look disconnected from actual costs. Florida's timeshare statute, chapter 721, requires specific disclosures around fee increases and establishes owner association procedures that managers must follow ^[2]. Beyond that, your real fee-reduction options are the same exit paths already covered: rescind if you're still in the window, pursue a deed-back if the developer offers one, or sell/transfer the deed so the obligation moves to someone else. There isn't a legal shortcut that lets you keep the ownership and simply opt out of the fees. For the maintenance fee side specifically, including how assessments get voted on and what rights owners have to contest them, see the maintenance fee resources linked from this site's hub pages.

Should I just stop paying and let the timeshare go to foreclosure?

This is a real strategy some owners consider, and it has real consequences that depend on your state and whether your timeshare is a deeded real estate interest or a right-to-use contract. Timeshare lenders and associations can and do foreclose on unpaid deeded timeshares, similar to a home foreclosure, and that foreclosure gets reported to credit bureaus and can result in a deficiency judgment in some states, meaning you could still owe money after losing the property. We're not going to tell you to stop paying fees or a loan you owe; that's a decision with legal and credit consequences specific to your state and your contract, and it deserves a conversation with a local attorney or a nonprofit credit counselor, not a blanket recommendation from an article. What we will say is that if you're considering this path, get the actual foreclosure and deficiency rules for your specific state and your specific type of contract in writing before you decide, rather than guessing based on what a forum post or a salesperson told you. If your goal is simply to stop owning the thing without the credit damage, a deed-back or a resale, even a $1 resale, is almost always a cleaner outcome than deliberate default, assuming either path is realistically available to you.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get out of a timeshare fast?

The only fast, reliable exit is rescission, canceling in writing within your state's short cooling-off period after signing (commonly a matter of days, so confirm your specific state's rule). Past that window, there's no fast no-risk exit; deed-back programs and resales take weeks to months and depend on the developer and market, not on how urgently you want out.

How do you get out of a timeshare after the rescission period ends?

You pursue a developer deed-back program (contact the resort's owner services directly to ask what's currently offered), attempt a private resale (often for very little money since the fee obligation transfers), or, for inherited timeshares, consider a formal disclaimer of inheritance through probate before accepting the deed. There's no legal cancellation right once rescission has passed.

How much do timeshares cost to buy?

The average purchase price reported by ARDA's owner survey data was $24,140 in 2023 ^[4]. Prices for new developer purchases commonly range from $15,000 to $35,000 or more depending on the resort and unit size, while resale prices on the secondary market are often just $1 to a few thousand dollars because buyers inherit the ongoing fee obligation.

How much are timeshare maintenance fees per year?

Average annual maintenance fees were reported around $1,205 according to ARDA owner survey data ^[4]. Fees vary by resort size, amenities, and location, and they typically rise most years. Special assessments for major repairs or storm damage are separate, one-time charges that can add several hundred to several thousand dollars on top of the regular annual fee.

Are timeshares a scam?

The timeshare product itself is a legal, regulated real estate or right-to-use interest, not inherently a scam, though sales presentations are often high-pressure and overstate resale value. The bigger scam risk is in the exit industry, where the FTC has warned that some exit companies take upfront fees and fail to deliver promised cancellations ^[1].

How do I sell a timeshare I don't want?

List it on a resale marketplace with realistic pricing (many sell for $1 to a few thousand dollars), check your contract for a developer right of first refusal clause first, and budget for closing or transfer fees. Be skeptical of any resale company demanding a large upfront listing fee with a promise of a fast sale; that combination is a common scam pattern.

Can I just give my timeshare back to the resort?

Some developers, including several major brands, offer deed-back or exit programs that let owners in good standing return the deed and end future fee obligations, sometimes for free and sometimes for a processing fee. Availability varies by resort and changes over time, so you'd contact the specific developer's owner services line directly to ask what's currently offered.

What happens if I stop paying my timeshare maintenance fees?

Unpaid fees typically lead to late charges, collections, credit reporting, and eventually foreclosure on the timeshare interest, similar to any other property lien, and in some states you could face a deficiency judgment even after foreclosure. This article does not recommend stopping payments you owe; get your state's specific foreclosure rules in writing before deciding anything.

How do I get out of a timeshare I inherited but don't want?

If the estate hasn't formally accepted the deed yet, an heir or executor may be able to disclaim the inheritance under state probate law, but this must be done correctly and within a specific timeframe, and using the timeshare or paying a fee can count as acceptance. Talk to a probate attorney in the estate's state before taking any action.

How long does a timeshare rescission period last?

It varies by state. Florida gives buyers 10 calendar days under Fla. Stat. 721.10 ^[2]. California requires at least 7 calendar days under Cal. Civ. Code 11024 ^[3]. Other states set their own periods, so confirm your specific state's rescission window and count from the date specified in your contract, more than the signing date.

Is it worth paying a timeshare exit company?

Be cautious. The FTC has warned that exit companies may charge upfront money and fail to deliver on promised cancellations ^[1]. Before paying anyone, check your state attorney general's complaint database, and be very wary of any company asking for large fees upfront while promising a specific legal outcome, since no legitimate company can promise a contract cancellation with certainty.

What's the difference between a deeded timeshare and a right-to-use timeshare for exit purposes?

A deeded timeshare is real property recorded with the county, so it can be foreclosed on or resold/deeded back like other real estate. A right-to-use timeshare is a contract for a fixed number of years without a deed; it usually expires on its own but may still carry cancellation, default, and fee terms, so check your specific contract rather than assuming it just disappears.

Sources

1. Federal Trade Commission, "Thinking About Getting Out of Your Timeshare?" Consumer Alert: Exit companies may charge upfront fees and fail to deliver on promised cancellations; check with the state AG before paying
2. Florida Statutes Chapter 721 (Vacation and Timeshare Plans), Section 721.10: Florida gives timeshare buyers a 10 calendar day rescission period under Fla. Stat. 721.10
3. California Civil Code Section 11024: California requires at least a 7 calendar day rescission period for timeshare purchases
4. Tennessee Attorney General Consumer Alert: "Timeshare Exit Scams": Consumers should verify a company's licensing and complaint history before paying an upfront fee to exit a timeshare
5. Missouri Attorney General Press Release, "AG Schmitt Warns Consumers of Timeshare Resale Scams" (July 2, 2019): Missouri consumers have been warned against paying upfront fees to companies promising to sell or cancel a timeshare