Many of the timeshare transfers at Sell My Timeshare NOW are handled through our partner relationship with Chicago Title Timeshare. With years of experience, Chicago Title handles over 10,000 timeshare transfers each month, making the process convenient for both the timeshare buyer and the timeshare seller.

If you are selling your timeshare by owner, (or buying one through the by owner timeshare sales process) here is more information about how the timeshare transfer process works and what you can expect.

Step-by- Step Timeshare Transfer

1. Timeshare owner (the seller) places his or her ad to sell timeshare on SellMyTimeshareNOW.com.
2. When the seller selects a buyer and has negotiated a deal with that buyer, the seller and the buyer exchange necessary contact information to start the closing process.
3. The seller initiates the processes with Chicago Title Timeshare by completing simple online forms.
4. Chicago Title Timeshare, using a username and password, emails the timeshare buyer, requesting the buyer complete online forms and verify information.
5. Both the buyer and the seller receive an email with the escrow number for the closing account.
6. Both the buyer and the seller receive by email, the transfer and closing documents from Chicago Title Timeshare.
7. The timeshare buyer and the seller review and sign documents and return them following directions provided by Chicago Title Timeshare.
8. The timeshare buyer then receives an estimated closing statement from Chicago Title Timeshare, including a request for the funds necessary for closing.
9. When Chicago Title Timeshare receives funds, they then close the timeshare sales transaction, and notify all parties of the closing. This includes notice to the buyer, seller, resort management company or the HOA.
10. Copies of final documents are sent to the new timeshare owner and the timeshare seller.

Here on The Timeshare Authority, we have a number of posts about problems buying timeshare, so it might be a good time to offer a few simple tips to help you take advantage of the great deals in timeshare resales while avoiding the type of missteps that lead to dissatisfaction with your timeshare purchase.

First, be knowledgeable. Learn about points systems, benefits, and maintenance fees at any timeshare resort where you are considering buying property. Read reviews by current owners and visit online discussion boards.

Second, when you go to closing, use a reliable and knowledgeable timeshare closing company. You want to make sure that you are really getting what you think you are getting, including an estoppel letter from the resort. The best way to do this is by using a timeshare closing company that specializes in timeshare resales transactions.

A good timeshare resales closing company will essentially walk the timeshare buyer and the timeshare seller through the entire closing process, so that neither party is met with surprises. In addition to an estoppel certificate or resort disclosure packet, your timeshare transfer company should prepare necessary transaction documents, establish a timeshare escrow fund, handle recording fees and deed recording (for timeshares in most US states), and provide the timeshare resort with notice that the ownership has changed.

Buy Timeshare Safely

Timeshare and timeshare resales continue to offer the best deals available in vacation accommodations. You can take advantage of these great deals, without becoming a timeshare scam victim or unhappy owner, by taking a little extra time to make sure you know what you are buying, and by dealing only with a reputable timeshare company.

To learn more about avoiding timeshare scams, watch this short YouTube video:

Earlier this week CanadianBusiness.com published an article on timeshares and timeshare resales, written by D G Southen. I wasn’t familiar with Southen’s writing before, but he sure captured my attention with an article entitled, “Confessions of a Timeshare Junkie.”

Southen blames the bad reputation that sometimes haunts timeshare sales on, “…the dubious ways they’re sold. Developers entice you to presentations with come-ons such as ski-lift tickets, cheap accommodation, even cash — and once you’re seated, the developer’s sales staff put the hard sell on you.”

Then he goes on to explain how he has avoided the heavy-handed developer sales approach, and at the same time, avoided paying too much for timeshare. He buys timeshare resales! As Southen explains, “Instead of paying thousands for the rights to spend a week once a year in a resort condo, I’ve paid as little as $150. I have an annual March Break reservation in Grand Cayman where I bought into a gorgeous 110 sq m (1,200 sq. ft.), two-storey unit with full eat-in kitchen, three full baths, two bedrooms and a full balcony overlooking the ocean. I paid less than $2,000 for it — and I can use it every year for the rest of my life.”

I’m quoting the author’s words exactly, because I simply could not explain the opportunities for timeshare ownership and fabulous vacations that timeshare resales affords, any better myself. Southen writes about attending a timeshare presentation and turning down the $8000 timeshare week offered at a ski resort, only to buy the same thing shortly thereafter as a timeshare resale for the ‘whopping’ price of $865.

Valuable Insights for Buying Timeshare Resales

What makes this author such an authority? He’s owned 20 timeshares, and he admits that sometimes he has made buying mistakes. So here’s a summary of this self-proclaimed timeshare junkie’s do’s and don’ts:

Buy at a resort where you want to vacation. Southen’s says it’s easier than buying elsewhere and trying to exchange timeshare for the location you prefer.

If your heart is set on timeshare exchange, buy timeshare at a resort that has properties in different parts of the country or different parts of the world. That way, you’ll be exchanging within a brand’s own network of timeshare resorts.

Shop around. While Southen suggests eBay, I suggest a timeshare advertising and marketing company, like Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Research maintenance fees. Timeshare maintenance fees that are too high will keep coming around to bite you, making your good deal not so good. Fees that are too low suggest a timeshare resort is not keeping up with repairs and necessary updates to the property.

And lastly, the author advises you to be patient about timeshare closings. Expect them to take at least three months.

To learn more about safe and economical ways to buy timeshare, read “Timeshare Resale Buyers FAQ,” from Sell My Timeshare NOW.