Sell Timeshare

With so much in the news about homeowners trying to refinance home mortgages, I thought it was a good time to also look at the question of how to refinance timeshare.

At Sell My Timeshare NOW, we are sometimes asked if an owner can sell timeshare when they still owe money on their timeshare mortgage or loan.

To sell timeshare that you do not own free and clear is just like selling a home on which you still owe money. Selling property requires that you be able to provide the buyer a clear deed or title to it, whether it is a single-family residence, condo, or timeshare. If you still owe the mortgage company for your timeshare, you must arrange to pay the mortgage or lien holder before you can provide the deed to the new owner.

For example, if you own a timeshare that you financed, and you still owe $3000 on the debt, you will want to try to resell that timeshare for $3000 or more. Any amount of money you receive in the sale that is above what you owe to the lender is yours. If you sell timeshare for $5000, and you must pay the lien holder $3000, the remaining $2000 is yours. This money is held in escrow during the transaction of the sale, until everything is completed.

But there are other approaches to sell timeshare on which you still carry a loan. You can borrow money from another source, such as a home equity line of credit or low-interest credit card and pay off your timeshare debt. Under these circumstances, the timeshare itself does not collateralize the debt. While you will now owe money to a new lender, you will own your timeshare in entirety, without mortgage debt on it.

This frees you up to enjoy the timeshare, which is now financed at a lower rate or better terms. It also means you can sell the timeshare, keeping all of what you make on it for yourself, or using those funds to pay off the new debt you took on in order to gain full title to the timeshare.

How Can Timeshare Owners Refinance Timeshare?

There are not as many options for refinancing timeshare as other types of property, but timeshare is legally considered real property and you do have some choices. One resource to investigate is Tammac Financial. Another possibility is any lender who will loan you money based on your good credit or other measure of creditworthiness.

As I always tell you, I am not a financial advisor. Paying off your timeshare mortgage can mean that you lose the option to deduct your mortgage interest from your state or federal income taxes, and the lower interest rate is not worth the amount you lose in mortgage interest deduction. It is always advisable to turn to a reputable tax or financial advisor to help you determine what is best for your individual circumstances.

When the Federal Reserve cut (finally) the prime interest rate a few weeks ago, it brought a small measure of relief to many consumers and homeowners struggling with high interest rates and adjustable mortgages that just keep adjusting.

The down side is that it caused the weakening US dollar to decline a bit more. The value of the Euro is now over $1.40 (US) and the Canadian Loonie—for the first time in over 30 years-is equal in value to the US dollar.

Current US timeshare owners, who want to sell timeshare, can expect strong interest than from potential timeshare buyers in Canada.

Canadian tourists and vacationers have always enjoyed heading south to relax in the more temperate climate US vacation destinations offer. Now the changing economy has created more reason than ever for Canadians to buy timeshare or buy timeshare resales in the United States.

For so many years, Canadians could only buy timeshare resales with Loonies that traded weakly against the US dollar. Now, American timeshare owners who want to sell timeshare can look to a Canadian market that is able to compete on a level playing field with American consumers for the great deals available in timeshare resales or timeshare rental.

So far, the declining US dollar has not significantly hurt tourism in America. And while it does not bode well long term for those who earn their incomes in US dollars, the soft economy has served as a welcome mat for many European and Canadian visitors.

In the Canadian based blog, The National Post, Douglas Porter comments on the fact that Canada has been slow to adjust retail prices to better reflect the strength of the Loonie against the dollar, another factor that will contribute to the attractiveness of US timeshare resales for Canadian consumers.

It’s impossible to think of Canada and not think of hockey. Here’s a great video of the 2007 Canadian Hockey team winning the Gold Medal as they defeated Finland in the Championship game. You Tube video

Here’s some good news on the economy for a change.

According to an article in Hotels Magazine published earlier this month, the members of the International Panel of Experts that assist the World Tourism Organization have shared their opinion that the unstable US housing market has not, “at this stage had an appreciable effect on world tourism demand.”

The stock market has been a wild rollercoaster lately and the housing market has simply been in a downhill plunge. But according to the findings of the World Tourism Organization, families are trying to make sure that they still take vacations to their favorite resorts and timeshare destinations. Perhaps the objective is to create stress relief and a much-needed psychological boost despite financial losses and stressors in other areas.

The article went on to point out that in terms of vacation and travel, Baby Boomers (known for being a cornerstone of the timeshare and timeshare resale markets) typically are not being impacted by escalating mortgage payments. Boomers are in a good place in their lives to enjoy vacations and take advantage of great timeshares and timeshare rentals.

If you want to sell timeshare you already own, this research from the World Tourism Organization is good news. It tells you that regardless of the ups and downs in the financial sector, people are still eager to take vacations and to enjoy fabulous timeshare resorts. On the other hand, the tightening of the nation’s economic belt, may be just the impetus needed to send some prospective timeshare buyers to more careful shopping and a new interest in the opportunities in timeshare resales.

Use this link to view the World Tourism report in entirety.

From New Hampshire to New Zealand, you hear the same message: be alert for internet fraud and internet scams.

Because our company, Sell My Timeshare NOW, uses the internet to advertise and market timeshares for sale or rent by owner, I have a real concern for how people perceive online commerce and what they can do to keep themselves safe.

So first, let me share a few of the things I found just last week, searching online:

Right here in my own state of New Hampshire, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte reminds people to act with caution when they sell items over the internet. In an Associated Press article, which appeared in the Concord Online Monitor, Ayotte is quoted as saying “red flag transactions” include those where the buyer provides a check or money order that is more than the selling price of the goods, accompanied by a request for the seller to mail some of the money to another person.

When you want to rent, buy, or sell timeshare online, you can do it safely and with confidence if you start by dealing with a reputable timeshare company. Look for someone who has a track record verified by customer comments and endorsements. Look for a timeshare company that practices transparency in their business and shows you how they use the internet to attract timeshare buyers and timeshare sellers to their website, as well as how many people are actually visiting the site each day.

When dealing with a timeshare advertising and marketing company, ask up front what services you will be receiving for your money. Ask if they offer a refund in the event that your timeshare sells at the same price through an advertisement placed on another website. Also, check to see if they are a bricks and mortar business—that means, are they a real company, with employees on-board, rather than a one-man band operating out of a post office box?

It is also a good idea, when dealing with any company for the first time, to check both the State Attorney General’s office for the state where the business is based and the Better Business Bureau. The key piece of information to learn is that the few complaints filed have been resolved.

Sadly, in 2006, nearly 700,000 people reported fraud, scams, or identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission, and many more cases go unreported. As Robyn Caffasso, senior deputy with the district attorney’s office in El Paso County, Colorado, said in the Colorado Gazette, “Scams have always been around, but the format and nature of them change. They are changing with the times.”