Want out of your timeshare? Here are your options

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Timeshares can be sticky situations, in normal times. You can’t just get out of them and the wrong move could hurt your credit.

And, now, a lot of people are traveling less and making less money, so they’re wondering how to get rid of a timeshare they aren’t using and can’t afford.

Janie Creech and her husband bought a timeshare 20 years ago. She says he passed away seven years ago and has not used the timeshare since then.

She says she still has to pay maintenance fees every year and that they started out around $600, but that they’re now up to about $1,500.

“They just keep going up every year,” she told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke. “I just want to get rid of it so I don’t have to pay any more maintenance fees.”

The company, Bluegreen Vacations, told Stoogenke it gave Creech options, including its free “charitable giving program,” but that Creech didn’t take Bluegreen up on it. It says it’s still open to discussing exit options with her.

But Creech says the business told her it doesn’t buy timeshares back or accept donated ones.

“I’m just at an impasse. I don’t know what to do,” she said. “I would like to just be done with it.”

So what are your options?

For those who just bought a timeshare, each state has -- what’s called -- a recession period. You can cancel your contract within a certain numbers of days after signing the deal. It’s five days in both Carolinas. So, if you’re still within that window, you can get out.

For everyone else, it can be tough:

• You can ask the company to take the timeshare back.
• You can try to sell it or give it away, but it can be hard. A lot of people don’t want to take on those yearly fees.
• You can hire an exit team. But watch out for shady ones.

Don’t stop paying the fees. You could end up with legal and credit trouble.

More people tell Action 9 North Carolina wants unemployment money back

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