Every day, we hear from timeshare owners who are frustrated and eager to end an unwanted ownership. While TUG offers a number of free articles explaining the three realistic options every owner has for getting rid of a timeshare, this article focuses on something very specific: two proven, highly effective strategies that dramatically improve your chances of attracting a buyer on the resale market.

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I cant even give my timeshare away!

"If I had a nickel for every time I got an email or read a Facebook post from an owner that claims to have been unsuccessful in trying to give away their timeshare on the resale market, id have a whole lot of nickels (enough to buy a ton of free timeshares!)

The reality of the situation is and always has been that there are FAR more people looking to give away their timeshare than there are people who are looking to BUY a timeshare on the resale market!

While timeshares find new homes every single day on TUG, the above fact means that for every successful transaction, there are 2 more that fail to attract a buyer!

What do we learn from all this? That if you want a legitimate shot at finding a new home for your unwanted timeshare, your resale listing needs to be the MOST ATTRACTIVE ONE out of all the hundreds/thousands of others available for free on the resale market!

Because if not, your chances of success dwindle closer and closer to zero!

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How do I make my Timeshare more attractive to a buyer?

Glad you asked — because this is where most listings either succeed or fail.

There are two proven, highly effective ways to make your timeshare resale listing immediately stand out from the hundreds (or thousands) of others competing for attention. Best of all, neither strategy requires paying a third party or handing over money upfront.

The two strategies that work:

• Pay all closing and transfer costs yourself.
  Removing these fees eliminates friction for the buyer and makes your offer feel simple, clean, and risk-free — which dramatically increases inquiries.
  
  Put another way, would you be happy to pay a few hundred dollars if it resulted in the successful sale of your timeshare?


• Prepay an extra year (or more) of maintenance fees — or offer a cash incentive at closing.
  This immediately adds tangible value and gives buyers peace of mind, knowing they can enjoy the timeshare without additional out-of-pocket costs right away.


• Bonus Suggestion: Book the most desireable week available to you and mention in your listing that the reservation has already been made and is available to the buyer after the transfer is complete! Alternatively you can simply offer to attempt to reserve the week of the buyers choice (based on availability) after the contract is signed.

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you want me to pay to get rid of my own timeshare?

Yes — but not in the way you’re probably thinking.

In these situations, you are not paying anyone upfront and you are not handing money to a random third-party company. Any costs are only paid after you have a real buyer lined up, and those payments go directly to a licensed closing company or the resort itself — not an exit company or middleman.

By offering to cover closing costs and/or prepay future maintenance fees, you immediately position your listing ahead of nearly every other option on the resale market. Why? Because from a buyer’s perspective, the timeshare truly becomes free.

Buyers aren’t shopping for a seller — they’re shopping for the best deal. If your listing removes all out-of-pocket costs while others do not, your offer rises to the top and competing listings instantly become less attractive by comparison.

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I still dont understand why I have to pay to give away my timeshare?

Let’s reframe it in a way that actually makes sense.

If you offered a buyer $25,000 in cash to take over your timeshare, you’d have people lining up instantly. (That number is obviously extreme—but it proves the point.)

At the other end of the spectrum, simply listing a timeshare for “free” with no added incentives often isn’t enough. Why? Because there are far more owners trying to give away timeshares than there are people actively looking to take one on.

The reality is that the winning strategy lives somewhere in the middle. Covering closing and transfer costs and prepaying a year of maintenance fees provides just enough real value to push a hesitant buyer over the edge.

From the buyer’s perspective, the deal becomes extremely attractive: they avoid 100% of the original purchase price and enjoy one—or even two—vacations at the resort with no out-of-pocket cost. From your perspective, you’re not paying anything until a buyer is actually secured.

And importantly, those payments aren’t going to a third-party “exit” company. You’re simply paying your own resort for maintenance fees and a licensed closing company to handle the transfer paperwork—clean, transparent, and far safer than handing money to a middleman.

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This is Ridiculous, surely there is another way?

You arent wrong, this IS ridiculous

In a perfect world, none of this would be necessary. Unfortunately, this is the reality for many owners who want to be truly done with an unwanted timeshare and either cannot—or do not want to—use the other two exit options available.

That said, these strategies aren’t theoretical. They work. And if walking away or risking the consequences of nonpayment isn’t an option you’re comfortable with, this approach remains the most reliable, transparent path to a clean exit.

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What if I want to learn more about the other options?

We have a detailed guide on the 3 options all owners have to exit a timeshare here if you wish to explore them more:

Timeshare Owner Exit Options Explained

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Why not just use an exit company?

Well, if you knew the truth about how Exit companies operate, youd know this is a FAR cheaper and better solution, we have an article on that too!

How Timeshare Exit Companies Really Work

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The Final Word on Finding a buyer for your timeshare!

Everywhere you look, you’ll hear how difficult it is to get rid of an unwanted timeshare—and at face value, that’s true. None of the options owners are forced to consider are ideal, and no one should ever have to choose between a handful of bad outcomes just to walk away from a product they no longer want. Unfortunately, that’s the reality many owners face today.

The good news is this: you don’t have to navigate it alone. If you want honest help, real-world advice, or simply reassurance from people who’ve been in your shoes, we invite you to visit our free timeshare owner forums. You’ll find thousands of experienced owners sharing practical guidance—available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

TUG Owner Forums