Owning a timeshare has become a popular way to stay at top resort destinations at an affordable price. Sometimes however, people feel the need or the desire to get out of their timeshare for one reason or another. Perhaps work or family commitments take away from vacation time or maybe a loss of income makes it difficult to keep up with the maintenance fees or maybe you're just not interested in staying at the same place or dealing with trading in your timeslot for another one at a different destination. Whatever the reason, if you've decided to sell you will want to know the best method for selling a timeshare.

When it comes to selling a timeshare you have two options. You can sell it yourself or you can get help from a broker. If you decide to sell it yourself you may save some money by not having to pay a commission to a broker but you will also have to pay money out of pocket for advertising. If you're selling yourself you need to let people know that you have something for sale. You can do this with newspaper classified ads or you can go online and use Craig's list for free. Craig's list is limited however because you're only allowed to advertise in one city at a time. Another option would be to list your timeshare for sale on eBay. Selling it on eBay will cost you some money out of pocket but it will also expose your timeshare to thousands of potential buyers.

If you decide to sell your timeshare yourself, marketing and selling the timeshare is only half of the equation. After you find a potential buyer you have to negotiate price, get paperwork signed, and go through escrow and title etc. There is a lot of paperwork and you'll want to make sure that it's all done properly to avoid any potential problems.

To avoid dealing with all the potential problems and hassles that are involved with selling a timeshare yourself, you may want to consider going with a company that specializes in reselling timeshares. You will have to pay a commission to the company for selling the timeshare but there are a lot of benefits that come with using a broker for the sale. First, a brokerage will have a huge network of potential buyers for your timeshare which may result in a quick sale. They will also advertise the timeshare for sale on your behalf. Once a buyer is found the broker will then handle all of the paperwork and make sure the deal is completed properly. This can help you avoid a lot of potential headaches.

Another option would be to rent your timeshare to somebody. If you have work obligations that would make it difficult to use your timeshare or if you have a temporary financial setback you may want to get out of your timeshare for a year or two but then be able to use it again in the future. If you could find someone to rent your timeshare to, the rental would cover your expenses and allow you to use the timeshare in the future if that's what you wanted to do. Many of the brokerage companies that buy and sell timeshares will also rent out a timeshare for you so that you can get some money for your timeshare and then use it again in the future.

So those are some options for you. Sell it yourself - probably not worth it to save a few bucks on commissions. Sell it using a brokerage - may cost you a few bucks but may also make for a quick sale and eliminates the responsibility of finding a buyer and making sure all of the paperwork is completed properly. Rent your timeshare - will negate or reduce the expenses until a time when you wish to use it again in the future.