GeniusExit is a timeshare exit company located in West Hollywood, California, that may be able to help you cancel your timeshare. They are part of the law firm GeniusLaw, also located in the greater Los Angeles area, and have been in operation since December 2020.
The company appears to be a joint effort primarily between the founding attorney of GeniusLaw, Adela Ulloa, and attorney Austin Shufelt. The former’s law office is cited on the company’s Open Corporates page as the establishing agent.
GeniusExit Website
The website for GeniusExit is overall very professional and clean-looking, as well as easy to navigate. It’s not only accessible in those terms, but also in terms of content: the company provides extensive information about the process of exiting a timeshare in plain language that makes it easy to understand for the average reader. There isn’t a great deal of hyperbole or advertiser-type language here, which is refreshing.
The Who We Are page has light background information about the founding attorneys Adela Ulloa and Austin Shufelt and director of resolutions Diane Cassidy, who was originally a staff member with Ulloa’s solo practice. It also includes information about GeniusLaw’s main practice areas, which are primarily foreclosure defense and estate planning. This seems to be a decent background for attorneys that work with canceling timeshares as well.
GeniusExit does rely a little too heavily on language that focuses on their legality and transparency — if they need to say so, that’s somewhat of a reason to be wary. But overall they do follow through on their words in providing, as noted, detailed information about timeshares and their company’s processes.
There is, true to form, an entire page dedicated to their process (Our Process under GeniusExit Difference drop-down).
They also provide an interesting comparison page (Compare Exit Companies under GeniusExit Difference). The main information here that you might find helpful is the general length of time that they take with timeshare exits — nine months on average. They also note a few other timeshare companies that have been sued as a scam or for fraud, which is something you would probably find helpful while you research which company you want to work with in the long run.
GeniusExit Cost
We did not find information about specific costs for working with GeniusExit. They do offer free consultations, and like many other timeshare exit companies, claim to offer a money-back guarantee. It is a very specific kind of guarantee — they frame it in terms of how long it will take to cancel your timeshare. The website’s claim is that you will be released from your timeshare between nine and 18 months total.
As we’ve noted elsewhere, we typically do not recommend going with a timeshare exit company solely on this basis, as it implies that they require some kind of upfront payment. It is far better for you to work with a company that uses escrow for payments instead. You can learn more about why escrow is important on this page.
GeniusExit Reviews
There are not many reviews for GeniusExit yet, nor do they have a presence on the Better Business Bureau, perhaps because they have not been around for more than six months. GeniusLaw, however, does have a handful available on TrustPilot. Some of these reviews speak to working with GeniusExit, so for the sake of this article we are considering this channel as applicable to both companies. Generally, the feedback is positive, and paints a picture of a straightforward and steady process in handling cases. Even slightly lower ratings are overall positive.
As far as the attorneys’ backgrounds go, we were able to find a few reviews of Adela Ulloa, as well as her past firm, The Law Offices of Adela Z. Ulloa, APC. Ulloa has a very good rating of 7.0 on Avvo, as well as several positive reviews on Google and a couple of additional five-star ratings on Yelp. Austin Shufelt has fewer reviews available, but we did find that he has a good rating of 6.1 on Avvo as well.
On the whole, the reviews are supportive of GeniusExit and GeniusLaw. Both entities seem to consistently come through on their timeshare exit claims and do so with a solid foundation of legal expertise.
General Advice: Working with an Attorney for Timeshare Cancellations
As we’ve written about previously, working with an attorney or legal firm to exit your timeshare is generally rather effective, but it typically will run you a higher cost, especially if you owe a mortgage on the property. In addition, it will most likely be a more collaborative process, so it can require more time and effort on your part.
As we’ve written about previously, working with an attorney or legal firm to exit your timeshare is generally rather effective, but it typically will run you a higher cost, especially if you owe a mortgage on the property. In addition, it will most likely be a more collaborative process, so it can require more time and effort on your part.
GeniusExit does speak to this caveat about mortgages on their website. But because they are in essence part of a law firm, it is worth considering whether you have the resources and time to go this route to exit your timeshare. Hiring GeniusExit would most likely put you in close contact with someone who has extensive legal knowledge about property ownership, and it’s certainly important to have that background and knowledge when you’re doing something as challenging as trying to get out of a timeshare. But if you have other reputable and trustworthy options available, it might save you a lot of our time, money, and effort to look into them.
Of course, that said, if you have already exhausted other options, working with an attorney or attorney-run company might be the most optimal way forward for your situation. But remember, as we’ve noted before, if an attorney is offering to work with you at a rate that fits your budget or a fixed rate, you should not expect to pay upfront.
Summary
While GeniusExit appears to be a professional operation, we would suggest being careful before choosing to work with them. Their upfront payment policy, reliance on a money-back guarantee, and few years of experience in the timeshare exit industry are all reasons to be wary about this company. Having a staff with legal experience is certainly a major boon to any timeshare exit operation, and they definitely seem to have provided solid results in the past, but it can also cost you a lot more money in the long run to go this route.
If you are in the greater Los Angeles area and trying to cancel a timeshare, they could be a company to keep in mind. But that said, if you are considering working with GeniusExit, we would encourage taking advantage of the free consultation first. That way, you can ask questions and get clear on what would be required of you before committing to taking any next steps with them.
Keep in mind, too, that there are several timeshare exit companies that do not require initial payments and are just as — if not more so — professional as GeniusExit appears to be. We’d encourage you to have a look at our list of recommended exit companies to see what other options you have. If you have further questions about any of these companies, or anything else related to cancelling your timeshare, please feel free to get in touch. You can do so by calling 833-416-8796, filling out the contact form on the right side of the page, or initiating the live chat.