No one buys a timeshare while thinking about the process of canceling. At the start of your timeshare journey, you are only thinking about the fun you are going to have and the memories that will be made. And, to be sure, plenty of people have had great vacations traveling to timeshare locations and spending time with family and friends.
If, however, your Vistana timeshare experience is no longer what you had in mind, I understand. I’ve talked with many timeshare owners over the years who wanted to get out and weren’t exactly sure how to make that happen. This page will discuss the realities of owning a Vistana timeshare and what to do next if you would like to move on.
What is a Vistana Timeshare?
Vistana Signature Experiences provides owners with access to properties in some particularly attractive destinations. Like many timeshare companies, Vistana presents its owners with locations in sunny, warm locations like Mexico and the Caribbean, along with options in the United States. If you have been a Vistana owner for years, you’ve probably had your share of memorable vacations, but that doesn’t mean that remaining an owner is the right choice for your needs.
Like all timeshares, owning with Vistana comes with some notable drawbacks to consider. Those include the ongoing maintenance fees that you are responsible for paying, along with the potential assessments that you may need to pay, as well. Other common timeshare issues include the difficulty that you may have booking trips during desirable times, or at the best results. When you add it all up, it might feel like the right move is to get out of your timeshare and move on, so I’ll discuss how that might work below.
Could You Still Cancel the Purchase?
There is no debate about the easiest way to cancel a timeshare. When talking with people who recently purchased a timeshare, I always ask them to first check on the recission period in the location where they made the purchase. What is a recission period? It’s simply a window of time in which you have the right to cancel your timeshare with no questions asked. You are allowed to contact the developer to tell them you want to cancel, and that is the end of it.
This is obviously an ideal escape as there is nothing else to do or pay. Of course, the downside is that this only applies for people who very recently purchased a timeshare – usually within the past week. The timeframe will vary based on where you made the purchase, so you’ll want to check the regulations in that area to know if you still have a chance.
If you are within the window to cancel your purchase, don’t drag your feet – act immediately and follow all of the relevant instructions to complete the cancellation. This is the best way to get out and you don’t want to miss the opportunity if it is still available. Once you have submitted your request to cancel, be sure to keep all relevant documentation so you can prove that you did cancel if any dispute comes up later.
Explore the Possibility of a Sale
If you are a Vistana timeshare owner at this time, remember that being an owner means you have the right to sell what you own. So, if you would like, you can list your Vistana timeshare for sale in any of a number of areas and hope to find a willing buyer. While this sounds like perhaps an ideal way to get out of a timeshare, you’ll soon find that the situation isn’t quite what you expected.
Sadly, there just isn’t much of a market for timeshare resales. For buyers who are interested in a timeshare, the second-hand market is flooded with options and all of the power rests in the hands of the buyer. Those buyers know that owners are desperate to get out of their deals and just want to be free from the obligations of the maintenance fees and assessments. So, if someone does want to buy your timeshare, you shouldn’t expect them to offer much of anything for it.
That doesn’t mean that a sale isn’t a good option – it can be a great option in the right situation. It’s possible that you wind up accepting an offer for literally one dollar, and you may be happy to get it. The sale of a timeshare isn’t so much about the amount of money you get as it is the money you save in the future by not owning it anymore. Each year that goes by without you needing to make maintenance fee payments is another year that you have saved money by not being a timeshare owner.
Make it a point to do everything carefully when completing a timeshare sale to confirm that ownership has been transferred to the new party. Save all documentation for the sale and double-check everything before you consider this matter closed.
Asking for Direct Help
You might be surprised to find that help could be available directly from Vistana. Timeshare companies don’t necessarily have a reputation for being helpful toward owners who want to leave, but don’t make the mistake of assuming they won’t be available to assist. You never know what might be available until you ask, so make it a point to reach out to Vistana directly to let them know you’d like to exit the timeshare.
In the best-case scenario, they will inform you of a program to give back your timeshare and walk away. Companies do this when they are short on inventory and would like to have more timeshares to sell to new owners. So, they aren’t doing you a favor as much as they are trying to maximize profits, but their motivations are no concern to you – if this kind of offer is available, be sure to get all of the information about how you can take advantage.
It’s entirely possible – and even likely – that any offer they have available will only be on the table for a limited time. So, if you do hear of something from the developer and you want to use it to exit your timeshare, don’t wait around. The possibility of getting out of your Vistana timeshare by giving it back to them isn’t going to be available forever and it might even be gone within a matter of days.
Consider Using an Exit Company to Move Forward
Unfortunately, it’s a reality of this situation that many people are going to go through the ideas above and find that they still own a timeshare. At this point, you might feel like there is no way out, and I understand the frustration that comes with this experience. You’d just like to move on and no longer make payments on something you don’t want to own, but getting to that point might not be as simple as you had hoped.
When everything else has come up short, a timeshare exit company might be able to come to the rescue. An exit company is a service that exists specifically to help you end your ownership experience and move on with life. Companies in this space are experienced at working with sellers like Vistana to explain the position of the owner and figure out how to work out a deal. There are many different potential approaches that can be used and a good exit company will customize its tactics based on the situation at hand.
You do need to be careful to protect yourself when working with an exit company on this matter. Not all exit companies are actually going to be able to deliver the results you expect, and you could wind up spending money on this service only to get nothing in return. That’s why using an exit company that is willing to utilize an escrow service is so important. With escrow, your upfront money is put into an account that can’t be accessed by either side of the deal. Once escrow is funded, the exit company will get to work for you, and they’ll only be paid in full when the job is done. That’s the kind of protection you deserve and it makes sure that the exit company is motivated to deliver on their promises.
Don’t Wait Even One More Day
Saying that it is never too soon to start looking for a way out of your Vistana timeshare is not a cliché – it’s the truth. If you have decided that exiting your timeshare is the right decision for your personal situation, I would love to be able to help. Reach out today at 833-416-8796 or take a moment to use the live chat feature I have added to the site to get help. This process likely won’t be completed in a single day – or even particularly soon – but things can only happen when you take action. I hope to hear from you right away!