A timeshare attorney may or may not be the way to go. First off, people usually feel safer with an attorney or a lawyer but is it really necessary. Ask a lawyer and they’ll tell you, “of course!” The truth is, you can hire a legit timeshare cancellation company to handle the whole process for you. And, unfortunately, there are many timeshare cancellation scam companies who just have a good story, take your money, and leave you alone. (I don’t know how they get away with it frankly). If you ever thought to yourself, “how could I get out of my timeshare?” You might want to check us out. We’ll tell you if we can take the case or not. In the meantime, the article should help give you an overview of the process.

Law of Timeshares

A timeshare is a partial ownership in a property. Most timeshares are sold by resort communities which sell shared ownerships in condominiums within their communities. Timeshares are regulated by state law, so specific questions must be addressed on a case by case basis. However there are some basic generalities that almost all timeshares will share.

Exclusivity

Timeshare owners own a specific period of time during which they have exclusive rights to use of the shared property. This means if your Timeshare agreement states that you have the exclusive rights to use the property during the third week of June every year, then none of your other co-owners have a right to use the property during that time.

If timeshare owners don’t want to use their allotted time or are unable to do so, they have several options. They could rent their unit for their allotted time to another party. They could give their time in the unit as a gift to someone else. Some resorts with larger networks will allow timeshare owners to exchange their allotted time for a different week in a different unit or a different location; there are also larger websites which will do these types of exchanges outside of resort networks. Finally, just with other types of property ownership, you can always elect to sell your timeshare altogether.

Types of Agreements

Timeshares come in a variety of formats, but generally all management companies will assign week numbers to every week of the year so that owners are clear on what they have bought.

If you buy a Fixed Week timeshare you are buying the same week of every year. So if you buy Week 42 at Unit X, every year you retain ownership of your timeshare you will have the exclusive right to use the property during Week 42. Obviously certain weeks are more popular than others; if you have the week that contains Memorial Day, Labor Day, or Christmas, your timeshare will be more valuable than the other weeks in the same units.

Rotating Week timeshares try to make up for this discrepancy in timeshare value by literally rotating the weeks through the owners. So if during the first year of your ownership of Unit X you have Week 42, the next year you’d have Week 41, the year after you’d have Week 40, etc. This ensures that all owners will eventually have a chance at the most coveted weeks of the year.

Some management companies make things exceptionally flexible by selling Floating Week timeshares; for example floating winter weeks. If you buy a floating winter week at a ski resort you are guaranteed Unit X during a specific number of weeks during the winter period. However, you are not assigned a specific week, instead, you must make a request for a specific week.

Maintenance Costs

Timeshare owners generally share the costs of maintenance for their property. These fees should be set out in your purchase agreement. Such fees could include costs for year round management of the property, upkeep costs for the resort’s common areas (i.e. pools, etc.), and utilities for your unit. The sum total of these costs will vary depending on the location, number of timeshare owners, and other factors specific to your unit.

Lawyers and Timeshares

The purchase, sale, exchange, and/or rental of timeshare units can be complicated and is rooted largely in state law. Most owners buy timeshares as vacation properties and as such these units are often located in states or even countries outside of the owner’s primary place of residence. A knowledgeable attorney can help you navigate the legal issues that could arise in timeshare transactions and protect your ownership rights.

Ken LaMance is the Corporate Counsel for LegalMatch.com in South San Francisco, California. LegalMatch (http://www.legalmatch.com/) is fast, free, and confidential. LegalMatch is America’s original attorney/client matching service and is not a referral service. When a consumer presents their issue to LegalMatch, our system matches the consumer’s case to LegalMatch lawyers in their city or county based on the specifics of the consumer’s case, lawyer’s location, and area of legal practice. LegalMatch also offers a number of useful resources like an online law library (http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/), tips, law blog, and forums on nearly every topic.

If that all sounds like too much, you’re not alone. Many, many people have felt the burden of a timeshare. If you felt you’ve been lied to and need a little help understanding what your options our, try us out. It’s a free consultation and we’ll tell you if we can take the case or not. http://www.canceltimesharenow.com/get-out-of-my-timeshare/

If you don’t want to pay a timeshare attorney bill but still want to out from under your timeshare contract, you might want to check out our service. ‘Get out of my timeshare‘. The company we work with has a great track record and really dispises those companies that SAY they’re get you out of a timeshare but then just take your money and run. It makes it harder for the real ‘good guys’.