In my bankruptcy practice, I often see debtors who own timeshares that they no longer want for a variety of reasons. In many cases, the debtors owe more than the unit is worth and can no longer afford yearly maintenance fees. With timeshares selling for as little as $1 on eBay, debtors are often stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
One option that debtors might consider is an organization called Donate for a Cause. Donate for a Cause is a non-for-profit organization based in Washington D.C. that accepts timeshare donations and sells the unit to raise money for local charities. According to its website, Donate for a Cause supports a wide range of charities such as the American Cancer Society and the American Red Cross.
Donate for a Cause will provide you with a receipt for your donation. You should consult with an accountant or other tax professional for advice on how to claim the deduction when you file your income tax return.
About the Author: Carl H. Starrett II has been a licensed attorney since 1993 and is a member in good standing with the California State Bar and the San Diego County Bar Association. Mr. Starrett practices in the areas of bankruptcy, business litigation, construction, corporate planning and debt collection.
2 comments:
I had two timeshares the I didn’t need anymore and tried to sell them. This, of course, did not work and I faced one scam company after the next. Then I was looking through a timeshare forum and found a thread about timeshare donation.
I found out that some properties are easier to donate then others. There are companies that sell these properties for very little money in a wholesale market. Whatever they get for them they donate to a charity. I understand that the donation is sometimes only a few hundred dollars but the charity is appreciative.
The company I ended up using to donate my timeshares was called Property Donation Group. They just asked for the property information and got back to me the same afternoon.
Property Donation Group helped me get rid of both worthless timeshares. I had to pay $200 to have one liquidated and the other I donated for free and took a $4,000 tax deduction on it. Plus no more maintenance fees for me ever!
So timeshare donation can work.
I don’t know who else can do it, but PropertyDonationGroup.com has all the information for the company I used.
I tried to donate my timeshare and was told I would have to pay a fee of $2000-$2500 for the privilege of donating it.
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