What a timeshare exit company actually does
A plain description of the exit-company business model: what you pay for, what the company actually does with your case, and the questions worth asking before you sign.
A timeshare exit company is a business that charges an owner a fee, usually thousands of dollars and usually up front, to help them leave a timeshare contract. The industry grew quickly in the 2010s and has drawn sustained attention from state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission since. Understanding what these companies actually do makes it much easier to decide whether to hire one.
What the fee typically buys
Models vary, but most exit companies do some combination of the following:
- Intake and a case manager. Your contract details are collected, and a case manager becomes your point of contact.
- Letters to the resort. The company, or a law firm it refers you to, sends the resort a written request to cancel or take back the interest. Some companies have the owner sign letters the company drafts.
- Referral into the developer's own program. Many major developers run their own deed-back or exit programs. An exit company that knows about them can simply guide an owner through the developer's process, and often does.
- Waiting. Resorts respond on their own timelines. A good part of what an owner pays for is a company that tracks the waiting and follows up.
- A guarantee, with conditions. Many exit companies advertise a money-back guarantee. The conditions are in the contract, and they are worth reading closely before relying on the headline.
What exit companies do not control
No exit company decides whether a resort accepts a request. That is the resort's decision. A company can write well, follow up persistently, and know which doors exist, but it cannot promise an outcome, and regulators have acted against companies that did.
Questions worth asking any exit company
- What, specifically, will you do, and what will I be asked to do myself?
- Will you be using my developer's own program? If so, what does the developer charge?
- What are the exact conditions of your guarantee, in writing?
- Is any of the fee refundable if the resort says no, and on what terms?
- Are you a law firm? If not, who is sending letters, and in whose name?
Where we fit
Donthirean Exit Company is not an exit company, despite the name. We sell a self-directed education program: a written guide, letter templates, and a dashboard for keeping a dated record of what you send. You contact your resort yourself, in writing, and you keep the record. It is the same kind of guidance exit companies sell, at a fraction of what they typically charge, and it suits owners who would rather do the work than pay someone to do it for them.
We are not attorneys and nothing here is legal advice. No outcome is promised, and no one else should promise you one either.