Getting trapped in time shares

They'd never been to South Carolina. They hadn't planned to go there. Their vacations generally involved visiting relatives or heading to exotic locations such as China and Panama. But the salesman told them that they could use the time-share interest to swap for vacations around the world. And that seemed like a good idea.

Time-sharing resorts typically give buyers the right to use a condo or hotel unit for a specific time period, sometimes at a selection of properties worldwide. For the Harknesses, it just never worked out. The places they wanted to stay were never available at the times they planned to go.

Five years after buying the time share, Grace said, they've never used the time -- one week a year -- that they paid $10,000 for. She wants to get her money back and to stop getting hit with $450 in annual fees each year.

"I don't know what made this sound so good," Grace, 77, said. "We asked the company that we bought it from if they would buy it back. They said, 'No, no, no. Keep trying. I'm sure you'll love it. It will be a great experience.' "

The Harknesses are learning the hard way what many owners already know. It's easy to get into a time share, but it can be tough and costly to get out.

Few developers will buy them back; the ones that do will usually charge a hefty commission. Using local Realtors and traditional classified advertisements is often futile, experts say. Although Web-based ads can generate interest, they're often costly. And there's no assurance that the advertised time share will sell at all -- much less at a price that's close to what the owner paid.

"There is a secondary market for time shares," said Bill Rogers, founder of Timeshare User's Group, a 13-year-old website aimed at helping owners buy, sell, swap and rent their units. "But if you bought it from the developer, you would be lucky to get 50 cents on the dollar."

Buying a time share is a lot like buying a new car, said Rosanne Luba, director of sales at SellMyTimeshareNow.com. Your interest depreciates steeply the moment you walk off the sales floor.

"You never make money reselling a time share," Luba said. "It's not exactly that you've lost money. It's like a car. If you've used it, you've gotten value out of it. But it's not like buying a house that's going to appreciate."