Get Out of a Timeshare and Find Down Payment Help to Buy a Home

September 24, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In 2025, the timeshare industry generated $10.7 billion in new sales—roughly the same as Chipotle’s worldwide revenue that year. But for many owners, the real story isn’t the initial sale; it’s the difficulty of getting out. One Reddit user reported paying $7,500 annually in maintenance fees on top of $24,000 per year in principal and interest payments, just for the right to book a property they contractually own for a few weeks. This episode of NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast walks through the mechanics of timeshare contracts, the psychology behind the sales pitch, and the practical—often limited—options for exiting one. It then pivots to a separate but related topic: down payment assistance programs that can help buyers get into a home without being trapped by a bad contract.

How Timeshares Work and Why They’re Hard to Escape

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What you'll learn

1 (01:49) **Listener Question: How to Get Out of a Timeshare** - The episode opens with the core listener question: Inca’s parents own a timeshare they no longer use and want to get rid of it.
2 (04:14) **The High-Pressure Sales Experience** - Host Elizabeth shares her personal story of an aggressive timeshare presentation in Jamaica, illustrating the emotional manipulation involved.
3 (08:01) **The Financial Reality of Timeshares** - The discussion shifts to the specific financial burdens, including high interest rates and fees that make timeshares a poor investment for most.
4 (09:34) **Types of Timeshare Contracts** - Craig breaks down the two most common legal ownership structures and their pitfalls.
5 (13:24) **Scheduling and Ongoing Fees** - The conversation covers the restrictions on booking and the ever-increasing costs of ownership.
6 (16:43) **The Meat of the Question: How to Exit a Timeshare** - The hosts finally address the listener's primary question, starting with the warning to avoid shady third-party exit companies.
7 (19:13) **Legitimate Exit Options** - Craig outlines the realistic, if difficult, paths to getting out of a timeshare contract.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Learn how to escape a timeshare contract, plus what kind of help exists if you want to buy a home.

How do you get out of a timeshare you no longer want? Elizabeth Ayoola talks with travel Nerd Craig Joseph about a listener whose parents are paying yearly fees on an Orlando property they can barely use anymore. You'll hear why these timeshare contracts are so hard to unwind, what maintenance fees tend to run, and why there's often no cap on how fast they climb.

Then, can you really get free money to buy a house? Sean Pyles, CFP®, Elizabeth Ayoola and senior news writer Anna Helhoski are joined by mortgage Nerds Abby Badach Doyle and Kate Wood to discuss how down payment and closing cost assistance works, and how to tell a good deal from an expensive one. They get into where the thousands of programs come from, how a grant differs from a forgivable loan or a second mortgage, and one place homebuying help is starting to appear that you might not expect.

Want to get rid of your timeshare? Read this before you hire someone to help: https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2022/11/want-get-rid-your-timeshare-read-you-hire-someone-help

Links mentioned in this episode:

How Timeshare Presentations Earn Me Cheap Travel: https://www.nerdwallet.com/travel/learn/how-timeshare-presentations-earn-me-cheap-travel

Are Timeshares Worth It? Possibly, if You Buy Smart: https://www.nerdwallet.com/travel/learn/are-timeshares-worth-it

Want to get rid of your timeshare? Read this before you hire someone to help: https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2022/11/want-get-rid-your-timeshare-read-you-hire-someone-help

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