So you're short on cash—and with gas the way it is, who isn't?--but you want to make a difference.  You want to sacrifice something to help someone in need.  The budget isn't quite eking it out, so what do you do?

Before you rework the budget for the umpteenth time, consider giving a non-cash donation.  Do you have any antiques growing dusty in the attic?  A timeshare you're struggling to use on a yearly basis? An old collection you could give up? Maybe even a car?

iDonate.com will take your non-cash donation, liquidate it, and make sure the proceeds go to your charity of choice.  Non-cash donations are just as useful to charities and can present less of a burden to the donors.  iDonate.com will arrange to have your donation picked up and will use its own resources to liquidate it.  As the donor, this leaves you with much less responsibility than trying to liquidate the item yourself, as well as giving your donation a better market and makes it more likely to get the true value of the item to your charity.

Next time you're low on checks, start looking around you to see what you have of value.  It could benefit a charity.

Why would people donate valuable cars when those same people don't have the cash to donate? Simply put, donating your car is just more convenient. You need to get rid of your old car. Most people trying to get rid of a car have three options: trade, sell, and donate. Whats so much better about donating it?

Well, consider your first two options. If you trade it it, you will mostly likely get far less than its worth. Selling it? Just plain inconvenient. There is paperwork that you have to do yourself. If its broken, you may not have the resources to fix it. Then there is the advertising.  Phone calls, flyers, haggling, bartering, the whole nine-yards. No one knows how long it will take to sell, and you may have to lower the price below its value to get it to sell.

By using the third option, donating it, you get a tax deduction while simultaneously helping out a charity. Third-party companies like iDonate.com handle the sale and the paperwork for you, saving you time and money and also giving your vehicle the best opportunity to sell for what its worth.  Vehicles can include any sort of car, truck, or other motor vehicle such as a boat, RV, ATV, airplane, go-cart, and many more. Your donation can be used or new, and will greatly contribute to your chosen charity. By donating it you save yourself a lot of hassle, help out a good cause, receive a tax deduction, and receive the best possible value from your donation for your charity.

Recently, RCI (Resort Condominiums International) commissioned a study on how much money is spent in Great Britain on travel. More specifically, the study was on money spent in vacationing, tourism, and in the timeshare industries.

The results of the study show that the average British vacationer spends the equivalent of $63,000 US dollars throughout their lifetime, averaging $1,053 a year.  If a British person takes two 1 week vacations a year, as was the average in 2007, they spend approximately 840 days throughout their lives on vacation. Clearly tourism is no small-time market, at least in the UK. So how do timeshares effect the typical British vacationer?

RCI projects that if any given British vacationer would use timeshares and timeshare exchange programs on their vacations, they would have spend only $36,500 instead of $63,000.  And this method would not restrict vacationing destinations.  After all, there are timeshare resorts available worldwide.

But the savings can go even further.  If the same vacationer purchased resale timeshares, they would save around 50% more than if they paid for a new timeshare.  This throws the estimate savings to $50,000-$70,000.

It doesn't matter if you live in the US, UK, or anywhere else in the world. Clearly timeshare resales save money.  Still, after reading this article, maybe you've started looking at how much money you spend on vacation.  Maybe you aren't using your timeshare as much as you thought you would.  Maybe traveling is more stressful than you realized, or your kids are grown, or you're trying to simplify your life and vacations aren't your way of doing it. You can  donate your timeshare so that the proceeds go to your favorite charity.  Online programs like iDonate.com ensure that your timeshare is liquidated for the best possible price and the proceeds go to your cause of choice. If you've been looking for a way to sacrifice something for a non-profit, but haven't quite scrounged up the cash to do it, this could be a more creative way of donating.

When you go on vacation, oftentimes you can get 50-75% discounts on almost any activity by merely attending a timeshare presentation.  However, only 1 person in 100 actually buys a timeshare through these presentations.  Someone has to pay for the discounts of the other attendees and the salesman's commission, and its usually the new timeshare owner. As a result, the price is highly inflated.  If to want a timeshare, buy it through the resale market and not at these presentations.

Many resorts will put new perspectives on buying timeshares, such as one-week timeshare you can only use every two years.  This makes the maintenance fees appear much lower.  There are also rotating timeshares, which appear convenient as they allow you to pick your week each year instead of having a fixed week.  At least, they are convenient till you have to fill out the paperwork trying to get the week you want. 

Before you buy, consider that you are buying vacation at the same place every year, unless your resort can make arrangements to exchange.  If thats what you want, then maybe a timeshare is the thing for you.  Also, do some research.  Look at the accommodations and location of your timeshare. Make sure you cannot buy something similar in the same place for less. 

And what about in a few years when you want to sell it?  The Internet is full of people selling timeshares, and it will be neither quick nor easy to sell yours.  It will not be for a profit and may even turn out to be a huge loss to you.  You will pay a listing fee of $300 to $1,000.  Once listed, it won't sell because timeshares depreciate over time and almost never sell for more than they were purchased for. While listed, you won't make plans to use it, expecting it to sell, but you still have to pay the maintenance fees and taxes.  If it doesn't sell, you'll be contacted to re-list it.  You may end up paying $4,000 to sell it, when in the end you'll only receive $1,000 to $4,000 for it.  Hardly a worthy investment.

Spend half an hour with an accountant or tax lawyer and discuss donating your timeshare instead.  You will be rid of it within weeks and companies such as iDonate.com will take care of all the paperwork and details of selling it.  The proceeds will go to a charity of your choice and you will receive a tax-deduction for the selling price.

Many people purchase timeshares as an investment, thinking that when the time comes to sell it they will make money.  Unfortunately this is far from true and in the end, the resale price is far less than the purchase price.  Timeshares with loans still on them won't sell at all. Resale timeshares sell for 50-80% less than the original purchase price. If you're the owner of a timeshare that you have been unsuccessfully trying to sell, it may be time to cut your losses and try a new tactic. 

Cash is tight this days and non-profits and charities are feeling it just like everybody else. If you're finding only lint in your pockets, don't think cash is the only way you can help out a non-profit. Instead of continuing to pay maintenance fees, unload your timeshare and donate it.

Consider though, not every charity will accept your timeshare donations.  After all, if they can't sell it, that lands them in the same boat you were in, paying maintenance fees and such.  Consider instead donating to the same charity through idonate.com, an organization fully equipped to sell your timeshare for the best price. idonate.com was created solely to liquidate non-cash donations as more and more people are becoming more creative with their donations. idonate.com will cover the paperwork and all  of the liquidating process. Chances are you will get a tax write-off for the amount the timeshare sells for.  Your timeshare will be owned by the charity of your choice and the proceeds will go to them.  If for some reason you timeshare does not sell, it will be given directly to the charity.  If they charity does not want it, idonate.com will  will give it to another non-profit. idonate.com does not take ownership of donation.  For more information go to www.idonate.com and click on Help and then Frequently Asked Questions. To unload your timeshare, click on Donate.

Burdensome timeshares can be a pain. If you're sick of paying maintenance fees for a week off you cannot seem to get around to taking every year, you can go to all the work of reselling it—or you can donate it.

Timeshare donation companies abound.  By donating your timeshare, it will be out of your hands within weeks, which also means the end of those maintenance fees and taxes.  You can circumvent the fees involved in listing, promoting, and advertising that are inherent in the selling process. The only costs to you might be the appraisal if you are claiming more than $5,000 at tax time.

idonate.com is one such company.  The timeshare donation can be submitted via Internet or phone.  Within two business days you will be contacted by the company. You will be sent a package with all the paperwork you will need to tell them all the necessary information about your timeshare. Idonate.com then  takes care of the sale and transfer of ownership.  When it is sold, you will be notified and sent a receipt to use for your tax-deduction.

idonate.com is not alone in this service. Donate Timeshare Online, Inc. and Charity Timeshare Donations are similar organizations. Give BackTimeshare.com can list certain qualifying timeshares on the market with no upfront fees. SellMyTimeshareNOW.com will give the proceeds of your donated timeshare to the Southern Hampshire University. Donate for a Cause has a list of specific charities your donation will go to. Florida Veterans Assistance Association, Inc. is the route to go to contribute to war veterans.

Donating your timeshare is often the most efficient way to get away from a timeshare you cannot use and from paying expensive listing fees for marketing companies.  It rids you of those maintenance fees much sooner than waiting for an indeterminable amount of time.  Donating it is a lot less work and with the tax deduction, oftentimes much more rewarding. 

Timeshares originated in France in the 1960's.  Today it is a multi-billion dollar industry with  over 5,000 resorts offering timeshares in 100 countries.  Clearly this industry did not explode overnight—but what was the process?  How did the timeshare industry get to be so big?

In the 60's travel and tourism expanded significantly with the introduction of the commercial jet.  A French company saw their opportunity and sprang on it—they began selling hotel rooms instead of renting them.  Their slogan was “ No need to rent the room, buy the hotel—it's cheaper!” The timeshare concept moved quickly from there to a ski resort in the French Alps.  A Baar Switzerland company took  timeshares and ran with them—purchasing resorts in Italy, Spain, and Switzerland.

Kauai was the first place in the United States to offer timeshares, started by the same two men who started Vacation Internationale. Kauai leased timeshares in weekly increments. Florida was the first state in the continental U.S. to copy the timeshare model.  Existing condo's converted quickly and began the first deeded timeshares. Resort Condominiums International, one of the largest timeshare exchange companies today, started giving owners the option of exchanging their weeks, which was a new concept. Today United States citizens make up 45% of timeshare owners.

In the 70's and 80's the timeshare industry covered most of Europe and the Western Hemisphere. More and more resorts converted to timeshare model. Spain and Portugal experienced huge success. Timeshares appealed to all classes of society.  The higher class now had more exotic and new locations to vacation and the working class could suddenly afford to vacation. By the 1990's timeshares has expanded to global proportions, even Eastern Europe and Asia.  Hotels got back in the game and began selling timeshare properties, giving the industry record highs. The timeshare industry continues to grow and shows no sign of stopping.

The timeshare industry has been growing and expanding as more and more people recognize it as a way to vacation anywhere around the world for a much lower cost. Timeshares can be sold directly from the resort, but more and more buyers, sellers, and renters have been looking to the resale market for their services and products. But whats are the advantages  and disadvantages of this growing market?

The first and most obvious disadvantage is the commission charged for going through a company that specialized in timeshare resales.  Still, the fee may possibly just be worth it when you consider the advantages the companies may offer.  A specialized company  will also have a network of possible buyers already in place, negating the need for you to advertise yourself.  Most companies will also take care of negotiating, paperwork, and closing affairs. If you are buying or renting a timeshare, you will get better deals going through a resale company than buying directly.  Resorts use high-pressure top-dollar salesmen that don't show up in resales, leading to a more thorough knowledge of your purchase for a much more reasonable price.

So, all-in-all, resale companies are the way to go, whether you are buying, selling, or renting your timeshare.

So you bought a timeshare, but now your kids are grown, or the thought of staying home this year just sounds a lot better than the stress of traveling.  You need to get rid of your timeshare, but whats the best way?  The answers between now, and several years ago, are actually quite different.

A few years ago, before the widespread use of the Internet, you would have probably paid a few hundred dollars to run an ad in the newspaper that may or may not have done anything at all towards a sale.  After that failed, you would have gone to a local real estate agent, who really had no interest in your timeshare or the market to sell it. 

The Internet has made selling and donating timeshares a much more viable option. Now, add two more choices to your list.  You can use a broker to get professional assistance in selling your timeshare.  Many times people really like having someone who's licensed  in real estate, and are willing to pay the commission to get it.

The second option is vastly more popular.  You can sell the timeshare yourself through a timeshare company.  This method requires much caution—anybody can make a website.  Once you have confirmed that it is indeed a valid Internet business, you need to think about two things.  First, that your timeshare will get lots of exposure, and second, that you have priced it reasonably.  A very low-priced timeshare will never sell on a website no-one visits, and a very expensive one will not sell no matter how many people see it if they can get equal quality for less money. The Internet has made timeshare resales much more convenient and feasible.  Watch out for bad web sites, and happy hunting!

Barbara Corcoran, a real-estate authority, spoke on timeshare resales in an interview on NBC's The Today Show. According to her, timeshares claim some unique characteristics when compared to the rest of the real-estate business. Selling a timeshare is similar to selling a car.  It involves giving away discounted vacations and free gifts to promote the sale to a single buyer. This can result in a rise in the selling price. Most real-estate is not like this.  It's strange, but not necessarily bad.  Even if the initial cost is inflated,  subsequent years are locked-in at the same price.  Large families can avoid the added expense of booking multiple hotel rooms, restaurant prices are eliminated by units with kitchens and dining areas, and the overpriced entertainment whiling vacationing is decreased by owners using the extra activities and facilities provided by the different resorts.

The best place to buy, sell, or rent a timeshare is online.  Still, sellers ought to be wary, selling does not happen overnight.  Timeshares at an older resort or at a less-popular vacation spot will take longer, as will timeshares being sold in the off-season. Potential buyers should also realize that a timeshare is not a financial investment. To go back to the analogy of selling a car, the value of a timeshare depreciates over time and nearly always sells for less than the original purchase price.

Owners of timeshares will tell you that the benefits of timeshare ownership is not necessarily monetary, but instead, it makes planning a vacation infinitely easier.  Ownership also encourages  annual weekly vacations for relaxation—usually necessary with the rest of the year dedicated to a career.  Timeshares aren't your typical real-estate purchase, but they do come with some beneficial lifestyle changes. For more information on how you could take advantage of purchasing our donated timehare properties at a below resale value, contact our marketing coordinator at estanley@idonate.com

Information taken from: Timeshares Daily Staff, “Real Estate Odd Duck is a Golden Goose Called Timeshare Resales”  Timeshares Daily. (www.timesharesdaily.com)