If you’re a Vistana Signature Network timeshare owner, whether you own with Westin Vacation Club or Sheraton Vacation Club, and you’re interested in selling your property, you’ve come to the right place! In our definitive Vistana seller’s guide, we’ll walk you through the process of selling your Vistana timeshare and provide you with expert advice regarding how to get started with the timeshare resale market.
Selling any timeshare can be a challenging endeavor without the proper education, but with the correct guidance, up-to-date market information, and the right approach, you can safely and successfully sell your timeshare. Let’s get started!
Determine Exactly What Vistana Timeshare You Own
Before diving into market analysis, or even picking the right method of selling, you must first understand exactly what is owned, and what benefits can be conveyed to your buyer on the resale market. In order to find this information, you may have access to a few documents that contain everything you need. These documents include:
If you’re having trouble accessing these documents, you usually can contact Vistana directly to request a copy of them. Once you have these documents, you can use them to find the following ownership details that will be of paramount importance to selling the timeshare:
- Deeded Names: The exact spelling of your deeded name, as well as if the property is co-owned, or possibly held within a trust
- Home Resort: The home resort you are deeded to, if selling a weeks-based ownership
- Annual StarOptions: How many StarOptions your week or Vacation ownership interest awards you each year
- Banked StarOptions: How many unused StarOptions are saved, or banked
- Season: The season that is your contract is deeded to you
- Usage: If you have annual usage or if you have biennial usage (every-other-year-usage) whether its odd year or even year usage
- Maintenance Fees & Taxes: Your annual maintenance fees & tax charges
Determine What Owner Benefits Can Transfer On The Resale Market
There are three separate situations that all Vistana owners face when selling their timeshare on the resale market:
The difference in these categories becomes important when it comes to transferring on the resale market so make sure you know which one you’re able to market to prospective buyers!
Voluntary Week-Based VOI
Restrictions On The Resale Market
When purchasing at a Voluntary resort on the resale market, owners would not be able to use their timeshare to travel to other Vistana resorts within the Vistana Signature Network (VSN) using StarOptions.
Upon transferring the timeshare at a voluntary resort, the owner would use their timeshare as a floating week timeshare. This means the owner would be able to book the specific unit size within the specific season at the specific resort they are deeded to, but would not be able to book other Vistana resorts using StarOptions.
Home Resort Reservation Period
During the Home Resort Reservation Period, weeks-based owners must:
- reserve their deeded villa type at their deeded resort
- reserve a 7-night stay at their deeded resort
- check-in on Resort-Specific check-in days (Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays)
- reserve within their deeded season
- lock-off option may be available
All Voluntary Vistana Resorts
- Westin Princeville Ocean Resort
- Westin Nanea Ocean Villas
- Westin St. John Villas (Bay Vista Villas and the Coral Vista / Sunset Bay Villas)
- Westin Lagunamar Ocean Resort Villas & Spa
- Westin Los Cabos Resort Villas and Spa
- Westin Desert Willows Villas
- Westin Mission Hills Resort & Villas
- Westin Riverfront Mountain Villas
- Sheraton Mountain Vista
- Sheraton Steamboat Resort Villas
- Sheraton Lakeside Terrace
- Sheraton Desert Oasis
- Sheraton PGA Vacation Resort
- Sheraton Vistana Resort
- Sheraton Vistana Villages (Amelia and St. Augustine Phases)
- Sheraton Broadway Resort
Mandatory Week-Based VOI
Restrictions On The Resale Market
Mandatory resorts require all owners at that resort to be a part of VSN. Owning at a mandatory resort will allow a resale buyer to use StarOption points to book other resorts within the Vistana Signature Network (VSN). This means that you can use points to travel to any Vistana resort as long as there is availability, and you have the sufficient amount of StarOptions to book the reservation.
Home Resort Reservation Period
During the Home Resort Reservation Period, weeks-based owners must:
- reserve their deeded villa type at their deeded resort
- reserve a 7-night stay at their deeded resort
- check-in on Resort-Specific check-in days (Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays)
- reserve within their deeded season
- lock-off option may be available
All Mandatory Vistana Resorts
- Harborside Resort at Atlantis
- Sheraton Vistana Villages (Bella & Key West Phases only)
- Westin St. John (Virgin Grand Hillside)
- Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas
- Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas North
- Westin Keirland Villas
Points-Based VOI
Restrictions On The Resale Market
StarOptions privileges do not transfer to the resale market for HomeOptions-based Vistana timeshares, which greatly limits their desirability on the secondary market. Also, it is rare to find these timeshares on the resale market, as Vistana is very aggressive in buying them back from owners that wish to sell on the resale market through their right of first refusal program.
Home Resort Reservation Period
During the Home Resort Reservation Period, HomeOptions-based owners can:
- reserve any available villa type at any resort within their trust
- reserve anywhere from 1 to 14 nights
- check-in any day of the week
- reserve any available dates, regardless of season
- use all or just a portion of their HomeOptions
All Points-Based VOI Trusts
- Sheraton Flex
- Westin Flex
- Westin Aventuras
How To Sell Your Vistana Timeshare: Exploring Your Options
Selling Your Vistana Timeshare On Your Own
If you’d like to try to sell your ownership yourself, you can look start by getting an idea of what the current Vistana resale market value of your property is like on sites like ours, or eBay, or Craigslist, but keep in mind you will need to do your research to ensure you are protected during the transaction.
Selling a timeshare on your own requires you to advertise your personal details, field questions, and ultimately be able to successfully transfer the ownership to your buyer.
We always recommend getting a free listings with no upfront fees with a trusted broker, even if you choose to market the timeshare on your own. It will never hurt your chances of selling to have multiple sources of buyers.
Using A Timeshare Broker To Sell Your Vistana Timeshare
Many people use a Licensed Broker due to the up-to-date expertise a licensed agent will possess. Knowledge of the timeshare resale market landscape aids greatly in pricing your timeshare resale appropriately, negotiating offers, and performing the closing process. Just be sure to look for an accredited business that offers a free listing to sell timeshares, and charges no upfront fees. Just as with a traditional Real Estate agent, your agent should handle all aspects of the resale process on your behalf, and not be paid up front fees until your ownership has been sold.
In addition to offering a wealth of information, modern Timeshare Brokers are leveraging the incredible power of digital marketing, search engine optimization, and cost per click ads to sell your Vistana ownership. Why not take advantage of their marketing dollars, when it means zero risk to you?!
Using Timeshare Exit Companies
A quick word on using timeshare exit companies or exit solutions. These companies will generally charge you to transfer fees, as well as an upfront fee in order to get you out of your timeshare. Vistana timeshare resales are almost never a good option for this method, as they carry a respectable value on the resale market, and can be successfully sold to many potential buyers. Not to mention the timeshare exit industry is rampant with scams, be careful!
Determine The Value Of Vistana Timeshare Resales
The resale value of Vistana timeshares can be much lower than what they sell for at a presentation, or when bought directly from Vistana. You can start to get a feel for your ownership’s resale value by price-checking other listings you can search for online, but it’s important to note that you will be browsing asking prices, which is not always what the listing is sold for.
When trying to find the value of your timeshare on the resale market, the main factors that determine the fair market value are:
- Deeded home resort
- Size of deeded unit
- Deeded season
- Deeded view (if applicable)
- Annual allotment of StarOptions
- Number of banked StarOptions (if any)
If it’s your first foray into the timeshare resale market, it would be advisable to seek the counsel of a Licensed Real Estate Broker who specializes in your particular developer’s timeshare ownerships. A knowledgable and experienced broker can aid you greatly in understanding what timeshares like yours are currently selling for, as well as walk you through what to expect when selling.
Many reputable brokers offer free consultations with no obligation to list with them, and can save you hours of research.
Listing Your Vistana Timeshare For Sale
Listing Vistana resales is a straight-forward process. You can fill out the form on our site to get a free timeshare market analysis and free listing. Once you fill out the form, you will be assigned an agent that can walk you through the process of selling your Vistana Signature Network timeshare
Reviewing Offers For Your Property
Once your timeshare has been listed and an interested buyer is ready to make an offer, you will need to determine the following information before you can fully understand the terms of the offer:
- Offered price
- Amount of any seller-paid closing costs
- Commission costs
- Projected closing date
- Name of 3rd party closing company
- Broker’s opinion if offered price will pass Right of First Refusal (if applicable to your home resort)
Vistana’s Right of First Refusal
Right of First Refusal (ROFR) is a contractual clause that is built-in to some Vistana ownerships which states that Vistna may have the option to purchase a property back from their timeshare owners, before allowing the owner the ability to sell to a third party on the resale market.
If you’d like to get a more in-depth introduction to how right of first refusal works with Vistana timeshares, you can read our article on the subject here: Vistana Right Of First Refusal: Westin & Sheraton Resale.
Transfer Your Title & Collecting Your Proceeds
Any timeshare transfer will need to be treated very similarly to the sale of Real Estate. It’s common practice to expect a third-party closing company to hold the buyer’s monetary deposits within an escrow account, and to oversee the transaction to ensure both parties receive what they have agreed upon in their purchase agreement contract.
The closing company will also work hand in hand with Vistana to ensure the timeshare is fully transferred out of the seller’s name and into the buyer’s name.
Closing costs can vary by the escrow and title services being offered, what title or liability coverage is offered and simply by your state and the price of the timeshare that is sold. It is best to ask your agent at the time of reviewing offers to point out exact closing costs that are written into the purchase agreement.
Once your Vistana timeshare has been fully transferred to the buyer, the closing company will send the proceeds of the sale to you, usually paid by check.
Contact Us For More Information
As always, seeking more information for such a large transaction is a wise choice. Fill out the form on our Contact Us page if you have general questions, or visit our listing agreement page and fill out the form there to get started right away.
