Wednesday, September 11, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon How do I get out from under a timeshare? Dear Property Guy By Mike Zoormajian Dear Property Guy, I9ve had a timeshare for almost 20 years. When the kids were younger, and I was travelling more, it was fun. But now, it9s just an expen- sive hassle. The maintenance and annual fees are killing me. I just want to be done with it. 4 Timeshared in Tumalo Dear Timeshared: Property Guy has a few rules for clients and friends: First, we don9t sell, we BUY property in Oregon. Second, we NEVER buy timeshares. We9ll go over the other rules in a different column& Timeshares can be struc- tured a few ways, but basi- cally you are a part-owner with the right to use the prop- erty for a pre-determined period of time each year. The rub is that you are on the hook for: maintenance, management, repair, and any other fees the timeshare com- pany dreams up in the future. I9m not a timeshare expert, so I reached out to some attorney friends who are. Strangely enough, none of them actually own timeshares. Timeshare presentations can be pretty slick. And when combined with free food and booze, can also be very com- pelling. Timeshare salespeo- ple have even been known to (gasp!) lie about facts to get you to buy. Timeshare staff actually rank somewhere between used-car dealers and politicians on the trustworthy scale. When it comes to exiting a timeshare, you have a few options; none are really awe- some. But let9s work through them. Talk it out. Always start here. It9s easy and it doesn9t cost anything. Call the com- pany and ask what your options are for sale or for a