Peterh1952…
Don’t let anyone bully you in to not considering ALL your options. Some folks are up to the task of selling their house without a realtor, but most aren’t. You’re going to lose money on the timeshare; it’s just a matter of how much. So decide where your comfort zone is. How much does the money matter? How much does your time and peace of mind matter? These are things you will need to weigh, and decide what your own priorities are.
If you aren’t able to give the timeshare back to the resort, then you might try off-loading it yourself, if you feel up to it. Keep in mind that the closing and transfer process with DRI takes a minimum of 6 months. So to avoid 2016 maintenance fees, you want to have it sold by around September.
After getting nowhere with DRI, I personally decided that I was willing to try the TUG MarketPlace, as it was economical and looked fairly easy to do with Legal Timeshare Transfers. I decided to give it 8 weeks before turning it over to DFC. I wasn’t interested in dealing with EBay or any other venue. I’m fortunate, in that two grand isn’t a lot of money to me. Although if I could get rid of the timeshare in the TUG MarketPlace with little effort on my part, why not? I was lucky; someone took my timeshare within 4 weeks. Others haven’t been so lucky.
I wish you much success, Peter! I can truly empathize with your wanting out from under your DRI timeshare.