Explore your various options to end a time share

Q. My lady friend and I own three time shares in Pompano Beach, Fla., and Las Vegas. I'm 79, and we've decided to sell all three. We have been scammed in the past by giving money to two listing companies who just put them on the Internet. We never heard from them again.My lawyer said I'm making a mistake putting money upfront. I always thought they would need that money to print literature about my property to sell it. We almost paid a company $900 each to take them off our hands. They said our heirs would inherit them and be liable for maintenance fees and taxes. Any ideas would be much appreciated.A. If you are willing to just give up your time sharing, contact the managements and ask if they'll take them. Then call Realtors in those towns to see if they'd market them for a nominal price and 95 percent commission. Or consult your grandchildren about how to offer your weeks for free on Craigslist.Your lawyer is right; it's no use paying anyone upfront. And I'm sure the attorney would explain that your kids could refuse an inheritance.Finally, ask the lawyer what's likely to happen if you just stop paying the annual charges. Often, there's no bad consequence to you.You answered a person who wanted to know about setting up a raffle for his home. Of course, you advised against this. What about an auction? I don't know anything about cost, etc., but do know some people have done auctions.A. In some areas, particularly rural locations, real estate auctions work well. You'd want to engage a licensed company that has financing arrangements set up in advance and can investigate would-be buyers' qualifications. It takes know-how to publicize an auction, to set a reserve price and to gather a crowd and the like. I don't think it would work for a do-it-yourself amateur.My wife and I recently purchased our first home. Once we moved in, we discovered a strong odor in the laundry room. We found a rat infestation and learned that a possum had been living in the walls of the heater. We had a company professionally remove the insulation from the attic and try to sanitize the laundry room, but the odor has not gone away. If we had known about this problem, we certainly would not have purchased this home. It has taken our first home purchase from a dream to a nightmare very quickly.A. When you say "we never would have bought if we'd known," you are stating an exact legal requirement for voiding the whole purchase and giving the house back. But you'd have to prove that the seller knew about the problem and deliberately failed to disclose it. Maybe the neighbors had heard about it? I can't judge, of course, if you'd prevail in a lawsuit.You need to discuss the whole matter with a real estate attorney, who will ask what you're looking for. Do you want to move out? Stay but be reimbursed for what you spent trying to cure the problem? Or what?A bank-owned foreclosure I want to purchase has an unacceptable sewage system, and the bank needs me to repair the system to the tune of $8,000-plus before they deem the home salable. They said they could add the cost to my mortgage.Am I supposed to repair this, or is the bank responsible?A. It's risky investing $8,000 in a property you don't own. In a normal situation, the seller/owner would make the required repair. Forget what the bank "says." I'd want binding written contracts before doing anything. I'd get myself a lawyer, preferably one who specializes in real estate.bull; Edith Lank will respond to questions sent to her at 240 Hemingway Drive, Rochester, N.Y. 14620 (please include a stamped return envelope), or readers may e-mail ehlank@aol.com.2010, Creators Syndicate Inc.