Timeshare

Some thoughts on any timeshare offers you might get on your community.

A typical message might read:

"I am offering two weeks timeshare, 1 bedroom, all fees paid to date (no debts), weeks 43/44. This is a fabulous timeshare resort, full details on request - there's a website where you can view gallery photos etc.

Please note this is not just a holiday, but holidays for life.

I don't want any money for the timeshare, but the new owner must complete the transaction in Gran Canaria and bear the cost of transferring the deeds etc."

Sounds too good to be true? It probably is - this is a standard timeshare marketing technique.

Remember those phone calls offering free gym membership, where all you had to pay was the monthly fee? The business model relied on the membership fee not mattering, because enough profit was made on the monthly payments. It's much the same with timeshares - the deeds are given away, but the profit is in the fees (rather like paying rent on a contract you can't get out of). Because many resorts won't resell or take back the deeds they gave away in the first place, you can end up locked into a contract.

So the bottom line: it's probably not a good idea to accept these messages on your community. They don't save anything from landfill, they aren't really free, they come with strings attached, and this kind of advert may well be fraudulent. See, for example, this BBC News report, October 2025.

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