Buying, Renting, and Selling Timeshares

donating a timeshare

We have a timeshare that we would like to donate and dont know how to go about doing so! Does anyone have any advice on which companys are the best for this and how do u go about doing so? Our timeshare is in florida between Miami and ft. Lauderdale week 41. Are we responsible for the maintences while we are donateing tell they sell dont know how all this works.

Ellen P.

ellensue wrote:
We have a timeshare that we would like to donate and dont know how to go about doing so! Does anyone have any advice on which companys are the best for this and how do u go about doing so? Our timeshare is in florida between Miami and ft. Lauderdale week 41. Are we responsible for the maintences while we are donateing tell they sell dont know how all this works.

Donate for a Cause (www.donateforacause.org) and Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (www.turpentinecreek.org) are two organizations that accept TSs for donation.

Very few timeshares are accepted for donations. An organization will only accept a TS if they feel they can resell it quickly for a profit. If you can't sell your TS for any amount, it's a good bet that a charity won't accept it.

From Donate for a Cause's website: All properties offered for donation will undergo a four week market analysis whereby the value of the property will be estimated. No property will be accepted for donation if the market analysis concludes that the property can not be sold for a profit within a three week period. They have a lot of units listed for sale on their website and somehow I can't believe they received all these donations within the past two months.

If an organization does accept your TS, you will still be responsible for all MFs and SAs until the TS is sold. In addition, while the organization is trying to sell your TS, you will most likely not be able to use it, rent it, or deposit it with an exchange company.

Here's a link that discusses timeshare donation (and other TS info). www.timesharetrap.com/charities_that_accept_timeshare_donations.html (cut & paste the link into your browser).

Mike N.

Thanks for the info on donating guess if they could sell in 3 weeks we also should be abe to sell right....lolololol nope dont want anything like that!

Ellen P.

ellensue wrote:
We have a timeshare that we would like to donate and dont know how to go about doing so! Does anyone have any advice on which companys are the best for this and how do u go about doing so? Our timeshare is in florida between Miami and ft. Lauderdale week 41. Are we responsible for the maintences while we are donateing tell they sell dont know how all this works.

I tried to dontate mine and none would take it. I found a person on EBAY to take mine with $1200 due in back MF. He charged me $300.00. You might want to check him out.

John D.

Ok what is his name ill check him out.

Ellen P.

ellensue wrote:
Ok what is his name ill check him out.

Please also check out input from others regarding this matter (some of those "others", by the way, are experienced attorneys) in these RedWeek forums. For the record, it's NOT legal advice which is being offered. However, the independent feedback and words of caution provided may be well worth the effort to at least read the input and consider it...

Last edited by ken1193 on Oct 25, 2008 06:32 AM

Can you give me his name as I have 3 timeshares in Fla that I need to sell asap Thanks!! Barbara

Barbara C.

barbarac110 wrote:
Can you give me his name as I have 3 timeshares in Fla that I need to sell asap Thanks!! Barbara

I don't remember the guy's name but he has posted here before. He has set up some kind of trust and he will take your timeshare for $300 then put the timeshare in that trust so the resorts can't touch him with back fees (or something to that effect .... I'm not familiar with that kind of trust or if it's legal).

I would be very leery of doing business with a shyster like that.

R P.

jayjay has stated: >> I don't remember the guy's name but he has posted here before. He has set up some kind of trust and he will take your timeshare for $300 then put the timeshare in that trust so the resorts can't touch him with back fees (or something to that effect .... I'm not familiar with that kind of trust or if it's legal).

I would be very leery of doing business with a shyster like that.<< ===============================================

The man's name is "Warren". I believe his last name begins with the letter "F". l further believe (although I'm not absolutely certain) that he was / is located in Salem, New Hampshire (at least at the time of his postings on RedWeek). If I had his contact info, I certainly wouldn't provide it anyhow, since I believe that his scheme is criminally fraudulent --- and I wouldn't want to facilitate or encourage others jumping into it.

There is nothing intrinsically wrong or unlawful about a "trust" having ownership of a timeshare; many people choose to have ownerships in a (lawful) trust. However, if / when a "trust" is actually just a shell entity comprised of non-existent people, fabricated to deceive and defraud others, then anything and everything conducted by or with the phony shell trust is legally invalid and void. Conducting real estate transactions (yes, timeshare transfers are real estate transactions) under such a scheme, with the intent to deceive and defraud, is committing a criminal act. Collecting money from others (Warren charges $300, I believe) to advance the fraudulent scheme only digs the hole deeper. Last but not least, any "deed" generated and / or recorded in the course of fraudulent activity will be held to be invalid and void. The fact that such a deed may very easily get "recorded" when a recording fee is paid does NOT make that instrument legally valid just because it was "recorded".

Do as you wish, as is always an individual choice and prerogative, but my advice is to stay FAR, FAR away from this scheme, which clearly appears to be based on willful, pre-planned, deliberate fraud. If you "sign on" to this scheme, when all is said and done you won't like the ultimate outcome --- i.e., still owning (and still owing back fees and more interest on) the timeshare referenced in the new (but entirely void) deed.

Last edited by ken1193 on Oct 28, 2008 07:15 AM

vanessac54 wrote:
...as long as your property has no mortgages, liens or loans against it, Property Donation Group will take care of everything and make sure the proceeds go to helping someone else.

Sounds great, but will they take ALL timeshares or only those that can be resold quickly?

Mike N.

vanessac54 wrote:
You choose the organization from a list of noteworthy non-profits that they work with and as long as your property has no mortgages, liens or loans against it ....

Will your company pay maintenance fees that are due yearly on a donated timeshare? A timeshare is not nesessarily something a charity would take since maintenance fees are ongoing on a yearly basis and if they are not paid that would be considered a lien (debt owed) ... the charities that do take timeshares are those timeshares that can be easily resold (supply and demand) and in this economy even those timeshares would probably be hard to resell.

R P.

Property Donation Group can now even help timeshare owners that are carrying a balance on their timeshares!!!

Vanessa C.

Last edited by vanessac54 on Sep 02, 2009 10:39 AM

The charities don't actually even touch the timeshares at all. The timeshares are wholesaled out for very little and the proceeds go to the charity. Charities are not equipped to handle deed transfers, closing costs and legal work. They don't have any more luck selling them then any other owner and when they fail to sell than the charity is responsible for burdensome maintenance fees and taxes. This is where the expertise of a company like Property Donation Group is greatly appreciated. http://www.propertydonationgroup.com

Vanessa C.

Last edited by vanessac54 on Sep 02, 2009 03:17 PM

vanessac54 wrote:
Property Donation Group can now even help timeshare owners that are carrying a balance on their timeshares!!!

How can they do that when the title has to be free and clear before any transfer of ownership can take place? All this promoting your business on Redweek sounds very fishy to me ... nothing is free ... you have to make a profit in order to pay employees ... in order to make a profit you have to charge some sort of fee for services rendered.

R P.

vanessac54 wrote:
The charities don't actually even touch the timeshares at all. The timeshares are wholesaled out for very little and the proceeds go to the charity. Charities are not equipped to handle deed transfers, closing costs and legal work. They don't have any more luck selling them then any other owner and when they fail to sell than the charity is responsible for burdensome maintenance fees and taxes. This is where the expertise of a company like Property Donation Group is greatly appreciated. http://www.propertydonationgroup.com

You state that the charities don't actually touch the timeshares at all, but they are responsible for maintenance fees and taxes .... that doesn't make sense, sorry. One can buy a wholesaled timeshare every day of the week on Ebay for 1 cent to $1.00.

R P.

They are responsible. That's why charities won't take timeshares that wholesalers can't get sold before the maintenance fees roll around again. They don't want to be stuck with fees. They just want to make a little money for their cause. I am also aware of Ebay, this is where title and closing companies make alot of money and not the sellers. Thank You

Vanessa C.