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A once stunning castle, in France’s Poitou-Charentes region, has been purchased by over 7000 buyers already.  With an intention of seeking further purchasers to invest before Christmas day, the money is set to purchase the ruin of the castle and then to also enable a refurbishment.  The current owner Deyemer purchased the castle in 1981 with the intention of just that, a full refurbishment of the building and land.  However, every plan that he had was knocked back by certain hierarchy’s and he has finally decided to give up the project.

The crowd fund believes with the many owners; they will be able to combat this issue due to the force of several thousand owners.  The plan is to keep the crowdfunding request open until Christmas day.  They have already superseded the target of €500,000 to buy the castle and land 200 miles south of Paris.  Now, their intention is to raise the same again for the major refurbishment that is required to make the building safe and useable.

At the moment the grounds surrounding the ruin are completely overgrown, unattractive and in need of a lot of love and attention.  The building itself will need to be renovated from the ground up, although the most of the building is still standing, it has not actually been occupied since 1932.

The castle is steeped in history, it was built in the thirteenth century and renovated in 1870 by a Baron Edgard Lejeune, he was well known in the area, and the castle was brought back to life with all of the parties that he held for all.  This happy era was to come to an end in 1932, when a great fire destroyed the whole interior of the building, and it was never occupied again.  Deyemer did try his best to bring it back to its former glory, but kept on facing brick walls and became so disheartened that he even thought he may declare it a ruin so that it would be knocked down.

So the castle may have a new lease of life, with 7000 plus investors already, the crowdfund is hoping to reach the €1m mark by Christmas day.  The request is for €50 per share of the castle, and anyone can make a purchase.  The crowdfunders are not able to use the castle as would a timeshare owner, but will be involved in the renovation project the whole way through.  They will be one of the first guests to visit the castle, and then the plan is to open it up to the public to stay in.

This has raised a debate whether it is a simple crowdfunding project, or a messy timeshare project with too many owners that will get involved.  It seems like a clever way to raise the money to keep a little bit of history going and of course you could become part of the project yourself if you are willing to part with €50 for a piece of the castle.  We look forward to updating this story if and when the project gets underway.

For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk