Understanding How a Timeshare Works

If you enjoy fabulous vacations at luxury resort, with beautifully furnished villas that are reserved for you each year, timeshares might be just the answer for you. If you appreciate knowing that your perfect vacation is already paid for each year for the rest of your life, think timeshare. If you want to travel the world and visit different locations each year, timeshares just might fit your needs. Of course, before you commit to the timeshare lifestyle you will want to learn as much as possible about them.

A timeshare is a form of vacation property ownership. With timeshares, the use and costs of running the resort are shared among the owners. While the majority of timeshares are condominium vacation resorts, developers have also applied the timeshare concept to houseboats, yachts, campgrounds, motor homes and cruises. The idea of a timeshare was originally created in Europe in the 1960s. A ski resort developer in the French Alps innovatively marketed his resort by encouraging guests to "stop renting a room" and instead "buy the hotel". The developer was successful in increasing occupancy and the idea spread throughout the world. While it is a useful approach for many, the timeshare industry has also become a magnet for attracting illegal and barely legal methods for the sale and resale of property. A timeshare is an agreement whereby you are allowed the use of a particular property for a specified amount of time. As the name suggests you are basically sharing time with others. There are millions of people who own timeshares and it is easy to see why they are so popular. Time shares allow you to use a property that you probably would not be able to afford otherwise.

So let's take a look at the two major types of timeshares:

Fixed -- The basic timeshare unit is a fixed week; the resort will have a calendar listing the weeks roughly starting with the first calendar week of the year. As an owner you may own a deed to use a unit for a single specified week. For example week 26 normally includes the Fourth of July Holiday. If you owned Week 26 at a resort you could use your week every year.

Floating -- Sometimes a timeshare is sold as floating weeks. The ownership will be specific on how many weeks you own and from which weeks you may select for your stay. An example of this, a timeshare may be a floating summer week where the owner may request any week during the summer season generally weeks 22 through 36. In this example there would be competition for prime holidays such as the weeks of Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. The weeks when schools may still be in session would not be so high in demand. Some floating contracts exclude major holidays so they may be sold as fixed weeks

One of the best things about a timeshare is that you know you have vacation accommodations automatically and that the accommodations provided by a timeshare are much more luxurious than an average hotel. Timeshares are often part of a larger resort giving users the opportunity to enjoy lots of amenities and benefits. One of the major benefits of the timeshares is the fact that vacation timeshare is real property. Resort developers purchase land in a location and develop a timeshare resort. They are actually selling consumers deeded weeks of real property at a specific location, meaning customers can do what they wish with the weeks they own. This flexibility includes the opportunity to rent out weeks that are not used or indeed to lend them to friends or family.

Many timeshare owners choose to participate in what is called an exchange system. This means you exchange your week in your home resort and go to thousands of locations around the world and have the same high quality accommodations regardless of where you are. With this option you can enjoy new places every year - one year you can stay in the Bahamas and maybe the next year go to Europe. The best part is, you know you'll always have a great place to stay!

If and when the time ever comes that you no longer need or want your timeshare, they are easy to sell to someone else. There are a lot of companies that can help you exchange or sell your timeshare. With a timeshar, you get lots of great vacation benefits. It truly is an ideal way for all types of vacationers to make the most of their money and time.

Copyright 2007 Mark Schwartz - All Rights Reserved

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