What is timesharing?
Timesharing offers people the opportunity to purchase time at fully furnished vacation accommodations - usually in weekly increments - for a fraction of the cost of full vacation home ownership.
For a one-time purchase price and an annual maintenance fee, timeshare purchasers own their vacations forever, or for a predetermined number of years, depending upon the purchase agreement.
Timesharing can take a variety of forms. The most common is a resort condominium (which can range from a studio with a partial kitchen, all the way up to a five-bedroom unit with a full kitchen and luxury amenities). Other less-common timeshare accommodations include hotel rooms, houseboats and motor homes.
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What are the advantages of timeshare ownership?
Timeshare owners experience luxurious resort accommodations that are rarely found in conventional hotel/motel rooms, but for a fraction of the cost of whole condominium ownership.
Unlike owning a vacation home, timeshare owners don't worry about taking care of the maintenance on their units and, if they're members of an exchange company, they aren't locked into returning to their same vacation home year after year.
Timeshare ownership can also be a hedge against inflation. By locking in the purchase price, consumers are assured future vacations at their home resort at today's prices. And owners who become members of a timeshare exchange company have the added flexibility of being able to trade their yearly timeshare allotment for a comparable timeshare at another resort.
Timesharing can be a terrific investment in vacations and seasoned owners understand and embrace this lifestyle purchase. As a matter of fact, the percentage of timesharers who own at two or more resorts actually increases the longer a person has owned. Forty percent of consumers who have owned a timeshare for eight years or longer own at multiple locations, compared to 25 percent of owners who have purchased within the last three years.
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What are the different types of timeshare purchase options?
Today's timeshare industry offers numerous purchase options to meet consumers' desire for vacation variety and flexibility. Although the availability of these purchase options varies from resort to resort, here are the most common:
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Fixed Week: Timeshare units sold for use during a specific week of the year. |
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Floating Week: This can be any week reserved for the timeshare owner during a certain season. |
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Fractional: Ownership is sold in multiple-week packages, usually four or five weeks in each year, or as a quartershare (12 weeks). This type of purchase option is popular in high-demand spots such as ski, beach and island resorts. |
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Deeded Agreements: These allow the timeshare owner to use his/her interval forever, just like buying a house. Under this agreement, the owner may rent, sell, exchange or bequeath the vacation interval. Deeded agreements can be for fixed or floating weeks. |
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Right-to-Use Agreements: These stipulate that ownership of the resort remains with the developer. The timeshare developer gives the purchaser the right to use the specified resort accommodations for a certain number of years, usually ranging from 10 to 50, after which all rights return to the developer. These agreements can be for either fixed or floating weeks and are also commonly part of vacation club or points-based memberships. |
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