The New Vacation Revolution

Timeshare is a form of vacation property that offers you the benefits of owning a second home without the burden of purchasing and maintaining it. Instead of buying a vacation home that your family will not use most of the year, timeshare allows you to buy a fractional share (typically one week per year, such as 1/52 share) of that same vacation home. You can still use the property every year, but you are not directly responsible for its upkeep.

As an owner, you have the right to occupy a suite at your home resort. This right could take the form of weeks of vacation ownership, or through a vacation club membership where owners can use their “points” to stay at resorts.

Timeshare ownership agreements are usually either a limited use membership where the owner has the “right to use”, or a deeded property more akin to the purchase of actual real estate. Both types can be left in a will to heirs. The limited use membership has an expiration date, while the deeded property does not.

Instead of just staying at the resort, each owner of a timeshare has the right to use, rent, and exchange their specific intervals. The exchange possibilities include internal exchanges through your resort’s vacation club, thousands of resorts around the world through the use of an outside exchange company, and even exchanging a timeshare week for a luxury cruise or airline tickets.

This multitude of options gives the timeshare owner incredible flexibility. Instead of spending a week in Myrtle Beach every year, a timeshare owner can exchange their interval to visit Orlando one year and Paris the next while still maintaining ownership at their home resort. The concept of shared usage guarantees accommodations during specified times, defrays the cost of maintaining the property, and allows owners to enjoy the benefits of owning a second home without the responsibility associated with conventional ownership of vacation property.

Because it is a form of property, most timeshares are deeded intervals. This means that you can sell your timeshare whenever you wish, and can even pass it to your heirs. Depending on local laws, the ownership may be perpetual or it may expire after some fixed length of time.

Most families can afford vacation timeshare because it is far less expensive than buying an actual home. If your family were to buy an oceanfront vacation home, it will likely cost in excess of $100,000. In contrast, timeshare prices range from about $20,000 when purchased from resort developers to under $5000 through the resale market.

Timeshare intervals take many forms, offering a great deal of flexibility. From fractional ownership, where owners enjoy a 1/13 share of a timeshare suite, to timeshare weeks and point-based vacation clubs, the available options provide virtually every family with a suitable alternative to buying a vacation home.

As a timeshare owner, you retain the right to occupy your vacation home during a certain period each year based on your type of interval. Depending on the resort, this period may differ. Your interval might be fixed each year (e.g. the week starting from the third Saturday of every year), it may vary (i.e. a week during ski season), or it may offer you points that you can use for stays of any length that you can use whenever you wish.

In addition to occupying your resort during specified times, there are other options that offer extra flexibility. For example, you may be able to:

• rent out your suite to anyone you wish, keeping all of the proceeds
• let family or friends use your suite, giving them the gift of a luxurious vacation
• stay at a different but affiliated resort that is a part of your vacation club
• swap the use of your week for another resort through one of several exchange 'agencies', allowing you to choose from resorts around the world
• trade your week for a luxurious cruise on one of several cruise lines
• use your interval as points which can be redeemed for airline tickets or hotel stays

The many available options give timeshare owners incredible flexibility. With timeshare, your family can enjoy a different vacation every year. Even if you own a timeshare in Aruba, you can exchange your interval to visit Orlando one year and Paris the next.

When you exchange your timeshare for another destination, you swap a stay at your home resort for the use of another resort. In doing so, you give someone else the opportunity to stay at your resort using your interval. However, you will still maintain ownership at your home resort, and you are free to visit in following years.

Either the resort developer or a separate management company handles day-to-day resort operations. In addition to the one-time purchase price, all timeshare owners must pay an annual maintenance fee. This annual fee is typically a few hundred dollars, and includes a share of property tax, maintenance and administrative costs, etc.

As you can see, there are many vacation possibilities for timeshare owners. Because of this, vacation timeshare can seem incredibly complicated at times. However, you will soon find that it really is quite simple.