can anyone explain in simple terms, what is a timeshare?

Answer 1

A vacation timeshare is a form of vacation property. Instead of purchasing a vacation home that you cannot use for most of the year, timeshare allows families to purchase a fractional share in a vacation property. This share could be one week per year (i.e. 1/52 share) or more; some resorts offering one week every other year (1/104 share) or four weeks per year (1/13 share).

Answer 2

Timeshares are where alot of people buy into one piece of property to use once or twice a year as a vacation home. The upkeep is usually included in the price for such things as lawn care. They are very expensive to buy and no good financial advisor would recommend this.

They are not tax deductible like a home is.

You have to basically book a time when you want to use it and stick to it because the other people that have bought into it are using it to. (these people, you do not know, they are strangers.)

I doubt very much if you could find a time share to buy for less than $300 a mo. Alot of money for a little vacation. Timeshares were a big thing in the 80's and alot of people were buying them. Then they started realizing the expense vs. the amount of time that they could use it and found it not a good investment.

They are very difficult to resale....(your portion that is)

Answer 3

This is when you buy into a property with other persons (that is a timeshare), and you stay at this place for a certain amount of time, say a vacation. This depends on how many persons are in this timeshare, and you each plan when and how long you each get to stay there. Someone reserves it for Easter, or xmas,summer depends.

Answer 4

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 applied the timeshare model to houseboats, yachts, campgrounds and motor homes.

The notion 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 worldwide. While a useful tool for many, the timeshare industry has also become a magnet for attracting illegal and barely legal methods for the sale and resale of property



Methods of use

Timeshare owners may elect to:

Use their usage time
Rent out their owned usage
Give it as a gift
Exchange internally within the same resort or resort group
Exchange externally into thousands of other timeshare resorts
Timeshare owners can elect to stay at their resort during the prescribed period, which varies depending on the nature of their ownership. They can rent out their week or give it as a gift to friends and family.

Timeshare offers owners the possibility to exchange their week, either independently or through several exchange agencies, to stay at one of the thousands of other resorts worldwide. The two largest exchange agencies are Resort Condominiums International (RCI) & Interval International [II] and there are several independent exchange agencies. RCI and II both have resort affiliate programs and members can only exchange to affiliate resorts. It is rare to find a dual affiliate resort, it is more common for a resort to be affiliated with only one of the larger exchange agencies. RCI is the largest with over 3,800 resorts split between its weeks and points programs. II has more then 2000 resorts. It is important when considering timeshare ownership to consider which locations and resorts you may want to travel to before making your purchase, because the timeshare resort you purchase at will determine which of the major exchange companies you can exchange through. Both RCI and II charge membership fees and exchange fees. They also bar members from renting weeks they have exchanged for.

Timeshare owners may also arrange a direct exchange, this requires locating a timeshare owner with the location and weeks both mutually desire. This form of exchange is rare but since it can save in exchange fees it is often sought after

Answer 5

You and a bunch of strangers buy a portion of a property and then you each get to use it for a certain number of weeks during the year. I believe good financial advisors say that they are very bad investments....you'll have to check on it.