what's a time-share?

Question

I haven't grasped the concept when it comes to vacations, hotel accommdations, etc. Thanks.

Answer 1

In a time-share you buy part of an house or apartment.
You share it with the other owners, so that each has an equal part of the time, if one paid double they will have double time too.

Unless you really like the country, town, resort and house itself, it will not be worth its cost.

If you think you will be happy to spend your holidays there for the rest of your life, check travel costs, (and possible rises in costs as when air travel changes and so on,) how the time is shared and which part of the year a new owner would get, how things like care of the building, cleaning and upholstery and so on are arranged and what hidden costs might be there.

Answer 2

( It is spelled as one word, not two words: TIMESHARE. )



Timeshare at its core is essentially a group of people sharing the cost of a vacation home.

The word "timeshare" has grown over the decades to include a wide variety of vacation products and plans. Also known as "vacation ownership" "holiday ownership" and "interval ownership" , its umbrella covers traditional deeded timeshare ownership, fractional ownership, private residence clubs, points clubs, and more. Some would even broaden the term further to include campground memberships and the " condo hotel" concept, in which a condo is purchased outright but the owner is only allowed to use it for a specific periods of time and it is rented by a hotel management company for the remainder of the time.

Regardless of how loosely or rigidly you choose to define the term, the basic premise of timeshare is simple. You and a group of other people share the purchase cost of a vacation accommodation, in increments of one week (or more) per year of use, thus guaranteeing your ability to use that accommodation during the period of time you choose, either for life or for a specified number of years. Accommodations range from hotel rooms to condos, from cabins to luxury houses and castles, from yachts and cruise ships to RVs and houseboats.Owning timeshare in the traditional sense means a condominium/villa/house/hotel unit, etc. is subdivided into 52 separate units of time (52 weeks in 1 year), and usually sold to a maximum of 51 owners (leaving one week each year closed down for annual renovations and/or maintenance). Each owner would own 1/51 of the unit. Each share repesents one week of vacation. Each owner is entitled to ownership rights and privileges of the shares that they purchased.

This system makes vacation home ownership possible for many people who cannot afford a second home or who otherwise would not be able to enjoy such resort facilities. It is important to remember that purchasing timeshare should never be viewed as a financial investment with the expectation of gaining a profit in either reselling it or renting it to someone else. Timeshare is an investment in lifestyle, in future holidays, in family time together, and when viewed that way it can be a good investment indeed.