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Ownership
Types of ownership
Fixed, Floating and Rotating Weeks
Ownership is often sold as weeks, the use of these weeks can be fixed, floating
or rotating weeks.
Kinds of Time Shares
Fixed Week Ownership
The most basic timeshare unit is a fixed week; the resort will have a calendar
enumerating 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.
Rotating
Some timeshares are sold as rotating weeks. In an attempt to give all owners a
chance for the best weeks, the weeks are rotated forward or backward through the
calendar, so one year the owner may have use of week 25, then week 26 the next
year and then week 27 the year after that. This method does give each owner a
fair opportunity for prime weeks but it is not flexible.
Deeded vs. Right to Use
A major difference in types of timeshare ownership is that between deeded and
right to use contracts. With deeded contracts the use of the timeshare resort is
usually divided into week long increments and these are sold as fractional
ownership and are real property. As with any other piece of real estate you may
use your week, rent your week, give it away, or leave it to your heirs. While
this form of ownership can offer additional security to the owner as a form of
physical ownership, deeded timeshare ownership can be as complex as outright
property ownership in that the structure of deeds varies according to local
property laws. Leasehold deeds are common and offer ownership for a fixed period
of time after which the ownership reverts to the Freeholder. Occasionally,
leasehold deeds are offered in perpetuity however many do not convey ownership
of the land but merely the apartment or 'unit' of accommodation.
With right to use, the timeshare purchaser has the right to use the property in
accordance with the contract but at some point the contract ends and all rights
revert to the property owner. In other words, the right to use contract grants
the right to use the resort for a specific number of years. In many countries
there are severe limits on foreign property ownership, so this is a common
method for developing timeshare resorts in countries such as Mexico. Disney
Vacation Club is also sold as a right to use. Care should be taken with this
form of ownership as the right to use often takes the form of 'club membership'
or right to use the reservation system. Where the reservation system is owned by
a Company not in the control of the owners, the right of use may be lost with
the demise of the controlling Company.
Vacation Clubs
Vacation clubs are organizations that may own timeshare units in multiple
resorts in different locations. Some clubs consist only of individual weeks at
other developer's resorts. They are sold both as deeded or right to use and club
members may reserve vacation time at any of the owned resort units based on
availability. Vacation clubs cater to a wide range of economic backgrounds and
income levels.
Points Programs
Resort based points programs are also sold as deeded and as right to use. Points
programs annually give the owner an amount of points equal to the level of
ownership. The timeshare owner in a points program can then use these points to
make travel arrangements within the resort group. Many points programs are
affiliated with large resort groups offering a large selection of options for
destination. Many resort point programs provide flexibility from the traditional
week stay. Resort point program members, such as Worldmark, may request from the
entire available inventory of the resort group.
Exchange company point programs are not a method of ownership nor are
specifically associated with one resort or resort group. With the exchange
company points programs the members may be limited to exchanging for weeks
deposited by other members.
A points program member may often request fractional weeks as well as full or
multiple weeks stays. The number of points required to stay at the resort will
vary based on a points chart. The points chart will allow for factors such as:
The popularity of the resort;
The size of the accommodations;
The number of nights;
The popularity of the season;
and the specific nights requested.
There is flexibility as well as complexity in point programs.
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