People eager to sell their timeshares are the people most likely to read a book on timeshares. For that reason, this book starts with how to sell your timeshare in PART I and in addition gives you many ideas of how you might otherwise dispose of your timeshare if you can’t sell it.
But PART I may not be the best answer for you. So PART II provides over forty ways you can use your timeshare, and you may find several of these ideas to be reasonable alternatives to disposing of it.
PART III covers how to buy a timeshare. The reason this is not the first section is because most people do not buy a book about how to buy a timeshare before they actually buy one, unfortunately for them. Thus, this is the least significant section in the book from the point of view of encouraging people to read the book. Yet, it may be the most important part in the book.
PART IV is a miscellany of timeshare information.
As for Myself
I’ve enjoyed using the timeshare system in the United States for almost two decades. It has been fun, has saved me money, has enabled me to go places that I otherwise would not have gone, and has enabled me to spend a considerable amount of time in Colorado each summer where I otherwise would not be able to afford to go.
I’m happy to pass on the benefits of my experience on to you. You should know, however, that the timeshare business is complex, and the complexity is in the details. There’s no way that I can provide you with the details on every timeshare situation, exchanger, resort developer, timeshare chain, or even one timeshare resort. I will leave that up to you. What I can do in this book is give you an overview of buying, owning, using, and selling a timeshare that will enable you to understand ownership better and to identify the benefits that you can realize as a timeshare owner with a minimum of effort.
Words
To make your reading easy I’ve used certain words with certain definitions. Knowing the definitions will make your reading more productive.
Resort Developer The corporate organization that develops a resort, sells off the timeshares, and manages the resort thereafter (e.g., Wyndham, Marriott). Many resort developers have a chain of timeshare resorts and manage the chain as if it was one huge resort instead of individual resorts owned by timeshare owners.
Still, there are some resort developers that are not chains and develop only one resort. Typically, at such a resort the timeshare owners’ Home Owners association (HOA) ends up managing the resort, and the HOA contracts with a resort management company to do so.
Timeshare Week Timeshares are sold most often in increments of one annual week. Timeshare points are typically sold in increments that are the equivalent of one annual week. The week is usually designated by the week number and unit (e.g., Week 34 Unit 402). However, in a point system, a timeshare is designated by a number of points (e.g., 128,000 points). A timeshare week is a one-week occupancy of a timeshare unit in only one year. It’s important to distinguish between a timeshare week and a timeshare.
Timeshare A timeshare is the ownership of the right to occupy a timeshare unit for one week each year for multiple years. For real estate, the ownership is forever (i.e., in perpetuity). For a vacation club or trust, the ownership may be limited to a fixed number of years (e.g., 50 years). It is important to distinguish between a timeshare and a timeshare week.
Resale Market This market is any place timeshares are resold by owners who have purchased the timeshares from resort developers. Such a place can be online, in a newspaper, at a Realtor’s office, or onsite at the resort by a broker in a resale program.
FMV Fair market value is the price at which a timeshare is likely to sell in a reasonable amount of time. You determine FMV by researching past sales or other data.
Maintenance Fee The annual fee paid by a timeshare owner to the manager of the timeshare (HOA or resort developer) to operate the resort.
HOA The Home Owners Association is the legal entity made up of the owners of the timeshares in a timeshare project who receive their timeshare via a deed (i.e., a real estate interest). The HOA typically contracts with the resort developer to operate the project. In a single resort there may be multiple timeshare projects (phases) and thus multiple HOAs.
Timeshare Project A building or group of buildings built at about the same time (same phase) that comprise a resort or a portion of a resort. A resort may be built in multiple phases and therefore may consist of multiple projects.
Timeshare Resort A group of residential units under one manager located at a resort destination.
Low Season — High Season
Timeshare weeks are divided into seasons. In this book for the sake of simplicity, we will use only two seasons, high and low. High season is the most popular season when a resort typically has full occupancy. Low season is the least popular season when there is usually plenty of vacancy. Some timeshare resorts have three designated seasons. Some have four. The seasons go under different names (or different colors).
The bottom line is that some timeshare weeks are more popular than others. The summertime when families are on vacation is typically the high season for many resorts. The spring fall and winter are typically the low seasons for many resorts. However, the winter is the high season for ski resorts or resorts in warm climates. Each resort has its own peculiar high and low seasons.
Weeks, Units, Float, and Points
Traditionally timeshares have been for a certain week and a certain unit; that is, a timeshare owner has the right to use a certain unit every year for a certain week. That system, however, has proven to be less popular than the newer concepts of float or points.
In a float system you have the right to reserve a certain type of unit for a certain week during a certain season. You make your reservations on a first-come-first-served basis, and those timeshare owners who linger in making their reservations are likely to end up with the least popular weeks.
A further refinement of the float systems is the point system. Instead of getting a certain type of unit for a certain week in a certain season, you use points to reserve any type of unit for a certain amount of time in a certain season. The larger or more luxurious the unit, the more it costs in points. Again, reserving units with points is on a first-come-first-served basis. Those who make reservations late may not get what they want.
The point system is particularly flexible because it can be used for different types of units and even for different periods of time in different seasons. Although points are typically sold in blocks that represent one week, you can use your points to stay twice or three times during a year for shorter periods.
Because the float and point systems are so popular, a lot of old-style timeshares have been converted into float systems or point systems. In other words, when you buy 128,000 points, you may get a deed for week 13 unit 202; this is just a legality. Your actual right is to use points in a point system. Consequently, you do have an interest in real estate; but for the use of your timeshare, the point system replaces the old system.
When selling a timeshare, make sure you specify exactly what you’re selling: unit, float, or points.
