Fractionals and Related Shared Ownership Formats Essay

Fractionals and Related Shared Ownership Formats - Essay Example Timeshares first became popular in the 1980s with people searching for very attractive and even unique vacation locations which would still be affordable for their families. The genius of the timeshare is that it allows the purchaser to own his or her vacation residence for only the part of each year during which that vacation may be taken. For To meet the important need for variety of vacation locations, many timeshare providers have exchange arrangements with other timeshares all over North America or even all over the world. Thus, by purchasing a timeshare in a particular resort location, if the unit is available for that additional period. Some offer the opportunity to use other resorts in place of the home facility as an extra-cost option. Various other upgrades and enhancements may also be offered, and sometimes even included in the base price, particularly if the prospective timeshare buyer is hesitating at making a commitment. What is virtually universal with timeshares are additional fees and charges which are required in addition to the basic investment to buy fractional ownership of a part of the facility. Maintenance fees are mandatory for the upkeep of the resort, and can be quite substantial. There may be separate charges for non-routine maintenance such as the easy. replacement of furniture or appliances. Property insurance and similar costs are often borne by the owner of the timeshare, or are pro-rated among the ownership base.. As with other forms of fractional real estate, selling the part ownership is usually not easy. Many timeshares today offer deeded ownership so that the purchaser has legal confirmation of ownership, but having a deed and selling the property are not the same thing at all. Those who buy timeshares are often induced to do so by explicit or implicit promises of likely property appreciation and enhanced worth, so that investment gain is a major motivation for some timeshare purchasers. Usually, however, those owners must sell their fractional share in the real estate market, as resorts are very reluctant to buy back a fractional share they have sold while, at the same time, continuing to sell further shares to the public. This would obviously put them in competition with themselves in trying to re-sell the repurchased timeshare to another potential owner.