Types of Ownership

When contemplating the purchase of a timeshare, there are several different types of ownership to consider. The most common type is a fixed week ownership. This is a deeded ownership, meaning the calendar year is divided up into weeks, which are then allocated to the owners of the timeshare. For example, if someone purchases week 26, they would have from the beginning of that week through the Fourth of July to use the property. Owners retain the same scheduled week every year unless the owner decides to sell the time block and purchase a new one. Fixed week ownership provides the owner with a concrete segment of time which cannot change, which for many is reassuring. Regardless of the circumstances, they will own the timeshare property for the week that they chose. However, this method does not allow for flexibility regarding length of time of ownership. An owner may establish a given number of weeks to own the property, but they are limited to blocks of one week; they cannot own the property for ten days, for example, it would have to be either seven days or fourteen days.

Another fairly common approach to timeshares is a floating ownership. They are similar to fixed week ownership in that owners define a block of time that they will own the property. However, the length of time is not limited to increments of weeks; they may be as little as a few days or as long as months (limits are usually established by the timeshare property owner). In addition, floating ownership allows the owner to specify a range of dates to own the property. For example, if the specific dates for vacationing are irrelevant, but the owner wants to own the property during the summer, they may apply for ownership giving the parameters of "any time between June and August" and set their length of time that they would spend there. This allows for increased flexibility with scheduling of time blocks. Floating ownership is ideal for those who are have no particular preference for which week they own, as long as it falls within applied limits.

The last basic type of ownership, which is less widely used than the others, is rotating ownership. In this scenario, an owners' time block move up one week every year. For example, if an owner holds week 25 one year, the following year they would own week 26. As one can see, there are some disadvantages with this method of ownership. The freedom to select vacation time is greatly reduced. The owner selects their initial week of ownership with the length of time set, but they cannot control moving upwards from year to year. For those who have no preference as to when they vacation, this is a reasonable method, for it provides some variety. However, for the common timeshare owner, a fixed week or floating ownership would be more appropriate.

Fortunately, regardless of an owner's situation, there are several ownership options available to them. Because of this, people with strict schedules and nonchalant owners alike will be satisfied.