Most people understand the concept of timeshares, even if they don’t know all the fine points. They realize that you can either jointly own a timeshare condo with many other owners or own the privilege of vacationing for a specific number of weeks in that timeshare condo. Some timeshares are deeded property ownership while other timeshares are based on the sharing of time at the vacation resort rather than the sharing of the real estate itself. Either way, the product qualifies as a timeshare, even when it is called a vacation club or vacation ownership.

What Makes a Timeshare A Timeshare?

Timeshares can be found in a range of sizes, from efficiency or studio rooms to 3 and even 4-bedroom timeshare units. Locations vary; some of them are great getaway retreats, some are urban timeshares, and others put you in the heart of a high-demand tourist destination.

Looking at Fractionals

While these qualities are all (typically) true of fractionals, as RCI explains, “The major difference between timeshare and fractional ownerships is money.” Fractionals – for good reason – cost more to purchase than do timeshares.

A fractional may be a condominium, or it may be a detached home. And the perks that come with fractionals can be amazing. Benefits like the use of a luxury car, the services of a private chef, or storage for your personal possessions between visits, may come as part of your fractional ownership.

Another important distinction of fractional properties is that they typically are built in locations that are so high-demand, only the uber-wealthy can afford to own them as sole owners. Fractionals can be found at the top ski resorts and on beachside property that is simply too valuable to be sold to a single owner.

Timeshare typically is owned in one-week intervals, although one owner may own multiple weeks. Fractionals, however, usually involve owning at least a month and can be up to 3 or 4 months of time, although not necessarily consecutive weeks or months.

RCI’s list of similarities between timeshare ownership and fractionals is not conclusive, but it does identify some of the commonalities of the two.

Timeshare and fractional can both be:

• Bought as deeded properties.
• Rented out to others during periods of non-use.
• Shared among family and friends.
• Resold at any time.
• Willed to kin. (Or I might add, willed to anyone else to whom you would like to leave it.)

At this time, someone who is trying to sell you a multi-million dollar fractional is unlikely to refer to it as a “timeshare”, but the fact is, the concept is basically the same. Right now, it is typically difficult to find fractional ownership properties under $100,000, with many being priced into the millions. But remember that the lines between timeshares and fractionals are already blurry, and they are only likely to become more so in the future.

To learn more about timeshare ownership, timeshare resales, and fractionals contact the timeshare specialists at Sell My Timeshare NOW. And watch the Timeshare Owners Blog this week for more posts on the topic of fractionals.

Starwood Resorts and Timeshares has announced that they are building a freestanding timeshare sales gallery inside the Sheraton Atlantic City Convention Center Hotel for the purpose of selling timeshare weeks at that property and at the Sheraton PGA in Port Lucie, FL.

This is the first time Starwood Resorts and Timeshares have used a purpose-built, freestanding timeshare sales office to sell timeshare units and timeshare weeks. The new Starwood Timeshare office will employ 20 to 25 timeshare sales people, and will ultimately sell timeshare weeks at all 25 Starwood properties, which includes Sheraton timeshare resorts and Westin timeshare resorts.

In an article published by PressofAtlanticCity.com, written by business editor Kevin Post, Starwood Vacation Ownership spokesperson David Matheson was quoted as saying, “Timeshares are becoming more and more of a mainstream product. Starwood and companies like it are bringing credibility to the industry.”

The article noted that Starwood timeshare units range from about $13,000 to $28,000 with annual maintenance fees of $400 to $800. On the same day that this article ran, CrainsNYBusiness.com published an article identifying that their new chief executive officer, Fritz Van Paasschen, who took the helm in September of 2007, earned approximately $9.1 million during that 4-month period.

Sheraton Timeshare and Westin Timeshare

While Van Paasschen’s base salary is less than $300,000 annually, his bonuses, incentives, and stock options accounted for the rest of his 9 million dollar-plus compensation. Leaving you to draw your own conclusions here, now seems like a good time to remind you that you can get excellent timeshare deals on Starwood timeshare resales, resorts that carry the brands of Sheraton timeshare resales or Westin timeshare resales.

Timeshare Resales from Sell My Timeshare NOW

When you buy timeshare directly from the person who owns it, you are purchasing vacation time at the same resorts as people who buy timeshare new, from the developer and typically pay much higher prices. Here’s a list of some the opportunities available in timeshare resales in Sell My Timeshare NOW’s current inventory:

• Sheraton Broadway Plantation – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
• Sheraton Desert Oasis – Scottsdale, Arizona
• Sheraton Mountain Vista – Avon, Colorado
• Sheraton PGA Vacation Resort – Port St. Lucie, Florida
• Sheraton Vistana Resort – Orlando, Florida
• Sheraton Vistana Villages – Orlando, Florida
• The Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas – Maui
• Westin Kierland Villas – Scottsdale, Arizona
• Westin Mission Hills Resort and Villas – Rancho Mirage, California
• Westin St. John Resort and Villas – St. John, US Virgin Islands
• Harborside Resort at Atlantis – Paradise Island, The Bahamas
• Lakeside Terrace – Avon, Colorado

USA Today ran a question and answer this week in their “Personal Finance” segment that was intended to deal with an IRS tax issue. Instead, it sounded more like a ‘criminal’ matter to me.

A reader posed the following question to tax expert, Andy Mattson of Mohler, Nixon, Willams and Campbell:

“I sold my timeshare for a gross gain of $3,000. However, because of the huge commission I paid to the timeshare company for selling it, my net was a loss of $6,000. Do I have to pay capital gains on $3,000 or do I consider it a loss and not report anything?”

Wait! Set aside the matter of capital gains and taxes owed for a minute. Is this reader really saying that he or she paid a $9000 commission to sell a timeshare unit for $3000? If this was the case, then I say that the terms of this timeshare sale are a lot bigger problem than the matter of paying capital gains taxes.

Selling Timeshare through a Timeshare Broker

There are times when a timeshare owner who wants to sell timeshare needs or prefers to work with a licensed timeshare broker. The broker earns a commission when the timeshare unit or weeks sell. People who are considering selling timeshare with the assistance of a broker, should understand from the beginning what the commission rate is and of course, the rate should be clearly defined in the written agreement between the seller and the timeshare broker.

But there is simply no way that you should ever have to pay a $9000 commission on a $3000 timeshare sale – that’s why I called it ‘criminal’. If you are facing this scenario, why wouldn’t you donate your timeshare, save the sales commission, and perhaps gain a tax deduction in the process? Or consider using Sell My Timeshare NOW to help you advertise and market your timeshare resale, and handle the sales transaction yourself. Either option makes far more sense than paying 3 times more in commission than you are grossing in your timeshare sale.

Answering the Question of Capital Gains on Timeshare Sales

Now back to the matter of the capital gains owed. Mattson, the tax expert, must have interpreted the timeshare seller’s question the same way I did, because his answer was this:

What a shame this timeshare owner didn’t contact Sell My Timeshare NOW.

As 2007 was winding down, ad agency JWT put together a list of seven trends they believed would drive consumer thinking and behavior in the year 2008. In a summary of their report, published by Hotels‘ magazine, Ann Mack, director of trendspotting at JWT was quoted as saying, “We believe it’s essential to plot societal shifts in order to develop big brand ideas. Trendspotting allows us to figure out how the mood of the moment is affecting people’s lives.”

What interested me was the fact that among the seven key trends identified, one of them is timesharing. While JWT refers to it as, “Cooperative Consumption,” you and I recognize a description of timeshare ownership when we hear it.

Predicted Growth of Fractional Ownership as a Concept

According to the report, “Fractional ownership is moving beyond the shared planes of the jet-setting elite. The masses are already sharing everything from art to cars to designer handbags, and as technology for pooling demand and resources becomes increasingly sophisticated, this model will be applied to an even wider range of categories.”

Yep…that’s a lot of words, for describing timesharing, but timeshare ownership of luxury items is exactly the point being made by JWT, one of the most famous brand-building advertising agencies in the world today.

What Acceptance of Fractional Ownership Means

The Hotels’ article analyzes the report, saying, “Fractional ownership is nothing new in real estate and hospitality, but the building trend of consumers sharing is worth noting and considering – perhaps a mixed-use development makes good sense, and whole ownership is not the only residential component available.”

I don’t think it is a stretch to say that mixed-use development is already the path being taken by many hoteliers who have an established presence in the timeshare industry. Additionally, one would think that as people who have never dreamed of buying timeshare real estate become comfortable with the idea of owning everything from cars to dogs to jewelry on a timeshare basis, they would become equally as receptive to the idea of shared vacation property ownership.

Timeshare real estate ownership has always been a great idea and the millions of satisfied timeshare owners prove this. But the popularity of buying timeshares and timeshare resales is presently only a pale hint of what it has the potential to become; and according to JWT’s predictions about the movers and shakers, it is well on its way.

Learn more about the opportunities available in timeshare resales and timeshare rentals at Sell My Timeshare NOW.