| The standard type of timeshare
is one week units at a resort development, with a varying ability to trade
that off for time elsewhere or “time bank” it for future use. In
response to the poor reputation of timeshares over the last decade, and the
demands of niche marketing, other ways to share the costs of and access to
holiday properties have emerged.
Something as simple as the old family cottage whose ownership is divided between branches of the family who may or may not be on good terms, might be considered the original timeshare. Veronica Sinclair uses a house in Bali, Indonesia for six months a year as a base while she travels Asia buying for retail stores. She advertised for someone to take the other six months, calling it a “timeshare”. At $C500 a month, that’s got to be one of the better deals going. The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort on Longboat Key, also on Florida’s Gulf Coast is the place to go if you want tennis lessons, tennis games, tennis culture and somewhere in there a beach. The resort sells limited partnerships in the resort which entitle the owner to one month use of the unit. After that the general partner rents out the unit as part of the resort and uses the revenue to pay expenses for the property. Some years the owners get a cash dividend, some years they do not. Expect to pay a $60,000 and up to buy into The Colony. Palm Island Resort off the Gulf Coast of Florida south of Sarasota sells its condos outright, with the right to put your unit in the “rental pool” and share the revenue 45/55 with the resort which maintains the grounds and markets this ultra-quiet property to people who want not to be found for a week or so at a time. Some people end up living in their units full time, others show up for a week or two once a year and enjoy their rental cheques and some interesting tax advantages as the dividend on their holiday home. Buying into Palm Island Resort would cost you $US100,000 to $US300,000.
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