The concept of Timeshare originated in the late 1960s, when a ski resort developer from the French Alps marketed his resort rooms to be bought by his guests instead of renting the rooms. This innovative idea was a success and immediately made its way worldwide.

When you purchase a timeshare property, you have the choice of using it as a vacation house, rent out your establishment during your time of ownership, give it as a gift to your friends or family, exchange it with other property owners within the same resort or exchange it with other timeshare resorts in the world.

When you plan to purchase a timeshare property, there are different types of ownership you can avail of. Ownerships are sold to you in weeks, depending on if it is sold as fixed, floating or rotating weeks. Fixed week ownership means that you own the property on a specific week of the year. Floating week ownership means that there are a number of weeks you can select from. Rotating week ownership is a plan that allows owners to have a chance to gain ownership on the real estate on the best weeks of the year.

There are two types of ownership for timesharing that you have to be aware, one is a deeded contract and the other is the right to use contract. With the deeded contract, you have actual ownership of the real estate for a period of time. For the right to use contract, you may own the property for a certain period of time, and there is an actual end to the contract. Upon termination of the contract, all ownership rights are returned to the original owner of the property.

Timeshare properties vary in the unit styles. You will mostly find properties that are apartment-style, ranging from studio units to four-bedroom units. Usually, you will find the property fully furnished with kitchens, dining rooms, entertainment systems and washers and dryers. It is important to note that the resorts can be very strict with the number of occupants you bring along for your stay.