Timeshare
Las Vegas Vacation Ownership red week peak season
Westgate Planet Hollywood
Timeshare
Glossary
Accrued Weeks: If you choose not to use a week in the year which you could originally (i.e. using your 2008 week in 2008) you may "bank" the week and use it in a following year (such as 2009 or 2010). While the week is banked it is said to have accrued. So an accrued week is one that you have banked from a previous year.
Amenities:
These are the features that add value to the property. The greater the
number of amenities a property has, the greater the likelihood for
increase in value and even desirability to the property. Examples
could include swimming pools, hot tubs, gym, laundry facilities,
putting green, golf course, tennis courts, etc.
Banking:
When you deposit a week of timeshare into an exchange company's "bank"
of available weeks. You may bank for the purpose of facilitating
an immediate trade or even for an eventual trade. You may bank
the week this year and use it in another year (see Accrued Weeks)
Deed:
This is a legal document that is evidence providing title to your
property. This document give you ownership rights.
Deeded Property:
This is true property ownership where the deed is recorded in the
county where the property exists. This type of property comes
with the same rights of ownership one would find in other deeded real
estate. The owner has full rights to sell, rent, bequeath, or
even give away the property.
Exchange:
This is the process where one week is traded for another. For
instance you may exchange a week in Hawaii to get a week in Alaska. Or
you may take a fixed week in Phoenix like Christmas week and exchange
it for a different week at the same resort such as Thanksgiving. The
exchange company allows the owner to exchange what they have in return
for what they want. Exchanging can be done by an outside company
or even by the resort developer itself.
Exchange Company: This is
a company that acts as a third party in the exchange of timeshare
weeks. They have a pool of resorts and weeks to choose
from. Basically they find the week you want to use and get it to
you and they find the people that want to use the week you own and get
your week to them. In arranging the exchange, certain factors come into
play. The exchange company will compare the value of the week you want
with the value of the week you are trading. The more value the
week you own has in comparison to the week you desire, the easier (and
faster) the exchange. Factors for consideration include the size of the
unit, the quality rating of the resort, the season (whether this is the
busy season or the slow season), and the demand factor. The better the
purchase you make on your home resort, the more valuable the week you
have is in trading and thus the easier your trade.
Fixed Week:
A fixed week insures that an owner will always get the same week every
year. An owner that desires to always vacation every New Year's
Eve would want a week 52. These fixed weeks are best for those that
know they will always vacation that same week.
Floating Week:
With a floating week, your time is not fixed to one specific week. You
have the flexibility to vacation whichever week suits your needs best
provided that week is within the season which you purchased. For
instance if your resort says prime season is week 2 to week 16 and you
purchased a week 26 which is low season, you could not stay during the
prime season without paying some surcharge. However if you owned
in the prime season, you would be allowed to stay whichever week you
desired. The basic rule of thumb is "You can always trade down,
you can never trade up."
Lockout:
A lockout unit is any unit which contains two or more units that may be
used at the same time or independently. For instance, unit 880A
and unit 880B. Each may be a 1 bedroom. But they can be combined into a
2 bedroom unit because they have a door that separates them that can be
opened to make one big room. Many owners enjoy these because they
can buy one timeshare and use it as either 1 week in a 2 bedroom or two
weeks in a 1 bedroom.
Maintenance Fee:
Maintenance fees basically keep the resort running and make sure all
expenses should be covered. The homeowners association or theresort
management company establishes the fees and collects them. These fees
vary by resort. Knowing the maintenance fees in advance is
crucial. Some resorts charge $1500 or more for each week owned.
Still others are half of that. The fees collected may go to cover the
costs of maintenance, housekeeping, utilities, salaries, management
fees, replacing furniture and appliances, etc...
Season: Exchange companies divide a yearinto various "seasons" of usage. Red weeks are peak season when everybody wants to be there. White or yellow weeks are the moderate weeks. Blue or green weeks are the lowest usage. Red weeks have much greater value than a blue or green week. When you trade your week, remember you can always trade down, but don't ever expect to trade up. If you buy a blue or green week, expect that a blue or green week is all you will ever get.
Timeshare:
The right to occupy a dwelling for a defined period of time (generally
a week) on a regular basis for a number of years. Other people will
hold similar rights to the same dwelling but for different periods of
time than your usage. Similar to the usage of a hotel except instead of
merely tenants rights, one recieves the rights and benefits of an
owner. May also be referred to as "holiday ownership",
"group ownership", or "multi ownership"
Trading Power:
The expression of supply and demand in the exchange market.
Trading power is expressed by considering the size, quality, season and
demand of theunit in question. You wouldn't expect to trade a studio in
a one star resort during slow season in Cleveland for a prime
beachfront 4 bedroom condo in Maui. Trading power may be the most
important consideration when purchasing a time share.
For
any questions, simply email to: rocky@redweektimeshare.com