How to Tell Timeshare from Fractional

Not quite sure of the difference between various "shared ownership" vacation home plans? Today's New York Times has a very helpful article about this. A "timeshare purchase is typically a week, whereas a fractional purchase is usually three or four weeks. The luxury versions of fractionals are private residence clubs, defined by industry analysts as any residence selling for more than $1,000 a square foot and offering amenities like a private storage facility, daily housekeeping and concierge services....Timeshares and fractionals are usually deeded and can be bought, sold or passed from one generation to the next....Timeshares can cost about $10,000 to $50,000," says one expert. Another says "fractional prices range from $24,730 to $70,435 a week; annual maintenance fees range from $5,410 to $8,700."

Boomers Search for "Middle-Class Luxury"

Realtors from around the U.S. and elsewhere who specialize in second homes and resort real estate converge are meeting this week in Vail, CO this week and at least one speaker reports that condo hotels, fractionals, and timeshares are still doing well in the strongest markets. Bob Waun, CEO of Vacation Finance, told the group that the baby boomers are still fueling these purchases. They "are seeking unique alternatives that make fiscal sense and create ownership opportunities that are not burdensome. Many Americans do not want just one second home, they want one in multiple locations," Waun told the National Association of Realtors Vail symposium. "Luxury is a new middle-class expectation," he declared, and "making it affordable requires thinking outside the box of traditional ownership."

Winter Olympics Lodging? Try Cruise Timeshares

Don't want a timeshare on land? How about one on sea? How about tossing the 2010 Winter Olympics into the mix? CruiseShip'Shares may be coming to a port near you. The ship Pacific Aurora, under a Canadian Flag, is scheduled to begin sailing in the Vancouver, BC area within the next few months. The ship's initial winter itinerary will offer a Sea-to-Ski program featuring Whistler Mountain, the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. A spokesman said "to the best of our knowledge this is a unique vacation ownership opportunity and will be among the first for a commercial style cruise ship." First purchasers will have the opportunity to secure occupancy rights during the Olympiad. Vacation ownership unit sales are expected to start as early as mid July but the idea must first be approved by state regulators in Florida.

Like Pizza, Slice of Vacation Home Better Than None

Once upon a time, even the most mid-level middle-income folks could afford a getaway shack, cottage or cabin on a lake, by the seashore or near the mountains. The place I owned in Snowmass Village in the 1980s cost us only $100,000 for a 2-bedroom condo at one of the nation's great ski resorts. Now, the same kind of money will get you only a few weeks -- a timeshare, or fractional ownership, as the sales crowd likes to call it.

There were 188 "fractional interest" projects in the U.S. in 2005 with $2-billion in sales, a 28 percent jump over 2004, according to NorthCourse.com, a research firm that keeps tabs on the market. A newspaper article recently spotlighted a California family that paid $56,000 for the use of a two-bedroom, furnished home in the Old Greenwood development (photo above) at Truckee, near Lake Tahoe, for at least 21 days a year. With their purchase of a slice of the house comes membership in the Tahoe Mountain Club, which includes access to private restaurants and recreational and spa facilities. And of course owners can take a tax deduction on the mortgage interest.