Timeshare properties are owned by a group of individuals who collectively purchase ownership rights to the properties. Oftentimes, timeshare properties are resort or condominium style structures that timeshare owners use for vacations. Depending upon the timeshare rights owned, timeshare holders are entitled to use their timeshares for specific amounts of time, which are usually based upon weeks or points.

The term “timeshares” originated in Great Britain during the years subsequent to World War II. Although this earlier European style of vacation home sharing was less complicated than purchasing timeshares from vacation resellers today, its ownership model is quite similar. Basically, a group of individuals would purchase a vacation residence jointly, and would often divide time rights based upon season.

Timeshares are especially useful for individuals who want to own vacation property in a specific location, but are not prepared to commit to purchasing their own vacation residence. Some of the most popular places for timeshares are Mexico and Hawaii. Time share statistics show that Hawaiian timeshares amount to approximately 511 million dollars in revenue each year. Perhaps more mind boggling than that is the fact that Mexico timeshares account for 40 percent of world wide resort timeshares!

There are several different sources through which folks can purchase timeshares. A few examples of these sources are timeshare agents, timeshare resales, vacation resellers and travel resellers. The best choice really depends on the location, type of timeshares, and specific vacation package sales.

For prospective vacationers who do not have the resources to buy their own vacation homes, vacation timeshare sales are well worth looking into. The fact that 90 percent of timeshare owners make their payments on time stands as a testament to their affordability. The bottom line is that one would be hard pressed to find a better alternative to vacation timeshares when it comes to an affordable, sun drenched vacation.