A timeshare is a piece of property that is owned by several people at once. However they can't all use it at the same time. So, they agree to schedule in which each owner gets a turn to use the property. This is an arrangement that is often used for things, like vacation properties, that the people don't want to use all year round. This system allows people to afford that ski cabin or lake-side home, that they otherwise would not be able to afford. However, the terms can be rather restrictive. If you can't work it so that you can actually get to the property during your turn, then you usually lose your turn for that year, unless you can arrange to trade times with one of the other owners. Of course, that person would also have to be able to work the different time into their schedule.

Timeshare at its core is essentially a group of people sharing the cost of a vacation home. The word "timeshare" has grown over the decades to include a wide variety of vacation products and plans. Also known as "vacation ownership" "holiday ownership" and "interval ownership" , its umbrella covers traditional deeded timeshare ownership, fractional ownership, private residence clubs, points clubs, and more. Some would even broaden the term further to include campground memberships and the " condo hotel" concept, in which a condo is purchased outright but the owner is only allowed to use it for a specific periods of time and it is rented by a hotel management company for the remainder of the time. Regardless of how loosely or rigidly you choose to define the term, the basic premise of timeshare is simple. You and a group of other people share the purchase cost of a vacation accommodation, in increments of one week (or more) per year of use, thus guaranteeing your ability to use that accommodation during the period of time you choose, either for life or for a specified number of years. Accommodations range from hotel rooms to condos, from cabins to luxury houses and castles, from yachts and cruise ships to RVs and houseboats.Owning timeshare in the traditional sense means a condominium/villa/house/hotel unit, etc. is subdivided into 52 separate units of time (52 weeks in 1 year), and usually sold to a maximum of 51 owners (leaving one week each year closed down for annual renovations and/or maintenance). Each owner would own 1/51 of the unit. Each share repesents one week of vacation. Each owner is entitled to ownership rights and privileges of the shares that they purchased. This system makes vacation home ownership possible for many people who cannot afford a second home or who otherwise would not be able to enjoy such resort facilities. It is important to remember that purchasing timeshare should never be viewed as a financial investment with the expectation of gaining a profit in either reselling it or renting it to someone else. Timeshare is an investment in lifestyle, in future holidays, in family time together, and when viewed that way it can be a good investment indeed. http://timeshareownerscommunity.com/what_is_timeshare_2.html