Deeded Timeshare Vs Leased, Lease Or Non Deed Ownership

What is a deeded timeshare, and what is a leased or non deeded timeshare ownership? Why would you use a deed over a lease? What is the difference between annual, biannual and biennial leased or deeded timeshares?

Deeded Ownership

When a person has deeded timeshare ownership that means they physically own the property deed, or an actual deed for a certain percentage of the deeded property as opposed to a timeshare lease where the deed is not owned, but leased out to the owner.

Choosing deeded timeshare ownership over leased definitely has some advantages. You own it in perpetuity, and there is no expiration date for its use. Also, if for any reason the developer happens to go bankrupt and you own a deeded timeshare, you would still own your portion of the property deed unlike with a lease.

As a deeded property owner you are part owner in the deed and have a voting right for important topics such as maintenance/annual fee increases, special assessments, and operations within the resort but not so with a lease.

Also, if you ever find yourself no longer willing or able to travel you are in luck because if you own a deeded timeshare property, your deed is transferable, meaning you have the ability to give it away, sell it, or leave it to your heir in a legal will which you also can't do with a lease.

And it doesn't stop there. With deeded timeshare property ownership your family can continue to pass the deed on from generation to generation, just like your own home, unlike with leased timeshare ownership.

Leased Ownership

Leased timeshare ownership is also often referred to as a right-to-use ownership and unlike a deeded timeshare, the property is a lease and the deed is not outright owned. This means that with leased timeshare ownership you do not physically own the property deed, but rather, you own the right to physically stay at, or lease the property for a specified period of time.

Leased timeshare ownership will have a specified number of years you can use them, and usually the lease has an expiration date ranging anywhere from twenty to ninety nine years from the date purchased, where a deed has no expiration at all.

Unfortunately with a leased timeshare contract, if anything ever happened and the developer went bankrupt then you would more than likely lose the ability to continue using the vacation home and your lease would be void as opposed to a deeded timeshare where you would still own the property deed.

Also, a leased timeshare ownership means that the owner has no voting right. In other words, with a lease, the developer has the control to do whatever he or she would like regarding annual fees, special assessments, and operations and rules of the resort.

And last but not least, because you do not physically own a right-to-use, or lease ownership, a leased timeshare contract does not allow for the deed to be passed down to your heirs like a deeded timeshare can.

What Are Annual, Biannual and Biennial Timeshares?

An annual timeshare is a deeded or leased agreement that allows the owner to access their resort every year, or yearly. Biannual means that the owner has access to the resort twice a year and biennial means that the owner has access to the resort every other year.

Whether you choose an annual, biannual or biennial deeded or leased timeshare is up to personal preference. While annual is the most common, if you would like more frequent stays biannual would be best and if you would like less frequent stays, biennial would be best suited for you.

Why Choose One Type Over The Other?

While deeded timeshare ownership does tend to be the most sought after type of ownership as opposed to a lease where there is no deed, some places have laws that forbid foreign ownership of property which can make leased timeshare ownership desirable in some situations.

The United States tends to have more people interested in deeded timeshares and places like Europe, Hawaii, Mexico and other parts of the Caribbean tend to prefer leased timeshares.

If you are going to choose to enter the world of vacation home ownership, be sure to take the time to do your research to consider whether deeded or leased ownership is right in your situation. Whether choosing deeded or leased timeshare ownership, an educated owner is a happy and confident owner.