There are a lot of different ways to sell timeshare. Here I will try to explain some of the differences… but please keep in mind that if we don’t use that particular form at Canada House, I may not know that much about it. But at least I’ll be honest with you about what I do or don’t know. For each item listed below, the one in bold, underlined letters is the one we use at Canada House.

First of all, let me explain what I mean by unit/week. I often have people call and say “I own unit so-and-so” at Canada House. Well, that’s not really the case… you own a particular week in that unit. So when I talk about a unit/week, I mean the particular week that you own in your particular unit. For example, if you own the first week of the year, in unit 2001, then you own “two zero zero one, week one”, which would be written as 2001/01.

Fixed/Floating Week

• Fixed: You own the same week every year. If you’re not sure what date your week starts, please click here for a timeshare calendar that will include the next 3-5 years. If that’s not enough advance planning for you, you can always figure out the starting date of your week by counting weeks, beginning from the first Saturday of the year. In other words, if you own week 34, your week will start on the 34th Saturday of every year.
• Floating: You own a week, but not a specific week. Each year, after you have paid your maintenance fees, you must call the resort to reserve a week. This must be done even if you are going to deposit with an exchange company. For one thing, there has to be a placeholder that goes from you to the exchange company in the reservation system for the resort. For another thing, the week you deposit directly affects your exchange power (even exchange companies that say it doesn’t make themselves out to be liars when they say they offer bonus weeks for “prime time” – if a week is a week is a week, then what makes some times more “prime” than others?) so they have to know what week you’re depositing.

Fixed/Floating Unit

• Fixed: You own your week in a specific unit. When you show up (whether you have a fixed or a floating week), you will be in the specific unit that you own. If your unit is not ready when you arrive, you will be required to wait to access your unit until it is ready for you. Occasionally, depending on the situation, your resort may offer you the option of staying in a different unit for that year, if you are particularly early and your unit seems like it’s taking a long time. If this does happen, it’s optional.
• Floating: You own a unit type. When you arrive, you will be assigned to the first available unit of that type. Sometimes you can make requests such as which building you’d like to stay in, or what view you’d like.

Deeded/Undeeded

• Deeded: You have an actual deed to your unit/week, just like you have a deed to your home or the title to your car. Transfer of title is done by changing the public records to reflect new ownership.
• Undeeded: There are many different options for undeeded ownership, including right-to-use. These are a bit more complicated for our purposes, and since they don’t affect Canada House owners, we will leave you to find this particular bit of information elsewhere.

Every Year/Even-Odd

• Every Year: You own your unit/week every year. You pay maintenance every year, and you have use of the unit/week every year.
• Even-Odd: You own your unit/week only in even years (2010, 2012, 2014, etc.) or only in odd years (2011, 2013, 2015, etc.) Please note that resorts are sold this way or not – if you own at a resort that’s every year (as we are), you can’t sell your unit for even or odd years, because we’re not set up for that kind of record-keeping.

Weeks/Points

• Weeks: You own a week. You trade your one week for one week somewhere else, or you use your week at your home resort. It is assumed that you will be using your week unless you bank it, put it up for rent, or notify us that your guest will be using it. (Note: With RCI’s new Enhancements program, it is now possible to get more than one exchange from a single deposit. Please visit their website for more information.)
• Points: You own a week, but it’s available for your use as a certain number of points. You can use a few points at a time, save them up and use several years’ worth at once, buy extras, etc. When you own points, it is assumed that you will be using your time as points unless you notify RCI in advance (I believe it’s 13 months in advance) that you wish to use your own unit/week.
• It’s not a mistake that both these choices are bold — Canada House was originally sold as weeks, but some owners have converted to points. Before a unit/week that has been converted to Points can be sold to a new owner, it must be removed from the Points program. If the new owner wishes to have the unit/week in Points, s/he would have to contact the developer to pay a new conversion fee.

Red/White/Blue

• Basically the color of your week affects your trading power with your exchange company. The entire state of Florida is red, so Canada House is also red.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday

• The check-in day is just the day you check in and out of your unit/week when you use it (or the unit/week you exchange for, if that’s the case). More and more resorts have Friday and Sunday check-ins available these days, but Canada House has Saturday check-in & check-out for all our units. This doesn’t mean you can’t check out early if you can’t stay for your whole week, but it’s nice if you can plan your vacation around your check-in day.

Did I miss anything? Let me know…