One of my friends who is a Internet marketing consultant is currently considering buying a timeshare in Florida. I’ve been helping her find a figure out how to buy a timeshare, and I’ve learned a few tips that might help you if you are considering buying the same sort of property:

• You can’t be in a hurry about it. My friend is busy at her job, is learning how to become a US citizen, and is currently looking to get her citizenship. Despite her hectic schedule, she won’t scoop up the first timeshare she sees. Already, she’s going about it the smart way, comparison shopping extensively, and researching carefully. She’s researching not only the timeshare companies, but also the management companies. She’s asking current and past owners of the timeshares about their experiences with their properties, and is comparing prices, amenities, and as well as appreciation rates over time. She’s noticing that there are a lot of timeshares that are duds, but also quite a few that seemed to be good deals.

• You have to be realistic. Buying a timeshare can save you money on hotel costs if you travel to Florida every year, but not every timeshare will save you money. Some timeshares are quite luxurious and therefore quite pricey. Also, there are many timeshares that have additional costs, such as management fees. It’s important work out the cost of an average hotel room, the length of your stay, as well as all the costs associated with buying a timeshare. This is the only way my friend has been able to tell which timeshares are a good deal and which ones are not.

• Keep in mind incidental savings as well as unexpected perks. My friend was excited to discover that most timeshares are actually more like apartments than hotel rooms. They have living areas, sleeping areas, and kitchens. This is great if she wants a friend to visit her timeshare, since it means a friend can crash on the pull away sofa. It also means that she can save money on eating out. On our vacation, we estimate that we spent about $100 a day eating out. Mind you, we were on vacation, but my friend can easily slice that bill in half or even much less when she buys a timeshare, since she will be able to buy food locally and make her own dinners at home. Even if she does decide to go out to eat once in awhile, she will be spending a least one or two meals every day eating in. She will also save money on transportation costs. She is looking at timeshares that are close to the attractions she most wants to visit, so she will not have to rent cars every day in order to get to the places she wants to go.

• Look for flexibility. It’s nice if you can rent out your timeshare or swap weeks, since you can easily make money when you can’t go on vacation and can easily adjust your vacation plans to your schedule.

Timeshares are often apartment-style units that are designed to be hassle-free vacation homes. These units can range from small studio apartments that offer spacious room for a couple to four-bedroom units that are perfect for large families. Timeshares are often much larger than a typical hotel room, and far more cozy. Many fully equipped kitchens, dining areas, dishwashers, televisions, VCRs and all the amenities you might need. If you travel often, you might actually find that timeshares are far more cost-effective. Timeshares allow you to cook your own food and stay in for a quiet night of movies, if you wish. Being able to save on dining out is very useful for families traveling on a budget and can be an important factor to consider if a member of your family has a serious food allergy. Timeshares offer you a home-like environment away from home. Many timeshares also have washers and dryers, so that quickly washing beach wear or a favorite shirt is very convenient. Many families enjoy the convenience of having a home-like environment on vacation.

Timeshares vary widely from the economical units aimed at the budget-conscious family to the very luxurious. It is smart to look at many timeshares and consider a wide range of units and contracts until you find a timeshare that meets your needs. When looking at ads for timeshares, you will find that most indicate how many a timeshare will sleep and how many the timeshare will sleep privately. For example, a timeshare that indicates “Sleeps 2/2″ would generally be a studio or one bedroom unit while a timeshare listed as “Sleeps 6/4″ would generally be a two bedroom unit with a pull-away sofa or other arrangement in the living room. This timeshare would sleep 4 privately, meaning that four visitors would not have to walk through another sleeping area to use a bathroom. The timeshare could sleep up to six people, however, if two guests slept in a common area such as a living room.

It is important to visit timeshares and consider location before buying. It is not necessarily the case that a studio size timeshare would be cheaper than a two bedroom, for example. Many things affect the price of a timeshare, not just sleeping capacity. Views – especially views of beaches – can dramatically drive the price of a timeshare up. A studio apartment timeshare overlooking a desirable beach, for example, can cost far more than a two bedroom five blocks from the beach. Also, amenities can dramatically affect price. Luxury amenities such as Jacuzzi tubs can increase the value of a timeshare. This is just one reason why comparing timeshares is so important. Try to visit as many as you can to get a sense of what is available and what you are interested in buying. You may find that buying less time in a timeshare you enjoy will be a much better investment than two weeks in a timeshare you do not care for.

There are many different types of timeshares. Understanding all these types can help you make the right choices when you decide to buy a timeshare:

1) Fixed Week Ownership. This type of ownership is the simplest and most basic. It is in fact what many people think of when they think of “timeshares“. In this arrangement, the timeshare owner specifies a week when he or she would like to use the property. That week – for example, the last week of July – would be reserved for that owner every year. This arrangement is ideal if you enjoy traveling to the same destination for a specific event – such as a family member’s birthday or a specific holiday.

2) Floating ownership. In this type of ownership, the owner specifies a certain number of weeks, but keeps the specific weeks open. For example, an owner may buy two weeks during the summer at a specific resort. The owner must call up ahead and book the two specific weeks, but he or she can choose from any of the summer weeks. The advantage of this is that this form of ownership is very flexible. The main disadvantage is that there may be hefty competition for the most desirable weeks, and the owner might not get their first choice of weeks.

3) Rotating ownership. In this type of ownership, each owner gets a week later than they did last year. For example, if you got the first week of July this year, you would stay at the property during the second week of July next year. This eliminates competition for popular weeks and is fair to every owner. However, this form of ownership is not very flexible. If you cannot get away from work on your specified week or if you don’t want to go on the week offered to you, you may be out of luck unless you can exchange with another owner.

4) Vacation Clubs. Vacation clubs are companies that own timeshares in several resorts or locations. Once you become a club member, you can reserve any of the units the vacation club has access to. The main advantage is that you can vacation in a wide selection of areas. the main disadvantage is that other members may be competing for the same units and times you are eyeing.

5) Points Programs. In this type of ownership, you do not buy weeks, but rather points. These points allow you to make travel plans within the company selling you points. For example, you can use your points to “pay” for a week at the company resort in Mexico. Points programs can be very flexible, since some allow you to put points towards car rentals and even airplane costs. Potentially, your whole vacation can be covered by your points. The main disadvantage is that points programs can be complex to figure out and sometimes it is not clear what is and is not covered by points.

When selecting a type of timeshare contract, consider how much security and how much flexibility you need.