Just when the operators of fractional ownership schemes thought they could cash in on the credit crunch by offering their projects as a cheap alternative to buying a whole property outright, regulators have to come along to spoil the party. The European Union's Timeshare Directive lumps fractional ownership in with timeshare as something that needs careful monitoring and control.
Fractional ownership advocates are worried their “product” will be “tarnished” by this association with timeshare and “consumers will be confused”.
For the record, a fractional ownership scheme allows a buyer to own part of the property, the whole of which they can use for part of the year. Timeshare gives a purchaser use of the property for part of the year, but no ownership of it. Fractional ownership properties include apartments, villas and hotel rooms, including this villa pictured above at Eden Rock, on the island of St Barths in the Caribbean.
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