It’s not often that one of my favourite TV shows includes a good example of fractional ownership. (Even if it wrongly calls it timeshare). It also explains why you should not to get carried away with on-line auctions, what sniping means and why you can’t rely upon snipers coming to your rescue!
The clip is from the Big Bang Theory: Time-Share Time Machine.
Just in case you don’t know the difference, fractional ownership means the owners own the title of the asset. Time share means that people have bought the right to use the asset for a short period of time, every year (or other period) for a given number of years. Fractional rental is similar to timeshare but usually the payments are made over the period of time rather than in one lump sum at the start, and can be ended with a relatively short period of notice.
For example the guys in the Big Bang Theory, are setting up fractional ownership. If one guy had paid $150 for the right to have the time machine for three months a year for five years, this would be timeshare. If he had agreed to have the use of the time machine for three months a year in return for an annual fee of $40, with both parties able to give two months notice that the agreement should end, then this would be fractional rental.