Own A Piece Of Paradise-For A Few Weeks A Year
By WENDY KAN

You've found paradise:a quiet, sunny, sand-filled getaway where the waves lap gently at your toes as you sip a fruit drink served in its own skin. The thought occurs: Why not buy one of the beach huts nearby? But they're probably run by a local who needs them to make a living, so that won't work. The large-scale resorts all around you are nice, too, but you're no millionaire. So how can you get a piece of the action?

You might consider buying "time"in a holiday resort. It's an increasingly popular option in Asia. Originating in Europe in the 1960s, the time-share concept exploded a decade later in the U.S. as developers tried to fill an oversupply of apartments in Florida. The idea was simple: for each apartment, sell one week a year to different "owners." Gradually, the system was refined for more flexibility. Rather than being locked into the same week every year, participants pioneered the time-share exchange.

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The time-share-exchange industry has evolved into a bustling business involving properties in almost every corner of the world. As of the mid-1990s, more than 3 million households owned time-shares in a total of more than 4,000 resorts, according to the World Tourism Organization. "It's for people who don't want to eat a whole pizza," says Rannie Tan, director of services at RCI Asia-Pacific. "They can just have a slice instead."

Time-share arrangements vary from place to place. In Asia, tourists usually buy the "right to use" a particular resort room for a set interval (say, one or two weeks a year) and for a fixed duration (often between 25 to 50 years). Costs depend on the quality of the resort, the size of the room and the time of year a member prefers to vacation. In Malaysia, for example, single-week time-shares range from $2,000 to $8,000, generally with an annual maintenance fee of $100. In most cases, members can swap what they've got. One summer, you might want to trade your quiet holiday spot in Bali for a bungalow in bustling Phuket. Some time-share companies only offer properties within a single country or to just a few destinations. But well-established international time-share companies like RCI and Interval International-both of which operate regional offices in Singapore-provide choices around the world.

But buyer, beware. Asia's time-share industry faces some of the same problems that emerged when the business was first developing in the West. Unscrupulous marketing and sales "professionals," hired by unsuspecting time-share developers, sometimes lure tourists to three-hour presentations by telling them to collect a prize won in a lucky draw. To those curious enough to show up, the salesmen often try to sell more units than developers have available; then they pocket the money and run. Worse, some sell time-shares that don't exist.

In the U.S., regulators moved quickly to create consumer-protection laws and make developers accountable for their salespeople's tactics. And time-share associations themselves often enforce strict codes of ethics. Within Asia, Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore have the best-regulated time-share industries. The least-regulated include Laos, Cambodia and Burma.

How can you avoid trouble?Industry professionals say potential buyers should do some homework to find out how well-regulated the industry is in the relevant country and who is responsible for it:the government, a time-share association or both. Be wary of contracts that don't have a cold-feet clause offering customers, say, 10 days to back out of the deal.

Despite the marketing pitch you might receive, time-shares should be viewed as vacation opportunities, not financial instruments. "A time-share should not be bought as an investment," says Ricky Yip, president of the Malaysian Holiday Timeshare Developers Federation. "You can't sell it later and make money off it." Rick Choate, managing director of Interval International Asia-Pacific, offers a similar note of caution. He warns buyers not to snare a cheap time-share with the aim of exchanging it for an upscale one. "This may be one of the biggest misconceptions," says Choate. "You usually exchange within a range." There are ways to upgrade, however. Some companies offer a system in which members accumulate "points" that can be applied for upgrades. It just goes to show that even your own personal paradise can be improved upon.