Saudi Gazette report MADINAH – Experts have called for the reintroduction of timeshare program to promote real estate projects and tourism. It will enable investors to own properties either for housing or tourism. It will also reduce cost of a family’s tourism program and boost profits of companies. Timeshare system is quite popular in Europe as it allows investors to purchase ownership deed of a housing unit for a period not more than 13 weeks annually or own it for 25 to 40 years. Marketing companies help investors own flats and homes on an installment basis. People can pay 20 percent of the housing unit whose prices differ depending on the timeshare contract. Timeshare programs were operating in the Kingdom from 2001 to 2009 with a large number of investors putting their money on the Makkah Towers project. Syed Hassan, deputy CEO of a real estate company, said the timeshare program became popular in the Kingdom from 2003 to 2009 before it stopped temporarily. “It’s popular in some European and Arab countries,” he told Al-Madina Arabic daily. “People can join timeshare programs in different countries through companies that manage them. They can either maintain their ownership of flats and homes or transfer them to other investors by completing certain procedures,” Hassan explained. He said the timeshare ownership of people who purchased it before 2009 — when it stopped in the Kingdom — still remains. Investors have to pay the difference of Hijri and Gregorian calendars as the deed is dated in the Hijri calendar while hotels are managed on the basis of Gregorian. Iyad Bafaqeeh, deputy chief of realtors in Madinah, said the timeshare program conforms to the Islamic rules and regulations. “We have reintroduced the system to help people invest their savings in real estate at reduced price compared to owning housing units permanently.” He emphasized the need to develop new financial tools with the support of Islamic scholars and economists for the development of the real estate sector and help people own housing units. “This system will help Saudis who move between the Kingdom’s cities to own houses at cheap rates,” Bafaqeeh said while speaking to Al-Madina. Real estate consultant Faras Al-Ali said the timeshare system is now available in many countries worldwide. “It’s applied in the US to promote tourism. People will be able to conduct tours at cheaper prices making use of the timeshare system,” he pointed out. How does timeshare work? A timeshare (or timesharing) is a form of vacation ownership. In the most traditional form, when you buy timeshare you essentially purchase the right to vacation one week every year at a specific timeshare resort. A timeshare is a way for a number of people to share ownership of a property, usually a vacation property such as a condominium unit within a resort area, said an expert. Each buyer usually purchases a certain period of time in a particular unit. Timeshares typically divide the property into one- to two-week periods.