THE KNOWLEDGE ASK THE EXPERT
Sharing a home
Fractional ownership, by Ginny Blackwell
We like the idea of co-owning a property in France, it would make it more aff ordable, but unless you’re buying with friends/family, is it possible? Some 25 years ago, I bought an old farmhouse in the rolling hills of the Dordogne. We realised this was a somewhat crazy idea as our family lived 3,000 miles away (on a 20-acre farm outside of Portland, Oregon) and also ran an investment business. But the lure of returning to our own old stone farmhouse, surrounded by sunfl owers and vineyards, a place where our three youngsters could really benefi t from their Portland French School studies… it was simply too appealing to ignore. So, I set about creating the
structure where a few families from our Pacifi c Northwest area could jointly own and use the property for a month or so,
every year. Did we all know one another? No, but my husband and I reached out to a couple of clients who very quickly decided to pool resources with us and become co-owners. From there, Ron and Bernice had friends who wanted to learn more, as did Jeff and Marcy. We grew organically and quickly had a cohesive group of nine co-owners. Since my fi rst fractional
ownership property in 1998, I have developed another seven co-ownership properties using the same principles: aff ordable elegance, shared expenses and responsibilities, all with the benefi ts of having a place you can really call home.
What sort of agreement would be in place between the owners? Each International Property Shares fractional ownership
property has its own operating agreement. This spells out the rights and responsibilities of the members/owners. An agreement typically
includes defi nitions, members and membership interests, management, budgets and accounts, meetings, member use rights, accounting and records, transfer of interest, distributions, withdrawal and dissolution, indemnifi cation and amendments.
What is the diff erence between fractionals and timeshares? Ownership: The most fundamental diff erence is that the purchaser owns a percentage of the bricks and mortar with a fractional title – as opposed to renting the right to use a property with a timeshare. Unlike timeshares, with fractional ownership you can transfer or sell the ownership of your share. Holding market value: Fractionals tend to hold their market value or appreciate over time unlike timeshares, which don’t often hold their market value. Consider also, the expense of sales/marketing that goes into selling a vacation unit 52 times and which is then passed on to purchasers and not recovered. Slower paced holidays: Slowing down allows us to immerse
“A fractional purchaser owns a percentage of the bricks and mortar”
ourselves in the culture and ambience and truly enjoy our time at the deepest level. Why do you think fractional owners move at a slower pace? Because they can! Most IPS owners enjoy stays of four to eight weeks per year. Annual maintenance and operation: Each fractional owner pays a portion of the annual running costs which range from around €730-€1,450 per year per owner. The dues cover the operational costs including taxes, insurance, utilities, phone, internet as well as a contingency fund. If you compare this to average annual fees for a time share week (€920), there is no comparison! ■
Ginny Blackwell, fractional ownership pioneer since 1988 at International Property Shares internationalpropertyshares. com
92 FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: January/February 2024
© SHUTTERSTOCK
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