Have you ever thought about owning your very own holiday home, but simply couldn’t justify the cost of purchasing and maintaining the property, especially when you consider that most holiday home owners only use their property for 3-4 weeks each year?
Shared Ownership is not a new concept, it originally became popular through the activities of Richard Santulli of NetJets who successfully pioneered the concept of allowing businesses and individuals to purchase shares in a jet to reduce both initial and running costs. This allowed the ‘owners’ to benefit from the asset for the period of time they needed to use it whilst not having the full costs associated with complete ownership, the costs were shared with the other owners.
The most common misconception about shared ownership in property is that it is timeshare by another name. With timeshare you don’t own a tangible asset, you are only buying the right to use a holiday property at a certain time. With shared ownership you are buying a proportion of the actual bricks and mortar. Your ‘share’ then entitles you to use your holiday home for a certain number of weeks a year, and unlike timeshare, you can easily transfer, gift or sell your share on as and when you wish.
A typical example is when a group of individuals, usually known to each other as family members or friends maybe with a common interest, join together to fund the initial purchase. We would recommend that no more than five parties are involved in any one venture as this is a sufficient number to significantly reduce the initial cost, whilst enabling adequate personal use of the holiday home. All the owners involved are entered onto the property deeds in equal share (or whatever split is agreed), therefore confirming in law their ownership entitlement.
Shared ownership allows an individual to own a part of, and enjoy, a high value tangible asset that may under normal circumstances be neither affordable nor justifiable as a solo purchase. Over time, the asset will increase in value and all parties will enjoy the benefit of this growth. If you’ve been involved in real estate at all you will understand that higher value properties weather the storm of recession much better than those at the lower end of the market, on occasion completely bucking the trend and actually increasing in value: in essence the higher value property is a more secure investment.
The owners agree the terms and conditions of the personal usage, in some cases for example a group of golfers, they may stay together for a week of golf, and then bring their families separately for a more private and personal holiday. The costs of maintenance and any ongoing fixture or fitting repairs or replacement is also shared between the owners, thereby reducing this cost element significantly for each individual.
Another potential benefit arises when the owners personal use of the holiday home is such that a significant period of the year the property is vacant. Under these circumstances the property can be rented out and additional income enjoyed by all parties, further reducing the overall cost for each owner.
Here at the RE/MAX Overseas we fully understand and support shared ownership and the wealth of benefits that it brings to the individuals involved. For a group of friends with a common interest or family members it is an ideal vehicle for owning a significant piece of valuable real estate as an investment or simply as a holiday home for all involved. We can assist in preparing and submitting the relevant legal documentation required in the setting up of a shared ownership agreement, including the purchasing contract, and the deeds creation and submission to the land registry office.
We are also happy to assist in the sale of shared ownerships, be they constitute a complete property or part thereof: our network of professional real estate partners has clients specifically attracted to this kind of investment opportunity.
In addition RE/MAX can arrange the rental of the property providing a fully managed program covering everything from marketing and client bookings, key holding, check in/out, housekeeping and a full maintenance package. From this asset management service, higher occupancy levels are achieved which then drive demand and ultimately this demand protects and drives property values.
Contact us today to find out how you could benefit from our Shared Ownership solutions.
Top quality villa built to the highest standards situated on one of the best plots in Los Flamingos Golf Resort. South facing with spectacular sea views. The property is distributed in: Main flo...
RE/MAX Overseas welcomes you to The Edge, a spectacular residential development directly located on the beach front Estepona. This beautifully designed property faces the sea with direct access t...
RE/MAX Overseas is delighted to present to you this incredible luxury 4 bedroom villa located on the Be Lagom development, Benahavis. The property has four bedrooms and three full bathrooms, plu...
ICON ‘The Residences’ villas at Santa Clara Marbella is an exceptional luxury lifestyle project offering the highest standards of contemporary architectural styling available anywhere in th...