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quality of the facility), there would be
100 co-owners of the property. They
would appoint a board of directors to
oversee the operation to run it in the
same way that a condominium corporation
is operated.
For instance, this is how
Frontenac Shores at Land O’Lakes will
be run, says developer Dave Storms.
“My wife and I are the developers,
and we currently own the resort, but
as the five-week increments sell, it will
be owned by the people who buy fractions,”
he says. “They will set up a notfor-profit
organization run by a board
of directors made up of the owners.
Basically, this is a vacation condo.”
Just as the initial price of the fraction
of the property varies, so the
annual maintenance fee will change,
according to the will of the directors
and requirements on the property.
“We are setting the maintenance
fee at $2,400 a year for each five-week
increment, for now,” says Dave. “That
includes everything — taxes, all utilities,
high-speed Internet, remattressing,
reroofing, linens and so on.”
Wolfe Springs Resort near
Westport will run its townhouse-style
villas in a similar way. Like most fractional
ownership resorts, points out
Sandra Hinton, the company’s director
of sales and marketing and its fractional
ownership specialist, “Wolfe
Springs Resort is built in one of the
most sought-after locations, on a lake
and a golf course. And fractional ownership
gives you everything you would
ever dream of wanting at a cottage at
a fraction of the cost and without having
to lift a finger to maintain it.”
Property rules in fractional ownership
resorts, particularly with
regard to smoking and pets, also vary
and can change in accordance with
directors’ decisions.
Fractional ownership is popular
because it offers an easy route to owning
upscale vacation property without
total responsibility for the cost of
maintenance or any of the associated
work. Fractional ownership offers luxurious
vacation property at a fraction
of the cost, a fraction of the responsibility
and a fraction of the control of
total ownership.
How fractional ownership differs
from timeshare arrangements
Fractional ownership
• The purchaser owns a percentage of the property.
• In an arrangement similar to condominium ownership, owners pay
annual maintenance fees, which include the property taxes.
• The owners form a not-for-profit corporation to manage the property
and employ the developer (or an alternate) to maintain it.
• Properties designed for fractional ownership are generally upscale.
Timeshare
• The purchaser buys the right to occupy a unit for a number of weeks, but
the developer retains ownership.
• Timeshare purchasers do not have any control of what happens on the
property because they do not own or manage it.
• Maintenance fees are usually included in the cost of the time purchased.
• Timeshares are built in a variety of price ranges.
Pros and cons of fractional ownership
Pros
• Co-owners have access to and partial ownership of all resort facilities.
• They make a smaller financial commitment.
• They do not have to do any housekeeping or indoor or outdoor maintenance.
• Fractional ownership reduces the responsibilities associated with title to
the property.
• Co-owners do not have to worry about the property when they are not in
residence.
Cons
• Partial ownership necessitates sharing time with other owners.
• The cost of ownership is much higher than independent ownership
because purchasers are also paying for the convenience of having others
look after the property for them throughout the year.
• Fractional ownership means that the owners do not have total control,
even inside their vacation homes.
Websites
Bluewater: www.bluewater-ad.com
Corbett Cove: www.corbettcove.ca
Frontenac Shores: www.frontenacshores.com
Touchstone on Lake Muskoka: www.TouchstonOnLakemuskoka.com
Wolfe Springs Resort: www.wolfespringsresort.com
Ottawa Page 27 Due West/Due East Magazine • Summer 2008