Owning a vacation home has long been a sought-after dream that millions of Americans have wanted to make come true. Whether at the beach, the mountains, or somewhere in between, we all love the idea of having a second home where we can make memories with friends and family. The problem with this long lasting dream is that it has never been very affordable. Because of this issue, we have seen vacation home ownership evolve in several different ways over time.
Individual Ownership
In an ideal world, individual ownership is what everyone would choose to do. Who wouldn’t want a fabulous vacation home all to themselves? While it is extremely enticing, individual ownership tends to only be affordable to members of the upper class, so it is not very accessible. Until the second half of the twentieth century, individually owning a vacation home was the only realistic option.
Timeshare
The first model proposed to create a more affordable path to vacation home ownership was the timeshare, which was introduced in the early 1960s. A timeshare is an arrangement in which several joint owners have the right to use a property as a vacation home under a “time-sharing” agreement. Timeshares were really innovative for making vacation homes more accessible, but the catch was that the joint owners did not have true ownership over the property, as it is controlled by some form of a management board. Timeshare companies essentially sell the right to use the property for a period of time.
Premium Co-ownership
The timeshare industry has started to decline rapidly as the 21st century has gone on, and the Premium Co-ownership model has simultaneously become more popular. In this model, co-owners generally buy a 1/8 share of a limited-liability company (LLC) that owns the house. The share they buy is typically in the $500k-$1.5M range. Companies like Pacaso have been successful using this model, and while it is great for allowing true co-ownership, this investment level is still out of reach for the average American.
Plum’s Model
Our vision at Plum CoOwnership was inspired by what we’ve seen throughout the evolution of vacation home ownership – the good and the bad. Plum’s model is similar to premium co-ownership as it also uses the LLC model, but it provides some flexibility as there can be anywhere from 2-12 co-owners. This form of co-ownership is more affordable and accessible, allows for co-owners to have more control, and form a Group f this innovative form of co-ownership is intriguing to you, check out some of our affordable Plums today!
