Fractional Home Ownership

Why buy a whole pie if you only want a pie? If fractional jet ownership makes sense to you, fractional vacation home ownership will too.

As the second home market is experiencing a boom time, 1/3 of all homes sold last year were for second homes. Many will be used as retirement residences in the future, but who wants a single retirement home when you can buy several in different locations for the same expense?

The 76 million baby boomers who will retire in the next 15 years are studying their options and one hot option is fractional real estate ownership. The biggest number of boomers turned 50 this year and last, and at 50 years old, statistically people begin to shop for a retirement residence. At the same time, the fractional real estate business is red hot.

Where do boomers want to be in retirement? On a golf course? Although many do, most want to be in walkable communities, with shopping and dining options. Many want to return to school, and pursue educational interests they never had time for before. What if you can own 4 homes, for 3 mos a year each, and enjoy all the best places.

Quarter-share fractional ownership allows this dream to be an affordable reality.

In a fractional ownership share you are guaranteed a set period of time in your residence. You know years in advance when you will be enjoying your vacation spot. Many fractionals also allow exchange so that if you ever bore of the 'same old great place' you may be able to trade it for another destination residence.

How is fractional different from timeshare you may ask? Timeshare is typically sold in 1/52, or one-week, shares. This greatly increases the marketing expense and dilutes the real estate value or your deeded purchase. With fractional, 1/12 or a full month of use, is typically the minimum share, and the real estate value you are purchasing is closer to that of whole ownership.

Mortgages for timeshare are readily available, but again at a much higher rate and cost - typically 10% or higher rates. Financing for a fractional is again much closer to that of a typical second home with many of the same 30 year type mortgage options. Few lenders understand fractional financing.

Buyers of fractional also benefit by sharing the cost of these facilities, boomers will be able to afford the lifestyle for which they desire and have become accustomed to while affording multiple homes in retirement.

Bob Waun , Founder & CEO
Vacation Finance
bwaun@vacation-finance.com

Bob is CEO and Founder of Vacation Finance, America's First Second-Home Lender, which is a leader in the fractional ownership, condo hotel, cottage and timeshare financing business. Vacation Finance offers a full range of mortgage options for second home buyers and offers fractional financing from 1/4 share to 1/12 share.

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Are LadyRealtors Better Than BoyRealtors?

Let me ask you this: what do you do if Brigitte Bardot decides all of a sudden to show your listing?

Alright, call me sexist (which, may I proudly point out, my doctor says it's in my genes), but this is exactly what has happened to me the other day. I receive a telephone call from this chick ... hem, lady-Realtor saying she wants to show to her clients this apartment I have just listed in Downtown Vancouver. I should have known that the voice was too suave. So this Brigitte Bardot-at-age-28 look-alike shows up with these couple of Buyers, almost accidentally left by me outside the door as I stood there in a state of subliminal, contemplative amazement. And I thought cloning had been vetoed by President Bush - maybe they approved it in Canada.

It will be recalled that one of the many precepts of sexism, that is the attitude based on traditional stereotypes of sexual roles, is whether the things that men are good at are more or less useful than the things women are good at. And by this standard of measure, by my own reckoning, I definitely lost. This is probably so, because modern professional life is dominated by such skills as emotional intelligence, empathy and communication, all of which this lady had absolutely mastered (besides her looks).

Take for example the description she gave to her clients of my listing (a 500-square foot apartment unit on the second floor of a 30-storey high-rise complex), which lasted a good seven minutes (I clocked her). How many things can a man possibly say on a 500-square foot strata unit, before he gets this urge of setting it ablaze. And the view - oh, the view! I swear, while she was describing the view all I could see was the building across the street. I thought the only way one could possibly see any view from here was to bring my Meade telescope and point it to the Milky Way, in hopes of catching a glimpse of the eleventh planet of the Solar System (that's because some scientist has just discovered the tenth planet - I saw it on the Science Channel).

But the culmination of the showing was when this gal began her dissertation on Penstemon grandiflorus. Now, if you think that Penstemon grandiflorus is the skeleton of the newest dinosaur they have just unearthed in the Gobi Desert (I saw it on the Discovery Channel), let me inform you right here and now that you are entirely wrong! Although, one might add, I initially thought of that too, but quickly reached the conclusion that a dino would not fit into a 500-square foot apartment unit. Then, for an unspecified glitch in the wiring of my brain, I figured she was referring to the Giant Squid, the one that this professor from the University of Tokyo has photographed underwater a couple of weeks ago (I saw it on the National Geographic Channel - he now wants to photograph Godzilla). But somehow, that too was not it. Nope. She was talking about this flower contained in a vase next to the window-sill in the living room, most commonly know as ‘large-flowered Beardtongue', as she pointed out to me so as to better render the idea (it did not help, at first). That was exactly the flower I was planning to execute in the next open house - but I digress.

Here is my whole point. Technology and globalization are undermining the usefulness of male skills, and this is all the more evident in real estate, the people's business par excellence. For instance, studies show that men are better than women at rotating three-dimensional objects inside their heads. Which is great, save and except for the fact that nowadays computers and software are better than men's heads at accomplishing the same task. Likewise, men are better than women at building machinery, digging tunnels or slinging bridges across rivers. But then again, now that the world has about as many tunnels and bridges as it needs, not to mention machinery of any size, shape and form, the usefulness of male dominance in these fields is being called into question.

Gentlemen, especially those involved in the fine art of real estate sales, would perhaps be best advised to spend as much time as possible with their female colleagues, boning up on how to undermine somebody's confidence while pretending to boost it, or honing their descriptive skills for the next time they show a 300-square foot cubicle to a client. Such skills are likely to have a greater impact on their overall earnings than the ability to spin an icosahedron inside their heads.

Oh, I almost forgot ... that apartment was sold in three days.

Luigi Frascati

Luigi Frascati is a Real Estate Agent based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics and maintains a weblog entitled the Real Estate Chronicle at http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com where you can find the full collection of his articles on Real Estate Economics and Finance. Luigi is associated with the Sutton Group, the largest real estate organization in Canada, and is based with Sutton-Centre Realty in Burnaby, BC.

Luigi is very proud to be an EzineArticles Platinum Expert Author. Your rating at the footer of this Article is very much appreciated. Thank you.

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Condo Hotels: What Investors Need to Know

Condo Hotel projects are on the rise. From skyscraper hotels to luxury resorts, condo hotels dot the landscape of popular vacation destinations, such as Florida and Las Vegas. And big hitter personalities like George Clooney and Donald Trump, wanting to capitalize on its popularity, can?t wait to attach their name to a condo hotel project. Even Nicky Hilton is jumping into the condo hotel craze. Her boutique style condotel, befittingly named Nicky O, opens this November in Miami, and she has plans for another condotel in Chicago.

But because a star is successful, does that assure his/her hotel will be, too? Steven Roszell, owner and broker of CondoHotels.com and HotelsforSale.com, doesn?t quite think so. ?A big name on a project does not guarantee success,? says Roszell. ?Ivana Trump, George Clooney, Michael Jordan, and even the famed Hard Rock Las Vegas project are some of the most recent examples of scrapped projects.? Roszell cautions potential buyers not to invest in a condo hotel solely for its illustrious name. ?Big brands, such as Marriott, Hilton, and Four Seasons, and seasoned developers and management companies are a better indication of a project?s success. This is their business---they?ve been doing it for years,? Roszell adds.

The condo hotel?s location also does not predict its success. Orlando, the world?s top vacation destination, has reached its saturation point with condo hotels. ?It may come down to there is too much supply,? says Roszell. ?If investors buy with the intent of flipping the property to make a fast buck, the Orlando market may not be for them.? Roszell also adds, ?Investors anticipating a high rental income may need to rethink Orlando for the time being. There's potential for too much supply.

Roszell advises his clients to look at three factors when considering a condo hotel: location, growth, and future income. ?We tell investors that a condo hotel purchase is a lifestyle investment. Buy in locations where you want to vacation for the next 5 to 25 years.? Roszell also notes how condo hotels have become prevalent in major metropolitan cities, such as Boston, Chicago, and New York. ?There is a limited amount of prime location areas that can be built upon in these major cities, and in time it?ll be harder to get a room during peak season in those locations.?

Condo hotels or condotels are hotels that convert a portion of rooms into condominiums and make them available for purchase. Once a property is bought, owners may enjoy their new luxury condo and/or choose to rent it. Owners receive a percentage of any rental proceeds and hotel management takes care of maintenance and cleaning.

Steven Roszell is owner and operator of www.CondoHotels.com and HotelsForSale.com and specializes in the sale of Lodging and Hospitality properties around the world. Based out of Denver, Colorado, Steve has been hailed by the Denver Business Journal as one of Colorado's Heavy Hitters.

Steven brings 15 years of real estate knowledge to his businesses. Being a licensed real estate broker in Colorado and Florida, Steven has been able to build a vast network with both real estate developers and owners. Throughout his career, he has worked with several high profile clients including Turnberry Associates, Millennium Partners, W Hotels, WCI Communities, Citibank, and the United States Government.

Steven lives near Boulder with his wife and three children.

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7 Tips to Real Estate Agent's Success: Tip #1 First and Foremost YOU are a Business

Real estate agents work for a broker, but are independent, commissioned sales people. This means that you are a small business and must run your practice as a business. Again, remember you are a small business owner.

Within the training curriculum in becoming a real estate agent, the training focuses on the knowledge about laws and policies with very little addressing that the real estate agent is an independent business owner. Since agents must work with a broker, this relationship suggests that only the broker is the business owner. Yet, the real estate agent is a paid independent contractor or a sole proprietor.

Changing this belief is where each real estate agent must begin if she or he truly wants to have a successful real estate practice. And to change this belief is not simple because of the very reasons why the person decided to join this profession. After all, real estate is considered to be an almost turnkey business with the added benefit of not having to manage all that business stuff. With incredible income potential, this profession, as reflected through the over 2 million registered real estate agents, continues to attract new agents.

Since many individuals enter this career profession with the assumption that the broker is the business owner, they fail to begin planning their business simultaneously as they are learning the business of real estate. These assumptions may include that the broker will handle all administrative actions such as communications, provide all marketing materials and will pay for those additional business expenses such as office space, taxes, etc.

What a new or even existing agent can do is to construct an affirmation or what I call a positive belief statement that simply states: I am a business owner who operates a successful real estate practice that is growing each year. This simple statement helps to reprogram the brain and replace the existing belief that the broker is the business owner with a new belief that the real estate agent is the business owner.

P.S. Read the article that started this series at 7 Tips to Real Estate Agent's Success and look for the otherexpanded 6 tips in the next few days.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith quickly doubles results for her clients from individuals (small businesses owners, entrepreneurs and young people) to large organizations by creating executable strategic action plans along with the necessary business skills to pull it off. By closing the gap between today's unsatisfactory performance to tomorrow's goals, limited resources are maximized with waste including time being reduced. Please feel free to contact Leanne at 219.759.5601 or visit http://www.processspecialist.com/ and explore how she can help you.

One quick question,if you could secure one new client or breakthrough that one roadbloack holding you back from success, what would that mean to you? Then, take a risk and give a call at 219.759.5601 to experience incredible results.

Mention that you read this article and receive a complimentary 45 minute coaching session.

P.S. If you are seeking an affordable speaker for that special event, Leanne may help fit your current speaking need.

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