The trend of buying holiday homes through co-ownership schemes started in the USA and is showing its first sings of spreading to Europe. Being able to buy a luxury holiday home in Portugal and not spending much money could soon be a reality, and there are many advantages of this business model: it allows you to buy a holiday home worth 1 million euros for as little as 125,000 euros. Furthermore, the co-owners can use the space at any time of the year (according to certain rules) and have at their disposal a management service equivalent to a luxury hotel. Come with us and discover how you can buy a second home for up to 8 times less than the original value.
With this co-ownership model it really is possible to buy a house valued at 2.8 million euros, for only 350,000 euros. You heard us correctly! But how is this possible? By purchasing a holiday home together with 8 other co-owners. This business idea was professionalised by the American start-up Pacaso and is based on a universal desire of families: everyone wants to have a holiday home, with a pool, gym and cinema, but not everyone can afford it.
After the success of this model in the USA, Pacaso hs decided to invest on the other side of the Atlantic, and arrived in Spain at the end of 2021. And in a short time several companies with a business model based on time-sharing have appeared in the country - Secconda, Abriqot and Dalima are three examples, points out the Spanish newspaper El País. And Portugal could be next.
How does a co-ownership holiday home buying model work?
These companies take care of selecting and buying holiday homes to then market them on a co-ownership basis. Generally there can be a maximum of 8 co-owners and a minimum of 2. In addition, these companies also take care of managing the properties, dealing with renovations, interior design, maintenance, payment of expenses and even have financing solutions.
"The co-owner just needs to show up at the house and enjoy it," summarises Ignacio Alonso, director of corporate relations in Europe at Pacaso, quoted by El País. But of course, there are clear rules for co-owners to enjoy their second home in harmony. These are some of the most common rules:
- owners can book the holiday home up to 24 months in advance;
- each owner may have a maximum of 5 reservations at the same time for different dates;
- stays may be booked for periods of between 3 days and 2 weeks
- only one booking can include a prominent date, such as Easter or Christmas, per 12-month period;
- there is a possibility to make last minute bookings if the house is free.
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