Fractional ownership provides attractive options for vacation dream homes
A Piece of the Pie; Fractional ownership provides attractive options for vacation dream homes by Beth Cahape July 2005 ..."It's a relatively new category that's really started to gain momentum in th elast three to five years," says David Hehman, CEO of San Francisco-based EscapeHomes.com, a major online marketplace focusing exclusively on second-home real estate.    "The reason why it's gained in popularity is that threre are som every credible brand names that have begun to offer this, lik ethe Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons," he says. "And you're also getting more for your dollar, in th esense that you're able to use a larger unit, maybe more amenities and more services. Finally, you're only buying the amount of time that you're actually going to use the property." ...Make no mistake, though--fractionals are more pricey than your average time-share. "When you look at the average price of a home--and right now that's around $200K--these fractionals are more than the price of your average home," Hehman explains. "We're talking about paying $200K or more for a fractional."    "But your average home isn't in Aspen, Colorado," he adds. "In Aspen, you can't buy a (quality vacation home) for less than $3 million, but you can buy a fractional for $500K, and you can live as if you were living in that $3 million home. That's the appeal for this kind of purchase." ...While appreciation shouldn't be your primary consideration when buying a fractional, you should be careful about where you choose to buy that property. EscapeHomes' Hehman has some very specific pointers for those shopping for these properties.