With Coronavirus affecting our lives many of you looking for a holiday home in Italy may be concerned about managing a property purchase and maintaining your home from a distance… and will you be able to use your holiday home to its full capacity now or in the future?

Fractional Ownership could be the right answer.

Have you ever heard about Fractional Ownership?

“On average, a holiday homeowner only uses their property for 40 separate nights each year but pays for the entire year.” says Michael Hobbs – co-founder of Appassionata, one of Europe’s leading Fractional Ownership company’s, based in Le Marche, Italy. “Fractional Ownership was developed to create a secure and reliable solution for those wanting to share ownership of a luxurious item. Property, aeroplanes and boats are the most popular, where the ownership is generally shared between 4 to 12 owners. The key to Fractional Ownership is ‘ownership’; you own a share of the property in perpetuity, with the right to sell at any time.”

How does Fractional Ownership work?

Buying a Fractional Ownership home in Italy is simple and straightforward according to Michael’s experience. This is especially true when there is a professional company handling the purchase process, residency calendar, property management and maintenance.

Appassionata, for example, sells fractional shares in beautifully restored and fully furnished properties in central Italy. The complexities of buying the property have already been taken care of, including the registration of the property in the land registry. You buy a share in the company that owns the property. So it’s a simple transaction with no additional purchase costs. Ensuring you have deeded ownership of the property.

Each owner would have 5 weeks of annual residency. The Residency Calendar is simple to operate and provides flexibility for all. The weeks are reserved each year to ensure each owner always receives 2 weeks in the peak season and 3 weeks in the off-peak season (taken in the combination of weeks they desire). Weeks can be exchanged with co-owners, used by friends and family, or rented to a third party. Some owners desire more than 5 weeks each year, so they buy more than one share.

What are the running costs for the property?

To ensure the properties are luxuriously maintained, an annual service charge is payable by each owner. This charge is calculated on the total running costs of the property and is divided between the owners equally. This is one of the great benefits of fractional ownership and substantially reduces the costs you have for running the property.

Why does it make sense?

Michael says that while it is extremely tempting to want to purchase a holiday home outright in Italy, you have to ask yourself “how much am I really going to use this house?” There are restrictions on non-Europeans visiting Italy each year. Many people coming from the UK, USA or any other 3rd nation country are only able to spend a limited number of months in Italy each year, Fractional Ownership offers a solution to that problem. “A stress-free way to own a slice of Italy at a fraction of the cost.”

The key drivers to purchasing into a Fractional Ownership model are:

  • Buy the weeks you are actually going to use each year
  • Align your costs with your usage
  • Make a lifestyle investment to share with family & friends
  • Start your holiday the minute you arrive
  • Own a more luxurious holiday home than you thought possible – Share the annual running costs of the property
  • Own a fully furnished interior designed property
  • Have your holiday home managed and serviced

In any case, always remember that there could be some differences between each developer.

“Fractional Ownership allows you to arrive at your home, ready to start your holiday; without the normal anxiety you may feel if you owned the property outright and were wondering what your first job may be!” Michael Hobbs

Interested in pursuing a Fractional Ownership Property? Get in touch with Appassionata.