Sharing the Cost of Luxury - Fractional Ownership
Fractional ownership continues to thrive in Ontario
In marketing a little creative thinking goes a long way — and the same goes for owning a coveted luxury asset. You've most likely heard the term fractional ownership as an option in the purchasing of real estate; the concept has taken off big-time with cottage and vacation properties in Ontario. In fact, there are so many popping up on the market, a new company called Media Pull created an entire website dedicated to the topic — visit www.fractions.ca for proof. But did you know that the trend of joint possession includes everything from jewelry to jets?
In fact, the concept of fractional ownership began years ago with passenger jets. It's easy to understand why private individuals or corporations would pursue owning a jet in a fractional agreement, but people's ingenuity never ceases to amaze me. The concept received a lot of attention last summer when it made the news that 13 women in California jointly purchased a $37,000 necklace — and agreed to share custody of the piece, with each owner having possession of the necklace for four months of the year. Considering that the number of functions to which a person could wear a $37,000 necklace is limited, this was a brilliant idea.
Another new interpretation of the fractional ownership phenomenon is the sharing of art — with museums! Some collectors now offer their valuable pieces to galleries and museums for part of the year, helping to maximize the value of donors' tax deductions. As I mentioned, the popularity of the fractional ownership of vacation real estate has grown tremendously in Ontario over the past four years. According to Michael Stevens of www.mediapull.ca, the company recognized the need for a central source of information about opportunities in the province and launched www.fractions.ca.
"All developments are listed free of charge or consumers can contact us directly to sign up and then be informed as to new offerings," Stevens says.
Even though the site is fairly new, Stevens says the response has been overwhelming. "Our first of three public information sessions with industry experts is planned for early June." The website has sections aimed at consumers, the media and builders — and contains the only comprehensive listing of fractional ownership properties in Ontario. Visitors will also find articles and other interesting resources.
Sharing ownership of a cottage or vacation property makes sense. The price of real estate in Ontario has skyrocketed, placing it out of reach for many. Even some who can afford it question the return on their entertainment investment, when they will spend only a few weeks of the year enjoying it. Enter the winwin proposition of fractional ownership. A group of people share in the purchase price and cost of maintaining the property — and then split up its use during the year. And most of the time, the owners also own the boats and amenities such as docks.
Sharing the costs means owners can afford a more elaborate vacation property than they might be able to on their own. There is also the option of outsourcing the maintenance of the property, so that during the weeks they use the facilities, they can truly relax.
You won't find jewelry, jets or artwork at www.fractions.ca, but the site can open the door to your cottage or vacation lifestyle dream.
Lake Travis Waterfront Property
Lake Travis is a very popular place to own waterfront property. Just west of Austin, Lake Travis starts at Mansfield Dam and winds about 63 miles through the Central Texas Hill Country. Because of its proximity to Austin, its very clear water and the added drama of being in the Hill Country, Lake Travis waterfront property is very desirable.
The south shore of Lake Travis is a more popular place to own a waterfront home than the north shore. This is because the south shore is closer to downtown Austin and the airport. It also has quick access to much more shopping. Communities on the south shore include Lakeway, The Village of The Hills, Briarcliff, Hudson Bend and Spicewood.
There are some very exclusive gated communities on the south shore of Lake Travis. Costa Bella and Vineyard Bay are the closest to downtown Austin. Angel Bay, The Coves on Lake Travis, Barton Creek Lakeside and Lakecliff are also fabulous gated communities, but they are farther out on Lake Travis. The city of Lakeway has some of most spectacular waterfront homes on Lake Travis.
In 2005 there were 91 waterfront homes sold in the Lake South area of the Austin MLS. This is basically the south shore of Lake Travis. A could may have snuck in there that are actually on a pond or creek, but most were Lake Travis waterfront or Pedernales River (which runs into Lake Travis) waterfront homes. The average sold price per square foot was just over $341. That gives the reader a good idea of the value of a waterfront home on Lake Travis.
Waterfront lots on the south shore of Lake Travis have become scarce and expensive. Current Lake Travis waterfront lot listings are priced from around $500,000 to over $3 million.
Because south side properties have become a bit scarce and more expensive, the north shore has started to become more attractive. The north shore has not developed like the south shore has in terms of nicer subdivisions and shopping, but that is changing. Much of the north side of Lake Travis will be from 20 minutes to an hour farther from downtown Austin than the south shore. So anyone buying there needs to keep this in mind
There are a lot of places in the U.S. in which to own great lake property. Lake Travis is truly one of the best. See more at Lake Travis and Austin, Texas real estate
Heating Your Home With Solar, But Without Panels
With rising energy costs and massive stress on our electrical grids, solar is gaining in popularity. Not everyone realizes you can heat your home without buying big panel systems.
Heating Your Home With Solar, But Without Panels – Gain
You can use solar energy to heat your home through a concept known as gain. While you may associate panel systems with any mention of solar power, they are not a component of this approach. Of course, this makes the installation a heck of a lot cheap than going with traditional panel systems.
Solar gain is a concept that has been with us for much of the history of mankind. Earlier civilizations obviously didn't have electricity. To keep structures warmed, they learned to use the heat produced by sunlight. It is fairly humorous when archeologists marvel at the fact ancient structures are always oriented to the sun. If they new anything about solar gain, they would realize the structures were being used to produce thermal heating through masonry, openings and so on. Regardless, these early civilizations were the first to develop and implement solar gain heating.
The simplest way to explain solar gain is with a practical example. Assume it is summer time and your car is parked in the driveway with the windows rolled up. What happens when you open the door to get in? A massive blast of heat comes out. If you have black seats like I do, you also hop around like a fool when you sit down on the black surface. Your car is hot because it has acted as a platform for solar gain. The sun came in the windows, heated up surfaces in the car and raised the temperature. Since most vehicles are poorly ventilated, the heat reached unbearable levels because it couldn't escape quickly enough. This is solar gain in a nutshell, a methodology that can be applied to your home.
With solar gain heating, the idea is to maximize sun penetration into the home, covert the sunlight into heat, and circulate it through the home. To accomplish this, one typically puts windows on the south side of the home to capture as much sunlight as possible. Thermal storage materials, such as masonry, are placed below the windows to capture and store heat for after the sun goes down. The heat from the sun is circulated throughout the house throughout the day and evening until the stored amount is exhausted. Yes, it works in winter.
Solar gain is an ancient and highly effective method for heating your home. If it sounds interesting to you, visit a solar site to find out the specifics.
Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com, a directory of solar energy companies. Visit us to read more articles on solar power and renewable energy.