Many thanks to the two members, Graham Price and Bill Hosie: to [...]]]>

There was a great piece in Saturday’s Daily Mail about fractional living with a good mention of various sharing arrangements.  Two yours2share members were interviewed and it explained how private syndicates work and the benefits.  I couldn’t have written it better if I’d tried.

Many thanks to the two members, Graham Price and Bill Hosie: to the author, Steve Boggan; and toPiers Brown of Fractional Life for putting Steve in touch with me..

As a result we had thousands of extra visitors on Saturday, some interesting new ads were posted and it’s taken me all morning to answer all the questions which people have asked us.  Fantastic!

I’ve finally managed to get yours2share‘s video onto YouTube!

If you want to see it in “high definition”, well much better quality, click here.

I thought it summed up yours2share rather well, even if there was a little flattery involved.

But I can see his point, yours2share [...]]]>

I was busy chatting someone on the phone yesterday and after my extended elevator pitch (ground to 100th floor return) the person I was explaining yours2share to exclaimed “You mean you’re a fractional e-bay”.

I thought it summed up yours2share rather well, even if there was a little flattery involved.

But I can see his point, yours2share covers a huge range of assets that can be shared, in any way through ownership, rental, payment in kind or no payment, enabling private individuals to get together and shape arrangements to suit their needs.  One of the big problems with commercial fractional schemes is they have to try and find one size that fits all, and end up giving most people a badly fitting suit.

For small commercial developers with a fairly small number or properties, say less than ten, I usually advise them to speak to consultants [...]]]>

People often ask me whether they should fractionalise a property they are selling or not? My response depends upon whether this is a small commercial developer or a private individual.

For small commercial developers with a fairly small number or properties, say less than ten, I usually advise them to speak to consultants who specialise in this area. There are several and I have no experience of any of them, so I cannot comment on them at all. It may also help to contact other established small fractional ownership developments for pointers about consultants.

For a commercial fractional scheme to succeed, the fractionalisation must be suitable for the market in which you want to sell your properties. By fractionalisation, I mean the size and pricing of the shares and the model for allocating time. Successful schemes incorporate ongoing ownership, lettings and maintenance management so there has to be a permanent management team in place. Plus there is the legal and financial set up. This costs a considerable amount of money upfront.

The upside is that if you can sell for a good margin above the value of the property without splitting it into shares, then there is good money to be made. There are a stack of other factors specific to the development and developer that also need to be considered, many of which are the same as marketing the properties for sale as a whole.

Fractionalisation for private individuals is completely different. If they own a property which they find they don’t use enough, and they either don’t wish to holiday let, or are not making enough from lettings to justify the hassle of lettings (a common problem), then selling part of the property may be the perfect option and this is exactly what yours2share was designed for. They can sell one share at a time, (on the basis that further shares will be sold), getting to know each new sharer well before committing to the sale and moving onto the next. Selling two third or three quarter shares may take a year or two to find the right partners and then complete the sales, but this may be preferable to selling a holiday home they love simply because they can’t justify its costs.

Private individuals who think they can sell ten or twelve shares in a property they can’t sell anyway and walk away at the end having made a fast buck are an entirely different case. I try hard to discourage them. Marketing costs and effort are much higher: you have to find ten buyers not one. Professional management and maintenance must be put in place. These simple facts discourage nearly everyone as most are decent people are just trying to see how to maximise the return on their asset.

It is a free independent internet service enabling private individuals to buy and sell fractional shares and to create privately run syndicates. Managed syndicates also advertise, selling both new and resale shares in existing schemes, so all the fractional possibilities [...]]]>

yours2share matches like-minded people who want to share property and any other valuable asset.

It is a free independent internet service enabling private individuals to buy and sell fractional shares and to create privately run syndicates. Managed syndicates also advertise, selling both new and resale shares in existing schemes, so all the fractional possibilities are in one place.

For people who don’t want to buy, rent a fraction. If they have an infrequently used asset, sell a part share. Or fractionally rent part of its use, creating a regular income.

Find partners to buy exactly what is required: maybe a specific location or requirement (stabling, gardens, remoteness, antiquity). yours2share is often the only way of finding someone who shares your dream.

Successful sharing arrangements require a good contract. Our guidance is comprehensive and we have unique downloadable template contracts for both fractional ownership and fractional rental.

This blog is intended to reflect the  rollercoaster of running a website like yours2share virtually single-handed and provide an informal place to discuss how fractional ownership and fractional rent can work best for people.