A Practical Approach to Investing in Luxury Vacation Homes

Every September, my family and their friendscollapsing and houses all over the country have
take a week long vacation on Daniel Island, Southbeen foreclosed. But I'd rather not think about
Carolina. There is nothing we look forward tothat whole mess and how it happened. I'd rather
more than basking in the sun and enjoying thethink about my vacations.
amenities of the Charleston area. We go bikeBut I've recently found that there is viable way to
riding, eat at great restaurants, cruise around onthink about vacations and investments at the
speedboats, and of course, take advantage ofsame time. Private residence clubs are the most
great fishing on the inter-coastal waterways. It isrecent incarnation of timeshares. I could invest in
a time when all the tourists have left and ita luxury vacation home and enjoy it without the
sometimes feels like having an entire beach tostress of renting it out, repairing breakages, or
ourselves. Charleston has such a long vacationeven cleaning. I wouldn't even have to screw in a
climate, that there is a greater span of optimallight bulb. Private residence clubs are equipped with
vacation time than the beaches where I comea full time concierge service. Therefore, as a
from up North. It's also the eighteenth centuryfractional owner, I could make a minimal
cultural capital of the South, so the architecture isinvestment for a great return. Included in the
so interesting, especially along the white sandymembership of a few certain residence clubs is
beaches. It is the ultimate luxury for us to go andthe potential to access over 150 other private
stay in a vacation rental on the coast. However,residence clubs all over the world.
this year was different.I have realized that this type of investment first
We were sitting on the beach a few feet behindstarted in aviation, and is becoming more popular
our vacation home, as we do everyday thatin real estate. Maybe it's because of the latest
we're there. Somebody walked by and told ushousing crisis that people have realized maintaining
that the stock market had just closed down 800real estate and taxes isn't the easiest way to go.
points. As removed as we were from theIn private residence clubs, the properties and the
situation, it seemed that things could change andtaxes are of lower cost, because they are all
might not be able to go on our luxury vacationsshared. Fractional ownership private residences
so often anymore. But we went swimmingare typically more luxurious and are in more
anyway and forgot about it for a little whiledesirable locations than timeshares, which explains
longer. Little did we know that the real estatetheir recent leap in popularity among vacation
market was doing the exact same thing. Now it isrenters. It could certainly be worth it to check out
incredibly obvious that investing markets aresomething like this in the Charleston area.