A Practical Approach to Investing in Luxury Vacation Homes

Every September, my family and their friends take a week long vacation on Daniel Island, South Carolina. There is nothing we look forward to more than basking in the sun and enjoying the amenities of the Charleston area. We go bike riding, eat at great restaurants, cruise around on speedboats, and of course, take advantage of great fishing on the inter-coastal waterways. It is a time when all the tourists have left and it sometimes feels like having an entire beach to ourselves. Charleston has such a long vacation climate, that there is a greater span of optimal vacation time than the beaches where I come from up North. It's also the eighteenth century cultural capital of the South, so the architecture is so interesting, especially along the white sandy beaches. It is the ultimate luxury for us to go and stay in a vacation rental on the coast. However, this year was different.

We were sitting on the beach a few feet behind our vacation home, as we do everyday that we're there. Somebody walked by and told us that the stock market had just closed down 800 points. As removed as we were from the situation, it seemed that things could change and might not be able to go on our luxury vacations so often anymore. But we went swimming anyway and forgot about it for a little while longer. Little did we know that the real estate market was doing the exact same thing. Now it is incredibly obvious that investing markets are collapsing and houses all over the country have been foreclosed. But I'd rather not think about that whole mess and how it happened. I'd rather think about my vacations.

But I’ve recently found that there is viable way to think about vacations and investments at the same time. Private residence clubs are the most recent incarnation of timeshares. I could invest in a luxury vacation home and enjoy it without the stress of renting it out, repairing breakages, or even cleaning. I wouldn’t even have to screw in a light bulb. Private residence clubs are equipped with a full time concierge service. Therefore, as a fractional owner, I could make a minimal investment for a great return. Specifically with The Charleston Club, the procurement of this type real estate allows me to access over 150 other private residence clubs all over the world.

I have realized that this type of investment first started in aviation, and is becoming more popular in real estate. Maybe it’s because of the latest housing crisis that people have realized maintaining real estate and taxes isn’t the easiest way to go. In private residence clubs, the properties and the taxes are of lower cost, because they are all shared. Fractional ownership private residences are typically more luxurious and are in more desirable locations than timeshares, which explains their recent leap in popularity among vacation renters. It could certainly be worth it to check out something like this in the Charleston area. The Charleston Club is a private residence timeshare with fractional ownership featuring all inclusive vacation packages and club on Daniel Island South Carolina.

the artist online learns the lesson of social networking

One of the most unrealized elements essential to a creative career is the power of an artist social network. It can be quite overwhelming to commit full-time to a creative process and then spending more energy on the marketing process. Luckily, the days of lugging an over-sized portfolio from gallery to gallery in hopes of some decent exposure are over. Among the many networking benefits of increasing technology, there is now a great place for the artist online. What better way to get involved in art organizations than a database featuring local events, creative talent and resources that emphasize exposure without the hassles of expensive marketing. Artists are rarely taught marketing skills in their training and almost never have the time or inclination to do so. They often work in isolation so a networking opportunity like Asheville-based Call for Creativity provides a venue for them to promote their work that doesn't require expertise in business strategies.

Whatever left brain skills are lacking in the artists mind are clearly compensated for in the extremely imaginative and creative propensity. There is also a certain camaraderie among artists, where there is often an interest in collaborating and communicative support systems. Thus the most appropriate tool for those to gain exposure may be an artist resource that provides creative types a window to learn what others are doing. Anyone can contribute to an artist guide and simultaneously learn about local events and like-minded creative talent. Within all of the unique expressive disciplines, there is so much to learn and so much to gain by networking within the given interests of every community. From animation to metal works, outsider art to murals (to give a miniscule example of the broad spectrum of each medium), there should be no obstacles in gaining access to the artists’ local creative directory.


Without paying a dime or leaving the studio, the creative community can learn about all the call for artist entries local to Asheville and beyond. Perhaps this is what artists have needed all along! Artists and arts organizations advocating for each other! Instead of paying some sort of agent to promote the works, there is a mutual exchange that benefits other artists-- a collaborative creative directory, for artists, by artists and supporters. What could be more natural? It's almost like there's an alliance, or creative arts club, where artists support each other in every community. Yet how difficult it is sometimes to make the connections and join these social networks. Technological advances have opened up a global exchange for ideas and work. With resources like C4C, the artist online has more advantages than ever before in contributing to their own creative network.