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.