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The process of purchasing an International Property Share (IPS) property is remarkably simple since each individual property is owned by an American Limited Liability Company (LLC) and each share represents a percentage ownership of the LLC. The entire process is typically completed within 30 days.
Of course, the DECISION to buy and WHAT to buy can be the more challenging aspects.
First let’s look at steps for purchasing a share*
1. The buyer emails IPS with a Letter of Intent (LOI) to purchase. The simplified version looks like this: "I, Ginny Blackwell, residing at 26519 NE Stewart St, Duvall, WA wishes to purchase a 1/10th share of Maison Bleue LLC, a property located in Quarante, France for the price of $67900."
2. A 10% earnest money deposit is then wired to IPS.
3. The LOI is presented to the house manager so that all existing owners of Maison Bleue have first rights of refusal to purchase the share with the same conditions as offered by the new buyers. The owner group has up to 30 days to decide whether or not to buy the share but in most cases, we’ll get an response back from the manager within a few days.
Once the owner group declined to purchase, there are a few sales documents which follow:
· The Sales Agreement which confirms the price and conditions of payment
· A Bill of Sale- signed by the Sellers and emailed to IPS
· Wire Transfer Instructions to send the balance of the funds to the sellers
· The Operating Agreement for LLC is signed and dated by the buyers
4. When these transactions are complete, the seller will send the buyers a signed and dated copy of the Bill of Sale along with the keys to the house. They will also put the new owners in touch with the manager of the LLC so that they can attend the annual owner’s meetings and begin to schedule time at their new home.
How to resell an IPS fractional ownership share
All but one of the current International Property Share properties is structured as an LLC. The important thing to remember is that the process for reselling these shares is really simple! (see above instructions*).
To state this another way, there is no obligation to turn to IPS (we charge a 10% transaction fee) to resell your share and you are free to sell your share privately. That said, one of the major reasons owners turn to us to resell their shares is because we have a long history of trust and competence and there IS a fair amount of “hand holding” in the process or reselling a share.
Quite naturally, buyers want to know all of the in’s and out’s of ownership, how and why it is structured the way it is, how they will book their time, who manages the property, whether there is owner storage and so forth. Our FAQ page addresses many of these questions.
Following this, part of our job is to assess whether or not a co-ownership share is a good fit for a buyer and whether they have really looked at all aspects of living like a local- demographics, ease of transport, annual assessments, management style, whether they prefer and active or relaxed vacation lifestyle, and sometimes, whether now is the time to take the leap of faith… to follow that dream.
What Kind of Investment is this?
First and foremost, fractional ownership should be considered a lifestyle investment.
People often wonder whether shares will appreciate in value and/or hold their value. My experience is that shares typically DO hold their value and/or appreciate. However, there is no realistic way to know whether someone is waiting in the wings to buy that share as soon as it appears on the market or whether it may take a long time for the right buyer to appear.
One of the reasons why owners often turn to IPS for help and guidance is that they TRUST us. We’ve been singing the praises of co-ownership for a long time- over 25 years!
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