Which type of co-ownership company suits you

Start with the country

Nothing else narrows the field as fast. These are the homes we list today, by the type of partner that manages them.

A single-country specialist sells in one country and nowhere else. A budget US entry company sells in the USA and nowhere else. A pied-à-terre specialist sells in its one city and nowhere else. That alone settles the question for a lot of buyers before any of the operational differences matter.

Then the four questions that actually decide it

1. Do you want to let the home out?

If yes, several partners are off the list immediately. Our boutique partner prohibits letting — friends and family may borrow the home, but it may not be rented. Our US-focused partner does not allow owner rentals either. Our Paris partner’s agreements prohibit renting weeks, and Paris short-term-let law would make it difficult even if they did not.

Our pan-European partner and our Spanish specialist both permit letting, subject to the local licence rules, which in parts of Spain are tightening. Our budget US entry partner permits it. In every case this is a question about the specific home and the specific town, not about the company in the abstract — which is why we check it before you enquire rather than after.

2. Are your nights a floor or an allocation?

This is the difference most people miss, and it changes what the home is worth to you.

If you live within driving distance and will book at short notice, the floor models are worth considerably more than the number suggests. If you plan a year ahead and take the same two weeks each summer, a fixed allocation costs you nothing and a selection-round system like our Spanish specialist’s may suit you better.

3. How much do you need written down before you sign?

Our boutique partner publishes the most: minimum two nights a stay, a two-week maximum at 1/8 rising to five weeks at 1/2, a mandatory gap between stays equal to the length of the last one, six reservations held at once, three peak-season plus one holiday, free cancellation 30 days out. Our US-focused partner publishes its booking windows precisely. Our Spanish specialist publishes its selection-round calendar.

Our pan-European partner publishes less detail on the mechanics, and our budget US and Paris partners less still. That is not a warning — it is a reason to ask for the rules in writing before you commit, which we will do on your behalf.

4. Do you need to finance it?

Our US-focused and pan-European partners both have mortgage routes; the pan-European partner also offers its own deferred-payment plan, which carries interest. Our boutique partner works with a partner bank, and its structure means only individual shares can be pledged — the whole property cannot be mortgaged, so another owner’s default cannot force a sale of the house. Our Paris partner offers no share financing at all; treat that one as a cash purchase.

The types of company, briefly

Large, US-focused — over a hundred homes, the widest reach, and the only type operating in the USA at scale, plus a few homes in Mexico and Europe. Prices run from under $200,000 to almost $3 million, median around $750,000. No set cap on nights, which is the strongest usage model in the market. Our partner of this type does not publish running costs to us and does not allow owner rentals. It is also the only type publishing resale data at scale: an average of around three months on the market, with most resales so far selling above their original price.

Pan-European — around a hundred homes and the broadest European coverage by a distance, across several European countries. From about €120,000 to just under €1 million, median around €200,000, and a verified monthly running cost on every single home, €227 to €571. 44 nights minimum. Letting permitted on many properties. If you want Europe and you want choice, this is where the choice is.

Single-country Spanish specialist — a few dozen homes, all in Spain, from about €120,000 to under €500,000 and the lowest median of the European types, around €170,000. Six weeks a year, fixed. Letting permitted. Its published resale record is among the best in this market: recent resales closed in under four weeks on average, above the original price. If Spain is the answer and you want the cheapest entry with the best exit data, start here.

Small boutique — a handful of homes in Spain, France and Italy, and the only type whose whole inventory is three bedrooms or more, running to seven. From about €125,000 to under €600,000, median around €245,000, with verified running costs on every home. 45 nights minimum, and the rules around them are written down in more detail than anyone else’s. No letting, at all. The type for families who need everyone under one roof and want to know exactly how the calendar works.

Budget US entry — a handful of homes in the USA and by some distance the cheapest way into any of this: under $100,000. Three fixed fifteen-night seasonal blocks a year, exchangeable between co-owners. A small company with a small portfolio; worth a look if the budget is the constraint and the USA is the place.

City pied-à-terre specialist — a single apartment in central Paris, at €299,000 for a share carrying four weeks. Shares here are smaller than the eighths everyone else sells, title does not necessarily sit in a French SCI, and closing costs are around 1–2% of the share price rather than the 7.5–8% notaire fee on a whole Paris apartment. No financing, no letting. A specialist, for one specific thing.

What we would not tell you

We work with partners of six types and there are other companies. Kocomo, Prello and Alma sell fractional shares in markets that overlap with these, and we do not list them, so we have not verified their figures and they are not in the tables above. Their absence is a fact about our arrangements, not a judgement about them.

We also cannot tell you what a share will be worth in five years. Two of our partners publish resale data and the others do not, and even the two that do are describing a market that has been running for a handful of years. Anyone who offers you a projection is guessing.

The order we would do it in

Pick the country. Rule out the types of company that do not sell there. Then ask the letting question, because it removes half the field in one move. Then look at nights — floor or allocation — against how you actually travel. Then compare the two or three homes that survive on running cost per night of use, which is printed on every listing we have verified.

If that leaves you with nothing, tell us what you were looking for. We watch all of our partners and homes come and go every month.

Common questions

Which type of co-ownership company is the cheapest?

A budget US entry company, at under $100,000 for a US home, is the lowest entry price anywhere we list. In Europe it is our Spanish specialist, whose median share is around €170,000 and whose entry point is about €120,000, both in Spain. Our pan-European partner’s entry is similar but its median is higher, around €200,000. Cheapest entry and cheapest to run are different questions — on running cost per night of use, our pan-European partner’s median is €89 and our boutique partner’s €98.

Which type has the most homes?

The large US-focused type, with over a hundred of the 268 homes we list, spread across several countries including the USA and Mexico. Our pan-European partner is second with around a hundred, and has the widest European coverage, across several European countries. Our Spanish specialist has a few dozen, all in Spain; our boutique and budget US entry partners a handful each; our Paris partner a single apartment.

Which partners let you rent out your home?

Our pan-European, Spanish specialist and budget US entry partners permit letting, subject to local licensing. Our US-focused, boutique and Paris partners do not. In Spain in particular, whether a specific home can be let depends on that town’s rules rather than the partner’s policy, so it is worth confirming per property — we’ll tell you the rule for each home.

Which type gives the most nights a year?

The large US-focused type, which sets no cap on total nights — advance stays can be booked well ahead and short-notice stays sit on top of those. Among the rest, our boutique partner’s 45 and our pan-European partner’s 44 are both minimums rather than caps, and with the boutique partner anything booked 2 to 30 days out does not count against the floor. Our Spanish specialist’s 42 nights and our Paris partner’s four weeks are fixed allocations.

Which type is best for a family?

A small boutique company, on the evidence of the inventory: every one of our boutique partner’s homes has three bedrooms or more, up to seven, where our pan-European partner’s median is two. It also publishes its booking rules in more detail than anyone, which matters when several households are coordinating dates. The trade-off is a higher median price, no letting, and only a handful of homes in three countries.

Which type is best in the USA?

A large US-focused company has the scale — the great majority of US co-ownership homes we list come from our partner of this type, from under $200,000 upward, with no cap on nights. A budget US entry company is much cheaper at under $100,000 but ours has only a handful of homes and sells fixed seasonal blocks rather than flexible nights. None of our European partners sells in the USA.

Do you get paid more by some partners than others?

The commissions are broadly similar and are paid by the partner on completion, never by you. The share price is identical whether you buy through us or go direct. Where we think a partner’s model does not suit what you have described, we say so — including when that means we earn nothing.

Can I buy from more than one company?

Yes, and some owners do. Each share is a separate purchase in a separate structure with its own costs and its own calendar, so there is no combined booking system across partners — but nothing stops you owning a share in Spain with one and a share in Italy with another.