Buyer’s Q&A
Fractional ownership glossary — key terms
Core fractional terms: 1/8 share, ownership agreement, rotation, special assessment, reserve fund, owner's closet, supported resale, fideicomiso, IFI, Lex Koller, NIE. Quick reference for new buyers.
The short answer: Core fractional ownership terms every buyer should know. 1/8 share: standard share size giving around six weeks of personal use a year. Co-ownership agreement: the rulebook governing how the home is run and how owner decisions get made. Rotation: the multi-year cycle allocating peak weeks fairly across owners. Special assessment: pro-rata capital call for major repairs exceeding reserve fund. Reserve fund: savings held for the home's major future repairs. Owner's closet: lockable storage for each owner's personal items. Supported resale: operator-handled resale process. Fideicomiso: Mexican bank-trust required for foreign coastal ownership. IFI: French wealth tax above €1.3M of French real estate. Lex Koller: Swiss restrictions on foreign property ownership. NIE: Spanish foreign tax identification number.
Core fractional ownership terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| 1/8 share | Standard fractional share size; a real one-eighth share of the home; around six weeks of personal use a year |
| Property-specific LLC | A limited-liability company set up to hold a single property — one of several legal set-ups used in some markets. At COP, you own a share of the home; the legal set-up is arranged by our partner for each home and explained before you buy |
| SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) | General term for a company set up for a single purpose, such as holding one property |
| Co-ownership agreement | The co-owners' rulebook — governs operations, owner decisions, voting thresholds, resale process, dispute resolution |
| Membership register | A company's documented record of its members and their holdings |
| Membership interest | A member's ownership stake in an LLC or similar company (a general corporate-law term) |
| Rotation cycle | Multi-year (typically 8-year) cycle allocating peak weeks fairly across all owners |
| Priority window | The booking window during which a specific owner has first-priority access to specific weeks per the rotation |
| Allocated weeks | The around six weeks a year a 1/8 share entitles the owner to use |
| Owner's closet | Dedicated lockable storage space at the property for each owner's personal items |
| Annual fee | Each owner's pro-rata contribution to the home's annual operating costs |
| Reserve fund | Savings pool held for the home, funded from annual fees for major future repairs |
| Special assessment | Pro-rata capital call on owners for major repairs exceeding the reserve fund |
| Cost pass-through | Fee structure where the operator charges actual cost of operational items (utilities, taxes) without margin |
| Supported resale | Operator-handled resale process — operator markets, finds buyer, handles documentation |
| Service fee | The operator's one-time fee at original purchase covering acquisition, structuring, marketing |
Country-specific terms
| Term | Country / Definition |
|---|---|
| SCI | France — Société Civile Immobilière; French property-holding company |
| SL / Sociedad Limitada | Spain — Spanish limited company |
| SRL | Italy — Società a Responsabilità Limitata; Italian limited-liability company |
| LDA | Portugal — Sociedade por Quotas; Portuguese limited company |
| IFI | France — Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière; French wealth tax above €1.3M of French real estate |
| IMU | Italy — Imposta Municipale Unica; Italian municipal property tax |
| IBI | Spain — Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles; Spanish local property tax |
| Patrimonio | Spain — wealth tax with regional variations |
| Fideicomiso | Mexico — bank trust holding property title for foreign owners in coastal restricted zone |
| Hak Pakai | Indonesia — right-of-use leasehold-equivalent for foreign ownership |
| Lex Koller | Switzerland — federal law restricting foreign property ownership |
| NIE | Spain — Número de Identificación de Extranjero; foreign tax ID required for Spanish ownership |
| SDLT | UK — Stamp Duty Land Tax; payable at property purchase |
| NHR | Portugal — Non-Habitual Resident; tax regime largely scaled back in 2024 |
| Beckham Law | Spain — preferential tax treatment for qualifying new Spanish tax residents |
| Schengen 90/180 | EU — rule limiting non-EU visitor stays to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period |
Investment and structural terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| TIC (Tenancy in Common) | Legal structure where multiple owners hold direct undivided interests in real estate |
| Cap rate | Net operating income divided by property value; not commonly used for fractional given lifestyle-dominant returns |
| Days-to-resale | Average time from share listing to closed sale; key operator-quality metric |
| Subscription rate | Percentage of available shares currently sold for a given property |
| Right of first refusal | Operator's option in some co-ownership agreements to match third-party offers on resale |
| Cooling-off period | Statutory window (typically 7-14 days) during which a buyer can withdraw without penalty |
Where to learn more
Co-Ownership Property's FAQ library includes detailed explainers for each of these terms in standalone pages.
Further reading
Get in Touch
Speak to an expert
Tell us what you're looking for and one of our co-ownership specialists will be in touch within 24 hours.