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: company-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 |
| Co-ownership agreement | The co-owners' rulebook — governs operations, owner decisions, voting thresholds, resale process, dispute resolution |
| 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 company charges actual cost of operational items (utilities, taxes) without margin |
| Supported resale | Company-handled resale process — company markets, finds buyer, handles documentation |
| Service fee | The company's one-time fee at original purchase covering acquisition, structuring, marketing |
Country-specific terms
| Term | Country / Definition |
|---|---|
| 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 — just over three months for homes like these |
| Subscription rate | Percentage of available shares currently sold for a given property |
| Cooling-off period | Window, set by the country and the contract, during which a buyer can withdraw with a full deposit refund |
Where to learn more
Co-Ownership Property's FAQ library includes detailed explainers for each of these terms in standalone pages.
Further reading
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