Buyer’s Q&A
How does Co-Ownership Property make money?
Referral commission from the established operators we work with — paid only when a buyer transacts. We don't charge buyers anything, and we don't take inventory positions.
The short answer: Co-Ownership Property earns referral commission from the established operators we work with — paid only when a buyer we introduce successfully transacts. We don't charge buyers anything, we don't take inventory positions, and we don't earn anything from publishing editorial coverage of operators we don't work with directly. This commission structure is standard for independent marketplaces in real estate (Rightmove, Zoopla and similar work the same way at scale) and aligns our incentives with helping buyers find the right operator, not just transacting.
The model in plain English
Co-Ownership Property (COP) is an independent marketplace for single-property co-ownership listings. Our economic model is straightforward: when a buyer we introduce to an operator successfully purchases a share, the operator pays us a referral commission as a percentage of the transaction. This is the same way Rightmove, Zoopla, Idealista and similar real-estate marketplaces work at scale — buyers don't pay; vendors (operators in our case) do.
What COP charges buyers
Nothing. There is no membership fee, no buyer-side transaction fee, no premium tier, no paywall on any of our editorial content. Browsing the marketplace, comparing operators, reading the buyer's guides, and being introduced to an operator are all free for buyers.
How the referral commission works
When a buyer we introduce purchases a share, the operator pays COP a percentage of the transaction value. The exact percentage varies by operator and is privately negotiated with each. The buyer never sees this commission added to their headline price — operators include it in their standard cost base, the same way they would account for any marketing acquisition cost.
Critically: the buyer pays the same price whether they come through COP or directly to the operator. We don't add to the buyer's cost.
What this means for editorial independence
Two principles we hold to. First, we publish editorial coverage of many operators we don't currently work with — comparison guides, market research, neutral profiles. This editorial doesn't earn anything; it exists to help buyers make informed decisions across the category. Second, we don't favour partners in editorial framing. Comparison pages between partners and non-partners are written to be useful, not promotional. Our long-term business depends on being trusted by buyers more than on any single transaction.
What we don't do
Five things COP explicitly doesn't do that some real-estate marketplaces do. We don't take inventory positions (we don't own or co-own any of the properties listed). We don't charge for listings (operators don't pay to be featured). We don't run paid promotional placement. We don't share buyer contact details without buyer consent (we connect buyers to operators only when buyers ask). We don't profit from buyers researching but not transacting — research-only buyers cost us nothing and we treat them the same as transaction-bound buyers.
Why we work with the operators we do
We work with operators that meet four criteria: they use property-specific LLC structures (not shared corporate vehicles); they have documented resale processes; they have a track record of completed transactions across multiple properties; and their inventory is in destinations buyers actually ask us about. Operators that don't meet these criteria aren't part of our partner network — we may still cover them editorially, but we don't introduce buyers to them.
The economic logic
For an operator, COP referral commission is a cost-of-acquisition for high-intent buyers. For a buyer, COP is a free neutral starting point for comparing operators. The model only works long-term if buyers find COP genuinely useful — which is why our editorial independence and operator-neutrality are commercial necessities, not just principles.
Who runs COP
Co-founded in 2022 by David Olsson and Dylan Olsson. Based in London and Marbella. See about us for fuller background and is COP independent? for confirmation that we have no operator-ownership relationship.
Where to start using COP as a buyer
The marketplace is the starting point. Browse, filter by destination or price, read the comparison guides, and request an introduction when you've narrowed the field.