Buyer’s Q&A
What exactly do I own when I buy a co-ownership share?
You own a real share of the home — an eighth, a quarter — not a right to use it. The legal set-up is arranged by our partner for each home and walked through with you before you buy.
The short answer: You own a real share of the home — an eighth, a quarter — not a right to use it. You can sell it, pass it on to your heirs, and it rises and falls in value with the house. That is the key difference from a timeshare, where you buy a right to use a property and own no asset. Your nights in the home are set by our partner, running costs are shared between the co-owners, and the legal set-up is arranged by our partner for each home and walked through with you before you buy.
What you actually own
When you buy a co-ownership share through Co-Ownership Property, you are buying a piece of one specific home. If the home is split into eight shares and you buy one, you own an eighth of it. Buy two, and you own a quarter. The share is yours in the same way any other property you own is yours: it is an asset, not a subscription, a membership or a holiday package.
Three things follow from that:
- You can sell it. If your plans change, you sell your share, without anyone having to sell the whole house. Our partner's resale process handles the sale for you.
- You can pass it on. Your share forms part of your estate and can be left to your heirs, like any other asset you own.
- Its value follows the house. If the home rises in value, so does your share. If the market falls, your share falls with it. You take part in the property's real-estate value, in both directions.
How this differs from a timeshare
The word "share" causes confusion because timeshare has a poor reputation, and for good reason. A timeshare sells you a right to use a property (usually a week or two in a resort) for a number of years. You do not own any part of the building. There is no asset to sell at market value, nothing that rises with property prices, and often very little to pass on.
| Product | Do you own part of the home? | What you actually have |
|---|---|---|
| Co-ownership share (what COP lists) | Yes | A real share of one specific home, an eighth or a quarter, which you can sell or leave to your heirs |
| Timeshare | No | A right to use a property for set periods; no asset |
| Destination club membership | No | A membership giving access to a portfolio of homes; no ownership |
| Holiday rental | No | A paid stay; nothing owned |
| Whole-property ownership | Yes | The entire home, with all costs and all the time |
Co-ownership sits between the last row and the first: real ownership, like buying the whole house, but for a fraction of the price, the cost and the time.
How you use the home
Owning a share comes with nights in the home every year. The number of nights that comes with your share, and the way they are booked, are set by our partner for each home and explained before you buy.
You do not have to manage anything yourself. Our partner looks after the home between stays: cleaning, maintenance, repairs, bills and the booking calendar.
How the costs work
The running costs of the home (maintenance, insurance, local property taxes, utilities and management) are shared between the co-owners, in proportion to the share each one owns. You pay your part; you do not carry the whole bill as you would with a second home of your own. Our partner shows you the expected annual costs for each home before you buy, so you can see what your share will cost to hold.
Big decisions, such as selling the home or carrying out major works, are decided together by the co-owners.
The legal side
The legal set-up behind each home is arranged by our partner, and it varies with the country and the property. Before you buy, our partner walks you through exactly how it works for the home you are interested in, together with the purchase documents, so you know what you are signing.
We always recommend that buyers take independent legal advice before committing, from a lawyer in the home's country or one familiar with property purchases there. How tax works also depends on the country and the home's legal set-up, which our partner explains before you buy; independent tax advice is worth taking too.
Questions worth asking before you buy
- How many shares is the home divided into, and how big is the share I am buying?
- How many nights come with my share, and how are they booked?
- What are the expected annual running costs for my share?
- How does the resale process work if I want to sell later?
- How is the legal set-up arranged for this home? (Ask our partner to walk you through it, and have your own lawyer review it.)
Where to find co-ownership homes
Co-Ownership Property's marketplace lists only co-ownership homes where you own a real share of the property — no timeshare or right-to-use products.
Further reading
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