Lake Tahoe Rated Among the Top 5 Places to Own a Summer Home

Good new for Tahoe! According to this recent survey from SmartMoney.com, Lake Tahoe was ranked among the Top 5 Places to Own a Summer Home. The survey tells about some of the great things Lake Tahoe has to offer. I’m not sure where you can find a lake front property for around $250,000 though!

Top 5 Places

Whole Ownership or Fractional?

What is this property ownership called a fractional? If you buy a 1/5 fractional of a property, how does that work? I was recently asked a few silly questions such as: “If you buy a 1/5 of the property does that mean you get the kitchen and the master bedroom and someone else gets other portions of the house? Or do you get to use the property from 5:00 to 10:00 in the evening?” But really, what does the ownership of a fractional look like? And is it really the way to go? There are many advantages to this type of property ownership and it is becoming more and more popular.

One huge advantage of a shared ownership is the cost. A home that would cost around $1,500,000 to $2,000,000 for a full ownership could be purchased as a fractional for $285,000 to $400,000. If someone is looking to spend $400,000 on a second home, they could get a 2 or 3 bedroom, smaller house in Tahoe Donner or a fractional of a 4 to 5 bedroom upper end home. Plus, the fractional home that they purchase is turnkey. There are no added expenses such as furnishings and dishware.

Another huge advantage of a shared ownership is the low amount of maintenance. Fractional ownerships typically have a property manager who oversees all maintenance which is one less thing the owner has to deal with. The cold weather in Truckee this winter caused many ice dams and damage from the freezing temperatures. Many second homeowners are not able to get up every weekend to check on their home and keep up on the required maintenance and end up paying for it in repairs.

Another thing to take into consideration when deciding on a full or shared ownership is how often the owners plan on using the property. If the homeowner is looking to only use the property a few weekends out of the year and if they can plan in advance, it definitely makes sense to pay only for the amount of time they will be using. Many usage plans for fractional ownerships give the homeowner around 8 weeks per year. There is also unlimited spontaneous use which means that if the property is ever not being used one weekend, any homeowner can call and reserve the property for the time that is available. Owners are sometimes allowed to trade weeks or rent out their weeks if they are unable to use them which is another advantage.

Shared ownerships are certainly not for everyone. If the property owner lives fairly close by and would like to decide to come up and use the house last minute, the fractional ownership is not ideal for them. Property owners have to plan their usage weeks ahead of time and it is not guaranteed that they will be able to use the house at any given moment.

The big draw for fractional owners is how easy this type of property ownership is. All you have to bring is clothes, food, family or friends and the rest of the property is ready for your arrival and enjoyment. I have heard that some fractional properties even put out all of your personal belongings such as picture frames and decorations that are specific to the property owner. Talk about service!

Search Fractionals in: Northstar Tahoe Donner Old Greenwood/Truckee

Tahoe Donner Weekly Market Update

Over the past few months, there had consistently been around 135 homes listed on the market in Tahoe Donner.  Just in the past couple weeks, we have noticed quite an increase in the inventory. There are currently 156 active listings in Tahoe Donner. 23 homes are under contract. This is also a fairly consistent number and has stayed right around 22 for the past few months. 6 homes sold in the last week with the highest priced one at $1,110,000 and the lowest priced house at $427,000. The average days on market was 92 days.