Feature: The Fractional Market
January 1, 2004
When Dwight Manley and his family arrived at their plush four-bedroom villa on
the ocean at Los Cabos in Baja California, they were mildly disappointed to
discover that the giant plasma television and deluxe satellite receiver could
not bring in coverage of the Evander Holyfield/James Toney fight live from Las
Vegas.
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Second homeowners who buy a wholly owned or fractional-deeded condo at the Four
Seasons Residence Club in Scottsdale enjoy the amenities of the hotel and accrue
tax and equity benefits. (Click image to enlarge)In every other respect, the 5,000-square-foot house, with its massive
swimming pool, oversize Jacuzzi and spectacular waterfall, built upon an outdoor
deck with breathtaking views of the Pacific and within walking distance of the
exclusive Esperanza Hotel, seemed to have been tailor-made for the vacationing
family. The house even came with a full-time concierge, daily maid service and a
private chef. The only thing missing was the proper satellite connection, which
Manley quietly mentioned to the concierge. “Within an hour, a guy showed up with
a new satellite box, put it in, and the fight was on,” says the 37-year-old
president of United Sports Agency, a Newport Beach, Calif., firm that manages
basketball stars.
Most people who own multiple residences spend a
considerable amount of their vacation time dealing with security, staffing and
maintenance issues that often are not addressed while they are away. In
addition, they are paying mortgages, taxes and regular maintenance expenses on
properties that are occupied only periodically or seasonally. Those
disadvantages weighed heavily on Manley’s decision. As a platinum member of
Exclusive Resorts, a Denver private residence club, he and his family have the
use of multimillion-dollar homes in 16 locations around the world—from the Villages
at Mauna Lani on Hawaii and Grand Isle Villas at Emerald Bay in the Bahamas to
private ski retreats in Deer Valley and Whistler—without the responsibility of
maintaining any of them. In the last six months, for instance, the Manleys spent
five days at New York’s Trump World Tower in addition to their two-week Los
Cabos holiday. This spring they have blocked time at private villas in Paris and
London. And by summer’s end they will have cruised the Mediterranean ensconced
within their stateroom aboard the World of ResidenSea.
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