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Get that second home with fractional freehold

Catherine Deshayes

With the credit crunch tightening belts around the country, fractional freehold ownership enables you to buy a second home in the sun at a lower cost.

The Vigia Group has been offering fractional freehold ownership for more than 15 years at its resorts on the Western Algarve in Portugal, including the flagship Parque da Floresta Golf and Leisure Resort, the beachfront resort of Quinta da Fortaleza and two village house developments in Salema, The View and The View 2.

Ewa Petersson, Vigia Sales Director, said, " We developed fractional freehold options to meet the wishes of those who would love to buy their dream home abroad but feel more comfortable with a lower capital outlay. Fractional ownership also gives cautious buyers the option to test ownership abroad.

"Surveys have shown that the majority of second home owners only use their properties for approximately eight weeks per year which sometimes makes it difficult to justify the investment of an outright property.

"Especially in the current market, fractional freehold offers people a way of buying a top-quality dream home in the sun at a portion of the cost."

The simplest way to explain fractional freehold is that a group of people, usually unknown to each other owns a property; they share the investment cost, the running cost and the usage of the property in a controlled and managed way.

Each owner has full ownership rights for the period they own in perpetuity, which includes selling or renting to others, as well as the option of upgrading to buy a property outright or a larger fractional property. However, there are a few rules that needs to be followed but these are all clearly explained in the contract.

Three different schemes are available and the availability of these varies between Vigia's resorts, offering one, two or three month's use of the property per year in perpetuity.

Ms Petersson adds, "Fractional freehold has opened up the second home property ownership market to a much wider audience that would previously not have considered the idea of buying abroad".

"Our owners are varied and include families, couples, people still working, retired - really anyone who sees the sense in buying what they actually need and perhaps enjoying a better, larger property more luxurious  than they might not otherwise have been able to afford if they bought an outright property."

Properties available include:

Parque da Floresta Golf & Leisure, Western Algarve

Parque da Floresta Golf & Leisure Resort is an all-round destination situated near Lagos in the Western Algarve, Portugal. Luxury properties surround its championship 18-hole, par 71 golf course.

The large range of amenities includes a golf academy, restaurants and bars, a bowling green, floodlight tennis courts, outdoor and indoor heated swimming pools, children's pool, kid's clubs, gymnasium and a health and beauty spa.

A two-bedroom Golf Village House with communal gardens and heated swimming pools is available from €36,075 for a Twelfth Share - one calendar month's exclusive occupancy of the property, on a permanently fixed schedule in perpetuity

A Quarter Share for the above two-bedroom Golf Village House is available from €132,000 - exclusive use of the property for an average of 13 weeks each year, in perpetuity

A three-bedroom Independent Golf Villa with private heated swimming pool, garden and barbeque is available from €70,875 for a Twelfth Share - one calendar month's exclusive occupancy of the property, on a permanently fixed schedule in perpetuity

The View, Salema Beach, Western Algarve

The View is a cliff-top leisure resort overlooking the costal village of Salema comprising 55 two- and three- bedroom luxury village houses with roof terraces and a communal pool. The resort has also got a reception as well as a bar bistro where you can enjoy a cocktail by the pool or a light meal.

Salema beach and its small seaside village with a handful of shops, restaurants and bars is just a five minute walk away.

All properties will be finished to very high specifications including contemporary products and appliances from prestigious brands including De Dietrich and Porcelanosa. The fully-fitted kitchens include a washing machine, dishwasher, hob, oven, fridge-freezer and microwave.

Two-bedroom properties are available from £139,025 for a quarter share - exclusive use of the property for an average of 13 weeks each year, in perpetuity.

Contacts: Vigia Group

To browse properties in Portugal for sale, visit portugal.themovechannel.com/