cottage like a millionaire

■ By Michael PrenticeSpecial to the Ottawa Business Journal

THINK OF LIFE AT the cottage, and youprobably don’t think of luxurious relaxation.Cottage life usually means lots of work. Andwho ever experienced luxury at the cottage?Most cottages are quite primitive.

You probably need to be a multi-millionaireto afford a luxuriously appointed cottage by alake, where the very rich spend a few weekseach year and where servants do all the choresand look after the place.

But shared ownership of a cottage can bringthis utopia within financial reach of many peo-ple. The concept is simple: you own a share ofthe cottage with other people,and agree on a for-mula for dividing the time each spends there.

Such a sharing arrangement is easier saidthan done, of course, as many families havediscovered after two or more people inheritthe family cottage. It can lead to squabbles overwho has the cottage when, who pays theexpenses, who fixes the place, and what hap-pens when one wants to sell and others don’t.

The solution may be to own a share of a cot-tage in a professionally-managed develop-ment, in which each owner pays a share ofcommunal costs. Each owner may sell his orher share at any time.

It is called fractional cottage ownership, andone of the first projects of its type in this part ofCanada is set to open this summer on WolfeLake, in the Rideau Lakes near the picturesquevillage of Westport, a 90-minute drive fromOttawa.

For less than $63,000, you can buy a 10-per-cent share of a luxurious, new, fully furnished,energy-efficient, 1,900-square foot, year-roundhome beside a lake and backing onto a golfcourse.

That entitles you to use the home as yourown for five one-week periods annually – oneeach in spring, summer, fall and winter, plusan additional floating week that will usually betaken in late fall or early spring.

On top of the purchase price, there areannual fees that developers say will be about$2,000 for each owner of a 10-per-cent shareof a home. This includes almost anything you

– or the developers – can think of. Includedare: Property taxes and insurance, propertymanagement, lawn maintenance and snowremoval, housecleaning, Internet access, satel-lite TV, heat, electricity and air conditioning,concierge services, barbecues, and use of aboat house (with party room) and a fleet ofcanoes and kayaks.

There will be 15 homes in the development,including – and this is a good sign – one thatwill be 100-per-cent owned by the developer,Elwin Derbyshire, and his family.

Mr. Derbyshire owns a large Canadian Tirestore in Kingston. He and members of hisfamily have been long-time cottagers aroundWestport.

The Derbyshires’ development company,Clermont Venture Corporation, paid about $1million for close to four acres of water-fronting, golf course-backing property. It’s adream location for anyone who wishes todivide cottage time between the lake and thegolf course. The development is called WolfeSprings Golf & Waterfront Resort.

The developers have been careful, in theirpromotional material, to stress differencesbetween fractional ownership and time-shares.

Over the years, many consumers havebecome disenchanted with time-share vaca-tions. Frequent complaints about time-sharesaround the world have included difficulties ingetting a vacation when and where you want;high annual service fees; and difficulty selling atime-share when you no longer want it.

Among fractional ownership’s advantages,according to Clermont, is that the buyer owns ashare of the home outright,goes to the same homeevery time, and has control over annual fees.

While each unit has only two bedrooms,there is a large, open living space on the groundfloor, combining kitchen, living room and din-ing room. There are two gas fireplaces, one in

the living room and one in the master bed-room. Over each fireplace is a 42-inch flat TV.

In addition to two separate shower rooms,there is a soaker bathtub in the master bed-room. It sits between the fireplace and the baywindow.

Once the development is complete, therewill be as many as 140 fractional owners – plusthe Derbyshires, with their 10 shares. It is notknown exactly how many part owners therewill be, since it’s possible to buy more than one(five-week) share.

So far, the project is about one-third sold,and 11 of the 15 units are under construction.Of units currently on offer, prices range from$59,900 to $84,900 for a 10-per-cent (five-week) share. On top of these prices, there isfive-per-cent GST (the other two weeks in theyear are for maintenance).

Three factors account for the price varia-tion: There is a premium for being directly onthe lake and end units on each block. Andprices vary slightly depending on which sum-mer week a buyer chooses. MatthewDerbyshire, president of Clermont VentureCorporation, said: “We are selling lifestyle andluxury.”

While the owners of each unit are collec-tively paying close to $600,000, or even more,for that unit, Mr. Derbyshire said an individualcould not buy comparable luxury in such alakefront setting at that price.

And, even if he or she could, who wants totie up $600,000 in a vacation home that will beused just a few weeks a year? ■

Page 16 ■ May 5, 2008, Ottawa Business Journal ■EXECUTIVE LIFESTYLES

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Executive Lifestyles: HOMES

Cottage like a millionaire

Illustrations supplied

Fractional ownership cottaging, like this development now under construction in the Rideau Lakes,may be the next big thing.