Rapidly becoming, if not quite a media darling, at least a serious contender in the world of vacation properties, fractional ownership is on the rise in B.C.

From Whistler and the Gulf Islands to Osoyoos and the ski slopes of Fernie, many of the most exclusive resorts under construction are adopting this sales model as one way to attract well-heeled, well travelled purchasers who demand more from their vacation getaway than the traditional cottage in the country - they demand luxury and they're getting it.

Fractional ownership offers a maintenance free, distinctly hands-off approach to recreational property. Typically paired with amenities like spas, gourmet restaurants, golf and skiing, these hotel-style strata units come fully furnished - right down to the corkscrew and wall decorations. Most frequently offered on an eighth, quarter or half-share basis - although one-twelfth shares are now appearing with more regularity - each fractional interest is a fully deeded property that can be sold, mortgaged or willed to another person.

Owners have access to their property on a rotational basis - usually for one-week periods. However, when an owner isn't using the property, it is placed in a rental pool, thus generating a revenue stream that can be used to offset costs. Here, too, the emphasis is on letting professionals like Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts or Bellstar Hotels & Resorts handle the myriad details of hotel management, reservations and housekeeping.

One owner at the recently opened $31-million Painted Boat Resort Spa & Marina in Pender Harbour put it this way, "We're too busy to worry about maintenance and repairs, and we certainly didn't want just any property. Here you have 24/7 service, the amenities are of an excellence that means we can bring clients as well as family, and with the marina, we have the option of arriving by private boat or floatplane. There really is nothing else like it."

With the price of recreational properties skyrocketing, fractional ownership also makes economic sense.

"The average price of a waterfront home on the Sunshine Coast was $700,000 in 2006," says George Hare, president of RPM Recreational & Residential Project Marketing Inc., the company marketing Painted Boat and many other recreational properties throughout B.C. "By 2007, it had jumped to over $1 million. Quarter ownership lets a much larger share of the market own a five-star, million-dollar home with all the amenities at a fraction of the price."

Or, as one purchaser at the Residences at Sun Peaks put it, "I like to ski, my wife prefers the desert to the mountains, and my kids want to vacation in Hawaii. Instead of buying one property that's a compromise, for the same price I can buy a quarter interest in four properties - everyone gets what they want, everyone's happy."

Source: http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/Lifestyle/2008/06/11/5838671-sun.html