An innovative new lender is giving borrowers with excellent credit the opportunity to finance destination club and shared luxury property purchases.

It appears to me that the fractional ownership vacation home industry has been dancing around a topic of fundamental importance for too long - the mark-up or "premium" charged to fractional buyers.

The Cape Codder Residence Club offers the only fractional ownership opportunity in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Fractional or shared ownership vacation homes are a rapidly growing segment (over 30 percent in 2006) of the real estate market. Fractional real estate sales were about $1.6 Billion in 2006 and are expected to continue to grow over the next several years. Most of these fractional real estate sales may be attributed to resort and niche fractional projects rolled out by large hotel operators, such as Marriott, Four Seasons, Starwood, and Ritz Carlton (“resort fractionals”).

In theory, the condo-hotel purchase sounds like a solid investment. Pay an amount up front, and get money back monthly when the hotel rents out your unit. Many investors couldn’t wait to get into this market. They whole-heartedly believed that their monthly costs would not only be covered, but that they would have money to put back in their pockets.

We did an article on fractional mortgages a year ago, but with the overall economic climate and particularly the changes in the mortgage market, with mortgage lenders generally applying much stricter lending standards, it's time for an update.

When looking at Private Residence Clubs and Luxury Fractionals, you might come across some unfamiliar terms. This glossary describes some of the most commonly used terms.

Ragatz Associates just released their latest annual survey of fractional homes, private residence clubs and destination clubs in North America. The overall combined sales were $2.3 billion in 2007, up 8.3 per cent from 2006.

The New York-based Luxury Institute just completed a survey of wealthy individuals and asked them about branded private residence clubs. In this Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) the St. Regis Residence Club won top honors.

An emotional experience is quintessential for a memorable vacation. Renowned hotelier Tom LaTour believes this with all his heart and created LaTour Signature Group to bring a relationship-based vacation experience to the world of fractional ownership.

Under a headline that read "A light shines amid the gloom" the Financial Times reported that private residence clubs are retaining investors interest.

Are you in the market for a Luxury Fractional or Private Residence Club (PRC)? Do your homework and ask the following questions to help ensure blissful vacations for years to come.

The luxury fractional home ownership market has its many benefits: flexibility of travel dates, ability to invite family and friends, limited maintenance responsibilities, and the list continues. But for people looking to add a wide variety of destinations to their repertoire, fractional ownership can fall short of some travelers' lofty expectations.

Variety - this term often has a positive connotation; however, with private residence club (PRC) and luxury fractional reservation systems, variety can equal confusion. There are dozens of clubs out there and several different ways to organize usage plans.

A home overlooking the 18th green of the Old Course at St Andrews has just been made available to 12 golf enthusiast owners.

There's something new in the air. Élan Collection co-founders are changing the face of private residence clubs.

Epiphany Clubs and Resorts will be hosting private events in a number of cities this fall. A select group of guests will enjoy an evening event outlining the benefits of Membership and the Epiphany experience at The Club at Solaris in Vail and The Club at Tristant in Telluride.

The International Herald Tribune estimates that there are fewer than 25 fractional developments in Europe, with just a few thousand fractional owners.

So you've decided fractional property ownership is for you. You realize that owning a second home is not as economical or practical as you once thought because you only use it a fraction of the year. You want the best, most desirable location without having to worry about upkeep or finding renters when you are not using the property. But before you buy, you still have some burning questions.

One of the strongest selling points of fractional ownership properties has long been the flexibility that it affords owners. However while the opportunity to purchase a fractional ownership property at a single destination is appealing to some, for globetrotting clientele being tied to a given destination resort can be less than ideal. Enter: the luxury fractional trading program.