Villa Maricel (with its furnishings and other equipment) is the only asset of a Jersey, Channel Islands, company that was formed solely for the purpose of owning the property. Ownership is acquired by transfer of shares, the cost of which is included in the sales price; members of the Group are the only shareholders in, and hence control this company. This provides substantial savings / fiscal advantages to a buyer and also makes disposal of a share in the group simple. A transfer of title in property in Spain otherwise typically results in extra taxes of about 5 to 15%, which is not normally included in the purchase price. Details of all these aspects and the fiscal advantages are provided to serious enquirers as part of a separate Information Package. We do however recommend that individual buyers take specialist advice on the subject for their own particular circumstances. OwnerGroups are able to recommend a number of suitable firms with expertise in this area, but do not act as advisers on this subject.

Once the group is formed with its seven owners (six plus the current owners), day-to-day management and usage allocation will initially be handled by The OwnerGroups Company under a renewable contract. Members will be required to pay their monthly share of an agreed budget, and tell OwnerGroups when they plan to use the property. The monthly payment is currently estimated to be approximately €700.

Unlike  a commercial "Fractional ownership" scheme, the agreement you sign on joining covering your rights and obligations is an agreement with your co-owners. You have no personal commitment to or relationship with the OwnerGroups Company. OwnerGroups merely handles administration for the group, and can be replaced by the owners at any time if they wish.  

Usage is based on 3 seasons of 4 months each, with each owner having an initial 2 weeks available per season, with additional weeks being available after this first round. After you make your usage requests, OwnerGroups will allocate usage accordingly, allowing owner members total flexibility to determine when they wish to use it. If two members request usage simultaneously, actual allocation will be determined by a pre-agreed priority scheme, in which each individual members’ priority varies from season to season and year to year. After such long term usage is planned, members simply advise OwnerGroups of their wish to use the property at short notice, and this is allocated on a first come, first served basis. This time allocation system is based on that used by many airlines to allocate work to their pilots and was developed by a former British Airways Captain. It results in a very high high degree of user satisfaction, as it guarantees equal opportunity to use the property at the time chosen by each owner to suit their own requirements. We are developing an on-line demonstrator to show how this works, which will be made available as soon as possible. 

Exactly how this and all the other aspects of group organisation are achieved is explained in the Membership Agreement sent to serious enquirers as part of the Information Package - see the Purchase Procedure page for details.

We would emphasise that unlike a commercial fractional ownership scheme, The OwnerGroups Company does not have any financial interest in the property or its usage. We have operated such schemes for many years with other group-owned properties with highly satisfied owners. Other than as contracted organisers of the syndicate, The OwnerGroups Company has no connection with any of the group members, and our continued appointment is subject to majority decision by the group members. No individual member of the syndicate will have overall control of the group’s funds or responsibility for routine administration.

For information about financial aspects of the group, and an explanation of the pros and cons of different forms of ownership, please follow the Finances link.