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Second-home buyers: Kirk and Sheray
Like many Bay Area residents, Kirk and Sheray enjoy spending time in Napa Valley, the quieter, slower-paced region north of the bay. Kirk, a tech-industry veteran, confesses to working “too much” and says that when he and his wife, Sheray, get away, he wants to feel like they’re really away – someplace nice, comfortable and relaxing. After staying at various vacation rentals in the Napa Valley town of St. Helena over the years, Kirk and Sheray were interested in finding a more permanent second home of their own.
The situation
Kirk and Sheray had experience with resort timeshare ownership, and they knew that wasn’t the arrangement they were looking for. They wanted a place to unwind that had everything they needed, like a vacation rental, but felt like their own home.
They initially looked at condos – a condo seemed like a practical option, as it fit their budget and had the potential to be a good investment. The downside? A condo lacked the experience they were seeking. “I could probably work from anywhere,” said Kirk, “but I didn't want to work from a condo looking out at other condos. We could afford it, but sitting out on a very small balcony looking at the pool or the other parts of ‘condoville’ did not seem very exciting.”
Then Kirk and Sheray learned about Pacaso and the concept of buying a share of a single-family home. It sounded intriguing, but they had two big questions:
- Will this feel different from a resort timeshare?
- Will we get everything we’re looking for in a home?
“We've done the timeshare thing,” said Sheray, “but the more we learned about the process from Andreas [at Pacaso] and Elizabeth [our real estate agent], it became clear that it's not a resort timeshare, it's shared ownership of a home. It feels more special, and you don’t have a ton of people coming through.”
Kirk added, “We asked a ton of questions. We had to get through the LLC concept and whether we maintained control. We were struck by the level of patience and detail from Andreas and Elizabeth.”
Since deciding to buy a Pacaso, the couple has felt right at home during their stays. “I was hesitant – was it going to feel like home away from home?” Sheray wondered. “And it did feel like home. We've been there a couple of times and the neighbors are welcoming, and it's been a great experience.”
She also described their Pacaso as “very well-appointed,” and for Kirk, the experience has been nothing like working on a cramped condo balcony. “I can sit by the pool and do my Zoom calls, and maybe I can jump in the hot tub between meetings. I work there as if I'm working from home. It’s very natural, and all the things were there that I needed, even a MacBook charger. I can just open my computer and look out and see the vineyards.”
Conclusion
For Kirk and Sheray, Pacaso has provided an ideal path to second home ownership. They enjoy all the advantages of a beautiful, private single-family home, the flexibility to stay when they choose, and a second home option that fit their budget – without having to sacrifice the experience they were looking for.
“We went back and forth,” noted Kirk. “Are we going to get the schedule that we want and everything that we need? But in the end, I knew it was successful when my wife looked at me and said, ‘I’m ready to go back to The Poolhouse.’”
