Understanding the Cost of Holiday Home Ownership

If you’re considering a holiday home purchase, you probably want to know the bottom line. Of course, it’s more fun to browse listings and imagine yourself by the pool at your new place, looking out over blue seas or rolling hills. But cost is part of the equation, and Pacaso is committed to full transparency. We want to make sure buyers understand the cost breakdown upfront, so there are no surprises later on. Once you find a place you love, a Crew member will walk you through the costs associated with the listing. In the meantime, if you’re trying to understand the whole financial picture, our pricing model covers three main areas:

Share price
Monthly owner expenses
Pacaso’s program management fee

Here’s how we approach each cost area.

Determining the share price

When you browse Pacaso listings, the sale price reflects the cost to purchase ⅛ ownership of the property. If you want more ownership, multiply that price by the number of shares you wish to purchase, up to four (½ ownership of the property). We determine the sale price of a share by adding these costs:

Property purchase price. This one is self-explanatory — it’s the amount Pacaso paid to acquire the property on the open market.
Home upgrades and completion. We give each property a design makeover to create livable luxury — a beautifully and comfortably designed space, with all the amenities you need to enjoy your stay. This includes big-ticket items, like high-end furnishings and state-of-the-art appliances, and small details, like board games and handy kitchen gadgets. We bring in professional interior designers to customize each property, and we install the latest home technology and smart home features. We also calculate the transaction costs (agent commissions, inspections and completion costs).
Pacaso service fee. This one-time fee covers the costs of buyer aggregation (finding and vetting qualified owners) and limited company formation (including legal fees).
Financing. For buyers who choose to finance up to 70% of their purchase through Pacaso’s banking partners, a financing fee will be assessed upon completion.

A summary of these costs can be accessed via the listing details for any available Pacaso. Prospect listings are properties under consideration for purchase; we use the same criteria to estimate the share price for a Prospect, but the price may change slightly if the property becomes available for co-ownership. For example, we would determine the exact cost of upgrades once we had thoroughly surveyed the property with our design team.

Keeping the lights on

As with any property, there are utilities and other ongoing expenses associated with Pacaso ownership. These costs ensure your place is well-maintained and ready for your next stay. Because Pacaso manages the home, you don’t have to worry about any of the usual homeowner details or hassles — we take care of the bills, cleaning and maintenance, and we even handle the property tax payments. We budget for owner expenses annually and break the cost into 12 fixed monthly payments. Costs are passed through to owners, with no markup, based on the number of shares they own. Monthly payments are deposited into the limited company account, and Pacaso uses the funds to cover these expenses as needed:

Preventive and routine maintenance. Depending on the property, this may include landscaping, pool maintenance, snow removal, maintaining the heating and air conditioning systems, gutter cleaning and more.
Property management. We provide direct property management in some regions, and elsewhere we work with experienced local property management companies who take care of the day-to-day needs of the property. We’ve established a technology-enabled feedback loop between owners and property managers to ensure communication is streamlined and the quality of service is exceptional.
Cleaning. Each home is thoroughly cleaned and inspected after each owner’s stay, and household supplies, like toilet paper and kitchen paper, are replenished.
Utilities. This includes gas, electric, water, sewage, rubbish collection and internet/TV — the basics to keep your place functional.
Taxes and insurance. Pacaso manages the payments for property taxes and home insurance premiums when due. We’ll provide an annual partnership tax form for each owner.
Reserve fund. As any homeowner knows, things break or wear out, so Pacaso maintains reserves in the limited company to cover those unforeseeable or longer-term expenses, such as a roof replacement.

We will only increase monthly owner expenses if it’s needed to cover increases in actual costs of the home, such as insurance, taxes or other increased rates. Any necessary adjustments are made annually, and all cost statements are available to owners upon request.

Providing a fully managed experience

For many people considering a holiday home purchase, one of the biggest downsides is the burden of owning another property. If you only expect to use your holiday home a few weeks or months a year, you may decide to rent it out — and deal with the headaches of managing holiday rentals — or struggle to find reliable local plumbers, builders, electricians or gardeners, particularly when problems arise while you’re away from the property. Pacaso takes away these worries and hassles by managing all aspects of property ownership. We charge a program management fee of €99 per share, per month, which covers a range of services, including:

Managing the monthly ownership expenses and taxes
Ongoing property management
Maintaining the limited company and resolving any disputes between owners or the local municipality
Continually innovating and improving the Pacaso app and other digital technology
Providing dedicated owner support

The monthly management fee is fixed and will not increase annually. Pacaso is dedicated to transparency in pricing, and we believe our co-ownership model offers an equitable and cost-efficient way for more people to experience the joy of owning a holiday home.

Understanding Pacaso ownership costs

Determining the share price

Keeping the lights on

Providing a fully managed experience

Don't miss out