LFG Fractional Ownership News Blog

Sherman Potvin, the CEO & Founder of Luxury Fractional Guide, was featured in the June 2009 issue of Perspective Magazine, a leading publication covering the shared ownership industry. The three-page in-depth interview covered Potvin’s background in the fractional industry, details of his new Fractional Homes International fractional real estate franchise program, and his plans for his fractional exchange program, Luxury Fractional Exchanges. Click here to view a PDF of the article, titled “The Single Home in the Fractional Marketplace”, or click here to view the entire June issue of Perspective Magazine.

Potvin launched Fractional Homes International in November 2008. Its mission is to bring fractional ownership to mainstream acceptance among vacation home sellers and buyers worldwide through its network of franchisees, who earn the designation of Certified Fractional Professional. The next FHI franchisee training session will be held in October 2009 in Utah. FHI is the third fractional real estate company founded by Sherman Potvin, joining Luxury Fractional Guide and Luxury Fractional Exchanges. To find a fractional real estate consultant, or learn more about FHI’s franchise program, please visit www.FractionalHomesIntl.com.

Fractional Homes International (FHI) announced today that it now has Certified Fractional Real Estate Professionals in 11 states and 2 countries who are focusing on the fast-growing trend of fractional ownership of single-family vacation homes. Launched by leading fractional real estate consultant Sherman Potvin, FHI’s network of highly trained professionals specialize in the art of converting whole-ownership vacation homes into prime fractional vacation properties. Read the rest of this entry »

Fractional Real Estate Trends 2008-2009

by Sherman Potvin

Even in the economic downturn of 2008, the fractional market was still the fastest growing real estate product. Luxury Fractional Guide itself has seen its listings and traffic grow exponentially.

Despite the economy, fractional real estate is steadily selling, and. They might not be selling as quickly, but people are still buying. One of the biggest issues impacting fractional sales in this market is the lack of both developer and consumer financing. With the economic downturn that we’ve experienced in the past year, financing is near impossible to get right now.

Many of the larger, branded companies are not feeling this impact because they have their own in-house financing. Smaller resorts private developers are more and more local lenders issuing fractional financing. There are pockets around the country where banks understand fractional funding and the quality of the people seeking the funding, and they are continuing to loan money. Perhaps it is because they understand that there is rarely a problem with 2^nd home consumer borrowers. They’re high end people with high credit scores and great credit history. The only thing that’s holding anyone back right now from funding consumers is that the lenders still aren’t confident that they understand the product. I predict that not only one, but three or more big companies will come into this marketplace and provide funding.

Looking Forward to 2009 Read the rest of this entry »