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Fine art. Adore Andrew
Wyeth? Pine for Pablo Picasso? If you want to cut back on buying
artwork that can cost thousands of dollars, and get a tax break
to boot, you could fractionally own it with a museum. Many
patrons, instead of donating their art after death, are co-owning
it while they're alive, with the painting in the museum for half
the year and in their house the other half, or letting a gallery
have part of a collection instead of all of it. Smaller museums
that wouldn't be able to afford the painting can benefit, and donating
valuable art for part of the year can provide the individual some
serious tax breaks. See the Bankrate
feature, "Leaving a legacy, large and small," to learn more about donating art to museums.
Yachts. You could buy a $2.38 million yacht, or fractionally own one from SeaNet,
based in Newport Beach, Calif., and pay $397,000. You get to use it from 54 days to 108 days a year, depending on whether you own one-sixth of the boat, or one-third.
Vineyards. In Napa Valley, at the Calistoga Ranch, if you have an extra $400,000 or more, you can own the right to come and go as you please at the various lodges, as long as you call ahead. The idea is that you have this vacation home, without the hassle of maintenance and with various perks, like a place to store your wine. You can go on a balloon ride at a moment's notice, or have your private chef come to your lodge. It's expensive, to be sure, but cheaper than hiring a private chef to stay in your vacation home year around and hiring a spa staff and maintaining all of the other luxuries the spa provides.
The best companies strive to give the fractional owners an experience like no other, because that's what people are paying for.
"The main thing I like about fractional ownership is that there are no management headaches," says Shemin. "For me not to have to fix the car, or worry about keeping it clean, that, to me, is worth a lot of money. It's really not about the money, it's about the time. Owning stuff 100 percent is great, but it's a hassle."
Shemin says he recently took a look for himself at
a company that offers fractional ownership for mansions and yachts.
One reason, he says, is because of the opportunity cost. "Yeah,
I can spend $1 million and buy a house or yacht, but then
the money is tied up. With fractional ownership, you spend less,
and you can use that extra money to invest. A lot of people don't
think about that."
Geoff Williams is a freelance writer based in Loveland,
Ohio.
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