Fractional Ownership in France Problems
I have been researching and writing about Fractional Ownership in France for the last eighteen months - there are not many examples of properties sold in France in this way and I thought we would set up a new website to offer this so we created www.HarmonyOwnership.com to offer properties and give help and advice.
I have removed a lot of the offers from that site as the more I looked into this subject, the less “comfortable” I was feeling about the way it is being presented.
All the people I found who are selling shares seem honest, trustworthy, sincere and enthusiastic - but - I believe most will face serious financial and legal problems with their shareholders when the implications of the French tax liabilities come home to roost.
There is a recent post in my which blog touches on a couple of the points I am worried about, a writer recommends an International lawyer who I respect, but although his firm claims experience with six thousand Fractional Ownership contracts, at present they have only completed two in France.
I know of properties for sale in France which, due to bad advice, instead of reducing their capital gains each year, actually have an increasing annual capital gain liability because they bought their property in an offshore company share structure.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe Fractional Ownership is a very good way of having efficient and viable use of a property, but I consider it a luxury purchase, not an investment and I think it should be done simply and totally within a French structure with no complications of overseas ownership or associations.
Fractional Ownership, French life, Investment, living in france, Personal, Real Estate
