Vermont Vacation Club Bites Dust For Now

The Haystack Club, a private corporation that bought a 400-acre property for $5 million from Mount Snow, VT in 2005, has folded, at least temporarily . There just aren't the number of tourists visiting because of the unseasonably warm weather, David Dillon, president, told the Brattleboro Reformer. "That means fewer people from Boston and New York with a lot of money to join the exclusive resort are here to take tours and look over plans for luxury mountainside homes and condominiums, the paper reported.

Like Pizza, Slice of Vacation Home Better Than None

Once upon a time, even the most mid-level middle-income folks could afford a getaway shack, cottage or cabin on a lake, by the seashore or near the mountains. The place I owned in Snowmass Village in the 1980s cost us only $100,000 for a 2-bedroom condo at one of the nation's great ski resorts. Now, the same kind of money will get you only a few weeks -- a timeshare, or fractional ownership, as the sales crowd likes to call it.

There were 188 "fractional interest" projects in the U.S. in 2005 with $2-billion in sales, a 28 percent jump over 2004, according to NorthCourse.com, a research firm that keeps tabs on the market. A newspaper article recently spotlighted a California family that paid $56,000 for the use of a two-bedroom, furnished home in the Old Greenwood development (photo above) at Truckee, near Lake Tahoe, for at least 21 days a year. With their purchase of a slice of the house comes membership in the Tahoe Mountain Club, which includes access to private restaurants and recreational and spa facilities. And of course owners can take a tax deduction on the mortgage interest.

Buying With Friends? Put it in Writing

For more than a decade I owned a vacation condo in Colorado with a friend. When it came time to sell, we agreed that our "business" arrangement worked better than our marriages had! One reason: we had a written agreement as co-owners. This New York Times article points out the plusses & minuses of owning "as a team."

Portofino: First Two-Tiered Destinations Club

The universe of ultra-luxe "destination clubs" changed today as two clubs -- Portofino and Signature -- merged. According to a press release, the newly named "Portofino Destinations Club" will be the first residence club with two tiers and will "provide its members access to high-end homes all over the world: the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Italy, France and the United Kingdom."

Membership for the Portofino properties cost as much as $250,000, plus annual membership dues of up to $19,800. Signature membership costs as much as $150,000, with dues of up to $11,500. Each has a core of members in a particular region: Signature is based in Colorado while Portofino's focus is the Pacific northwest.

Vacation Home Slowdown? Not in Aspen

The bubble may be deflating elsewhere, but it's still aloft in Aspen, where the Residences at The Little Nell have set a new records for fractional purchases, According to a press release. The owners say 4-bedroom units are now going for around $2.5 million, while 3-BRs now sell for $1.475 million. That's for a 1/8 share, which guarantees 4 weeks of use, two in winter prime season and two in summer prime. Owners also may reserve two additional weeks on a first-come-first-serve basis, and may extend their stays on a space-available basis.

Got some loose change you need to spend? Visit RLN's Web site and shop for your very own unit. Don't book your flights just yet, though; the condos are still under construction adn the owners hope they'll be done in time for the 2007-2008 ski season.

More Park City News: Leaf-peep With Stein

Count on rental income? Some managing companies are better than others in promoting "off-season" packages. Example: Stein Eriksen Lodge in Deer Valley, Park City's high-end neighborhood.

From Oct.15 through Nov. 21, the ski legend's lodge (which includes many condos) offers a "Fall getaway" where guests "enjoy unsurpassed luxury and brilliant foliage," according to a press Release. One-BR suite + 3-course dinner= $99/per person. That kind of rate can boost owners' bottom line during traditionally slow times of year.

Perk for Park City Second-Home Skiers

Maybe you own own a vacation home, condo or timeshare in Park City, Utah. If so, maybe you're so wealthy you don't care about freebies. But thanks to a promotion offered by the town's three ski resorts, you can convert your airline boarding pass into a same-day lift ticket to The Canyons, Park City Mountain Resort or Deer Valley Resort. You must bring the completed, required redemption voucher, along with same-day boarding pass and out of state photo I.D., to the resort ticket window. Since an adult ticket will cost $77 at Deer Valley (the others have not yet announced daily ticket prices) that's a perk that should not be ignored.

Another 9-Figure Sale Price

First there was Prince Bandar's house in Aspen for $135-million. Then there was Donald Trump's little getaway in Palm Beach for $125-million. Now comes word of a third unbelievably pricey "vacation" home for sale -- Tommy Hilfiger's "Tranquility" on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, on the market for $100-million. A publicist for the broker, Shari Chase of Chase International, says the amenities include a cigar lounge (that's a first for me -- anyone ever hear of a cigar lounge in a private house?) and 210 "secluded" acres. The estate's main residence is 20,000 square feet. Want a peek? Call Shari at 775 588-6130.

Hot Spots Could Be Ripe for a Cooldown

These areas saw some of the biggest gains in vacation home sales between early 2001 and 2005. Now many of these markets are beginning to cool, says Fiserv Lending Solutions.

               Av Gain (2001 - 2005) Gain (2005 - 2006)
Cape May, N.J.                 16%               9%
Cape Cod, Mass.                12%               3%
Florida Keys                   24%               13%
Lake Tahoe, CA                 13%                7%

Is The Party Over?

Be worried. Be very, very worried, if you're a second-home seller. It may be time to declare officially that the bubble has burst. A front-page New York Times article today says: "The once-bustling deal making in a wide variety of popular locations for second homes -- areas like Florida, the Jersey Shore and Lake Tahoe, as well as the high-price playground on the East End of Long Island -- has slowed markedly in recent months. As the overall housing market weakens, the interest in buying vacation homes, from the most modest condominiums on up, appears to be falling faster."

Rich Folks Club Goes Bust

Kudos to the Helium Report for breaking the news of the bankruptcy of Tanner & Haley, the destination club. It filed to reorganize under Chapter 11 in July. The club gave four reasons for its problems: "costly short-term leases, memberships at extremely low annual dues, various ventures "that ultimately proved unsuccessful," and "increasingly stiff competition."

Wanted: Killington Development Partner

A branch of Centex, the big home builder, will not partner up with Killington, the Vermont ski resort, on a new village. With resorts in several states including California and Florida, Centex Destination Properties came aboard one year ago as the partner Killington and S.P. Land needed to revive plans to build 1400 units in a new ski village, according to an article in the Rutland Herald. At the time of last year's announcement, a spokesman indicated that the company's involvement was in the kicking-the-tires phase."

Categories: Vermont, Killington

A Sleeper From Sunset

McCall, Idaho? Never heard of it? That's why it's a sleeper. Sunset magazine has chosen it as one of its top choices for a second home. The mag calls it "an alternative to better-known and more expensive Sun Valley." It should be noted that McCall is also nowhere near Sun Valley. Specifically mentioned: Blackhawk, an "an environmentally aware development situated along the Payette River" which has home sites starting at less than $200,000.

Battle Mountain May Drive Real Estate near Vail

"Local real estate experts suspect the development of a private ski resort on Battle Mountain" not far from Vail, Colorado, "might drive up property values in Minturn," the town at the base of the proposed resort, according to a story in the Vail Daily. But the paper notes that earlier resorts developed by the same Ginn Company did not do much for real estate prices Florida and North Carolina.