This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.

When Mark Chesney moved to Utah seven years ago, like most people, he was astounded by the natural beauty this state has to offer. After a few day trips into the mountains he dreamed of owning a cabin nestled in the woods. However, he faced a problem common among those contemplating a second home: he didn't want to spend $400,000 on a property he could only visit several weeks out of the year.

Mark started looking at options for purchasing property without paying so much money, but there wasn't a structure in place to make it happen. He began a journey into fractional real estate, to help make land more accessible to vacationers, and the result was GrandShare.

GrandShare is a pioneer in bringing buyers, sellers and real estate professionals together to make the process of buying or selling a fractional property a snap. Fractional ownership allows a few different people to own segments of a deed to a single property.

Mark discovered that purchasing a quarter of a property is a popular option. In a situation with four owners, each owner would get the title just for his or her legal quarter interest. They can mortgage it, pay their mortgage off or sell it just as they would any other property. GrandShare provides a carefully prepared system that attends to every detail of such a fractional purchase, then goes beyond the purchase to ensure the operation, scheduling and management of the property goes on without a hitch.

The concept is attractive to people who want to own actual property not just access like a timeshare. As such, companies such as Ritz-Carlton, Windham and others have sold fractionally, but no one was selling fractional properties to those who wanted an independent, private residence until GrandShare.

With assistance from GrandShare, Mark says it's now possible to get into a $500,000 cabin at Bear Lake or a mountain retreat near Park City for a fraction of the cost and none of the hassle.

For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.

Back