Author: Warren Gilmore - Law Student
Edited By: Ryan Carson
As the summer of 2021 quickly approaches many Ontarians revisit considerations of investing in recreational and cottage properties. Many individuals have been deterred in the past from diving into this market due to concerns surrounding winterization, and various other maintenance demands involved in cottage property ownership. Prospective buyers who may have found themselves in this camp in the past may find attractive the increasing trend in this area of real estate, a move towards condominium and time share approaches to cottage country living. These alternative approaches present their own unique set of benefits.
Resort Style Condominiums
Resort condominium developments are ideal for those who have always wanted to enjoy the pleasures of cottage living, but for a variety of reasons have found the more traditional approaches to be impractical. Resort condominium developments allow individuals to purchase property providing them year-round access to cottage country, while relieving them of the heavy lifting involved in the care and maintenance of these types of properties.
Many of these developments also provide options for rental management of your individual unit. This allows individual owners to maximize the utility of their property, generating rental income from their units, without having to devote significant time and resources of their own to dealing with the array of responsibilities required of a landlord. To facilitate these advantages, resort developments typically include condo and maintenance fees that are higher than normal. These developments also include agreements provisions that tend to be more restrictive in regards to how unit owners are permitted to use and customize their individual units. This is done in order to maintain a greater sense of uniformity throughout the resort, helping to facilitate an easier rental process overall.
Resort condominiums are governed by the Condominium Act, 1998. An experienced real estate lawyer will be familiar with the inner workings of this act, and will be able to ensure that your interests are best protected, should you elect to go this route.
Time shares
Time shares are another alternative approach to cottage real estate that offer their own unique benefits. Some of these arrangements involve ownership linked to condominium resort developments as detailed above. These arrangements typically allow for an owner to enjoy occupancy of their unit during specifically allotted times of the year. The obligations of owners in these arrangements tend to be proportional to the amount of time they will physically occupy the unit themselves.
Timeshares can also involve co-ownership of a particular unit shared with other individual owners, rather than with the condominium development directly. This avenue provides purchasers with the ability to share ownership of the property with individuals they know, or with unknown third parties facilitated by the development. These arrangements are ideal for individuals who feel that their limited use of the property would not otherwise justify the purchase of 100% ownership. The specific types time shares mentioned here certainly do not include an exhaustive list, as many variations exist.
It is important to note that these time share arrangements are not governed by the Condominium Act, 1998. Instead, they tend to be governed by the specific terms of the agreements themselves. These agreements tend to include complex ordinances and ownership provisions, due to the unique nature of one’s interest in these properties. Therefore, it is essential to have these agreements reviewed thoroughly by an experienced real estate lawyer in order to best protect yourself.
If you have always wanted to purchase property in cottage country, but have found the traditional methods unfeasible, these alternative approaches may allow you to enjoy cottage living on terms that best suit your lifestyle.
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