ownership
Group or fractional ownership is a basis by which individuals share the ownership of an expensive asset with shares in that asset being sold to individual owners. Sharing an asset allows shareholders many of the benefits of full ownership while avoiding many of the problems associated with full ownership.
At Hope Barton Group Ownership allows individuals to share in the ownership of one or more cottages and grounds and so is a form of second home ownership. For many individuals it combines flexibility with greater choice and peace of mind.
Each of the 17 barns and 3 apartments has 10 owners who each choose 5 weeks to suit individual requirements. Our system of rotating priorities each year guarantees complete fairness to each owner by enabling them to plan and vary their chosen weeks from year to year. 2 of the weeks are in high season, 1 is in mid season and the other 2 are in the remainder of the year. As an owner you can use all or some of your chosen weeks, rent them out directly or more commonly through our managers, or, through membership of RCI (the international holiday exchange company) exchange some of your weeks for a holiday anywhere in the world with a guarantee of similar high quality accommodation to Hope Barton.
Membership prices start from just £13,000 and a full list is shown below.
| Bedrooms | Bathrooms | Sleeps | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 1 | 3 | £13,000 |
| 1 | 1 | 2 + 2 | £18,000 |
| 2 | 1 | 4 + 2 | £30,000 |
| 2 | 1 + cloak | 4 + 2 | £32,000 |
| 2 | 2 | 4 + 2 | £40,000 |
| 3 | 2 | 6 + 2 | £46,500 |
| 4 | 3 | 8 + 2 | £62,000 |
Each property has the legal security of a 125 year lease, through its own limited company, which is renewable by the the management company "Hope Barton Owners Association Ltd" which owns the total freehold of the buildings and land. As an owner of a share in a cottage you automatically become a shareholder in Hope Barton Owners Association Ltd and therefore become a "Group Owner" in the land, livestock, leisure buildings, and all profits from the farm, catering and other activities which help to reduce the annual cost of upkeep.
All 200 owners of the five week shares in cottages are therefore also joint members of Hope Barton Owners Association Limited, the management company created to run the day to day business of Hope Barton. Appointed by and totally answerable to the Board of the Owners Association, the management team are responsible for the monitoring, day to day maintenance of your property, the grounds, and all business operations relating to cottage usage, rentals and sales. The Board of Directors comprises 5 owners appointed by the owners on a rotating term of 3 years. The Board provides the direction and support to the management through board meetings. In addition we have an AGM, combined with a social dinner, which is always well attended.
You can rest assured that your property and your investment is safeguarded in every way. The owners run Hope Barton as they wish without any outside interference from development companies or similar commercial organisations. Our accounts are prepared and kept by the managers, audited independently by chartered accountants and are available in full for inspection by any owner.
Whilst as with any other investments the value of your share can go up or down, since the inception of Hope Barton Barns in 1990 most owners have seen their shares rise in value over the period. The same cannot be said for most timeshare sales.
This investment is for you, your family and their families for many years to come. You are investing in your leisure time and whilst you could rent out some or all of your five weeks each year and earn a good return from this income (our larger cottages rent out for some £2,000 a week in high season), that is not the manner in which we tend to promote the sale of Hope Barton cottage shares. We want owners and their families to come and share the uniqueness of Hope Barton, its different seasons, the wildlife, the coastal walks - it really is a beautiful part of South Devon.
All the original 200 shares were sold by the end of the development in 1997. Many owners have multiple shares, some up to 20 weeks a year, in the same or different cottages. All our present shares are re-sales from existing owners whose family circumstances may have changed, they may be upgrading to a larger unit or who are now retiring to the area.
Whilst many would attempt to compare our unique group ownership with timeshare, we are distinctly different in our legal structure, our private operation and the protection of your investment by the owners themselves.
We do utilise the positive benefits of timeshare through our affiliation with RCI, the international holiday exchange company.
Hope Barton has been an RCI Gold Crown resort since 1994, which puts it in the top 10% of RCI's 25,000 resorts worldwide.
Hope Barton Barns
Hope Cove
South Devon
TQ7 3HT
Tel: 01548 561393
Fax: 01548 560938