Traveling is one of my favorite things in life. But sometimes the process of getting to where you want to go can be suboptimal. Thursday was one of those days. Bianca and I were flying Air France to Paris and then had a connection to the south. But about 5 hours into our flight, they shut off all the TVs and informed us that, due to a technical issue with the plane, we'd be making an emergency landing in either Dublin or Brest (in northwest France). The technical issue was an unidentified burning smell.
We ended up at Brest Bretagne Airport and got the opportunity to explore this small and almost food-less airport for about 10 hours. For some reason, they had to split our flight into two planes. So what Air France did was fly a special plane to Brest to pick up and fly group number one to Paris, fly it back to Brest to pick up group number two, and then return to Paris. We were in group number two. By the time we arrived in Paris it was close to midnight local time and we had, naturally, missed our connection a long time ago.
Air France was great, though. They set us up in a nice hotel (Pullman by Accor), gave us boxed dinners, toiletry bags, and complimentary Air France t-shirts, and scheduled us on a new flight first thing in the morning. But then, airport staff found an unidentified bag at Charles de Gaulle. So naturally, the airport went into lockdown. I later learned that when situations like this happen, and they can’t figure out who the bag belongs to, they will often use something known as a water cannon disruptor to neutralize what could be a bomb.
As I understand it, the way it works is it shoots out a high-velocity jet of water that rips through the bag and any possible wires and switches before they have time to detonate any explosives. Most of the time it’s just a bag that somebody carelessly forgot at the airport, but you never know. Safety first. Apparently this happens relatively often at large airports like CDG.
Once that safety protocol was complete, and the bang of the cannon had gone off, we were on our way, only to discover that we had already missed the last airport train. So the final leg of our journey to Paris ended up being us splitting an Uber with a nice French woman who was just in Toronto visiting a host family that she lived with to learn English. That was our travel "day."
But now that the traveling part is over, it's time for the fun bits. So, what can you expect on this blog?
As usual, I'll be posting daily. But expect more travel-related content and photoblogs. The laser distance measuring of impossibly narrow streets. Gratuitous posts about European-style urbanism. A comprehensive review of the "aparthotel" we booked in Paris (which also happens to be a real estate asset class that I'm increasingly interested in). And likely some takeaways from the meetings I have scheduled with French architects and developers.
Enjoy the long weekend, everyone.
Cover photo taken at Brest Bretagne Airport during our 10-hour layover
Pacaso, which is a relatively new (2020) co-ownership vacation home company, has been making the rounds online lately. That’s because the founders are accomplished, they’ve reserved their Nasdaq ticker, and they’re raising money from retail investors through their website.
Fractional ownership is a topic we’ve discussed a number of times on the blog. And as I’ve said before, I think it’s an answer to this real estate problem: “I have a desire to own a home, or multiple homes, around the world. However, I don’t know how often I’d actually use it/them, and this desire is both expensive and a pain in the ass.”
So it’s not surprising that the market invented timeshares, membership clubs, and fractional ownership models. Timeshares, however, have a bad rap and generally don’t involve the direct ownership of real estate. Instead, what you’re buying is the right to use a property during a certain period of time.
Fractional ownership, on the other hand, typically does involve direct ownership of the asset. In the case of Pacaso, my understanding is that each property is acquired through a single-purpose entity (usually a US LLC). Buyers then acquire a membership interest in that SPE.
This is obviously better. It’s how most real estate projects are structured legally. But there remain a number of important questions about this model: Are fractional shares in a vacation home liquid? How big is the market? And should owners expect appreciation over time?
I haven’t seen great data on this ownership model. There are lots of fractional opportunities and, in theory, a 100% sale of the home could always be offered — which should appreciate like any other property in the market. But selling fractional shares is always going to be less liquid and more challenging.
Maybe that’s okay. Maybe it’s best to think of it more like a consumer good than a real estate investment. But then, why not just spend your money on hotels when you vacation?
This could be my developer GP bias at work — where I’d rather not own an asset with a bunch of strangers and have no control — but I have a hard time getting my head around the fractional ownership model. I think it serves a very clear desire in the market. But is it a good business, and is it the optimal way to buy a vacation home?
Note: None of this is financial advice.
It has been over four years since the Surfside tragedy in South Florida and the partial collapse of the 12-storey Champlain Towers South building. In response to this, the state of Florida enacted stricter condominium regulations. Buildings over 30 years old (or over 25 years if located within three miles of a coast) must now undergo mandatory structural inspections. Condominium reserve funds are also required to be fully funded, and owners can no longer waive or reduce the contributions. Surprisingly, this was not the case before.
The site itself has also moved forward. In May 2022, Dubai-based DAMAC International acquired the 1.8-acre parcel for $120 million. They hired Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) and, in 2023, submitted designs to the Town of Surfside. Earlier this year, pre-construction condominium sales launched for The Delmore — with a starting price of $15 million and an average price of $40 million. And this month, the developer announced that they have secured a foundation permit.
With only 37 condominiums in the project, the land cost alone works out to over $3.2 million per suite.
Rendering via DAMAC
Traveling is one of my favorite things in life. But sometimes the process of getting to where you want to go can be suboptimal. Thursday was one of those days. Bianca and I were flying Air France to Paris and then had a connection to the south. But about 5 hours into our flight, they shut off all the TVs and informed us that, due to a technical issue with the plane, we'd be making an emergency landing in either Dublin or Brest (in northwest France). The technical issue was an unidentified burning smell.
We ended up at Brest Bretagne Airport and got the opportunity to explore this small and almost food-less airport for about 10 hours. For some reason, they had to split our flight into two planes. So what Air France did was fly a special plane to Brest to pick up and fly group number one to Paris, fly it back to Brest to pick up group number two, and then return to Paris. We were in group number two. By the time we arrived in Paris it was close to midnight local time and we had, naturally, missed our connection a long time ago.
Air France was great, though. They set us up in a nice hotel (Pullman by Accor), gave us boxed dinners, toiletry bags, and complimentary Air France t-shirts, and scheduled us on a new flight first thing in the morning. But then, airport staff found an unidentified bag at Charles de Gaulle. So naturally, the airport went into lockdown. I later learned that when situations like this happen, and they can’t figure out who the bag belongs to, they will often use something known as a water cannon disruptor to neutralize what could be a bomb.
As I understand it, the way it works is it shoots out a high-velocity jet of water that rips through the bag and any possible wires and switches before they have time to detonate any explosives. Most of the time it’s just a bag that somebody carelessly forgot at the airport, but you never know. Safety first. Apparently this happens relatively often at large airports like CDG.
Once that safety protocol was complete, and the bang of the cannon had gone off, we were on our way, only to discover that we had already missed the last airport train. So the final leg of our journey to Paris ended up being us splitting an Uber with a nice French woman who was just in Toronto visiting a host family that she lived with to learn English. That was our travel "day."
But now that the traveling part is over, it's time for the fun bits. So, what can you expect on this blog?
As usual, I'll be posting daily. But expect more travel-related content and photoblogs. The laser distance measuring of impossibly narrow streets. Gratuitous posts about European-style urbanism. A comprehensive review of the "aparthotel" we booked in Paris (which also happens to be a real estate asset class that I'm increasingly interested in). And likely some takeaways from the meetings I have scheduled with French architects and developers.
Enjoy the long weekend, everyone.
Cover photo taken at Brest Bretagne Airport during our 10-hour layover
Pacaso, which is a relatively new (2020) co-ownership vacation home company, has been making the rounds online lately. That’s because the founders are accomplished, they’ve reserved their Nasdaq ticker, and they’re raising money from retail investors through their website.
Fractional ownership is a topic we’ve discussed a number of times on the blog. And as I’ve said before, I think it’s an answer to this real estate problem: “I have a desire to own a home, or multiple homes, around the world. However, I don’t know how often I’d actually use it/them, and this desire is both expensive and a pain in the ass.”
So it’s not surprising that the market invented timeshares, membership clubs, and fractional ownership models. Timeshares, however, have a bad rap and generally don’t involve the direct ownership of real estate. Instead, what you’re buying is the right to use a property during a certain period of time.
Fractional ownership, on the other hand, typically does involve direct ownership of the asset. In the case of Pacaso, my understanding is that each property is acquired through a single-purpose entity (usually a US LLC). Buyers then acquire a membership interest in that SPE.
This is obviously better. It’s how most real estate projects are structured legally. But there remain a number of important questions about this model: Are fractional shares in a vacation home liquid? How big is the market? And should owners expect appreciation over time?
I haven’t seen great data on this ownership model. There are lots of fractional opportunities and, in theory, a 100% sale of the home could always be offered — which should appreciate like any other property in the market. But selling fractional shares is always going to be less liquid and more challenging.
Maybe that’s okay. Maybe it’s best to think of it more like a consumer good than a real estate investment. But then, why not just spend your money on hotels when you vacation?
This could be my developer GP bias at work — where I’d rather not own an asset with a bunch of strangers and have no control — but I have a hard time getting my head around the fractional ownership model. I think it serves a very clear desire in the market. But is it a good business, and is it the optimal way to buy a vacation home?
Note: None of this is financial advice.
It has been over four years since the Surfside tragedy in South Florida and the partial collapse of the 12-storey Champlain Towers South building. In response to this, the state of Florida enacted stricter condominium regulations. Buildings over 30 years old (or over 25 years if located within three miles of a coast) must now undergo mandatory structural inspections. Condominium reserve funds are also required to be fully funded, and owners can no longer waive or reduce the contributions. Surprisingly, this was not the case before.
The site itself has also moved forward. In May 2022, Dubai-based DAMAC International acquired the 1.8-acre parcel for $120 million. They hired Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) and, in 2023, submitted designs to the Town of Surfside. Earlier this year, pre-construction condominium sales launched for The Delmore — with a starting price of $15 million and an average price of $40 million. And this month, the developer announced that they have secured a foundation permit.
With only 37 condominiums in the project, the land cost alone works out to over $3.2 million per suite.
Rendering via DAMAC
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