Pacaso

Pacaso and fractional co-ownership of luxury second homes

Pacaso presents itself as the creator of the modern co-ownership category, an approach to second-home ownership built from the owner's perspective. The company was founded by Austin Allison together with a team with experience at Zillow, around the idea that luxury homes should be lived in rather than left empty. Its proposition is aimed at people who want a vacation property without bearing the full cost and management of an entire house.

The model consists of acquiring a share of one specific home, ranging from one-eighth to one-half ownership. Each property is delivered designed, furnished and fully managed, so the owner finds everything ready on arrival. The company states that it takes on the management burden so that owners can focus on the use and enjoyment of the home.

How the co-ownership model works

The process described on the site is structured in several steps. The first is choosing the home among more than 75 destinations, each property selected according to a single standard. The second is deciding the size of the share, between one-eighth and one-half, adapted to the way each owner plans to use the property. The third is the delivery of the home, which is handed over already designed, furnished and managed before the owner arrives.

To this is added the possibility of exchanging part of the weeks of stay to access other Pacaso homes within the collection, which extends the use beyond the property initially acquired.

A collection of homes in more than 75 destinations

The catalogue of properties includes named homes in various locations. Among those listed are Deer Peak in Park City, Seine in Paris, Charles Street in London, Après in Vail, Casa Bianca in Florence and Tuscany, Makani in the Hawaiian Islands, Magnolia on Kiawah Island, Cedar Isle in Nantucket, Solstice in Scottsdale, Costa Azul in Los Cabos, The Palm in Napa Valley, Pacific Shores in San Diego and Morningside in Steamboat Springs.

The collection is organised between destinations in the United States and international destinations, and the site allows browsing all homes and all destinations.

Ownership, financing and sale to Pacaso

Beyond the acquisition of a share, the company includes among its services the financing of the purchase and the possibility of selling the property to Pacaso. It also offers resources such as testimonials, frequently asked questions, webinars, a blog and communities, as well as information aimed at agents.

Company, leadership and team

Pacaso is based in California and operates with a distributed workforce that the company describes as made up of technology veterans. Its leadership team includes Austin Allison as CEO and co-founder, Spencer Rascoff as co-founder and chairman, David Kallery as president and Alvaro Cortes as chief financial officer, among other directors responsible for operations, technology, sales, marketing, product, acquisitions and legal affairs.

The company states that it is committed to the principles of fair housing and equal housing opportunity.