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Co-ownership company Pacaso is driven by wanting as many people as possible to understand what it’s like to own a second property, as well as to own the experience itself.
To that end, the company is launching Pacaso Now, a temporary, low-down payment option that allows buyers to test-run what the company promises.
A 5-percent-down option for a one-eighth share, announced January 5, offers new share owners three options after 12 months. They can choose to continue owning by paying the remaining deposit, apply the 5 percent to another Pacaso home, or walk away without penalty, minus the introductory down payment.
Pacaso Now is being made available on a handful of listings, such as homes in Lake Tahoe, Napa and Malibu, California, as well as in Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Miami Beach, Florida; and Avalon, New Jersey.
The company referenced market conditions as a primary driver for creating Pacaso Now, saying in an email to Inman that challenging economic conditions impact those on the fringes of the second home market more than high net-worth individuals.
Participants can pay using a multitude of methods, including credit card or cash, either in a single lump sum or in two equal six-month installments, one at closing, the other six months later. The company enables those who have cryptocurrency to pay for traditional Pacaso shares.
“Buyers leveraging the Pacaso Now payment program can not access financing until year two of ownership. At that time, they will be eligible for a loan at current market rates. Financing fees would apply, per usual,” the company said.
Pacaso has introduced a range of ancillary services to support its owners and attract attention to its model, such as early notifications of new property shares, agent equity bonuses, partnerships with luxury travel services, national agency awareness programs, local service provider relationships and the opportunity for a single agent to be paid up to eight times on a single listing.
The company’s co-ownership approach is often, incorrectly, bundled with vacant vacation homes and the stigma many residential communities attach to short-term rentals. Pacaso counters that with the idea that its homes are designed to address the very issue of unoccupied or periodically rented second homes. Owners are not allowed to rent Pacaso shares and the concept of multiple owners of a single property greatly increases its rate of occupancy.
Pacaso has properties on both coasts of the United States, the mountain west, Spain, London, and Mexico.
It was founded by Austin Allison, who created Dotloop and sold it Zillow, and Spencer Rascoff, co-founder and former CEO of Zillow.
