Time share my Beach front island home ??

OK.
I have this beautiful 5 bedroom/ 3 bath 7500 sq. ft beach front home on a island in Panama on the Caribbean . The touble is I can't seem to spend as much time as I want there . Its ready for me 24/7/365 . I spend 2 months a year there on average . I love the place and the full time people I employee to keep it ready . I been thinking of Time Sharing the place with a few close friends to help offset the cost . Anybody ever do this ??

I thought if I shared it with 5 close friends it would be worth the effort . I will never sell it as My heart is too invested in the place and the locals that work for me .

Thoughts ??

Kinda confining at only 7500sf. I would be looking at something with a bit more breathing room.

How close to the canal are you?

Hey, I get a couple of paid flights to the area each year. However, I'm finding out that there are only so many "drink until you drop" days I can take with the normal people on the trips. Since I was just awarded "permanent" status in their "President's Club", I'm free to go where I want when I want. I loved Costa Rica and nearly had one of the locals we got to know take us to the canal. It was a 11 hour drive from where I was staying, so it would have taken a few extra days.

If you do, lemme know. I pack for a month in my backpack. My wife...that's a different story. We loved the area and I've read so much about the canal that I'd love to see it one day and stay long enough for my internal clock to switch to 'island time'.

Dargo said:

Hey, I get a couple of paid flights to the area each year. However, I'm finding out that there are only so many "drink until you drop" days I can take with the normal people on the trips. Since I was just awarded "permanent" status in their "President's Club", I'm free to go where I want when I want. I loved Costa Rica and nearly had one of the locals we got to know take us to the canal. It was a 11 hour drive from where I was staying, so it would have taken a few extra days.

If you do, lemme know. I pack for a month in my backpack. My wife...that's a different story. We loved the area and I've read so much about the canal that I'd love to see it one day and stay long enough for my internal clock to switch to 'island time'.

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thcri said:

How close to the canal are you?

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We are 9 miles in the Caribbean . The area is called Bocas Del Toro. Here a little primer on the area .

My actual island is Bastimentos and I am exactly 2 miles from the main island where the airport is located . I do not like all the night life noise of the local bars on the main island and my place is just far enough to see the waterfront at night without the blaring music . When we fly in from Panama City my guys have the 24' boat waiting at my secretarys and 15 minutes later I am at the house . There are no cars on my island . Only the main island has cars .
The house lacks nothing in comfort .

The Panama Canal is a hour flight . It is well worth seeing . We usually take our guest for 3 days into Panama City to see all the sites and sample the great foods that are very reasonable . It's usually at the end of their trip and finishes off a vacation they will never forget .

Bocas Del Toro - Image Results

Sounds like a dream vacation place Al.

As long as you are careful who you sublet to I doubt you'd have any problems.'
(especially since you have employees down there who would report back to you on any issue with the folks who visited; a first hand report from someone you trust.)

Have you tried out the Zipline?

mbsieg said:

Have you tried out the Zipline?

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After returning from Costa Rica I built my own zipline over my lake. We've had a few thousand runs across it with only 1 incident. We had my high school class reunion at my place this year and the zipline was a huge hit! The only problem is that the eventual 'end of the line' is a piece of railroad track. However, you have about 12' to drag your feet, step off, or have someone catch you (if you're like under 3' tall). One guy, a paramedic and decorated firefighter, somehow got laughing and forgot to catch his wife. She didn't step off or drag her feet because she thought her husband was standing there to catch her. Wham! OMG!!

I sprinted down the steps from the launch deck and around the lake to see how badly she was hurt. She really slammed the post because she took a running start to get more speed. Anyway, not only was she not hurt, she didn't even seem mad at her husband! They grabbed a couple more beers and went on over to play beach volleyball. I intend to put some sort of padding around the steel track this spring, just in case...

Doc said:

Sounds like a dream vacation place Al.

As long as you are careful who you sublet to I doubt you'd have any problems.'
(especially since you have employees down there who would report back to you on any issue with the folks who visited; a first hand report from someone you trust.)

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No kidding! A local physician who owns a chain of quick care places and is related to two of my employees spent over 8 million building a place on the island of Aruba. His trouble is that he is the top knee and hip replacement surgeon in our area and has a hard time getting away even though he even owns the surgical center. Besides being extremely good at what he does, he can generally do 5 or 6 joint replacements in a row with the way he has his OR rooms setup in a line. I'd have to think, even with his money, it's hard to pass up the money of doing 25 or 30 joint replacements in a week. After a few drinks I'm fairly sure I heard that him say that it costs him between 80k to 100k a week to pass on doing surgeries. I think I'd have a hard time relaxing on the beach for a week knowing it cost me a minimum of 75k in lost income besides the expense of the trip. Which is, BTW, why his little bungalow on the beach is for sale. I think he'd let it go for 9.5 to 10 million.

Personally, I like Al's place better. When I want a vacation, I am no longer into crowded places and being herded like cattle on trips. IMHO, when you need a week to recover from your 'vacation', it wasn't really much of a vacation. Of course, YMMV. That's why they have all sorts of vacation places.

Well sounds like a good plan Al, although I'd be awake at night though with as much love as you have in the place worrying about someone pissing off the staff or locals!

But financially it is a good way to return some of the investments.

Since you are in a position to be selective, you would probably be fine. It may take a little rearranging so you have "your things" that are not for anyone else use, but would also have general house items for the vacationers to use.

You are already set with a staff, which is good. My wife and I always leave stuff cleaner ect than we found it. But, last year my wife and a couple of her girl friends went to a friends vacation rental in Costa Rica. Neat little place. Except when a water pipe burst while they were there. Fortunately, my wife and her friend were resourceful enough to get in to crawl spaces and behind cabinets ect, to find the break, find hidden valves, and get water turned off. Our friend did have a care taker that made repairs, but it took a couple days to get the correct fittings.

I have been involved with two multi-person vacation homes. One with family, which we still have and one with friends that didn't go so good.

The problem we had with the friend house was it is a fishing destination on big water (San Jaun de Fuca) with salmon runs in certain months. Everyone had the right to be here in August and September. It just was hard to share when you have 4 friends and their guests.

The family cabin is fine. Our biggest issue is people cleaning up before they leave. This is setup as a timeshare with the 5 members having alternating weeks. So far so good.

How is the fishing over there ?

WOW that looks amazing. Is there any reason you are strapped for cash? Seems like you might run into some problems if you start time sharing it out to strangers

So do you have any updates on the property?

BigAl said:

I thought if I shared it with 5 close friends it would be worth the effort . Thoughts ??

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I want to be your friend BA...

Tasha14 said:

So do you have any updates on the property?

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I been busy with my latest new investment which is remodeling a building . It looks like it may be awhile before I can get back down to the island home .
I had planned for a couple months starting in Feb or March , but I don't see that time frame working . I can always hope

I am sure that is keeping you busy! How is everything coming? I kind of decided against the vacation home idea, but I am still looking for good places to visit. Has anyone been to Martha's Vineyard? Would you recommend it for a romantic vacation? It seems like a great place, but I would like some reviews on it from some other people! Thanks so much and I hope everything is going well!

Tasha14 said:

I am sure that is keeping you busy! How is everything coming? I kind of decided against the vacation home idea, but I am still looking for good places to visit. Has anyone been to Martha's Vineyard? Would you recommend it for a romantic vacation? It seems like a great place, but I would like some reviews on it from some other people! Thanks so much and I hope everything is going well!

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Everything is fine . I still have not found the time to go down to the Island house . This year for sure !!!
Marthas vineyard is expensive . Not my type of place .

BigAl said:

Everything is fine . I still have not found the time to go down to the Island house . This year for sure !!!
Marthas vineyard is expensive . Not my type of place .

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I allways wondered why you decided to build your little slice of Heaven in Panama BigAl, now I know.

New Panama Tourism Bureau Video

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9d9_1333074719