Published: June 29, 2008 12:38 am      

Lake house sharing

Second Homes at Deep Creek Lake offers unique way to vacation; business first of its kind in Md.

Though people may be familiar with the idea of a time share, a new type of second/vacation home available at Deep Creek Lake allows a person to own a percentage of a property rather than paying for its use.

“With a time share, you are getting time,” Pam Scott, owner of Second Homes at Deep Creek Lake, said. “With this, you get a deed. This is upscale, though it could be called time share’s distant cousin. Each of the six owners has a deeded interest. It’s very much legally owned by each of them.”

Scott said she was the first in the state to institute the sale of fractional homes, where six property owners split the cost and use of a single home. She said the practice already existed all over the country at places like Lake Tahoe and other resort areas, and with rising housing costs, she felt it was a natural fit for the lake area.

As a former second home owner, she found that much of the time that could be spent enjoying a second home is usually done in the upkeep of the home. That is why the property is maintained and cleaned by a property management company.

Scott said quarterly, the owners pay a maintenance fee for the house, covering the home’s bills and taxes.

She manages two of these homes, one lakeside property off Glendale Road and the other near Wisp Resort, both in McHenry. However, since the Overlook was built near Wisp, other similar projects have begun in the area.

Because Scott said she realizes that most of the home owners will be using the property as a second home, she tries to ensure it can sleep several people and looks for homes with large, open areas that will accommodate groups.

The homes she manages are fully furnished, with everything ranging from two computers to a game room to basic kitchen necessities. Each home includes basketballs, bicycles, and at the lakeside location, kayaks.

“We wanted to supply enough that the owners never have to bring more than their clothes with them,” Scott said.

La Maison de Montagne, located off Glendale Road at the lake, also includes a wine cellar, with private locking cabinets for each property owner and a six-person hot tub.

The Overlook features a cinema room with an 8-foot screen and surround sound and an outdoor hot tub.

Each of the homes she manages includes private closets so that each owner has a place to store individual items. The homes also feature hand-painted murals and wall treatments by local artist Lisa Park, Scott said.

Scott said that with up to six property owners, each one gets the property for eight weeks out of the year, more if the other owners do not use their full time.

As for maintaining a home with six owners, Scott said in the case of most people she had talked to, owners treated the property much better than renters because the property and the contents of the home, while shared, are still very much theirs.

As a group, the owners also make decisions for the use of the property, including whether pets will be allowed.

The concept is a new one for the area, but one that Terry Boggs of Railey Realty said he finds interesting. He has been working with Scott to sell the deeds to these homes.

“People are able to come in and have a $1.5 million home and be care-free,” Boggs said. “It’s worked everywhere else in the country. It will take time for people to understand it.”

Those interested in the project can contact Scott at (866) 387-1995 or log on to www.SecondHomesAtDCL.com.

Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@times-news.com.