Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 161 posts

Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes

#151

Post by [deleted] »

rblack44 wrote: post #70
dragonwriter wrote: post #12

As someone who has sat through several of them (and has bought a few), this is exactly, almost word-for-word (right down to the references to the complaints about the rest of the industry) the elevator pitch for every timeshare/vacation ownership scheme ever. > Unlike a timeshare, Ancana owners own a real asset (the property) versus a block of time. Like literally every timeshare/vacation ownership scheme I’ve seen o…

Thanks for the feedback. One of our biggest challenges is in overcoming the gimmicks timeshares use to hook customers. My parents have had a few different timeshares, some of which were great, others complete scams. They've been incredibly successful in building huge businesses with these tactics. It really comes down to what you are purchasing, when you can use the property, and how you resell. With timeshares you a…

[deleted]

Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes

#152

Post by andi999 »

rblack44 wrote: post #94
garciasn wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you deal with potential scheduling conflicts if timeframes are not dedicated and known across the owners?

This is a top focus for us from a product perspective. What's interesting through our research is the overlap is probably not as big as we assumed. Some people want to use the home for special occasions (bdays, anniversaries), which can be spread out throughout the year. Some want it for holidays, others have their own holiday traditions. The demand is more evenly distributed than we anticipated. But there will be co…

Wondering:how do you get the right to do that if you do not own the place?

Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes

#153

Post by rbobby »

rblack44 wrote: post #124
rbobby wrote: post #108

> Priority order is determined by the owner's purchase date (1st buyer gets 1st choice, 2nd buyer gets 2nd choice, etc), with the order rotating each year (2nd buyer gets 1st selection in year 2, 3rd buyer gets 1st selection in year 3, etc.). That's pretty awful. Do early buyers pay a premium? Do late buyers get a discount? Why not do a lottery? Or an actual cash based auction (proceeds go to maintenance fees... whic…

Curious why you think this is awful. The order rotates each year so for a home sold in 1/4 fractions, every owner would get 1st choice once in a 4 year period. Then it starts over again. All buyers pay the same rate, the priority selection rewards people who buy first, it's a benefit for moving fast. We are contemplating a snake draft system if we decide to allow people to schedule more than 1 priority date each year…

Last buyer has to wait 3 years to get first pick. Yuck.

A lottery to set the initial order is fair to everyone.

If you want to find out what the actual cash value of picking first, second or third is then do an auction.

Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes

#154

Post by Anahi2016 »

I think we should give these guys a chance. Maybe their communication needs a little work but to the people saying it's time shares in a different coat, we just don't know that for sure. Although I'm not saying your concerns are unfounded either.

Their model is unique and we don't know exactly how it's going to pan out. Personally, I think it might be promising depending on how it's done.

Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes

#156

Post by tmp_anon_22 »

benatkin wrote: post #140
koolba wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why wouldn’t the agreement be standardized at least per country or jurisdiction? For clarity, I’m not asking to see contracts with peoples names or addresses. I’m asking to see what I would assume to be the actual terms one would be entering regardless of which specific property or others involved.

Sure, they would have a standard version of it. If you don't have access to it, it isn't relevant to you that it's standardized. I have clarity. I don't think it would necessarily be good to let everyone scan it for vulnerabilities. They would need to clean it up more first. With web apps, even if the app is open source, the server config will often be hidden. Otherwise, on some forums they might discuss how to take…

Ah security by obscurity thats really clever.

Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes

#157

Post by Slast101 »

1) Some people here commenting that you should do this with family/friends. Certainly can work but people change with time. Much better to have a formal structure that will work with strangers. This will inevitably happen in case of changed circumstances of owner or family of an owner (death being the worst case. Unfortunately, most who use \a formal structure get it written by a lawyer who will not anticipate potential problems.

2) This sort of scheme should not be looked on as a financial instrument. Should only be seen as a discretionary/leisure purchase that must have use/enjoyment as its #1 priority. Having said that, we just sold the Lake Tahoe property of our first syndicate of this type after 40 years, and showed a decent rate of return after ALL costs were considered, and great vacations all that time. We had multiple changes of shareholder during the that time - almost all by word of mouth, as well as some founders in at the close. Key was getting the right agreement before getting too enthusiastic about a specific property.

Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes

#158

Post by rblack44 »

coverband wrote: post #123

Are any of these properties available for U.S. buyers, or only to those that live in Mexico?

Yes! We have started focusing on areas that appeal the most to US buyers (Cabo, Tulum, Puerto Vallarta, etc). Most of our marketing to date has been geared towards the Mexico market but we are starting to reach out to US buyers as well!

Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes

#159

Post by rblack44 »

ytdytvhxgydvhh wrote: post #137

So, no presumption against the founders here, but what happens if Ancana folds in a few years? Each property’s trust still exists and everyone still owns their shares but they need to find a new manager for the trust? I have pretty much no knowledge of that industry - are there other companies ready to take over management of the property and allocation of dates in a situation like that?

Yes, the trust remains in place and the legal rights of all the owners are unaffected. The co-owners can simply find another property management company. Even in the event Ancana is still in business but the co-owners are unhappy with our service for whatever reason, they can vote to drop Ancana and hire another company of their choosing

Re: Launch HN: Ancana (YC S21) – Fractional ownership of vacation homes

#160

Post by rblack44 »

exdsq wrote: post #145
rblack44 wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say we are streamlining the decades-old co-ownership model more than we are reinventing timeshares :)

It's going to be a hard stigma to drop but best of luck to you and with the launch!

Agree, this is our biggest hurdle on the buyer side. But thanks for the feedback and support!
Post reply on HN