“My Equity Estates Journey”By Bill Poston

As a Texas-born male I am afflicted with a genetic disorder common to my species known as the “Ownership Syndrome”. This inbred compulsion to own real property has broken hearts, dreams, fami-lies, and bank accounts for generations. My particular strain of the disease is cruelly combined with an extreme wanderlust and force-ful impulse to explore new places in search of adventure.

So I travel extensively and have never been anywhere that I didn’t dream of owning a house there. Since I am not a Rockefeller, I have never had to confront the impracticality associated with the dubious

privilege of actually owning mul-tiple homes, but my nature kept

pushing me to reconcile the apparent contradictions in the desire to own property wher-ever I traveled and my yearn-ing for exploration.

Having discarded the notion of buying multiple homes – and with three kids, having long since outgrown hotel rooms – I began my search for an alterna-tive to suit the whole family. We began by renting homes when we vacationed. This hit-or-miss approach produced some wonderful experiences, but just as often it was apparent that the homeowners had better

marketers and photographers than housekeepers.

So we looked at and rejected other options including multiple time shares, residence clubs, and many forms of destination club. It was easy to figure out how these models were good for the developers and promoters, but none of them made long-term financial sense. I even started down the path of creating an investment partnership with a group of friends before a death, a divorce, and a bankruptcy among the members of the group highlighted the risks associated with that strategy.

Then I discovered Equity Estates. I love disruptive business models and this vacation home ownership investment fund was the perfect cure for both the “Ownership Syndrome” and the exploration bug. It is easy to articulate the attractiveness of the Equity Estates business and investment model:

1. Upside Potential – Unlike other options in the market, Equity Estates is structured as a true investment with the potential for long-term appreciation…not just a prepaid vacation scheme.

2. Limited Downside – The fund has strict limits on its use of debt, is buying in a down market, offers liquidity to those that want to exit, and the model is not reliant on new investors.

3. Consistent Quality – With an average value per property of $3 million you don’t have to cross your fingers when you first walk into the place. You know it is going to be much better than home.

4. Diversity & Availability – In the mountains, on the beach, or in the city there are properties for every taste and every season. A low member-to-property ratio provides high levels of availability.

5. Management Team – The managers are good folks and smart businesspeople that have created a financial model that aligns the interests of investors with those of the fund’s principals.

We have been thrilled with our investment and have enjoyed the fund’s properties for about a tenth of what one of them costs. We spent Spring Break in Telluride, a week in the Turks & Caicos Is-lands, five fantastic days in New York City, and let friends and family use the properties in La Jolla and Inlet Beach, Florida. We’ve booked Los Cabos for Spring Break next year, are going to check out La Jolla for ourselves, and are returning to the incredible property in Telluride in January. My dual diseases have been cured.

The fund keeps marketing costs low by relying on members to spread the word about their experience. The Equity Estates model sells itself. You can learn more at www.equityestatesfund.com. Tell them Bill sent you and the folks at Equity Estates will make a dona-tion to charity in lieu of typical referral fees. Of course, I would be happy to talk to you about our decision making process and experi-ences to date.

You can contact me at bill.poston@kalypso.com or at 830.446.9366. Rob Vaka at Equity Estates would be happy to take your call directly at 404.725.1400 or by email at rob.vaka@equityestatesfund.com. Take a look at this model and please pass this along to others in your network that may be interested.