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After being featured in Forbes in 2019, Lifestyle Asset Group (LAG) has received another honor. This time, Business Insider named the company one of the top 11 startups helping people like you earn income from real estate or to take advantage of co-ownership for vacation home usage..
The article lists some of our direct competitors and other companies that offer similar, though not identical, fractional or co-ownership real estate offerings.
Here is our Feature:
If you have come across the Business Insider article in recent weeks, you may wonder: what is the difference between LAG and its competitors? We are going into the details about this in this article.
Keep reading to learn how LAG is different from passive income real estate companies. Plus, we will make a comparison of LAG to its competitors.
Lifestyle Asset Group Competitors
The Business Insider article (linked above) mentions two different kinds of real estate companies. At LAG, we tend to group our competitors into two groups: real estate investing for passive income and investing in vacation homes.
LAG falls into the latter category. We offer all cash-purchasing services for vacation homes across the country. You can use your vacation home for yourself and your family or rent it out seasonally through LAG.
But who else does Business Insider consider competition for LAG? We are talking about them next.
Fractional Property Investment for Passive Income
Investing in fractional real estate has been around for a few decades now. But the idea is pretty simple. You pay money to invest in a piece of real estate, and when the home is sold, you earn money.
This is a great strategy to earn passive income. And it is particularly helpful for people who do not have a lot of money to invest in real estate. Why?
Fractional ownership allows multiple investors to pool their funds. You can start investing in fractional real estate for as little as $5.
And homes are not the only type of property available to fractional investors. You can also pool your resources with other investors to purchase apartment complexes, vacation homes, and even private jets.
The fractional real estate investment companies mentioned in Business Insider's article include:
- Ancana
- Arrived Homes
- Ember
- Fintor
- Fractional
- Here
- Lofty
- Rhove
The downside to fractional ownership? You do not actually get to use the home because you and your fellow investors will either rent it out, sell it, or a combination of both.
Vacation Home Ownership for Lifestyle Usage
There is an emerging market for people who want to buy a second home but can not afford one outright. In these cases, these interested buyers can pool their resources with other buyers and own a fraction of a vacation home.
Compared to the previous group of companies, this option allows investors to utilize their investments. In other words, you get a percentage of time to spend in the home each year.
The exact percent time you receive depends on how many people invest. For example, if you pay a quarter of the home price, you can spend 25% of the year at your vacation home.
Business Insider lists the following companies under this category:
- Lifestyle Asset Group
- Pacaso
- Kocomo
But Lifestyle Asset Group does not only provide this unique co-ownership opportunity. We also add on additional services such as home maintenance, furnishing, and, importantly, a defined exit strategyto sell the home after 7-8years.
This makes co-owning a vacation home a far more valuable experience than fractional ownership.
Who Else Offers Vacation Home Purchasing Services?
Lifestyle Asset Group is completely unique. Founded all the way back in 2013, we are also the pioneers of the entire vacation home co-ownership business model.
But our competitors do offer some of the same services. We will explain the basics of Pacaso and Kocomo next and stick around for a direct comparison between LAG and these companies.
Pacaso
Former Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff & Founder of Zotloop, Austin Allison founded Pacaso in 2020. Like LAG, the company serves as an intermediary for the co-homeowners. Pacaso specializes in very high-end, luxury vacation homes.
Kocomo
With Kocomo, you can also invest in a luxury vacation home affordably. In this case, you go in with eight other investors and split the costs of the home. Kocomo styles itself as a property manager rather than an intermediary.
Lifestyle Asset Group vs. Pacaso
First, the similarities. LAG and Pacaso both act as intermediaries, creating LLCs that hold the property title. The companies can then pass out "shares" of the LLC (i.e., the home) for each co-owner to use.
Every owner gets to have an operating agreement. That serves as proof of your co-ownership in the home.
But that is about where the similarities end. Unlike LAG, Pacaso is a tech-first company. You may think that sounds good, but you may change your mind when you deal with the firm's customer service team.
What is more, one of the main reasons people love investing in second homes is the extra rental income. Pacaso does not provide this service to its co-owners.
Finally, Pacaso homes come in the very high-end side of the luxury property market. Even co-ownership can wind up costing you five or six figures. That means when you are ready to sell, there will be a much smaller pool of interested buyers.
But LAG is different. You can learn more about the pros and cons of LAG vs. Pacaso here. Or read below for the top reasons why many people prefer to invest with LAG.
LAG Allows You to Rent Out Your Home Share
Imagine that you buy a share in a vacation home but know you will not use it for one year. Instead of letting your investment sit vacant, LAG offers you the option to rent out your home to earn extra income to offset your investment.
LAG Is a Service-First Company
Even though we offer lower-cost homes than Pacaso (more on this next), we don't treat you like it. LAG offers first-class service to all of our co-owners.
No matter how much money you have to put on the table, you get access to our Senior Management team of expert salespeople.
LAG Offers Homes at All Price Levels
The average share price at Pacaso is more than $700,000. Compare that to LAG, which offers vacation home shares around $300,000. We also have higher-end options for our luxury vacation home investors.
Lifestyle Asset Group vs. Kocomo
The latest company to enter the vacation home co-ownership category is Mexico City-based Kocomo. Though the diverse firm has its roots in Mexico, its clientele base is primarily in the US and Canada.
Like Pacaso and LAG, Kocomo also runs its business through an LLC model. Like LAG, the startup also allows investors the option to rent out their share of the vacation home if they do not want to use it for a year.
Despite the fact that Kocomo homes are in desirable vacation spots, they do not cost as much as a Pacaso vacation home. As with LAG, you can pay around $300,000 or so to get a share of a Kocomo home.
Something extremely unique about Kocomo is that it provides access to vacation homes outside of the US and Canada. Co-owners can invest in properties in Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Caribbean.
But as we will discuss in a moment, LAG also offers vacation home co-ownership outside of the US and Canada. For example the Quimera Residence Club in San Miguel, Mexico.
There are also some other issues that arise from Kocomo's business model. We will talk about some of them next.
LAG Has a Veteran Staff
We have been in business since 2013. That has given us nearly a decade to hone our business model and create a product that investors love.
But Kocomo barely has a year under its belt. And despite being in its early stages, the company has already announced plans to expand into new markets, spreading its 9-person team thin.
LAG Offers an Exit Plan
One of, if not the top, reasons for investing with LAG over Kocomo is that we offer a defined exit strategy. When you are ready to sell your share of the vacation home, we will resell it for you.
But with Kocomo, you are on your own when it is time to sell your share in the vacation home. And imagine how difficult it can be to unload a share when the home is many hours away!
LAG Also Offers Cross-Border Real Estate Transactions
Many people do not know that Kocomo was not the first vacation home co-ownership company to offer cross-border properties. We offer homes in the Caribbean and Mexico in addition to our US destinations.
Start Investing in Property With LAG
Lifestyle Asset Group has offered vacation home co-ownership since 2013. We started the industry, but that is only one reason why you should consider going with us over Pacaso or Kocomo.
Are you interested in an affordable vacation home share? Lifestyle Asset Group is ready for your call. Contact us today to get started.
