Because of the chaotic market and financial problems it is causing, some high-net-worth people have been shying away from flaunting their wealth, says Mitchell Katz, president of Premier Financial Services, based in Woodbury, Conn. Premier specializes in financing lease-to-own or straight leases of luxury, vintage and exotic cars, many worth more than $1 million.
"There was a slowdown last year because some people did not feel good about showing up in a new Bentley, but people are starting to spend money again," Katz says.
Noah Lehmann-Haupt, founder of Gotham Dream Cars in New York City and Florida, agrees.
"It is a crazy economic time right now," Lehmann-Haupt says. "Our business is not growing, but it is not shrinking either. But people are not buying luxury cars right now, so we would expect our membership to start growing again when more money is available."
DreamShare, a fractional ownership division of Gotham Dream Cars, has a $3.5 million collection of cars and Lehmann-Haupt hopes to expand it with a Rolls-Royce Phantom, a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.
As for the legal considerations, Fractional Life's Brown strongly advises financial representatives to consult specialists in fractional ownership.
"Financial advisors need to determine from their clients if the ownership they are contemplating is a lifestyle or investment purchase, or both. They need to know what the exit strategy is and everything that is included, such as annual dues and service charges," Brown says.
After all those things are planned, the fun can begin for the wealthy or even the not-so-wealthy. Something as practical as furnishing a son's or daughter's college dorm room can be done fractionally through Evolving Vox, a student-run business at Dartmouth College that allows college students to temporarily own furnishings for their rooms.
Other examples of fractional ownership plans include Crush Pad of San Francisco, which offers partial ownership in Napa Valley vineyards. The fractional owner can select any level of involvement in the winemaking process.
Truffle tree ownership was created, in part, to encourage an interest in French cuisine, the woodland countryside and the heritage of the truffle, according to www.truffle-tree.com.