Shared Pleasures

Proportional freehold is a new ownership system that allows holiday-makers to invest in the good life part-time.

Words: Suzanne Mahaffie  Photographs: Doc Ross

Picture this: arrive at Queenstown airport and be whisked away to a glamorous hilltop villa. Your favourite CD is playing and the wine is chilled. Your toothbrush is already in the bathroom and your clothes are hanging in the wardrobe. Family photos sit on the antique sideboard. The only decision to be made is whether or not to have a spa before dinner. Should you so desire, a chef will come and cook for you or you could take the 4WD parked in the garage to one of the many local restaurants.

Welcome to Bendemeer and a world of luxury not usually associated with Kiwi holidays. There are no rumpty baches, second-hand furniture or scratchy kikuyu lawns here, thank you very much. "The idea is to provide a holiday home with all the benefits of a five-star hotel," says Christchurch developer Richmond Paynter, who expects Bendemeer to appeal mainly to wealthy expats and people frustrated with the relentless upkeep of their second homes.

It will be marketed under a system new to New Zealand called proportional freehold ownership. Bendemeer buyers will pay NZ$300,000 each for a tenth share in a three-bedroom, three-bathroom villa designed by architects Richard McGowan and Ian Adamson of Warren and Mahoney and decorated by the other half of the Paynter team, internationally acclaimed designer, Susie. All lodge facilities, including a concierge, tennis court, entertainment pavilion, fitness and spa centre and 4WD will be at their disposal.

Each owner’s personal possessions will be kept in storage, put out just before their arrival and then packed away again on departure. On selling, any capital gain is retained by the owner as in any normal real estate transaction.

Richmond says the proportional freehold system of ownership has proved popular in many of the world’s top resorts such as Aspen and Palm Springs. Spiralling property prices there, as in Queenstown, have meant an exclusive property can cost several million dollars. Even for someone with deep pockets, it is hard to justify that expense if use is going to be limited. "Statistics show most people use a second home for an average of just 28 days a year. This way people can enjoy all the good things without the usual hassle of maintenance of an individual holiday home."

Over the next two years a lodge, eight villas and 12 larger houses are planned for the 110-hectare site, a prime plateau of rolling pasture high above Lake Hayes. Naturally contoured with ponds and schist outcrops, the building platforms are sheltered from prevailing winds but have spectacular 360Ëš views of the surrounding mountains and the Wakatipu Basin below. Richmond and partner Ross Allan reportedly paid $24 million for the land three years ago and have spent another $10 million on site development so far.

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