| Who is Village Yacht Shares? |
The company was founded by marine industry veteran and long-time Village Marina employee Mark Brick. Mark holds a USCG license and designated as a licensed pilot. His passion for boating and desire to provide a hassle-free experience for customers lead to the creation of Platinum Yacht Shares where he serves as President. Ryan Brick is the General Manager of the company. Ryan has been actively involved in the boating business his entire working career. The company is an affiliate of Village Marina & Yacht Club, the country's top 10 ranked marine dealer according to Boating Industry magazine.
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| I've seen other programs that are cheaper? |
When designing this program we had to choose the number of members per boat. While other programs have 6 to 8 members, we thought 4 members would be just like actually owning the vessel. One full week a month is normal for the majority of boaters.
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| What does Village Yacht Shares do? |
We sell and manage the full use of a yacht. If you think about it, boats are normally owned and used by individuals. They pay 100% of the cost of the yacht and use it about 10% of the time. Village Shares syndicates the fractional use of the yacht with multiple people which translates to a great value for all. Plus, we manage all aspects of the yacht in an effort to make the entire experience worry-free and hassle-free.
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| Explain what the term "fractional Yacht ownership means? |
A person buys only a fraction of the yacht and pays a fraction of the operating costs. In the case of Village Shares, we sell a fraction of the use of the yacht so the share holder doesn't actually own the yacht or worry about depreciation or liability, it is really a lease share.
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| Is a Yacht lease similar to an Auto Lease? |
Yes, except there are 4 - 6 others who are also leasing the same yacht. And, like an auto lease, you are only charged for portion of the yacht that you actually use. It is surprising affordable.
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| What are the costs? |
Like most leases, there is a one-time initial fee and fixed monthly payments. This is your portion of the capital cost of the yacht. In addition, you pay 1/6th of the total fixed operating costs which includes items such as cost of the slip, cleaning, maintenance, and insurance. The cost of fuel and other consumables are paid by the individual share holder on an "as used" basis.
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| How affordable is it? |
Well, that depends on the yacht of course. But, we've priced the shares to represent a fraction of the normal carrying costs. Meaning, a 1/4th Use Share is priced about 1/4th of the usual carrying costs of the yacht. As an example, our 55 Marquis normally sells for about $1.3M as equipped. The total initial capital cost of 4th Use Share is about $115,000 for a 3 year lease.
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| Do you finance the share? |
The Use Share program is underwritten in house. When you acquire a share in a particular yacht, you put down a certain amount of money and then make monthly payments directly to Village Shares. There is no need to take out a typical 20 year boat loan. The Use Share is a 36 month lease. At the end of the lease you turn in the keys, it's that simple.
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| Isn't this just like a boat club? |
Not at all, Village Shares focuses on delivering the ultimate yachting and boating experience, utilizing only the finest yachts in the word. Our yachts are acceptable by a very limited number of share holders. Conversely, a boat club typically utilizes entry-level, affordable boats and sells many more memberships per boat. They focus on providing access to boating as inexpensively as possible and they do a great job with that. We focus on delivering the best yachting experience money can buy.
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| So I'm approved once my down payment is received? |
The only thing that will keep you from being approved is you must be insurable? Each boater must meet the insurance criteria for a boater of each type.
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| Do I get to drive the boat myself or do I need a captain? |
We have pathways to allow each person drive their own boat without a captain. We want to make sure each participant is capable of driving their prospective boat safely and competently.
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