Dear Roxanne - Wintered Out in Wingham

Dear Roxanne,

We have wintered in Florida for 22 years. Same community, same friends, same pool. This year my husband said out loud what I had been thinking for two winters, which is that we have stopped looking forward to it. Nothing has gone wrong. We just aren't excited anymore, and the costs keep climbing. A friend sent me your column. Is a share of a home in Europe a realistic replacement for a Canadian winter, or only a romantic one?

Sincerely,

Wintered Out in Wingham

Dear Wintered Out,

I'll give you the hard part first, because it decides everything after it. You cannot move a Florida winter to Europe intact.

Here is the reason, in the only terms that matter. Homes are generally sold in eighths. An eighth gives you about six weeks a year, and those weeks usually come as two-week stays, sometimes longer when demand allows. So, one-eighth is three good two-week stretches spread through the year. It is a wonderful thing. It is not five months in one place. Travel costs should be taken into consideration when deciding on a fractional ownership choice.

Two-eighths change the arithmetic. A quarter of a home gives you roughly twelve weeks a year, and it could provide a full month at once, sometimes more. A month in one town is long enough to stop being a visitor. You shop where the locals shop. Your second language skills improve each time you visit and socialize with the locals in the village.

For you, though, I would look at a third option. Two-eighths in two different places. Six weeks on an Italian coast and six in a French town, or a hill village and a city. People who want variety should own variety, and I think that is what you have been asking me for since your first sentence.

Twenty-two years of the same community and the same pool gave you one kind of winter, repeated. I suspect it's the sameness you've tired of, rather than the sun.

In Cilento in May I watched one stretch of coast hold serious hikers, a zipline, sailing, a beach full of people, and a village where nothing happened all afternoon and nobody minded. Buffalo mozzarella farms in the morning, a winery pouring tastings at its own restaurant by evening. A place that can do all of that can give you more than one kind of week, which is the whole argument for choosing where you go back to.

One piece of housekeeping, since somebody always asks. There is a limit on how long Canadians may stay in Europe without a visa, 90 days out of every 180. No share comes near it, so you can set that worry down. If you ever did want a straight five months abroad, France and Italy both offer long-stay visitor visas, and that is a conversation for an immigration professional rather than for me.

On the money, briefly, since we covered it properly last week. You are comparing a share price and a predictable annual budget against what your Florida winter now costs you to carry and to insure. For many people those numbers are closer than they expect. Run both before you let anyone, including me, tell you what to feel about it.

Roxanne

Have a question about owning a piece of Europe? Write to me at [email protected]. Letters may be edited and appear with a pen name. And when you're ready to see the homes themselves, the Portico International door is open; signing up takes a moment.

Roxanne Finn is a broker with Chestnut Park Real Estate Limited, Brokerage, in Stratford. She acts as a referring realtor; partner companies are independent, and buyers should obtain independent legal advice in the destination country. Co-ownership is a lifestyle purchase. Nothing here is immigration, tax or legal advice.