Whistler's upscale timeshares are like second homes for Americans buying months of ownership

Ten years ago Charles and Edie Main bought a one-week condominium timeshare in Whistler, the British Columbia mountain resort that's several times been rated North America's No. 1 ski destination.

But avid outdoor enthusiasts that they are, the Mains soon decided that one week a year at the resort five hours from their Kitsap County home wasn't enough. So they bought another timeshare week. And then another. Next came purchase of a 10th ownership in a condominium - that's five weeks annually.

And still Whistler, with its two mountains offering 200-plus ski runs, its three golf courses, its hiking and biking trails, its tennis courts, swimming pools, restaurants and shopping, pulled the Main family to come ever closer.

Finally they did. But not by buying an entire condominium or house - house prices starting at a prohibitive half million dollars Canadian - but by plunging into the newest trend in timeshare ownership.

They recently purchased one-quarter ownership of a townhouse in a brand-new luxury condominium project called Montebello II. The other three owners of the fully furnished and managed unit are strangers.

"Having the potential of going up there one week a month is a real good alternative for us," says Charles Main, who'll be in Whistler this weekend to play golf and run. He's an administrator in the Central Kitsap School District, where his wife teaches. Both are avid skiers, as is their 14-year-old daughter, Abby. Son Tim, 16, snowboards.

That athleticism - and the fact that they're Americans - makes them typical of the people Montebello II is attracting, says Lisa Vagar, a vice president of Park Georgia Group, the developer.

Montebello II began marketing its 85 townhouses more than a year before the majority of units were completed this summer and immediately lured Washington buyers. Indeed, Vagar estimates 75 percent are from the Seattle area, and thanks to them, Montebello is nearly sold out.

"They buy because they already have a relationship with the resort," she explains. "They're athletic, have a very active lifestyle and also have kids who are active. They're quite family oriented."

And besides having disposable income, they're well aware that because of the advantageous dollar exchange rate, Whistler is something of a bargain.

The Mains, for instance, paid roughly $128,000 in U.S. dollars for their share of a three-bedroom, three-bath townhouse that would cost a Canadian about $190,000. "People say how can you spend so much," Charles Main says. "But I had a sense I was getting in on the ground floor. You can afford to buy a very nice unit because it's only a quarter."

The "very nice" is very much by design. "When we built Montebello II, we built the finishes right over the top," Vagar says. Potential buyers "see the display home and that's it. That's what sold our project."

Each unit is outfitted with custom-designed furniture, high-end details and luxury finishes. Like limestone bathroom counters and heated slate bathroom floors to pamper the toes on cold winter days. Like solid-granite kitchen counters, top-of-the-line appliances, custom maple cabinets, original artwork. Each unit has a garage, a private outdoor hot tub and lots of space for sports gear.

Besides Montebello II, Whistler has four other quarter-share properties. The oldest two, Ironwood and Snowbird, were built about a decade ago by Whistler's pioneering timeshare company, Whiski Jack Resorts.

The other two are by by Intrawest, a Vancouver, B.C.-based resort developer with numerous North American properties, including Colorado's Copper Mountain resort.

Intrawest's first Whistler quarter-share, Horstman House, opened this spring and sold out. Under construction is Legends at Whistler Creek. "In two days we sold 252 quarters . . . it was phenomenal," says James Askew, an Intrawest regional director.

But it wasn't surprising; Intrawest's market research told them the concept was solid. And with Whistler attracting 2 million visitors annually (11 percent from Washington state), the potential buyers were certainly there and had money to spend.

Tourism Whistler puts the average winter expenditure per party last year at $2,537 Canadian. During the summer, it was $658 Canadian.

"We found a lot of people in the region, especially in Vancouver and in Washington, would be very interested in buying mountain-resort property, but for one reason or another didn't want to spend all their money or they didn't have the money to spend (to purchase an entire home)," Askew says.

Intrawest's research also showed there was a strong market for properties that were more than timeshares. "Splitting into fourths seems to be the optimum amount because the market told us people would want to use their place about a quarter of the time," he adds.

And because there potentially would be four owners, the units could be larger and more luxurious than if they were marketed to a single buyer. As Askew explains, "A 1,000-square-foot home might be more than people can spend, but you can make these 1,000 square feet because the cost is spread out over four buyers. Also, you can afford to have bigger pools, better workout facilities."

Montebello II's developer initially thought most buyers would be 50ish, "but Microsoft changed the equation," says Vagar. "The typical buyer is 40-plus and has a family or is nearly an empty nester."

To Vagar's surprise, half the buyers have purchased an entire unit (for $931,600 to $1.3 million Canadian - that would be about $633,500 to $884,000 U.S.). Many others have bought more than a quarter share, quarters costing $193,900 to $264,000 Canadian, about U.S. $132,000 to $179,500 U.S. Numerous buyers have simply paid cash.

All units have three bedrooms; they range in size from 1,350 to 2,290 square feet.

As with one-week timeshares, Montebello II owners may rent out their units or trade their one week a month for stays at other resorts. They're also offered professional management, which means their vacations - or holidays, as the Canadians call them - are not spent cleaning up after other tenants or dealing with tedious repairs.

But unlike one-week shares, quarter-share owners don't pay Whistler's 15 percent hotel tax. More importantly, they get individual title to their percentage of the property, which often is not the case with timeshares.

Why quarter shares . . . and why now . . . is a lesson in the evolving nature of the ski resort.

Its first lifts opening in 1966, Whistler initially was content to simply develop into a local ski attraction. After adjacent Blackcomb Mountain debuted its facilities in 1980, the draw became more regional.

More recently Whistler / Blackcomb has morphed into a four-season "lifestyle" resort, as have its chief competitors, Colorado mountain destinations such as Vail and Breckenridge.

To be a four-season resort means having four-season attractions, and that's where Montebello II came in. "There was a call from the municipality for more summer amenities, so we put together a proposal for developing a site with townhouses, a 400-plus room hotel and more importantly, a tennis facility with 13 tennis courts," notes Vagar.

The completed tennis center, Whistler's first, is next door to Montebello II. The hotel, a Hyatt Regency boasting yet another "lifestyle amenity," an 18,000-square-foot spa, is set to break ground. And the quarter shares were brought in to satisfy the municipality's and the owners' desire for more year-round visits.

(Montebello I is a completed condominium that does not offer fractionalized ownership.)

The first phase of Intrawest's Legends at Whistler Creek is sold out; Phase 2 sales will begin this fall. Prices will range from about $79,000 Canadian (U.S. $53,700) for a one bedroom to roughly $170,000 Canadian (U.S. $116,000) for three bedrooms.

A huge selling point, Askew says, has been the fact that buyers actually own real estate and can resell it as such - meaning if the market goes up, they'll see appreciation.

One-week timeshares, by comparison, usually don't give owners title, and "most people don't make money when they sell them," reports Randy Shaw, an agent for Sussex Realty Whistler. "I tell them they've won the timeshare game if they get their money back."

But Shaw also counsels that one-week buyers must view their purchase not as a real-estate investment, but as a "lifestyle investment," so enjoyable vacations are return enough.

One simple fact, however, may make quarter shares the bankable wave of the future. In 2003, Whistler / Blackcomb is projected to reach its growth cap on overnight lodging units, meaning the chance to buy brand-new quarter shares will be no more.

"I'm not buying it as an investment, but I think it will turn out to be a good investment," says Montebello owner Charles Main.