Fantasy Island: Local Home For Sale ... One Week At A Time

Owning a house with all of the modern amenities on a secluded island sounds like a fantasy to most people.

Believe it or not, that opportunity has presented itself in Muskego.

Since 1999, Tom and Jennifer Sauer have owned a private three-acre island on Little Muskego Lake. With a bridge allowing access by car, the property includes a 1,800-square foot ranch home built in the 1950s and completely remodeled in 2002.

Having used the property as a vacation rental to cover costs for three years, the Sauers reluctantly put it up for sale, but struggled in finding a new owner.

“We had it on the market, and because of the current market conditions, we didn’t really get the activity that we wanted,” Tom Sauer said. “I can’t refinance the place because I’m self-employed and banks are unwilling to do things like that nowadays.”

After diligent online research, Sauer discovered the growing popularity of fractional ownership.

The term originally became popular for business jets where companies would purchase shares in a jet to reduce costs. Fractional ownership is now used for yachts, sports cars and vacation property.

The fractional property industry started in the U.S. in the Rocky Mountain ski resorts in the early 1990s. Although similar to a timeshare, the difference with fractional ownership is that the purchaser owns part of the title as opposed to units of time.

Now, Sauer hopes to find nine owners to pay $69,900 for 1/12 share (one week per quarter). The property was recently appraised at $750,000.

“I bounced it around my head for probably over a year,” said Sauer, who currently lives across the bay from the property. “We’d like to get a group of people together to go in on it and still maintain some kind of ownership and be able to use it.”

Owners will be guaranteed four weeks per year with no maintenance responsibilities. Expenses like taxes, insurance, utilities and other improvements will be covered by renting out the pet-friendly property during Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day and New Year’s Eve.

In addition, owners can rent out the weeks that they don’t use to generate income.

Docking a boat at a pier placed down the island away from the house is also possible.

“I’d say three or four have shown pretty serious interest so far,” Sauer said. “I think it’s priced affordably if someone is looking for a second home that they don’t have to drive five hours to go maintain. I know there are people who would love to do this if they knew about the opportunity.”

To read a history of the island, testimonials from previous guests and see more photos, go to www.RelaxUnwindEnjoy.com.

For questions on ownership or rental opportunities, call (262) 510-7272 or e-mail tom@thedigitaltoolbox.com.