Timbers Collection

A deeded fractional interest in one named residence at one club, held fee simple and in perpetuity. It can be resold, willed, placed in a trust or held by a company, and at Timbers Jupiter the deed is covered by a title insurance policy. The fraction differs by club and by home: 1/9 of a 3 bedroom residence or 1/6 of a 4 bedroom penthouse at Timbers Kiawah, 1/8 of a named unit at Dancing Bear Aspen, and 1/24, 1/12, 1/8 or 1/6 at Esperanza in Cabo, where the residence is held through a Mexican bank trust. Timbers Kiawah is not a timeshare, because the Town of Kiawah Island does not permit them.

Each interest carries planned weeks first, then open use. Timbers Jupiter gives 5 planned vacation weeks a year, then per diem nights on a space available basis, subject to availability. Dancing Bear Aspen guarantees 6 weeks: 2 planned weeks per season, winter and summer, a further week when space allows, then short notice stays inside 30 days of arrival, subject to availability. Esperanza guarantees at least 4 weeks in the October to June prime season. Timbers Kauai gives guaranteed summer and winter weeks. Owners may hold more than one residence at a time and may send guests unaccompanied. Planned weeks can be deposited into the Timbers Reciprocity Program and traded for weeks at the other 13 destinations, subject to availability.

Letting rules differ by club and they matter. Rentals are not permitted at Timbers Kiawah. At Timbers Kauai the Luxury Rental Program is open to whole owners only and not to fractional owners, subject to availability. At Esperanza a member may release weeks to the Auberge rental programme, which pays the member 60 per cent of the gross rental revenue, subject to availability. Every club in this group allows unaccompanied guests, so friends, family and colleagues can take weeks the owner cannot use, and a week may be given to a charity.

Annual dues are assessed on each interest and collected by the club's management team on behalf of the owners association. At every club here they cover utilities, property taxes, insurance, staff, supplies, maintenance, trash removal and accounting, plus a payment into a capital reserve for repair and replacement. In Mexico the dues also cover the trustee fee on the bank trust. Housekeeping while in residence is charged separately at Dancing Bear Aspen and on the larger villas at Esperanza. Dues are set per residence and per fraction and change from year to year, so the figure is confirmed for the specific residence before you commit.

Each club is staffed like a small hotel, with an owner services team on site rather than a managing agent at a distance. The list below is taken from the clubs' own owner service and amenity schedules. What you get depends on the club you buy into, and a few items, airport transfers and pre-arrival groceries among them, are charged when used.

Timbers Kiawah opened in 2018 as the first residence club on Kiawah Island: 21 oceanfront residences in 3 buildings, architecture by Poss Architecture and Planning, interiors by J. Banks Design. Timbers Jupiter is 50 freestanding villas, 21 of 2 bedrooms and 29 of 4, from 1,900 to over 2,900 sq ft. Dancing Bear Aspen is 19 residences in 2 red brick buildings, the 10 Mountainside homes by O'Bryan Partnership. Timbers Kauai holds 47 condominiums and townhomes on a 450 acre oceanfront site. Esperanza has 63 villas plus 54 Auberge Private Residences on 17 acres. Casali di Casole is 34 restored farmhouses and villas on a 4,200 acre Tuscan estate.

The 6 clubs cover different seasons. Timbers Kauai sits on Nawiliwili Bay at Hokuala in Lihue, a few miles from Lihue airport, with the Ocean Course and The Farm on site. Timbers Jupiter is inside the 285 acre Trump National Golf Club Jupiter, 2 miles from the Atlantic and 17 miles from Palm Beach International, a 20 minute drive. Timbers Kiawah is 2 minutes from the island's main gate and a short drive from Charleston. Dancing Bear Aspen is at 411 South Monarch Street, on Wagner Park and steps from Gondola Plaza. Casali di Casole is 20 minutes west of Siena and about an hour from Florence airport.

Two of the 6 clubs sit outside the United States. Esperanza is inside Mexico's restricted zone, the land within 31 miles of the coastline or 64 miles of the border, so a foreign buyer holds the residence through a fideicomiso: a bank trust in which the buyer is the beneficiary, with the right to use, let, sell and bequeath. That is not a lease. Title insurance on a fideicomiso is available and at Esperanza is written by Stewart Title. In Italy the interest at Casali di Casole is a deeded fee simple interest that can be willed, transferred or resold. Italian purchase taxes and notary costs are confirmed for the specific residence before you commit.

Avory deals with the ownership offices at each club, with Timbers Real Estate Company for Casali di Casole, with the Esperanza Real Estate Company in Cabo, and with owners selling resale interests. After you enquire we confirm which fractions are available at the club you name, the weeks attached, the current dues and the transfer steps, then introduce you to the club's ownership representative. Where an owner offers a stay we arrange it, subject to availability. Avory does not operate these clubs and cannot create availability. Request access.