Holiday Property Bonds

Gselby

Anybody have any experience of this? My mum is thinking of investing a fair chunk of change into this yet I know very little about it, all comments gratefully received (sorry if this is in the wrong thread)

Pixie5740

Why is your mother choosing this investment over other investments? How did she hear about them in the first place and what research has she done?

Edit: Rather than an investment is this more like a timeshare type thing?

http://www.hpb.co.uk/

TBeckett100

i think you have to assess the upfront cost and ongoing charge and weigh up whether it will be cheaper to holiday for the next 20 years out of her own savings or invest in this.

Usually things like these are riddled with issues and liabilities.

Gselby

they have a friend at the local golf club who has already purchased a fair few many years ago and says he uses them all the time, im hoping there may be owners on this forum who can explain what its like to use ie availability, ease of use, property condition etc etc

TrickyDicky101

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Edit: Rather than an investment is this more like a timeshare type thing?

http://www.hpb.co.uk/

If it's this (that Pixie has provided the link for) then your mother should only consider this if she can afford to entirely lose the money she is proposing to 'invest'.

comeandgo

We did look into it but there is very little next to no chance of ever getting your money back. We found the properties were not in places we would want to visit. I think there is a very good thread on them in trip adviser.

mrginge

ok, my understanding of the financial side is thus...
You invest in a bond.
The bond buys you annual points
You use the points to book their properties.
You are not tied in to any particular time window.
You can cash in the bond at any point. Not sure how its value is determined.
Your 'return' on the bond is discounted holidays in their properties.
The company invest your money in the acquisition and development of new properties.
your investment is at risk if the property market plummets and the company cannot repay exiting bondholders.



Thread probably needs moving tbh.

TBeckett100

The bond I believe is a share of the value of all properties. Some countries will have downturns some upturns. What is also the issue is currency fluctuation. Bear in mind that health can change does anyone want to be tied into this type of scheme

eddddy

As with many unregulated "investments", the question isn't really...

- are holiday investment bonds a good idea?

It's more....

- is this specific scheme, run by this specific company - a good idea?


As an analogy, you might say that "double glazing is a good idea" - but it isn't if pay an extortionate price, for badly made units, fitted by cowboys.

(As another example, some people viewed timeshares as "investments". But some people's estates have been bankrupted after their death, with timeshare companies claiming all the money that family members expected to inherit.)

onomatopoeia99

My parents are HPB bondholders (or whatever the correct term is), they bought their stake perhaps 30 years ago (this is a guess, but I'm pretty sure it was before I went to university in 1988) and regularly holiday in their properties. The amount they paid in isn't enough to get enough points each year to let them do two weeks during the school holidays, as it was at a point where family holidays were a thing of the past so their need to restrict themselves to outside term-time was gone.

They didn't buy it as an investment, they bought it as it gave them a variety of relatively cheap, non-hotel, non caravan/camping type holiday options. They rarely holidayed overseas when they were younger and don't at all now, but have stayed in many of the UK properties and as far as I'm aware have always been happy with the places they have stayed.

Gselby

thanks for the replies guys, I don't think they want to view it as an 'investment' as such, just a way to ensure them and the family can enjoy holidays in the coming years and plan to pass to me and my sis upon their deaths, I appreciate all your feedback guys, many thanks