Understanding Simpley Co-ownership costs

If you’re considering a property purchase, you probably want to know the bottom line. Sure, it’s more fun to browse listings and imagine yourself poolside at your new property, looking out at the ocean waves or rolling hills. But cost is part of the equation, and Simpley is committed to full transparency. We want to make sure buyers understand the cost breakdown upfront, so there are no surprises later on. Once you find a property you love, a Crew member will walk you through the costs associated with the listing. In the meantime, if you’re trying to understand the whole financial picture, our pricing model covers three main areas:

• Share price

• Monthly owner expenses

• Simpley’s management fee

Here’s how we approach each cost area.

Determining the share price

When you browse Simpley listings, the sale price reflects the cost to purchase 1?10 ownership of the property. If you want more ownership, multiply that price by the number of shares you wish to purchase, up to five (½ ownership of the property). We determine the sale price of a share by adding these costs:

• Property purchase price. This one is self-explanatory — it’s the amount Simpley paid to acquire the property on the open market. 

• Property upgrades and closing. We give each property a design makeover to create livable luxury — a beautifully and comfortably designed property, with all the amenities needed. This includes big-ticket items, like high-end furnishings and state-of-the-art appliances, and small details, like board games and handy kitchen gadgets. We bring in professional interior designers to customize each property, and we install the latest property technology and smart home features. We also calculate the real estate transaction costs (agent commissions, inspections and closing costs).

• Simpley service fee. This one-time fee covers the costs of buyer aggregation (finding and vetting qualified owners) and LLC formation (including legal fees).

• Financing. For buyers who choose to finance up to 70% of their purchase through Simpley, a financing fee will be assessed at closing.

A summary of these costs can be accessed via the listing details for any available Simpley. Prospect listings are property under consideration for purchase; we use the same criteria to estimate the share price for a Prospect, but the price may change slightly if the property becomes available for co-ownership. For example, we would determine the exact cost of upgrades once we walked through the property with our design team.

Keeping the lights on

As with any property, there are utilities and other ongoing expenses associated with Simpley ownership. These costs ensure your property is well-maintained and ready for the next tenancy. Because Simpley manages the property, you don’t have to worry about any of the usual property owner details or hassles — we take care of the bills, cleaning and maintenance, and we even handle the property tax payments. We budget for owner expenses annually and break the cost into 12 fixed monthly payments. Costs are passed through to owners, with no markup, based on the number of shares they own. Monthly payments are deposited into the LLC account, and Simpley uses the funds to cover these expenses as needed:

• Preventive and routine maintenance. Depending on the property, this may include landscaping, pool maintenance, snow removal, HVAC servicing, gutter cleaning and more.

• Property management. We provide direct property management in some regions, and elsewhere we work with experienced local property management companies who take care of the day-to-day needs of the property. We’ve established a technology-enabled feedback loop between owners and property managers to ensure communication is streamlined and the quality of service is exceptional.

• Cleaning. Each property is thoroughly cleaned and inspected after each tenant’s stay.

• Utilities. This includes gas, electric, water, sewer, garbage and internet/TV — the basics to keep your property functional.

• Taxes and insurance. Simpley manages the payments for property taxes and insurance premiums when due. We’ll provide an annual K-1 tax form for each owner. 

• Reserve fund. As any property owner knows, things break or wear out, so Simpley maintains reserves in the LLC to cover those unforeseeable or longer-term expenses, such as a roof replacement. 

We will only increase monthly owner expenses if it’s needed to cover increases in actual costs of the property, such as insurance, taxes or other increased rates. Any necessary adjustments are made annually, and all cost statements are available to owners upon request.

Providing a fully managed experience

For many people considering a property purchase, one of the biggest downsides is the burden of owning another property. If you only expect to use your property a few weeks or months a year, you may decide to rent it out — and deal with the headaches of vacation rental management — or struggle to find reliable local vendors to help with maintenance issues, especially if problems arise while you’re away from the property. Simpley relieves you of these worries and hassles by managing all aspects of co-ownership. We charge a one time management fee of 12% per share, which covers a range of services, including:

• Aggregating and managing the monthly owner expenses and taxes

• Ongoing property management

• Maintaining the LLC and resolving any disputes between owners or the municipality

• Continually innovating and improving the Simpley app and other digital technology

• Providing dedicated co-owner support 

The management fee is fixed. Simpley is dedicated to transparency in pricing, and we believe our co-ownership model offers an equitable and cost-efficient way for more people to experience the joy of co-owning a property.