Hey, it’s Doug.

Some of the people buying vacation homes through Plum know each other well—childhood friends, college roommates, family members. Others are complete strangers, connected only by a shared love for a beach town or investment strategy.

Either way, trust isn’t enough.

If you’re going to co-own a high-value asset, you need clear legal guardrails because good intentions don’t prevent confusion, and they certainly don’t hold up in court.

What an LLC Really Does in Co-Ownership

Most people hear "LLC" and think paperwork. But in co-ownership, it can be your financial lifeline.

It’s what separates your personal finances from any liabilities tied to the home. It’s what allows you to sell your share without triggering a full real estate transaction. And it’s what gives your group the structure to make decisions, handle conflicts, and move forward when opinions diverge.

Here’s the basic setup:

• The property is owned by an LLC.

• Each buyer owns a share of the LLC (not the house directly).

• The group agrees to a set of rules in an operating agreement.

• One person (or lawyer) serves as the registered agent to receive official communications.

You can file this on your own and many states allow online LLC registration for under $500. But the real challenge isn’t the paperwork.

It’s deciding how your group will operate once the home is live.

The Key Decisions

The heart of a healthy co-ownership group is the operating agreement. This is where the big decisions get made before problems arise.

Some real examples we’ve seen:

• Short-Term Rentals: One group allows Airbnb but capped it at 8 weeks/year. Another bans all guest rentals during summer months.

• Pets: Some ban them outright. Others allow pets under 30 lbs with a cleaning fee.

• Maintenance + Reserves: One group contributes a fixed $300/month for future repairs. Another ties reserve funding to a percentage of annual costs.

• Scheduling: One group rotates by season. Another uses a reverse draft where owners pick weeks in alternating order.

These decisions are the difference between “smooth sailing” and “this is a nightmare.”

How We’ve Made It Easier

After watching so many groups struggle with setup (e.g., drafting agreements from scratch, coordinating lawyers, paying $5K+ in legal fees)—we decided to make this process smoother.

Now, when you work with Plum, we:

• Partner with a leading business services company, who handles LLC formation for vacation co-ownership and acts as your registered agent.

• Provide a customizable Operating Agreement Blueprint based on what’s worked for dozens of real-world co-ownership groups.

• And soon, we’ll be rolling out automated agreement generation—just answer a short checklist, and we’ll generate a clean, lawyer-ready draft.

Coming soon: We’ll also be offering a full LLC Management Service, where Plum handles the finances, scheduling, vendor payments, and owner communication on your behalf. More on that in a future update.

Featured Property: St. George Island, Florida

This one’s got a name: Giggle.

It’s a bright little beachfront place on St. George Island with two bedrooms, a pool that stretches out toward the dunes, and a hot tub that fits eight people comfortably.

The owners did a full renovation recently—new kitchen, new appliances, new spa, the works. But what makes this place special isn’t what they fixed. It’s the stuff they left alone: the views from both bedrooms, the way the light hits the porch in the afternoon, the feeling that everything slows down a little as soon as you get there.

They call it Giggle because that’s what happens when people show up. It’s got an outdoor pool table, a fenced-in yard for dogs and beds you can adjust while sipping coffee and watching dolphins roll by.

If you’ve ever thought, “Man, I’d love a simple beach place I could just use,” this could be it.

Here’s how it works:

• 15 total shares

• $148,888 per share

• $450/month in ongoing costs

• 3 weeks of use each year

• No short-term rentals—this one’s just for you and your people

If you’re looking for a spot to unwind, reconnect, and maybe laugh a little more than usual, Giggle’s worth a look.

Previous Properties:

• North Topsail Island, North Carolina

• Bald Head Island, North Carolina

• Navarre Beach, Florida

Next Week: Holden Beach, North Carolina

Thanks again for following along.

Also, we started a free WhatsApp Channel for Real Estate Investors interested in Co-Ownership.

Have questions about co-owning a home? Want help setting up an LLC?

Reply to this email. I’d love to hear what you're planning and help you do it right.

Doug + The Plum CoOwnership Team

P.S. We're in the final stages of closing our seed investment round. Interested in learning more? Just reply to this email.