Zoe and Alan

Why August?

We were looking to buy a place in Chamonix, and when we were over there in November last year we saw two or three places and nothing was quite right. So when we got back we were looking online again to see if we could find anything else and that's when we came across August. We did some research and it sounded interesting. We liked the fact that we wouldn't have to own it ourselves or rent it out and have the problems of managing it all. The main appeal was that somebody else would be doing that and you get access to other properties too. We’d seen it in The Sunday Times as well, which gave us comfort that it was legit.

‍

Did you have any initial reservations?

There probably was an element of it being “too good to be true”. Mainly because we didn't quite believe that for that level of investment, you could get access to five properties. But when you do the sums and think okay, well 21 families have access to it, and how many weeks can we really use it? It all just seemed to work for us. We've got our own place in the South of France anyway, in a different area, so we'll have the flexibility as to when we can go. When we talked to the Advisory Team, they explained how August curates each Collection so that not everybody is going after the same dates. It wouldn't work if you all needed to go on holiday in the school holidays. You've got to have flexible people within your group who all have different needs.

‍

How have you found getting the weeks you want?

We were pleasantly surprised when the points were released. We wanted to try and get somewhere for the Christmas week and thought they might not be available. But they were! So we're going to Mallorca for Christmas for a week just the four of us. We asked the kids, which is your preference? And that was the top of the list, we were thrilled to get exactly what we wanted! 

Is there one location that really stood out to you?

It was Chamonix that certainly brought us to August because that's what we were looking for. We've never really spent time in Italy, certainly not in Tuscany and so that appealed as a place to explore. We love the Cotswolds! In the past we've looked at buying somewhere not necessarily in the Cotswolds, more in Cornwall, but we've certainly looked at having somewhere in the UK. So it ticks that box too. As I said our place in the South of France is further over towards the Montpellier and Nîmes area, the August home is in a totally different part of France. All the properties work for us in terms of location and have a great mixture of new and familiar locations.

What excites you about August?

The fact that you get five homes for the price of one. When we were looking in Chamonix, we were viewing properties more expensive than the price of one share in the Signature Collection. To spend that amount of money and get five properties, we just thought this is almost too good to be true...but we can assure you it's not. 

And it’s hassle-free. We know from experience the time and effort that you put into managing a property overseas; dealing with taxes, the maintenance and even having someone come and do the garden is hard because it is difficult to get someone who is reliable. With August, we don't have to worry about any of that. August handles all of that so we can just turn up with our suitcases, unpack and enjoy our valuable time on holiday! We like going back to places because you get to know it and the different places to go to and when friends come over, you know where to take them. It's so nice to feel like a local. 

Why the Signature Collection in particular? 

For us as a family, the size of each home and the budget fitted exactly with what we were looking for. The Pied à Terre Collection was too small for our whole family and the Premium Collection was more than we wanted to spend. So we opted for the Signature Collection as it suits our family's preferences.