Innovative start up establishes online private members club for second home owners

We all like the finer things in life but sometimes with job and family commitments we are unable to make the most of every opportunity. This is often the case for those of us with second homes. Whilst some second homeowners are willing to rent their properties to complete strangers, many may fear the idea of having anyone unknown spending time in their treasured properties. As a result, that luxury villa in The Algarve or that cottage in Cornwall ends up sitting empty for vast stretches of the year. Being a second homeowner herself, one entrepreneur, Jo Goodson, faced this problem and decided to come up with a solution by creating Any Friend of Ours (AFOO).

Anyfriendofours.com is an online private members club where trusted, liked-minded people can utilise their investment in a second home in a safe, secure and innovative way. It overcomes the concerns that make so many second homeowners reluctant to risk renting-out their property; the fear of it being damaged, or the hassle of having to chase or negotiate payment.

As the saying goes, any friend of yours is a friend of ours and this is how AFOO’s membership works. Membership is limited to homeowners, their invited friends and family only, plus very special guests of Any Friend of Ours. It’s free to join and as a member you can rent out your property and/or rent other members’ properties across the network, discover new locations worldwide and experience the wealth of being part of this online community. It’s also an opportunity to make new friends, discuss places of interest and find out information on holiday destinations you had never heard of!

Jo Goodson says, “I have a beautiful holiday home, but found that we didn’t get to stay there as often as I thought we would. It costs a lot of money to keep it and that is difficult to justify in the current economic climate. Family and close friends have stayed there on occasion, but I don’t want to charge them. However, there is no way I’d want a stranger staying there – it’s very much our home. What I want is a way to rent to people I can trust, people who will take care of my home; people who are not direct friends but possibly recommended by other second homeowners who are likely to have the same concerns that I do. I believe AFOO does this and I welcome people to come and experience what AFOO has to offer.”

To find out more about AFOO, take a look at the site which has just gone live (in Beta) or take a look at this video which will explain further about how the AFOO service works. It’s free to list you property and free to join. If you have a second home that you’d like to make pay for itself, please feel free to list it on the site and invite in your friends and family.

If you do not have a property that you would like to list, but would be interested in joining, please contact Jo Goodson directly at: jo.goodson@anyfriendofours.com.

Advertisement

May 9, 2012