A Homestead Ventures family project · Sicily
Five acres on a cliff between Cefalù and Santo Stefano di Camastra — old olive trees, and the Aeolian volcanoes sitting out on the water. I've already put close to $100,000 of my own money into it. What I'm offering the family is a way in at $5,500 down and $100 a month for the life of the project — 3 weeks of use a year, and a real piece of the property for life.
Limited to 12 participants — family and close friends only. Once it's full, it's full.
* Goal is 12 total. Once we hit the first 5, ground is broken and the build moves on a real timeline.
The vision
Most of us will never buy a house in Italy on our own. Between us, we can — and we can do it on land I've already bought, vetted and paid for, rather than starting from a listing and a leap of faith.
Five acres on the coast road between Cefalù and Santo Stefano di Camastra. Terraced, planted with mature olives, dropping toward the water. On a clear day you can see the Aeolian volcanoes on the horizon.
A vacation home designed around a family that travels in waves — bedrooms that can be used separately, one big kitchen and table, shaded outdoor space, and room to add on later rather than build it all at once.
The olives get pruned, harvested and pressed every autumn. The oil is family oil first, and whatever's beyond that can be sold.
This is the part I care about most. A fixed point in Sicily that the next generation inherits — cousins who actually know each other because they grew up spending Octobers in the same place.
The offer
This isn't a timeshare and it isn't a donation to my project. You're buying into the property itself, and the door stays open to you for the rest of your life.
01 · Access
A base share gives you 3 weeks of use per year, every year, for as long as you're around. Book on a shared family calendar — block the dates you want, first-come, first-served with a fair rotation for peak weeks (harvest, holidays). No nightly rate, no rental fee. Want more time on the ground? Take a double or triple share for 6 or 9 weeks a year at the same rhythm.
No expiry · Shared calendar · Passes to your children
02 · Ownership
Your contribution buys a real, proportional stake in the property, sized against total capital contributed. If it appreciates, you own that appreciation. If it ever earns, you share in it by the same percentage.
Recorded in writing · Inheritable
03 · Limited to 12
This is strictly capped at 12 participants — family and close friends only, no outside investors, no public offering. Twelve is the number the property comfortably supports without stepping on each other. Once it's full, it's full.
Closed round · 12 spots total · First come, first placed
The 12
A place like this only works if the group stays small enough that everyone actually gets to use it. Twelve is the ceiling — enough to make the numbers work, few enough that peak weeks aren't a fight.
Why 12
Between the main house and the guest quarters we're building, twelve participants can rotate through the calendar without ever running into each other on the peak weeks. More than twelve and it becomes a scheduling problem instead of a family home.
Shared calendar
Once the house is up, every participant gets access to a shared calendar. Block the weeks you want in advance, see what's already booked, and lock in your dates — solo, with your family, or with guests you bring along. Peak weeks (harvest, Christmas) rotate fairly year to year so nobody hoards them.
Fair use
Guidelines are set at the start — a floor of guaranteed weeks per participant per year, and a cap on how long any one person can hold the property in a single stretch. Simple, transparent, in writing before you sign anything.
How many spots are left? The round is currently open. If you're seriously considering it, reach out and I'll tell you exactly how many spots remain and who's already in. Once we hit 12, the round closes.
The first five
The goal is 12 total — family and close friends who become co-owners of the homestead. The first 5 is the launch threshold. Once we have five committed, we break ground and the build gets moving on a real timeline.
The first five participants are the reason this becomes real. Ground breaks the moment we hit five. You’ll be there for the first stone, and your name goes on the founding-five plate at the entrance.
Combined with what I’ve already put in, five participants is enough to break ground and develop a fully functional home. Anything less and I’d be dragging it out on my own time — which is fine — but five turns it into a real project on a real timeline.
We’re not locked off — the build goes ahead regardless. If we come in under five, whoever’s in gets additional access time once the home is done, in recognition of coming in early. Five is the goal that lets us move fast. Anything less just means a longer timeline — and a bigger reward for the people already in.
Be one of the first five and you launch the whole thing.
Every commitment brings us closer to ground-breaking. There’s no better time than the beginning — and there are only five founding spots.
Claim a Founding Spot →The financials
I'd rather you see the whole picture than a pitch. Here's what a share costs, what I've already put in, and how ownership gets calculated.
Your percentage is your total contribution divided by total capital contributed, mine included. As an illustration only: if all twelve households come in at $5,500 down each, that's $66,000 alongside my $100,000 — a total of $166,000, which would put a base share at just over 3%. Double and triple shares scale the same way — twice or three times the ownership.
The $100/month upkeep is separate from equity — it funds ongoing property maintenance, groundskeeping and enhancements over the life of the project. Final ownership percentages get written down and signed before money moves.
Pick your tier
The base share gets you three weeks a year for life. Want more time on the ground? Double or triple your share for six or nine weeks — same rhythm, more ownership, more calendar. Every tier is inheritable and equity is proportional.
Base share · Most flexible
+ $100/month for the life of the project. Three weeks of use a year, for life. The default, and the easiest way in.
3 weeks/year · 1 equity share
Double share · More time on the ground
+ $100/month for the life of the project. Six weeks a year — enough for a full harvest run, or splitting time between family and quiet.
6 weeks/year · 2 equity shares
Triple share · Deep in
+ $100/month for the life of the project. Nine weeks a year — a real season in Sicily, and the biggest slice of the equity.
9 weeks/year · 3 equity shares
Nothing is collected until your paperwork is signed and returned. Miss a monthly and nothing dramatic happens — call me and we'll adjust.
The long-term math
$5,500 down and $100 a month is the price on paper. Here's what that actually adds up to over the life of the project — and what it works out to per week of use. Because this isn't a rental: it's your home in Sicily, for life, with a real equity stake behind every dollar.
Over 5 years
= down + 60 monthlies. Near-term value.
Over 10 years
= down + 120 monthlies. Mid-term value.
Over 20 years
= down + 240 monthlies. Long-term value.
What the market says
A cliffside villa near Cefalù with a view of the Aeolian volcanoes, five acres and an olive grove — if it were on Airbnb, you'd pay $250–500 a night in season, $150–250 out of season. The base share puts you between $70–$83 a night. The triple share, between $32–$45 a night.
And you’re not renting. You own a piece of it. The equity is yours. The land appreciates. The oil is family oil. And the door is open every year, for as long as you’re around — and after that, for your kids.
One more thing worth saying: this math assumes zero appreciation and zero income. If the property appreciates over 20 years the way Sicilian coastal land tends to, or if the grove starts producing oil the family can sell, or if a share ever needs to be transferred at a higher value — the effective per-night number goes down further. This is the floor, not the ceiling.
The timeline
Building in Sicily takes as long as it takes — permits especially. These are honest targets rather than promises, and I'll send an update every quarter whether there's news or not.
Phase 01
Say you're in, sign the agreement, choose your payment rhythm. The round stays open until the shares are spoken for. Come out to Sicily for the olive harvest this autumn and walk the land yourself before you decide.
Phase 02
Surveys, drawings and the permit process with the comune. This is the slowest and least photogenic stretch, and where having someone local who's done it before actually matters. I'm designing the house myself — it's my background — and I'll share the plans as they develop so you can see the vision come together.
Phase 03
Access, water, power, then the house itself. Photos and cost updates from the site as it goes up. Nothing gets spent that you can't see accounted for.
Phase 04
The calendar opens and people start booking. From here on it's ours to use — and the olive harvest each October becomes the standing reason to all be in the same place.
Coming in
No pressure and no deadline pitch. Call me, ask hard questions, take it to your spouse. If it's a yes, the first payment starts the month after you've signed.