CoChalet · a founder letter CoChalet · lettre du fondateur

One bad Airbnb investment cost $120,000. It took 48 months and 25 models to build the right one.

Un mauvais investissement Airbnb m'a coûté 120 000 $. Il a fallu 48 mois et 25 modèles pour bâtir le bon.

Deeded 1/8 co-ownership of one specific chalet in the Laurentian Highlands. Eight co-owners, one of them me. Twelve weeks a year on the deed, every season. This is what I'm building, and I'd rather you hear it from me. Copropriété notariée 1/8 d'un chalet précis dans les Hautes-Laurentides. Huit copropriétaires, moi compris. Douze semaines par an au titre, chaque saison. Voici ce que je bâtis — et je préfère te le raconter moi-même.

Book a 15-min call with Justin → Appel 15 min avec Justin → Direct calendar · no assistant Calendrier direct · sans adjoint
— Justin
Justin Kausel Founder & Premier Co-Owner · answers the calendar himself Fondateur & Premier Copropriétaire · répond lui-même
48
Months building Mois de travail
25
Model iterations Itérations du modèle
$425K
Sweat equity · his own Capital-sueur · le sien
$120K
Lost on Airbnb first Perdu sur Airbnb d'abord
The CoChalet mantra Le mantra CoChalet

Use It.·Own It.·Love It.

01 · Use It

Twelve weeks a year, every season

Not a rotation. Not a points pool. Twelve weeks a year on the same chalet — yours to schedule, yours to host, yours to come home to.

02 · Own It

Deeded title · your name on it

A notarized 1/8 share of one specific chalet under Quebec law. Eight co-owners. One deed per owner. An elected owner council governs. Bill 96 bilingual from day one.

03 · Love It

Founding cohort · named, not numbered

You'll know the other seven by name before you sign. You'll know the founder by his voice on the phone. When the cohort fills, founding terms close with it.

03 · The one building 03 · Le bâtiment

The chalet that survived 25 iterations.

Everything above is theory until there's a chalet. Here is the chalet.

  • $112,300 entry stake — one-eighth deeded share, not a fractional points pool.
  • Twelve weeks a year per owner — same chalet, every season, scheduled by elected council.
  • Eight co-owners. Justin is one of them — Founder and Premier Co-Owner, first customer, recused from votes he has a conflict on.
  • Professionally managed turnovers between stays. You arrive; the chalet is ready to live.
  • Bill 96 bilingual governance, statements, and notices — English and French, from day one.
  • Financed through our banking partner; owners carry a secondary mortgage through a separate lender.
Pre-revenue · legal opinion pending · Property 01 closes Q3 2026
04 · What I refuse 04 · Ce que je refuse

What I won't let this become.

Written in first person because they're my commitments — not a policy document.

01

I won't call it a timeshare.

Because it isn't. A CoChalet owner holds a deeded 1/8 of one specific chalet — not a week, not a point, not a rotation.

02

I won't lead with price.

You earn the mountain — you don't coupon-clip it. If the only reason to say yes is the number, the number isn't the reason.

03

I won't use internal jargon on you.

Our operations stack stays backstage. What you see is the chalet, the cohort, the deed, and me.

04

I won't dangle investment jargon.

This is deeded real estate you live in, not a yield product. If numbers matter in your decision, we'll talk numbers — we won't decorate with them.

05 · From the founder 05 · Du fondateur

"I built the CoChalet I couldn't find."

For three years I rented chalets in the Laurentians. I lost $120,000 on a single Airbnb attempt and finished with no deed, no equity, and a binder of receipts.

I killed 24 models before this one. Fractional was opaque; full ownership asked me to buy a house I'd use four weekends a year; everything in between was designed for the operator, not the owner.

CoChalet is the 25th model. Eight co-owners, one deed each, one specific building. $425,000 of my own money is already in it — before I asked anyone else for a dollar.

If that premise is interesting, the best thing you can do is get fifteen minutes on my calendar before you read anything else. No assistant. No qualifier bot. My voice, your questions.

— Justin Kausel
Founder & Premier Co-Owner · CoChalet Fondateur & Premier Copropriétaire · CoChalet
06 · The founding cohort 06 · La cohorte fondatrice

Alpine Founders · Cercle Alpin

EN

You'll be sitting in the same room as the other seven.

The Alpine Founders cohort is eight co-owners per chalet — not eight hundred strangers on a mailing list. You'll know the others by name before you sign. When the cohort closes, founding terms close with it.

Use It. Own It. Love It.

FR · QC

Tu seras dans la même pièce que les sept autres.

Le Cercle Alpin, c'est huit copropriétaires par chalet — pas huit cents inconnus sur une liste. Tu connaîtras les autres par leur nom avant de signer. Quand la cohorte ferme, les conditions fondatrices ferment avec elle.

Arrivez et vivez.

07 · Questions I hear most 07 · Les questions que j'entends le plus

Ask me anything. Start here.

Six honest answers. For everything else, book the call.

What am I actually buying, legally? Qu'est-ce que j'achète, au juste, sur le plan légal ?
A notarized 1/8 deeded co-ownership of one specific chalet under Quebec law. Your name appears on the deed alongside seven other co-owners. Governance is run by an elected owner council under a published shareholders' agreement. Bill 96 bilingual statements and notices from day one. Une copropriété 1/8 notariée d'un chalet précis, en droit québécois. Ton nom figure au titre aux côtés de sept autres copropriétaires. La gouvernance se fait par un conseil élu sous convention de copropriétaires publiée. Documents et avis bilingues Loi 96 dès le jour un.
Is this a security? AMF and OSC question. Est-ce une valeur mobilière ? La question AMF / OSC.
A qualified securities lawyer is drafting the opinion. Until it's signed, I describe this as pre-revenue deeded co-ownership — not an investment product. On the call I'll walk you through exactly where counsel landed, what tests apply, and what we'd do differently if the opinion came back any other way. Un avocat spécialisé rédige l'opinion. Tant qu'elle n'est pas signée, je décris ceci comme une copropriété notariée pré-revenus — pas un produit d'investissement. Sur l'appel, je t'explique exactement où le conseil a abouti, les critères applicables, et ce qu'on ferait autrement si l'opinion revenait autrement.
How do eight co-owners share a calendar? Huit copropriétaires, un calendrier : comment ça marche ?
Each co-owner receives twelve weeks per year, split across four seasons so nobody inherits only shoulder dates. Peak weeks rotate year over year on a published schedule. Swaps between co-owners are allowed and frequent. The elected owner council adjudicates edge cases — the founder does not pick his own dates. Chaque copropriétaire reçoit douze semaines par année, réparties sur les quatre saisons — personne n'hérite uniquement des inter-saisons. Les semaines de pointe tournent année après année selon un horaire publié. Les échanges entre copropriétaires sont autorisés et fréquents. Le conseil élu tranche les cas limites — le fondateur ne choisit pas ses propres dates.
What happens when I want out? Et si je veux sortir ?
Your 1/8 deed is a transferable title, not a club membership. The cohort holds a right of first refusal; if unexercised, you list on the open market like any other real estate parcel. Full mechanics, timelines, and governance on the call. Ton titre 1/8 est transférable, pas une adhésion de club. La cohorte détient un droit de premier refus ; sans exercice, tu inscris sur le marché libre comme n'importe quel autre bien immobilier. Mécanique complète, échéances et gouvernance sur l'appel.
Where does Justin's $425,000 actually sit? Où se trouve concrètement les 425 000 $ de Justin ?
Forty-eight months of documented sweat equity: legal structuring, architectural iteration, 25 financial model builds, land diligence, and the build-team bench. I'll show you the invoices on the call. $112,300 of it is my own deeded 1/8 stake in Property 01 — same instrument, same line item as every other founding co-owner. Quarante-huit mois de capital-sueur documenté : structuration juridique, itérations architecturales, 25 modèles financiers, diligence foncière, constitution de l'équipe de construction. Je te montre les factures sur l'appel. 112 300 $ y correspondent à ma propre part notariée 1/8 dans la Propriété 01 — même instrument, même ligne que chaque autre copropriétaire fondateur.
Why Laurentian Highlands, not Mont-Tremblant village? Pourquoi les Hautes-Laurentides et pas le village de Mont-Tremblant ?
Because the math only works where the land does. The Laurentian Highlands give us a four-season chalet on real acreage, twenty minutes from the village amenities — at a stake price the other seven co-owners can actually write a cheque for. Village-core parcels would push $112,300 past $180K per share and kill the cohort. I chose the math. Parce que les chiffres ne tiennent que là où le terrain tient. Les Hautes-Laurentides permettent un chalet quatre saisons sur un vrai terrain, à vingt minutes des services du village — à un prix d'entrée que les sept autres copropriétaires peuvent réellement signer. Un terrain au cœur du village pousserait les 112 300 $ au-delà de 180 K$ par part et tuerait la cohorte. J'ai choisi les chiffres.
08 · Close 08 · Conclusion

Fifteen minutes. One founder. No pitch deck.

Pick a time on my calendar. If we're not a fit, you'll know in the first five minutes. If we are, you'll leave knowing every co-owner's name and every document we have so far.

Book a 15-min call with Justin → Appel 15 min avec Justin →
Calendly · justin@cochalet.co · 514.585.3255 Calendly · justin@cochalet.co · 514.585.3255
Property 01 · Q3 2026 Propriété 01 · T3 2026 $112,300 · 1/8 deeded 112 300 $ · 1/8 notarié
Book 15-min → Appel 15 min →