Caribbean coast of Mexico — An ideal place to spend your annual holiday. Many people love to return to the same beach year after year, go to the same restaurants and watch how life around them gradually changes. A timeshare, when used wisely, can provide the chance to vacation in the same place every year, and at a reasonable price.
In a number of countries, timeshare (a system for exchanging vacations among co-owners of resort hotels) has a bad reputation. However, Mexico has managed to create clearly and strictly defined legislation, which has paved the way for many years to be considered a reliable haven for travelers who choose a timeshare vacation. Mexico has the second largest number of timeshares in the world (after the United States), and the state of Quintana Roo — first place in Mexico and throughout Latin America.
In most cases, timeshares in Mexico — These are condominiums and hotels on the coast.
Before you buy a timeshare, there are a few caveats you should be aware of.
Cautions
- When you buy a timeshare, you are not buying property. Timeshare — not an investment! You buy the right to dispose of property, and only for a certain period of time.
- You do not have complete control over the use of your timeshare.
- You probably won't have a chance to use your timeshare during peak season.
- Upon further sale, the value of the timeshare will most likely be lower. At least in Mexico. This is due to the depreciation of the building and the high saturation of the market with new offers. In addition, the sale of a timeshare itself can be difficult due to high competition.
- Annual maintenance fees for timeshares increase every year — These are the statistics for Mexico.
However, the freedom to not have to think about where to vacation for a reasonable price may outweigh the downsides of a timeshare.
Safety Tips
Here are some tips that will help you secure your timeshare purchase in Mexico.
- A timeshare can be called whatever you want: shared ownership, fractional ownership, fixed week ownership, vacation entitlement, vacation club, loyalty program, bonus or vacation program, etc. It is still a timeshare. Mexican legislation does not clearly distinguish between the concepts of «timeshare» and «leisure club» (conditionally a vacation for accumulated or purchased points), as is done in the USA. You are either buying a timeshare (and this word should be in your contract), or you are buying orrentreal estate.
- Never rely on brochures and videos. You should see what you are buying in person.
- The seller, or rather his sales agent, must be authorized to sell this particular timeshare.
- Unless you have a clear intention of purchasing a timeshare, do not accept any gifts or compliments from the seller. There are people working here who are very good at selling timeshares, and because of your politeness, before you know it, you'll be at the stage of signing a contract.
- If the offer looks too tempting, most likely, in reality everything is not so — look for pitfalls. Mexican law requires that all bonuses and all payments be spelled out in the contract. Review the contract carefully. If a timeshare seller promises you something and promises benefits, this must be spelled out in the contract, otherwise his words — empty sound. Likewise, payments not clearly stated in the contract are not binding.
- Even at the preliminary stage of discussion, find out all the financial and organizational aspects down to the smallest detail: obligations under the transaction, service and assessment fees, taxes, chance of exchange, periods of use, etc.
- Explore alternative offers — take the opportunity, they will turn out to be more profitable.
- Don't sign anything under pressure. The seller says that the contract cannot be taken out of the office (which is already illegal) and he should sign it here and now — Avoid signing immediately and take the time to study the details of the contract. The seller says that tomorrow this timeshare may no longer exist — This is not true, the Mexican market is oversaturated with timeshare offers.
- Don't sign a contract in Spanish only (unless you speak it). Let it be a bilingual contract. It is unlikely that Russian will be the second language, but there will be no problems with English.
- Each contract must have a registration numberProfeco(Federal Consumer Prosecutor's Office). The original contract will also be kept at Profeco.
- Make inquiries about the company you are purchasing your timeshare from. Ask Profeco if there have been any complaints about the company — this information is considered publicly available. . You can also contact the Asociación de Clubes Vacacionales de Quintana RooACLUVAQ.
- If your timeshare is under construction, make sure your deposit will be held in an insured escrow account (not all companies do this) or similarly protected.
- Recently, the issue of a subsequent change of owner or manager of a timeshare complex has become relevant. Often the change leads to a deterioration in the original conditions and changes to the timeshare contract. Unfortunately, you cannot insure against this, however, it is possible to try to add a clause to the contract stating that its conditions will not change over a period of such and such a number of years.
- Always make payments only to the account of the company that sells the timeshare, without prepayments. Even agents receive their commission for selling a timeshare most often from the seller, not from the buyer.
Criteria for terminating a timeshare contract
Mexican legislation clearly states that within 5 days from the date of conclusion, the contract for the purchase of a timeshare has the opportunity to be terminated by the buyer without any explanation. And even despite the seller/agent's statements to the contrary and requests not to do so. You have the right to terminate the contract in person or by sending a registered letter requesting termination — in the latter case, it is better to do this through a lawyer. If the seller is stalling, contact Profeco immediately.
After a five-day «preferential» period, you will not have many opportunities to legally terminate the contract.
If there are clear signs of fraud, you have the right to terminate the contract through Profeco by contacting us onlinechat. More often than not, Profeco resolves issues related to consumer complaints quite quickly. According to thislinkIn addition, you can read the full text of the Mexican Consumer Protection Law (in Spanish).
As we have already said, one of the originals of your contract is kept by Profeco. If there is a discrepancy between your copy and Profeco’s copy, the contract is automatically invalidated.
Ignorance of Spanish or distance may be significant obstacles to terminating a timeshare contract. In this case, you cannot do without an experienced Mexican lawyer.
After termination of the contract, the timeshare company is obliged to issue a refund within 15 days.
Timeshare resale
The most common way to get out of a timeshare agreement is to resell the timeshare. However, it is at this stage that the largest number of scams occur. Most often, they are connected in the fact that the one who resells the timeshare is ready to make any demands just to terminate the contract, and the buyer of such a timeshare hopes to buy it at a relatively low price.
The Mexican market is oversaturated with timeshare offers. For this reason, if someone tells you that a buyer is offering more for a timeshare than you paid for it — don't believe it. Part of the price paid will be compensated by the state — Don't believe it either.
Never transfer any commission amounts to sales agents in advance. The agent's commission or fee will be deducted from the sale price upon completion of the transaction.
Contact your timeshare manager — Perhaps he has a resale program or a reliable company that will be able to buy your timeshare.
In the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, there are 26 companies that have the right to provide timeshare services. Seek their help when buying or selling your timeshare — the most correct solution.