Can you help me with some questions regarding UVC The Villa Group please?

[El Marco]

My wife and I visited Villa La Valencia yesterday in Cabo, while it is still under construction they gave tours and then sat us down for the timeshare pitch. The young man was very nice and I didn’t feel a deceptive tone at all, nothing high pressure. Anyways, what he offered was a 2 for 1 construction deal. So it was 1200 points plus 1200 points, basically 2400 points for $18,000. He said the one set of 1200 points can only be used by my wife and I, but the other points can be gifted or sold etc. Or both the 1200 points can be used together.

As far I understand the timeshare deal is that we pay the $18,000 and the we can take almost 2 weeks vacations for free every year? I understand we have to pay the yearly maintenance fee of $540, but after that there’s no fees? Because I know of the AM Resorts vacation club where even after you pay to become a member, you only get a discounted rate to stay at their resorts.

He also said with the point system that we could stay in a studio for 9 nights, but if we wanted a 1 bedroom suite it would be 6 nights because it costs more points. We could even stay in a penthouse but only for 2 nights with the amount of points we have.

No contract was signed and he even let me take it with me, which was another green flag for me. Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Passepartout]

Glad you didn't bite. You can very likely get weeks in Mexico in a studio for under $100/nite and keep your $18,000 safely in your pocket- and larger units for comparable prices. And it's unlikely that you'll spring or the airfare annually for just a few days.

Full disclosure: I don't own in Mexico, but am able to go to a variety of quality resorts in the country at very reasonable cost.

Keep the contract, and hang around TUG for a while. Regardless, if you want the 'deal' next week, next month, next year, it'll still be there, but really, take a look at the ebay prices on timeshares where you actually OWN something and can exchange into Mexico whenever you want to go- as opposed to a 'right to use' a Mexican TS, you'll see where the value lies.

Jim

 

[El Marco]

Thanks for the reply! I might not have been clear about the points. When he showed us the points sheet, 1200 points would get us 9 nights in a studio or 6 nights in a 1 bedroom suite. But with the construction sale we have 2400 points, so it would be 18 nights in a studio or 12 nights in a 1 bedroom suite for every year.

 

[Passepartout]

Thanks for the reply! I might not have been clear about the points. When he showed us the points sheet, 1200 points would get us 9 nights in a studio or 6 nights in a 1 bedroom suite. But with the construction sale we have 2400 points, so it would be 18 nights in a studio or 12 nights in a 1 bedroom suite for every year.

Are you sure those 'bonus construction points' are annual and permanent or are they a one-time, use 'em or lose 'em deal? I can see how it's tempting, and if you have the vacation time to use it, and the money that makes it come from disposable income, I can't begin to tell you how to spend your money, but Honestly, buying a resale somewhere INSIDE the U.S. so you have actual ownership- for just a few bucks, and using it's trading power to go to Mexico when you want to go there, makes more sense to me.

Jim

 

[El Marco]

Are you sure those 'bonus construction points' are annual and permanent or are they a one-time, use 'em or lose 'em deal? I can see how it's tempting, and if you have the vacation time to use it, and the money that makes it come from disposable income, I can't begin to tell you how to spend your money, but Honestly, buying a resale somewhere INSIDE the U.S. so you have actual ownership- for just a few bucks, and using it's trading power to go to Mexico when you want to go there, makes more sense to me.

Jim

It does not specify if the points are annual since I do not have the full contract, just a Worksheet. But he did mention we have the extra points every year, but I will definitely get that in writing.
This is what I have printed up.

-Villa Preferred Access Points: 1200+1200
-Special Options and Conditions: 50 year contract, 3 Getaways X year, Extra 1200 pts.
-Then there is the pricing breakdown.

I do understand the US trading power, but we only vacation in Mexico so this makes more sense for us. I'm just trying to more fully understand the timeshare aspect, as we only have stayed in all-inclusive resorts in Mexico. We spend on average about $3000-$4000 a year for all-inclusive accommodations, and I'm hoping to figure out how this deal compares to what we usually spend anyways? I'm just a little skeptical still because I know of people who bought into the "Unlimited Vacation Club" through AM Resorts, and even after they paid $17000-$18000 to become members they still have to pay to stay at any AM Resort. They just get a "discounted rate" which for 7 nights could still be $3000.

So if I paid the $18000 upfront for my "2400 points", is there any other fees to book/reserve? Besides the annual $540 maintenance fee?

 

[Karen G]

So if I paid the $18000 upfront for my "2400 points", is there any other fees to book/reserve? Besides the annual $540 maintenance fee?

You can count on that annual fee going up every year. Also, are you planning to pay $18,000 cash or are you planning to finance that sum? If you have to finance it, don't do it. Timeshares are luxury items that really should be bought with cash. They aren't a good deal if you have to finance them.

But, as mentioned above, take your time to really research your purchase. The "deals" will always be there, but you may just find something on the resale market that works better for you. Check out renting from other owners, too.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

-Villa Preferred Access Points: 1200+1200
-Special Options and Conditions: 50 year contract, 3 Getaways X year, Extra 1200 pts.
-Then there is the pricing breakdown.

So if I paid the $18000 upfront for my "2400 points", is there any other fees to book/reserve? Besides the annual $540 maintenance fee?

There is Villa info in the TUG Mexican Forum you should read .
You probably need to learn more .

Villa is a quality Mexican TS resort system / but read & learn first .

 

[pittle]

It is not free every year. You will be paying about $21,000 upfront and that is not free money. The taxes on the $18,000 will be probably $2880 additional -because 16% VAT tax seems to always be added on to the purchase. So now you are up to $417.60 per year if you take $20.880 and divide by 50 years + the MF each week for actual money that you have spent for the actual cost of a week. Chances are you will not go for 50 year.

If you exchange into another resort, there are annual and exchange fees to an exchange company to add on for the cost of exchanging.

The MF are for each week and as Karen said - they will go up - probably 5% each year.

If you are doing All Inclusive - you will pay for that each time you go as these are never included in the MF.

Just think it through - there will be other opportunities.

 

[El Marco]

It is not free every year. You will be paying about $21,000 upfront and that is not free money. The taxes on the $18,000 will be probably $2880 additional -because 16% VAT tax seems to always be added on to the purchase. So now you are up to $417.60 per year if you take $20.880 and divide by 50 years + the MF each week for actual money that you have spent for the actual cost of a week. Chances are you will not go for 50 year.

If you exchange into another resort, there are annual and exchange fees to an exchange company to add on for the cost of exchanging.

The MF are for each week and as Karen said - they will go up - probably 5% each year.

If you are doing All Inclusive - you will pay for that each time you go as these are never included in the MF.

Just think it through - there will be other opportunities.

So "annual" actually means each week per year we stay at a resort? So say we stay 6 nights in June and 6 nights in October, I will have to pay $540 each week? Totaling $1080 for the year?

 

[Passepartout]

So "annual" actually means each week per year we stay at a resort? So say we stay 6 nights in June and 6 nights in October, I will have to pay $540 each week? Totaling $1080 for the year?

AND if you don't have a 'no use, no pay' clause in your contract you may well be charged for it whether you use the unit or not.

 

[pittle]

So "annual" actually means each week per year we stay at a resort? So say we stay 6 nights in June and 6 nights in October, I will have to pay $540 each week? Totaling $1080 for the year?

Yes. MF are for each week you use or in your case $540 for each 1200 points you use. If you exchange, you pay the MF + exchange company fees, so a week would cost $540 MF + $199 exchange fee+ $129 or more for SFX, RCI, or II annual fees = $868 for just one week at another resort.

 

[beach.bar.bob]

El Marco ...

A typical Villa Preferred Access (VPA) contract includes the "base" or "preferred access" points that you have purchased that may be used anytime during the calendar year, or banked for future use, or traded via Interval International or gifted to someone else or even rented to someone else. In addition, your membership includes an additional number of points equal to the base points purchased known as "preferred points" (yes, the names are very similar and may be confusing...which is perhaps part of their sales strategy) which you have the option to use if you elect to but they are only valid during the summer months. These points may only be used by the contract owners. You are only required to pay the maintenance fee on the optional preferred points if you elect to use them. If you do elect to use them then you must pay the additional maintenance fee. I believe this is what you are being quoted.

So, in your case, if you plan to vacation in the summer months then yes indeed you will have 2400 points per year to use and make a reservation but at a total maintenance fee of $1,080. However, if you wish to vacation in the winter months then you will only have 1200 points per year that you can use to make a reservation during that time. Of course you could also elect to use the base points for one trip in the winter and the preferred points for a second truo during the summer. There are other membership benefits such as borrowing from future years that can help you obtain additional points should you need them.

See this link to the UVC (UVC is the timeshare management company that manages the timeshare memberships sold by Villa Group which is the developer of the resorts) site for all kinds of information on all the benefits included. Spend some time reading through all the links then come back and ask more questions if you need. https://myuvci.com/vpa-club/

Once you pay your annual maintenance fee for the points there are no other charges to book a reservation. During your actual stay you will be charged $3.50 per day as a mandatory gratuity fee that goes to the back of the house staff such as laundry/gardeners/maintenance workers and the like.

Be careful to understand what you are really buying. The points required to book a studio at the various resorts varies. Yes, 1200 points will get you nine nites in a studio at Villa del Arco during the summer months but only seven nites during the winter months. The points rates at Villa la Valencia are much higher...although they would not give me the chart during our last visit and I no longer recall the values that I saw on the chart so I can't give you an estimate.If you think you really want to stay a Valencia make sure you have a points chart for Valencia before you buy.

$18,000 seems a little high for 1200 points - it's in the neighborhood but you can probably do better - I would think around $15,000. See this thread and the others referenced there for more info https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/upgrade-villa-del-palmar.289181/#post-2274301
The three getaways included seem likely to be worthless...Villa Group includes a one year Platinum membership in Interval International with your purchase and the getaways come with that. We've not found them very useful to use. YMMV. After the first year you must pay the annual Interval International Platinum fee to keep getting the getaways.

Be careful, you probably don't have the contract in hand. Only the offer sheet. The contract is about an 8 page document that details out all of the membership benefits. It is the controlling document. Not what the offer sheet says or what the sales guy told you. Make sure everything you believe you are buying is in the actual contract. Don't assume anything. Phyllis' point about the taxes is valid...you'll have to look at your offer sheet to see if they have already been included or not in the $18,000.

Yes, the maintenance fees can increase over time. I've owned a points membership since March 2009. The maintenance fee was 41 cents per point then, it is 45 cents per point now. That's less than a compounded 1 percent increase per year - we've not seen 5 percent that has been quoted above. The maintenance fees are charged for the number of base points you own per year whether you use them or not. As noted above if you elect to use the optional preferred points for a second (or just a longer) visit you will certainly pay additional maintenance fees for them. Maintenance fees are based on points though...not weeks.

The Villa Group resorts are very nice. We enjoy them tremendously. The Villa Group and UVC management do a very nice job running and maintaining the resorts. They are a quality organization. I'm sure you would enjoy being a member.

But...eyes wide open! Make sure this is the best use of your money, really understand what you are buying and be sure that you will really use what you purchase. The core of what you are buying is the 1200 base points. Everything else is marketing and sales fluff (construction pricing, free getaways, double points, etc.) to get your blood hot and get your signature onto the bottom line.

Good luck.

FWIW

bbb

 

[El Marco]

Thank you everyone for taking time out of your day to respond to my question! I honestly appreciate it so much.

 

[El Marco]

El Marco ...

A typical Villa Preferred Access (VPA) contract includes the "base" or "preferred access" points that you have purchased that may be used anytime during the calendar year, or banked for future use, or traded via Interval International or gifted to someone else or even rented to someone else. In addition, your membership includes an additional number of points equal to the base points purchased known as "preferred points" (yes, the names are very similar and may be confusing...which is perhaps part of their sales strategy) which you have the option to use if you elect to but they are only valid during the summer months. These points may only be used by the contract owners. You are only required to pay the maintenance fee on the optional preferred points if you elect to use them. If you do elect to use them then you must pay the additional maintenance fee. I believe this is what you are being quoted.

So, in your case, if you plan to vacation in the summer months then yes indeed you will have 2400 points per year to use and make a reservation but at a total maintenance fee of $1,080. However, if you wish to vacation in the winter months then you will only have 1200 points per year that you can use to make a reservation during that time. Of course you could also elect to use the base points for one trip in the winter and the preferred points for a second truo during the summer. There are other membership benefits such as borrowing from future years that can help you obtain additional points should you need them.

See this link to the UVC (UVC is the timeshare management company that manages the timeshare memberships sold by Villa Group which is the developer of the resorts) site for all kinds of information on all the benefits included. Spend some time reading through all the links then come back and ask more questions if you need. https://myuvci.com/vpa-club/

Once you pay your annual maintenance fee for the points there are no other charges to book a reservation. During your actual stay you will be charged $3.50 per day as a mandatory gratuity fee that goes to the back of the house staff such as laundry/gardeners/maintenance workers and the like.

Be careful to understand what you are really buying. The points required to book a studio at the various resorts varies. Yes, 1200 points will get you nine nites in a studio at Villa del Arco during the summer months but only seven nites during the winter months. The points rates at Villa la Valencia are much higher...although they would not give me the chart during our last visit and I no longer recall the values that I saw on the chart so I can't give you an estimate.If you think you really want to stay a Valencia make sure you have a points chart for Valencia before you buy.

$18,000 seems a little high for 1200 points - it's in the neighborhood but you can probably do better - I would think around $15,000. See this thread and the others referenced there for more info https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/upgrade-villa-del-palmar.289181/#post-2274301
The three getaways included seem likely to be worthless...Villa Group includes a one year Platinum membership in Interval International with your purchase and the getaways come with that. We've not found them very useful to use. YMMV. After the first year you must pay the annual Interval International Platinum fee to keep getting the getaways.

Be careful, you probably don't have the contract in hand. Only the offer sheet. The contract is about an 8 page document that details out all of the membership benefits. It is the controlling document. Not what the offer sheet says or what the sales guy told you. Make sure everything you believe you are buying is in the actual contract. Don't assume anything. Phyllis' point about the taxes is valid...you'll have to look at your offer sheet to see if they have already been included or not in the $18,000.

Yes, the maintenance fees can increase over time. I've owned a points membership since March 2009. The maintenance fee was 41 cents per point then, it is 45 cents per point now. That's less than a compounded 1 percent increase per year - we've not seen 5 percent that has been quoted above. The maintenance fees are charged for the number of base points you own per year whether you use them or not. As noted above if you elect to use the optional preferred points for a second (or just a longer) visit you will certainly pay additional maintenance fees for them. Maintenance fees are based on points though...not weeks.

The Villa Group resorts are very nice. We enjoy them tremendously. The Villa Group and UVC management do a very nice job running and maintaining the resorts. They are a quality organization. I'm sure you would enjoy being a member.



But...eyes wide open! Make sure this is the best use of your money, really understand what you are buying and be sure that you will really use what you purchase. The core of what you are buying is the 1200 base points. Everything else is marketing and sales fluff (construction pricing, free getaways, double points, etc.) to get your blood hot and get your signature onto the bottom line.

Good luck.

FWIW

bbb

Thank you so much for your detailed response! Do you think it would be more beneficial to up the points for around the same price or bring the cost of 1200 points down to around $15,000?

My wife would like to know, what do you enjoy the most about The Villa Group? Do they have decent entertainment? Or just a nice quiet vacation?

 

[beach.bar.bob]

Thank you so much for your detailed response! Do you think it would be more beneficial to up the points for around the same price or bring the cost of 1200 points down to around $15,000?

Remember...it's just my opinion that you can do better on the price. It'll depend on how badly the sales rep/sales managers want your business at the time...sometimes they're flush others they're in desperate need to make their sales numbers.

I think the answer to your question really depends on what you need more...to save some money on your purchase or own the rights to more points. The key to answering how many points you need is to understand which resort, season, room size and length of stay you envision for most of your visits. A week in a studio during the winter season at Villa del Arco is 1200 points. If that's your vision then you have enough points under consideration. Villa La Valencia costs more points (how many I don't know) for a winter week. If that's your vision then you'll want to consider more points.

My wife would like to know, what do you enjoy the most about The Villa Group? Do they have decent entertainment? Or just a nice quiet vacation?

They provide plenty of entertainment. During the days there are yoga classes outside, organized pool and beach volleyball, art projects, etc, plus each nite there is an evening dinner buffet/show. Plus there are kayaks, paddle boards and the like available. That said, we don't really partake of any of that. It's there and available...just not of interest to us.

We've been to most of the resorts over the years. We're partial to Villa del Arco - we've made 18 trips there the past 10 years. (We've been to Flamingos 6 times and Cancun twice). We've toured Valencia...think it's beautiful, but other than trying it out for 3-4 days during one of our Cabo trips we don't see ourselves becoming regular visitors there. We like the Medano Beach location better.

I love the fitness center for an early morning workout. We enjoy hanging at the beach during the days. We like the ability to walk to a number of beach bars for lunch (in particular Tabasco's). We like that Arco is near town as we go into town for dinner almost every nite. The food is just fine at the resorts...but we're more interested in going off campus most nites. We would never do the all inclusive plan. We also appreciate the attitude and service-oriented nature of the employees and how well the resorts are maintained over time.

We've always enjoyed our stays.

FWIW

bbb

 

[jules54]

Don't buy. Do your research on TUG we know what we are talking about. As others hv stated you can always get into Mexico don't buy there just so you'll be an owner. It not worth it. You can rent a lot of resorts for $18,000. The RTU is 50 yrs. That means nothing. You will be tried of it after 10 yrs.
If you won't listen and you really have to have a high priced contract bought from a developer than go back to sales room and see if they hv an intro package of X amount of points for 2 or 3 years for a couple of thousand dollars. That way you can try out the system and see if it works the way you hoped it would. There are so many options out there. Sales will usually do about anything to get even some of your money.

 

[Cougar Country Clan]

I agree with everyone who posted. However, for my situation, my Villa purchase was well worth it and I'd do it again knowing what I know now. Numbers and comparisons are easy. For the right price, situation, and desire, the numbers work out. For me they did. For most/many, it's not a good fit. I suggest thinking through how you enjoy traveling, frequency of going to Mexico in the past, and alternative avenues to accomplish the desired experience, then compare costs.

I too agree that you are wise not to have bitten the offer and decided to find this site first.

 

[easyrider]

Went to the owners update this morning. The offer always seems good. The deal could have been about $15,000 for a 3200 points holiday contract with a 50 year rtu that could be accelerated to 10 years. This seems like 7.5 weeks each year at the upper end resorts offered it I burn them in 10 years. It was actually a very good presentation.

Bill