Questions regarding Mayan Palace contract

[new2tsing]

My in-laws are trying to get us to sign on to their contract so they can pass it on to us when they're too old to travel. We know pretty much nothing about time shares and unfortunately we couldn't get good information from them either.

In reading over their documentation is appears they have either 1 or 2 red level weeks at MP (one contract says 1 week, but anther with the same certificate number says 2 weeks -- we had understood from them that they had 2 weeks if they got a 1 bedroom and 1 week if they got a 2 bedroom, if that's possible). The MF when they purchased in 2010 was $589. It's unclear if they also have renovation costs or other fees.

The also purchased or were given (perhaps as a perk from MP -- not sure) a membership to Holiday Systems International (annual fee $99). I believe that is pretty much worth nothing (beyond being a discount hotel site) except for the possibility that they might buy your weeks for a $50 admin fee. Does anyone know how this works? I understand you pay the MF and then they'll refund if they like the week you have. Silly question, but how do you know what week you have? Do you get your week and then just hope HSI is willing to buy it?

Final questions, we think in order to get more use out of their TS they really should look into the exchange program. They have a brochure for SFX, but haven't actually signed up for anything. Does anyone know if just using the "free" gold membership will actually work or do they need to pay and join something like RCI? How do we know what their exchange would be worth? I'm guessing not much since the market in Mexico seems to be flooded.

Of course conversations about money with anyone can be tricky, so we're trying to be delicate when helping them decide what to do. Where also trying to determine if this is something we're interested in signing on to.

Thanks for any information you can provide!

 

[pittle]

They can add you at anytime, so you have plenty of time or put it in their will. The contract probably says that the contract can be transferred to heirs at no charge.

We have several Mayan Palace weeks and with our 2-bedroom units, we can split them and stay one week in the 1-bedroom and one week in the hotel unit so that we can stay for 2 weeks with 1 MF. The $589 for MF is what we pay for our oldest & cheapest contract, so I am not sure that they have a 2-bedroom unit as one of ours is about $700 for a 2-bedroom and it was originally purchased in 2002. Ours have what is called a Vacation Fair (VF) week that we can use by paying an extra maintenance fee. If the contract is for 1 week, this is called a 1+1 (1 week + a VF week) and if it is a 2 week contract, it is a 2+2. (2 weeks + 2 VF weeks).

A couple of years ago they started something with registered weeks and residence weeks. We do not have any of those so I cannot answer how your in-laws is broken down, but sounds totally different from what we have.

I am not a fan of HSI and it has never worked out for us so we let it expire. We have used SFX and yes the free program works. You will also get some bonus weeks to use for exchange with them. (TS4M's has a guy named Mark who answers questions about SFX.) The program you pay for will save money on the exchanges and give you some upgrades that you do not get with the free program. You just have to decided which you prefer. We are currently members at the free level because we do not exchange much anymore - we go where we own.

Do they have the no pay unless you go feature? That is great and you will not be obligated to pay MF every year unless you use or exchange your unit. Do you still have the 5 year renovation fee?

I am in Puerto Vallarta now, but check in every day, so will try to watch for any other questions you may have. There are other MP/GM owners out here that will probably answer too.

 

[new2tsing]

Thanks so much for the reply. For some reason my father-in-law was really pushing us to sign right away. Seems like he's picking up some habits from the sales people, lol. Glad to know we have plenty of time to make our decision.

I believe you're right they have a 1 bedroom unit, but it was odd that they had 2 contracts with the same certificate number. One said 1 week and the other said 2 weeks. He also indicated they could upgrade to a unit with no MF, but I'm not sure what the buy-in for that was. I think they did the math and realized it wasn't worth it.

I will definitely let them know they should look at SFX. I hope they got the HSI for free and are only paying the $99 annual fee. Do you think if they are level red they might have a chance at getting HSI to buy their week? Or are they really only looking for holiday weeks?

Thanks again for the information. As I said, it's been tricky getting information from them and financial discussions like this can get awkward. We just don't know if they are unclear on their contract or if we just aren't asking the right questions. Even if we decide not to sign, we still want to make sure they are getting the most value out of their TS.

 

[tlippy]

HSI

I did buy an HSI membership and have, in my opinion, gotten all the $1400 back in fair rates at very nice Timeshare locations in Puerto Vallarta and Cabo. Example - I was given a free week in Merida as a buy-in bonus. Currently I have a week booked at the Grand Mayan, Los Cabos, 1br, sleeps 6-I don't think it's one of the "lockouts" - for January 04, 2013. I paid HSI $240. That said, I'm going to let HSI lapse because I was given 2 Red weeks at the Finisterra which will be my annual travel to Mexico IF the new Finisterra management doesn't try to mess with my contract. If they do - I will continue to use HSI for my annual Mexico travel.

 

[Tropical lady]

need to review contract

New2tsing,
By the description and questions about mutlple contract #'s, with a purchase date of 2010, I think you have 1 week for 10 years and 2 weeks for 99. The newer contracts were written that the 1 week ends at 10 years so that you continue with 2 weeks for 99 if you do the every 10 year renweal. So for the first 10 years you have 3 weeks to use.
You really need to see their contract(s). There should be 2, one for 1 week for 10 years and one for 2 weeks 99 years. They are detailed and explain all your benefits, etc. In addition an important feature would be the "no MF unless use" waiver or clause.
Hope this helps......

 

[pittle]

To get Holiday weeks, they will have to plan far in advance. In Mexico, Red weeks are just about all year long- except for July, August & September when it is hot and rainy. MP tends to say all weeks are red weeks. The thing is, when you deposit your week with SFX, RCI, or even HSI, MP does this as part of their "bulk deposits" and you do not get to choose the week you want to deposit. Some weeks will "pull" better weeks on exchanges. With most MP contracts, you can only book 6 months out, but to get Christmas or Easter week on an exchange, you often have to snag one 12-18 months out. Sometimes you can get a Holiday week at a great resort on short notice, but then the transportation is really high.

After 21 years of timesharing, we have finally decided to buy where and when we want to go and not do exchanges. They add another $200 ($300 if you count the annual fee) to the cost of your timeshare. You must pay the MF before you can deposit a week with an exchange company.

We have not used DAE (Dial An Exchange), but some people have had good luck with it.

Just remember - a timeshare is not an investment - it is basically a semi-prepaid vacation. I say "semi" because you pay up front for the right to use a week at the Mayan Palace and then pay MF each year.

We like timeshares because we always have a nice place to stay and in the earlier days, it forced us to take a vacation and not stay home year round. We have gone to some great places and not regretted starting the timeshare thing. We have learned to purchase resale when we can, but on occasion have bought from the developer or upgraded to their newer models. We have sold some to get to the where we want to go places. Some we bought for a great price on eBay and then traded up, leveraging our cash outlay. That does not work for everyone though.

We do not plan to purchase any more timeshares as our grown children are not interested in the "timeshare thing" and do not want to inherit them. They cannot afford the MF and airfare for a family and do not think they have the time with all the family activities to actually use them. Therefore, we have made a point not to have them on our contracts. When our contracts expire, we do not plan to renew them and if we die before they expire, the executor can send copies of the death certificates and say this deceased person can no longer pay MF.

 

[new2tsing]

That's great information. Thanks everyone. As far as the contracts, the paperwork I saw didn't seem to include much information, but then again I didn't really know what I was looking for at the time.

We've decided not to sign for now. My father-in-law was a little disappointed that we would pass on such a good "investment" (the sales people have really won him over), but we don't want to make that kind of financial commitment with the MF's. My husband has 2 siblings and we'd be fine if one or both of them are interested in it. They have kids and we don't so it might make more sense for them. Plus, we tend to stay in smaller boutique hotels, so we're not sure the MP would really suit our tastes and right now I'm not up for figuring out how to get the most out of the exchange system.

We are very happy for them because this is forcing them to travel, so that part has been great. As long as they don't upgrade past what they can afford we'll be fine.

Thanks again!