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A special assessment fee is a payment to the owner's association in order to offset an expense. This is an extra fee in addition to the ordinary maintenance fees.
Over the years, many timeshare developers have changed the wording of their contracts to better protect their interests.
Some timeshare owners are sent a bill for a special assessment, even though there is no mention of these fees in their contract.
Others may have it written in their contract, but convoluted wording used to confuse the buyer at the time of signing.
For example, the special assessments may be noted in the resort regulations document, and the contract will make a statement that the purchaser has read the regulations and agrees to abide by them.
This is a common scam in the industry used to confuse clients. Many clients are unaware of the details outlined in the regulations document at the time of purchase, or they are verbally misrepresented to believe that there are no additional fees besides the regular maintenance fee payments.
Timeshare Fees
Most timeshare agreements outline terms for maintenance fee payments, which are typically levied annually to timeshare owners.
The fees are determined and collected by the Resort Management Company or Homeowners Association based on the type and size of the unit.
The maintenance fees should cover routine expenses such as paying for insurance, utilities, refurbishing and taxes.
These fees should also include additional funds to build up a reserve to pay for non-recurring costs like furniture, appliances, etc. that need replacement periodically and the payment of other capital costs as normal physical deterioration occurs at the resort.
Timeshare Special Assessment
Special assessments, on the other hand, should only be charged for events that are not reasonably foreseeable.
This could include such things as natural disasters that cause a lot of damage and could not have been predicted.
Replacement of routine items, such as bedding or furniture, should not be considered sufficient reason to levy a special assessment.
If you have been charged a special assessment fee, it is important that the resort clearly outlines the reason for which it is being charged so that you do not receive a fraudulent charge.
They should also outline the distribution of your maintenance fee payments to ensure that the funds are not misappropriated.
A major scam that continues in the timeshare industry is that the special assessment fees, and even the maintenance fees, are levied at very high rates to fund other projects, such as acquiring new properties, instead of the routine maintenance that is required.
Often, the clients find that, despite the high fees that they pay every year, the resort's maintenance deteriorates. This is because the funds are not being allocated properly.
Many timeshare companies will levy the special assessments without due cause because they know that the members have few or no options to fight against their large companies.
As the companies are located in Mexico, litigating against these companies would require the clients to proceed with fighting a legal battle in Mexico, which many clients are not willing to do due to the large expense, inconvenience and lack of knowledge of the Mexican legal system.
In addition, if it is written or referred to in the contract that they are entitled to charge special assessments, the case will not hold up in court.
Most North American clients want to protect their financial health; consequently, their credit score is important to them.
As such, they may decide to pay the special assessment, even if it is a scam, in order to avoid any negative information being posted on their credit report.
In doing this, the resorts have succeeded in successfully collecting money that is based on fraudulent premises.
Cancel your Timeshare
If you have received a bill for a special assessment, and you were sold the timeshare plan with no mention of special assessment charges, or verbal promises of no extra fees, contact us today! Instead of paying increasing fees every year, you may be able to cancel your timeshare contract and rid yourself of the obligation to the resort.
Contact our staff at Mexican Timeshare Solutions for a free consultation about your situation.
To receive more information about special assessment fees and how to cancel your timeshare, send a WhatsApp to +52 333 239 6589, fill out the contact form, or call us at +1 714 277 3662
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Los tiempos compartidos son lujos que uno se da, el problema es cuando el resort no cumple con su parte, nosotros estamos muyu descepcionados con Pueblo Bonito, que nos esta pidiendo una actualizacion de membresia para seguir usando..un fraude total.
Having a timeshare is totally a nightmare , is not a good investment at all , the maintenance fees increase every two months at least (pueblo bonito) and are incredibily high ! so for your own good avoid timeshare presentations, if they offers "free stuff " its only a trap to hook you in , ignore them !
Timeshare is not a good investmen, me and my husband lost a lot of money on infinite "upgrades" and nothing improve our membership, is just a waste of time and MONEY.
All the oposite, i notice to late that timeshare field is the worst investment that i ever did in my life, our timeshare contract wasnt reliable at all, so now actually we are looking for a way to cancel out timeshare, we cant continue paying anymore.
Asi es , se supone pero lo unico que hace tener un timeshare es causarte MAS estress.. yo tuve muy mala experiencia con un resort en mexico , PUEBLO BONITO , al principio todo bien despues me emepzaron a cobrar por servicios que no usaba y despues anualidades altisimas, no me quedo de otra que cancelar cosa que no fue facil..
You can't have nice vacations with a timeshare. My vacation time is to precious to waste it on something like a timeshare. No freebies or free breakfast would be worth the irritation.
Its awesome the ways how they manage the situations, i mean the art of scam is on their veins , seriously its a nightmare to keep paying something that we cant use or enjoy , cancellation is the best option,ALWAYS.
Has anyone bought recently from Grand Miramar in Puerto Vallarta and had them do what they said they would?
These and other lies are common said in a timeshare presentation. Fraudulent timeshares need to stop
My recommendation to you: DO NOT GO TO A TS PRESENTATION! i mean, does the free breakfast really worth it?? this is the experience of a canadian family in Puerto Vallarta during a timeshare presentation.
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