Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Mexico
TerminatingTimeshare Agreement
On August 7, after 8 hours of discussion, my husband and I purchased 1 timeshare week in Mexico. The original price was $29,900 for a 2 bedroom condo. We used a timeshare that we owned for an exchange and were given $12,000 credit.
At the time we signed this agreement, we were told that we could not back out of the agreement and that it was final. That evening I spent many hours reading through the fine print. After thorough review, this agreement did not meet many important needs nor were we given accurate information.
My husband and I went back to the resort the next day to terminate the legal agreement but were told that according to Mexican law, they had to pay sales taxes on the sale of the property the day it took place since we used another timeshare as a credit. They would lose too much money and could not break the agreement.
We would like to terminate this agreement if that is legally possible. I realize that I need the assignment of a lawyer and would greatly appreciate an assessment of my rights.
Thank you for your consideration.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: TerminatingTimeshare Agreement
Your rights will ultimately depend upon what jurisdication's laws govern the agreement you signed. If California law governed, for example, you would have a three-day right of rescission, see Business and Professions Code section 11024. I believe a number of other US states have similar laws. I have no idea whether Mexico offers any such rights. The governing law may be stated in the purchase agreement itself, and if it is, you are probably, but not 100%, going to be stuck with that law. In the unlikely event the agreement does not specify governing law, you are still rather likely to be stuck with Mexican law based on where the property is located. If you were in Mexico when you negotiated and signed the agreement, that would pretty conclusively subject you to Mexican law and jurisdiction in any lawsuit.
If the facts point to Mexican jurisdiction you should see an attorney who is licensed to practice in Mexico for a review of your rights. Even if you don't have a right to rescind, there may be a way to back out with minimum financial impact but especially since you seem to have turned over your previous timeshare you will almost certainly need to retain an attorney and very likely it will be a Mexican attorney you'll need.
Re: TerminatingTimeshare Agreement
Timeshare agreements are generally hard to rescind because of their clauses and because law does not provide any relief unless, terms and conditions as stated in contract are not meet. From what I've read, it seems that you are not discomfort with their compliance but rather with the terms and conditions in the fine print which they not disclosed to you during the agreement discussions. I would suggest to you to try and find a nullity action or grounds for claiming nullity with an attorney. It is possible that something might come up due to false pretenses or undisclosed obligations, that's what we call here dolo (dolus). Maybe error in your consent due to the same reasons. You should nevertheless, have that contract reviewed by a Mexican attorney, maybe he can give you more insight. Like Mr. Whipple stated, it is likely that governing law, will be the one where the property is located.
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