Is Montecristo Estates sold out & what Pueblo Bonito was selling the last units for

Reality of the situation is that I'll be amazed if the first golf course is even in by 2012. And for the second golf course it makes much more sense for PBR to buy the mostly completed Armani (owned by Finistera Resorts which folded) as it is adjacent to where the first golf course is going on the other side of the lighthouse mountain.

Curious? How far above the access road into all the resorts from the town (O'Leery Dr.?) is unit #63. I'm in #12 (one of the vaunted #1 thru #18 at the tippy-top of the mountain). #63 must be down in the slums somewhere ... (just kidding)

We recently made a down payment on 2 weeks at a Montecristo unit - balance is due 11/29/09. We have had huge second thoughts and misgivings. How did you get out from under? I'm even willing to take a loss on the down payment. Please advise luannm@sbcglobal.net

How "recently"? Per your contract you can cancel within a certain period by written notce. Also what on Earth didn't you buy on the resale mkt where the prices are much much lower than from the resort?

Contract was signed Aug 30 with downpayment being made then. Balance is due Nov 29. We never intended to get into the time share scene but got caught up in the whole Cabo vacation idea and our salesman was very smooth. We had no experience so had no business in being swept up in this. Before paying the balance, I thought I would see if there were any other options. Buyer's remorse hangs heavily over our household - hindsight is a cruel teacher.

If I were you I would kiss the down payment goodbye and run away. The annual maintenance fee is probably $250/day which is more than you could most likely pay for a unit to rent. If you go ahead and buy your unit will go down in value at least 50% immediately. I paid $86,000 for a great unit and couldn't get an offer of even $40,000 while having the unit for sale for over 2 years. And, if you haven't realized it yet most of what the salesperson told you isn't true.

Considering that but how far to run? Can they reach out from Mexico and hurt us financially? And, what about the maintenance fees which are apparently billed through a separate US company. I'm also talking with The Owners' Advocate - they guarantee they can terminate our contract and possibly get back out down payment...for a fee...and even the fee sounds ok if they get the job done. We loved Cabo but had no business getting caught up in something we knew so little about. After-the-fact research shows we can rent places for a lot less trouble and without the TS investment, have more cash to play with.

Look on the bright side of things -- you could have bought a house in non-coastal California, or Florida, or Nevada, or Arizona... My houses in California and Florida both view and waterfront properties, but not on the beach, are down 60% from the peak in 2006 and won't be back to what they were at the peak for at least ten years. My MC villa has held its value the best of my real estate investments. The key to our MC villas appreciating is the golf course. I walked where the first golf course is going to go and it will be the most spectacular/famous golf course in the world. Even a joy to walk the topography in its undeveloped/landscaped state.

First off, I doubt very much if the course is going to be one of "the most famous courses in the world". Second, how is that going to help appreciation of the units when golf privileges aren't transferrable? When I purchased in MC I got a signed letter stating I would only have to pay 1/2 the normal greens fee and my guests would pay 3/4 the normal fee. However, I have since found out that it doesn't mean a things as it wasn't signed by two people as required by the small print on the back of the contract. If these guys were doing this kind of business in the states they would be behind bars.

Still wondering if anyone knows of someone walking away from the purchase obligation. Down payment was made at contract Aug 30 and balance due Nov 29. Down payment would be lost but would be out from under. Bad business but follows a bad decision so looking for a way to cut losses and run.

Also, has anyone worked with The Owners' Advocate?

I was reading about your problem in paying off your purchase of a timeshare. We too have the same problem and have been trying to have them reverse our purchase since last November. We are traveling down to Montecristo Villa the second two weeks of November. Our lawyer is traveling with us. It has ruined our credit and it has been a pain. Hope to let you know how we managed after the fact. I have not heard of the owners advocate. How did you find this and has it been helpful?

I know someone who got deposit back using Profeco. I got my cash dep back. I'll be staying at MC in 3rd week of November, if you'd like to discuss.

I'm returning our signed agreement to Owners' Advocate today. $1100 ($550 x 2) with guarantee that they will get contract cancelled or money back and, supposedly, a good return rate on deposit refunds. We'll see - if it works then great! I know, spending more $$ seems counterproductive but I figure they know who to contact and how...things I could probably do but don't have the expertise so willing to pay for the service. I stumbled onto their website while researching timeshares and they are mentioned a couple of times in posts on this website. I'll post updates as this progresses.

When you arrive at the Montecristo, call us, we will be in Villa 27. Love to discuss.

and we're in #18 11/16-24. Perhaps we can all get together for some wine and cheese

Sounds great! Give us a call when you are there with some time...ask for Susan and Paul.

hola susan.. it was good meeting with you and paul and i am glad that we were able to work together and restore your faith in us and resolve the issues .. its a great property and yes, we will end up doing the golf beautifully and the final property will be great... hopefully, it will be before i need a cane but the recession hurt us a bit also... saludos dirk

this is a funny line... "i dont know what will happen to mexico".. really? i don't know what will happen to the United States...let me see, cash for clunkers.. that should save our car companies.. good idea.. oh, i know, lets print up another trillion while baby boomers pile up 9 million a year into their sixties ... are you kidding, mexico is closer, safer and the best value 12:1 peso for the dollar... stop with all the mexico has drug cartels all over it.. don't be so naive.. mexico, as a whole, is totally safe... those border towns are dangerous, but not mexico as a whole ... and certainly not cabo san lucas.. let me ask you ... if i give you 10 million dollars worth of cocaine, are you willing to drive up ONE highway for ONE THOUSAND miles, with NO EXITS, and 6 checkpoints ... ok, so now that you know you can walk safely at night around cabo and there are no drug cartels and nothing but white sandy beaches, some whales, good fishing, some vendors, good margaritas, lots of school children WALKING to school and back every day, hard working service staff that are bused in every day, can you say that about your home town? can you walk in LA anywhere at night? have fun amigos.. just enjoy and let the thing happen.. its too close to the US and too many baby boomers love the no-mosquito coast to not end up making it a more valuable investment... saludos dirk

I AGREE. I bought my unit for $75,000 in 2005 and had to sell it this year for $38,000. I rented it out for years and covered my maintenance fees and a bit more, but I've been trying to sell it for almost four years!! They do not retain their value, especially in the current market which will be "low" for quite a while. It's also not that easy to rent.

It's good to see a Pueblo Bonito sales person on these messages (Dirk) we paid 72K for our unit and have been able to rent 1 to 2 weeks every year with little problems. My concern is the maintance fees increasing every year (and Why) will we be able to increase our rents to cover the costs.

So, what happened?