Getting Out of a Mexican Timeshare: Rules, Scams, Steps

How do you get out of a timeshare you bought in Mexico?

If you signed in the last 5 working days, cancel in writing directly with the timeshare company; the Government of Canada’s travel advice for Mexico says that right exists without penalty and that a waiver blocking it is illegal. After that window, start with the resort itself, check whether the week has any resale value, and refuse every unsolicited offer to buy it, because the U.S. Treasury and the FBI have tied Mexican timeshare resale calls to a cartel-run fraud network. If the resort refuses and nobody will buy, a free document review from an exit firm is the next step, not a wire transfer to someone who says they have a buyer.

Do U.S. timeshare laws apply to a contract signed in Mexico?

Owners often assume the cooling-off rules they read about online cover them. Those rules come from individual states (our state rescission table lists them), and each statute covers sales that fall under that state’s law. A contract signed at a resort in Quintana Roo, Baja California Sur, Jalisco or Nayarit, with a Mexican company, is a different situation. Look in your paperwork for the clause that names which country’s law governs the contract and which courts hear disputes.

The clearest official summary in English comes from Canada’s government. It writes for Canadian travelers, and its advice covers timeshares bought in Mexico:

• You’re legally entitled to cancel a timeshare contract without penalty within 5 working days.
• It is illegal for a timeshare company to ask you to sign a waiver that prevents cancellation.
• To cancel, you must write directly to the timeshare company.
• Before buying, review the contract, consult a Mexican attorney, and keep copies of all correspondence.
• If you suspect fraud in the real estate procedures, contact PROFECO, Mexico’s federal consumer protection office, immediately.

That last point tells you where Canada’s government sends suspected fraud in a Mexican timeshare deal: to a Mexican agency. If you have a dispute about how the contract was sold, a lawyer licensed in Mexico is the professional to ask.

What should you do inside the 5 working days?

1. Count working days, starting from the day you signed to be safe. Canada’s advice gives the 5 working days but not the starting point, so don’t wait. If you’re unsure where day five falls, act today.
2. Write the cancellation letter yourself. Name every owner, the resort, the contract number and the date signed, and state plainly that you are canceling. Canada’s advice says the letter goes directly to the timeshare company, so don’t route it through a salesperson or a third party.
3. Deliver it in a way you can prove. Hand delivery with a stamped copy, a courier with tracking, and an email to the company’s contracts address all leave a record. Use more than one.
4. Keep everything. The contract, any addenda, receipts, the card slip for the down payment, and your letter with proof of delivery.
5. Ignore any paper that says you gave up the right. Canada’s advice is explicit that a no-cancellation waiver is illegal.

Our rescission period guide covers how to write a cancellation letter in more detail.

Why do strangers keep calling about a buyer for your Mexican timeshare?

Often because your details have reached a fraud ring. In a February 19, 2026 release, Treasury said Mexico-based cartels have targeted U.S. timeshare owners for decades through call centers staffed by English-speaking telemarketers, and that beginning in about 2012 the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) took control of timeshare fraud in Puerto Vallarta and the surrounding Bahia de Banderas. According to Treasury, the cartels generally get owner information from complicit insiders at timeshare resorts.

The pattern Treasury describes runs like this. A caller claims to be a U.S.-based broker, attorney or sales representative. There’s a buyer, a rental deal or an investment. Before the money arrives, you must pay “fees” and “taxes,” usually by international wire to accounts at Mexican banks or brokerage houses. The money never comes, and new fees keep appearing.

Then comes the second round. Treasury says scammers impersonate law firms offering to recover the lost money for an upfront fee, or pose as government officials demanding “fines” to release funds and threatening prison. The FBI’s 2023 alert describes the same recovery-company pitch.

The same release announced sanctions on Kovay Gardens, a resort in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Nayarit, northwest of Puerto Vallarta, which Treasury says is controlled by CJNG. Treasury says the resort used robocalls and deceptive sales tactics, falsely promised owners they could earn income renting out unused weeks, overcharged credit cards, and then shared its customer database with CJNG call centers. Treasury called this the sixth OFAC action against CJNG-linked timeshare fraud, with more than 90 individuals and entities designated to date. It also reported that on October 27, 2025, a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York returned a superseding indictment charging three people with crimes tied to running a timeshare fraud operation for CJNG. An indictment is an accusation, not a conviction.

If you own at Kovay Gardens, talk to a U.S. lawyer before sending it any more money. Sanctioned parties’ property is blocked, U.S. persons are generally barred from dealing with them, and Treasury says it issued a general license covering transactions needed to wind down operations at the resort.

How big is the problem? The figures on the public record

What was measured	Figure	Source
IC3 complaints in 2022 about timeshares owned in Mexico	Over 600, with losses of about $39.6 million	FBI IC3 alert, March 2, 2023
Victims and losses reported to the FBI, 2019 to 2023	About 6,000 U.S. victims, nearly $300 million	FBI figures cited by Treasury, February 2026
IC3 complaints in 2024 alone	Nearly 900, with reported losses over $50 million	Treasury, February 2026
Suspicious Activity Reports citing the FinCEN, OFAC and FBI timeshare notice	Over 850 reports, about $330 million in suspicious activity	Treasury, February 2026
Typical monthly SAR volume on possible timeshare fraud	About 40 reports a month; average $383,000, median $42,000	Treasury, February 2026

Treasury adds that these figures likely understate losses because the FBI believes most victims don’t report, often out of embarrassment.

Red flags that a Mexican timeshare offer is a scam

• You, the seller, are asked to pay. Closing costs, taxes, transfer fees, bonds or “fines” demanded from the seller before any money reaches you.
• The money goes by international wire. Treasury names wires to Mexican banks and brokerage houses as the usual channel.
• The caller found you. The FBI tells owners to be cautious of uninvited calls, texts or emails from anyone interested in their timeshare.
• The offer is generous. Canada’s advice warns that criminal groups pose as real estate representatives offering large amounts, who may never pay or may charge high administrative fees.
• Pressure and deadlines. The FBI lists high-pressure tactics and time-sensitive offers among the signs.
• A rescuer appears after a loss. Anyone offering to recover lost money for an upfront fee, or claiming to be a government agency collecting a penalty, fits the re-victimization pattern Treasury describes.

The FBI’s advice is to research every company yourself, call its offices on numbers you find independently, and bring in a real estate agent or lawyer you trust.

You already sent money. What should you do?

Send no more money to the people who took it, whatever the next caller says. File a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, and include, as the FBI asks, the emails, phone numbers, web domains and company names involved, plus every transaction, even attempts where no money moved. Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. For older victims, Treasury’s release lists the Justice Department’s National Elder Fraud Hotline, 833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311). Tell your bank right away about any wire. Our page on recovering from a resale scam covers the follow-up steps.

The resort won’t let you go. What’s the order of steps?

Inside the 5 working days? Cancel in writing, as above. Nothing else comes first.

Inherited it and haven’t accepted it? An estate attorney can tell you whether refusing it works under the law that applies, and you should ask before using the week or paying a bill. See inherited timeshares.

Contact the resort in writing and check resale. The FTC’s advice is to “start by contacting your timeshare company directly,” and it notes that some companies offer exit programs. Ask the resort or its owner services office, by email so there’s a record, whether it has a surrender, deed-back or exit program, what it costs, and what it requires. Then check whether comparable weeks actually sell. If you list, use a licensed broker; the FTC says it’s better to work with a reseller that takes its fee after the timeshare is sold. A real buyer never needs your money to close. Our selling guide explains how to test value.

Sign nothing at an upgrade pitch. Asking about an exit often turns into an “owner update” meeting where you’re offered more points or a better unit. A bigger contract is not a way out. If the resort’s answer to “how do I leave?” is an upgrade, treat it as a no. Our upgrade trap page walks through the pitch.

No resale value, and the resort refused or quoted a price you can’t accept? Get a free consultation and file review from a timeshare exit firm.

Disclosure: Candid Timeshare works with Vacation Ownership Consultants, a timeshare exit firm, and may be paid when readers hire it.

Vacation Ownership Consultants (VOC), based in Scottsdale, Arizona, publishes a process that starts the same way: contact your resort and check the resale market first. If the week has no value and the resort won’t help, you send VOC your billing statements, purchase agreement and deed (if there is one) through its eligibility form, VOC decides whether you qualify, you get a free file review, and only then do you choose whether to enroll for a one-time flat fee. VOC’s home page says it won’t “discuss billing until we’ve made sure you qualify” and describes its consultations as “supported by seasoned industry partners and experienced timeshare attorneys.”

VOC reports a Mexico example from its client files: a couple bought in the Riviera Maya during retirement, saw their maintenance fees rise significantly, and found declining health limited their travel. They paid a listing fee and no buyer appeared, then asked the resort directly and were turned down. VOC says that after it reviewed their documents, the contract was legally terminated. That is one case reported by a firm with an interest in the outcome.

Whoever you consider, a legitimate firm reviews your documents before quoting, puts one flat fee in writing, names the attorney on your file so you can check that lawyer’s bar license, and says in writing what happens to the fee if the resort refuses. It never tells you to stop paying, never guarantees a result, never claims a connection to your resort, and tells you when a free route is still open. For a Mexican timeshare, add one more test: no legitimate firm asks you to wire money to Mexico. The full list is on our red flags page.

What documents should you gather?

• The full purchase agreement and every addendum, including anything signed on a later visit.
• Recent maintenance fee statements and proof of payment.
• Photo ID for every owner on the contract.
• Card or bank statements showing the down payment and any financing.
• Every email or letter to or from the resort, especially written answers about exit options.
• A log of unsolicited calls: dates, numbers, names used, and what was asked of you.

If the contract is missing, ask the resort in writing for a full copy and keep the request.

Can a Mexican timeshare damage your U.S. credit?

It can once the debt reaches a company that reports to U.S. credit bureaus. Vacation Ownership Consultants says Mexican resorts don’t always report directly to U.S. bureaus, but some use third-party collection agencies that do report negative information. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, an account placed for collection or charged off can generally be reported for seven years, with the clock starting 180 days after the delinquency began. Paying off the purchase loan doesn’t stop maintenance fees if your contract charges them every year. Our credit impact page explains how to dispute a wrong entry for free.

Disclosure: Candid Timeshare works with Vacation Ownership Consultants, a timeshare exit firm, and may be paid when readers hire it. This page’s author, Kira Fairbank, is a manager at Vacation Ownership Consultants. We cite its published case data on this page where marked.

This is general information, not legal advice. Cancellation rights, complaint routes and contract terms for a Mexican timeshare depend on Mexican law and your own documents, so ask a lawyer licensed in Mexico about your contract and a U.S. lawyer about any sanctions question before you act.