Four Seasons Residence Club, Punta Mita

The Residence Club is 25 fractional villas inside Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, sold as 1/12 interests. Punta Mita lies within 50 km of the coast, so Mexico's restricted zone applies. Article 27 of the constitution bars a foreign buyer from direct title. Use of the property passes through a fideicomiso, a trust with a Mexican bank as trustee and the buyer as beneficiary, permitted by the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores for residential use for up to 50 years and recorded in a public deed. Resale brokers describe the Punta Mita interests as a floating right to use held in trust. The instrument, its remaining term and the fraction are confirmed for the specific residence before you commit.

A 1/12 interest carries 3 weeks plus a privilege week, on a floating schedule with rotating priority. Resale listings put 2 of the reserved weeks in the platinum band, weeks 1 to 17, 26 to 34 and 44 to 52, and 1 in the gold band, weeks 18 to 25 and 35 to 43. Arrival is from 4pm and departure by 10am, on any day of the week. Exchange into the other 5 Four Seasons Residence Clubs is arranged through the club and subject to availability. Owners may let their weeks through the resort's rental programme, which has run since 2005, subject to availability. Whether exchange rights carry over on a resale interest is confirmed before you commit.

The club bills annual dues against each fraction. Four Seasons does not publish the amount and it varies with villa size, so the figure, what it covers and the billing dates are confirmed for the specific residence before you commit. Beyond dues, a foreign owner carries the trustee bank's set-up and annual charges on the fideicomiso, Mexican property tax on the villa, and state acquisition tax and notary fees on transfer. None of those are published for this club, so each is quoted in writing before you contract. The privilege week is charged at a nightly rate set by the club.

Residence Club owners use the resort rather than a separate clubhouse, so the list below is drawn from the resort's own services: housekeeping and concierge in the villa, both serviced beaches, the pools, the spa, golf, tennis and the children's programmes. What sits inside the annual dues and what is charged to the villa differs item by item, and is confirmed for the specific residence.

The fractional villas were drawn by Diego Villaseñor, who also designed the resort. They run from 1,900 sq ft to over 3,100 sq ft, about 177 to over 288 sq m, in 2, 3 and 4 bedroom plans. A 3 bedroom villa marketed by Punta Mita measures 3,090 sq ft, about 287 sq m, with 3 bathrooms and room for 6 to 8. Interiors use tropical hardwood and Mexican travertine, and kitchens carry Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances. Each villa has a terrace with an infinity-edge plunge pool, a gas grill and an outdoor shower. Broker listings quote larger areas that appear to count terraces, so size is confirmed for the specific villa.

Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita opened in September 1999 on a 21 hectare, 52 acre nature preserve on the peninsula. Diego Villaseñor worked with Wimberly Allison Tong and Goo, and the resort interiors are by Erica Krayer and Ofelia Uribe. There are 177 hotel rooms, of which 139 are guest rooms and 38 suites, plus 22 villas, 7 residences and 3 beach homes let by the resort. In ownership there are 10 private residences, 54 private villas and the 25 Residence Club fractions. On site are 4 pools and a lazy river, the 13 room Apuane Spa, 10 tennis courts and 5 restaurants.

Punta Mita is a gated 1,500 acre peninsula on the north side of Bahía de Banderas in Riviera Nayarit, with 9.5 miles of Pacific coast and 21 residential communities. Two Jack Nicklaus Signature courses sit inside the gates, Pacifico from 1999 and Bahia from 2009, and play at Punta Mita Club de Golf is limited to residents and to guests of the Four Seasons and St Regis resorts. The community also has 3 beach clubs, a 10 court tennis centre run by Peter Burwash International and a full service hospital. Puerto Vallarta International Airport is about 42 km away, a 45 minute drive.

A foreign buyer does not sign for direct title. A Mexican bank applies to the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores for permission to set up the fideicomiso, naming the buyer as beneficiary, the use of the property and the trust's duration. The ministry rules within 5 working days, and the trust is then signed as a public deed before a Mexican notary. The permit runs up to 50 years for residential use and can be extended by a further application. Substitute beneficiaries are named in the deed, which is how the interest passes on. Your own Mexican counsel should read the club documents and the trust before you sign.

Avory deals with the club's member services team, the on-site residential office and owners selling their interests. When you enquire we confirm what is genuinely available: the villa, the fraction, the weeks attached to it, the dues in force and whether exchange rights survive a resale. Owner stays are arranged subject to availability, and we say so before you book travel. Avory does not act for Four Seasons and cannot create inventory. Request access.