Offers have to be highest bid...is this the new way to buy?

[crisi]

So does this mean a verbal acceptance is meaningless? Or are sellers not making decisions for days?

I would guess that this happens most often with small contracts that are priced below market, where multiple offers come in pretty much simultaneously. If the contract is priced below market, and isn't hundreds of points, several offers are going to be received in the first day. If the member who is selling holds a job, they might not be reachable for several hours, during which the reseller has gotten a few offers and the bidding war has started. At that point its in the realtor and the seller's best interest to hold out for a higher offer, calling the people who offered early and saying there is a higher offer on the table and giving them the chance to stay in or out.

Its why its important to know at what price you should get out. It isn't reasonable to expect a loaded OKW contract to get let go (and make it through ROFR) at less than $46 - knowing $63 was a deal and $64 too rich is the smart way to go about it. Its possible someone still got a deal on that contract at $68 - it would still be below market. Its also possible that it went for $74 and the seller got a deal.

 

[tb1972]

I saw an attractive listing in one of my listing notification emails this morning, and emailed the broker asking to put in an offer. The broker replied with the number "that the bidding was up to" and outlined the minimum that I would need to offer to be "the highest bidder". Has buying turned into an auction style across the board- is this the norm? Or just this one broker? It's discouraging, as I would hope that contracts are posted at a reasonable selling price and the first offer to purchase should get it. I bought my last contract at asking, and would have hated to have to get into a bidding war. Anyone lese have experience with this?

I wanted to share my experience. I just purchased a 50 point add on yesterday for asking price and won. Apparently, I was the first bidder and a few others after me. I thought $119 ppt BWW for a small 50 pt contract was a bit on the high side but looking at the ROFR boards, it wasn't out of the norm these days. Besides, I was trying to match Dec. UY same as my other two contracts.

 

[drusba]

As noted, Florida is an all bids state in that the broker is required to provide seller with all bids. Many states are like that. The Minnesota rule mentioned above which gives the broker the option to withhold bids the broker believes are unreasonable offers is considered a seriously flawed rule by many, including because many believe the broker should not be allowed to withhold any relevant information from the seller. You might believe you want to sell only to the highest bidder but what you really want is to sell to the highest bidder that can actually complete the sale by the closing date. That lower bidder may be your better credit worthy option and thus a broker's withholding that lower bidder's offer from the seller is considered wrong in many states.

I suspect bidding wars for DVC seldom occur except that they are more likely to occur for low point contracts (e.g., 50 points) that are in high demand, and for which brokers even have waiting lists with multiple names on the list.

Also as to the question above as to whether a verbal acceptance is menaingless, the answer is legally that it is meaningless, since you won't have a binding agreement until the seller has signed a document binding him to an offer. In other words if you make a bid and are orally told the seller agrees, the seller can change his mind and accept a new offer.

 

[ktmo]

My experience is limited, but I put in a full price offer on a contract within an hour of the listing posting. I am a newbie, and saw what I wanted and didn't want to wait for a better deal. I was informed that it was the second offer, but the first was not full price. I am assuming it had not been presented to the sellers, since we both put in offers so quickly. The broker was giving the first offer an opportunity to increase their offer, best and final. If they did not increase their offer, the contract would be mine.

I don't know if that is right or wrong. But I did get the contract.

 

[pangyal]

My experience is limited, but I put in a full price offer on a contract within an hour of the listing posting. I am a newbie, and saw what I wanted and didn't want to wait for a better deal. I was informed that it was the second offer, but the first was not full price. I am assuming it had not been presented to the sellers, since we both put in offers so quickly. The broker was giving the first offer an opportunity to increase their offer, best and final. If they did not increase their offer, the contract would be mine.

I don't know if that is right or wrong. But I did get the contract.

I'm wondering, then- if your offer was full price and the other buyer had come back with a matching offer, would the brokers then have come back to you to ask if you wanted to increase your offer price?

 

[DisDadDVC]

Every contract I have bought/bid on in the last year was a "bidding war" situation. Having said that, I only bid on contracts that are either fully loaded with banked points and/or priced below market rate. So, it makes sense that there many others interested in the same contracts as me. I have won and lost some bidding wars. Never once did I stop bidding and have the broker offer it to me anyway. So I believe it is more than just a sales tactic. I believe there are often multiple real bidders.

 

[DisDadDVC]

I'm wondering, then- if your offer was full price and the other buyer had come back with a matching offer, would the brokers then have come back to you to ask if you wanted to increase your offer price?

This is how it worked with me. I offered full price. There was another offer below mine. That person went full price +1. Then I went their price +1. Back and forth a few times until we were around $6 over full ask and I bowed out.

 

[DVC Doctor]

This is how it worked with me. I offered full price. There was another offer below mine. That person went full price +1. Then I went their price +1. Back and forth a few times until we were around $6 over full ask and I bowed out.

chicken !!!!

 

[pmaurer74]

When I saw a contract I liked, I made an offer right when they opened. I was surprised that we had an agreement within 2 hours. If I was the seller, I may have sat on it for a day or so to see what else came in. There were only a few contracts on the market at the time and we did not pay full asking price. I would be annoyed if I offered full asking price and was told to present a better price due to multiple offers but I can see why they do it.

 

[ktmo]

I'm wondering, then- if your offer was full price and the other buyer had come back with a matching offer, would the brokers then have come back to you to ask if you wanted to increase your offer price?

I am not 100% sure. It sounded like if the 1st offer went full price, it would go to them. But, maybe we could have started bidding. I am not sure what I would have done.

 

[mort1331]

Ok I have a 220 point contract pricing starts at 70/point. Make my reserved bid and it yours. After the winning bid is determined I will revel the resort.
GO!!

 

[NoleFan]

I purchased both my contracts resale in early-mid 2013. I offered full price on both and the contracts were mine. I think I was the first full priced offer on both. The 2nd contract was a small Beach Club contract that had multiple offers on it. I, however, was the first offer & I went in at full price from the onset as I really wanted the contract & saw the resale market prices going up. I dealt with The Timeshare Store & Shontell at DVC by Resale. Both were honest and did not engage in bidding wars. However, I did make an offer (a couple dollars under asking price) on a contract that the broker did promote a bidding war and ended up selling for over asking price (asking price was not undervalued). The company that promoted & engaged in the bidding wars was the Tuttas brokers.

 

[JWG]

Recently, we put an offer in on a contract and even though we were first our offer was declined without counter. I'm assuming someone else offered more as I did come in quite a bit below asking. Though, I feel asking was grossly inflated. Anyway, the exact same contract came back around within a few days so obviously the accepted deal fell through for some reason or other. I bid slightly higher but shifted who paid dues. They countered, I countered, they stood firm and so I accepted their counter. In the end it ends up costing me about $500 more than the original offer they flat out refused.

We just passed ROFR on that contract last week and should have our closing docs in about 4 weeks. Curious what happened on that original offer, but highest isn't always best.

I think some resale companies are trying to drive up prices by listing at crazy high prizes. It seems to be working, especially when they pit you against another buyer, or at least suggest there's another buyer or two.

 

[DougEMG]

I saw an attractive listing in one of my listing notification emails this morning, and emailed the broker asking to put in an offer. The broker replied with the number "that the bidding was up to" and outlined the minimum that I would need to offer to be "the highest bidder". Has buying turned into an auction style across the board- is this the norm? Or just this one broker? It's discouraging, as I would hope that contracts are posted at a reasonable selling price and the first offer to purchase should get it. I bought my last contract at asking, and would have hated to have to get into a bidding war. Anyone lese have experience with this?

This has happened to me a number of times, even back in 2011-2012. Sometimes I was the one being outbid, sometimes I was doing the outbidding. In all cases it was because the seller had not yet replied to the broker on an offer. What matters is the first offer the owner says yes to.

 

[jnjhuddle]

I had this experience just yesterday....
I saw an OKW contract I was interested in that was listed at $85 pp. I offered $70. The broker emailed me that there were multiple offers on this one and that offers at least $10 pp more than mine that were sent to the seller. I was thinking quite emotionally at the time, as I just had a fully loaded 80 Point OKW get taken by Disney at $86 (with no MF) on Tuesday. So I emailed back that I was willing to go to $82. He said he would try. An hour later I noticed it was listed as sales pending but I hadn't heard anything else so assumed it went to another buyer. Later in the afternoon an OKW contract popped up with my use year (the other one was not) at a better price and was with the same broker I just dealt with for my rofr'd contract. I called and offered full price and am now waiting to get sent off to ROFR. (Fingers crossed on this one)!!An hour later, I get an email from the FIRST broker's administrator (on the one I bid $82 ) to get information from me to complete transfer of deposit (With ***) on my recent purchase!!! Anyway, sorry for the long story but the bottom line is that I emailed them back that I would not be purchasing with them and I noticed that it's back on the market today. Now wondering if there really were multiple offers or what??!!

 

[Savagekids]

I have made many offers in the last 2-3 month. Many times the broker came back and told me to raise my offer to my best price. Sometimes I did and sometimes I stuck to my guns. One offer kept to my price even after the broker asked me to raise it. About a week later, he came back and said the sellers would take it. By then I had found another contract for the same price with more points.

Lesson: It's okay to start at a low price but set the highest price you're willing to pay before making and offer and stick to it.

 

[Savagekids]

I had this experience just yesterday....
I saw an OKW contract I was interested in that was listed at $85 pp. I offered $70. The broker emailed me that there were multiple offers on this one and that offers at least $10 pp more than mine that were sent to the seller. I was thinking quite emotionally at the time, as I just had a fully loaded 80 Point OKW get taken by Disney at $86 (with no MF) on Tuesday. So I emailed back that I was willing to go to $82. He said he would try. An hour later I noticed it was listed as sales pending but I hadn't heard anything else so assumed it went to another buyer. Later in the afternoon an OKW contract popped up with my use year (the other one was not) at a better price and was with the same broker I just dealt with for my rofr'd contract. I called and offered full price and am now waiting to get sent off to ROFR. (Fingers crossed on this one)!!An hour later, I get an email from the FIRST broker's administrator (on the one I bid $82 ) to get information from me to complete transfer of deposit (With ***) on my recent purchase!!! Anyway, sorry for the long story but the bottom line is that I emailed them back that I would not be purchasing with them and I noticed that it's back on the market today. Now wondering if there really were multiple offers or what??!!

There were several times where I wondered if there were actually other offers or not. Especially the case here the seller came back a week later at my price.

 

[jnjhuddle]

I had that same experience with sticking to my guns and the broker coming back later that they accepted, but I too had already found something else.

 

[SWofDisorder]

Thanks, remind me when I sell my DVC to notify the broker in writing that I don't want to bother with offers below my list price.

I don't have to sell my DVC but I choose to sell it. I know that my OKW is a loaded contract with banked points and it is nice with 190 points. I think the SSR at 25 is hard to fine. I don't have points on it till the UY in 2016. But this puts me in a position of having time. I can turn down offers and wait. Maybe the market keeps increasing, maybe not. Will my DVC sell for full asking price? IDK but I don't want to play a game going back and forth. Stating list price firm makes it clear for everyone what is expected and for me as a seller, makes my life easy.

Time will tell.

 

[crisi]

I don't have to sell my DVC but I choose to sell it. I know that my OKW is a loaded contract with banked points and it is nice with 190 points. I think the SSR at 25 is hard to fine. I don't have points on it till the UY in 2016. But this puts me in a position of having time. I can turn down offers and wait. Maybe the market keeps increasing, maybe not. Will my DVC sell for full asking price? IDK but I don't want to play a game going back and forth. Stating list price firm makes it clear for everyone what is expected and for me as a seller, makes my life easy.

Time will tell.

I'm the opposite, when I want to get rid of something, I want to get rid of it. So I list at 5% below value knowing it will move - cars, real estate. Since its already a bargain, I'm not going to take anything less than the list price - and with real estate have always ended up with more than I would have because of the bidding war. That doesn't mean the highest price - we didn't take the highest offer on the last house we sold, we took the one that was cash, no inspections. Its my brokers job to provide that advice, and since I hire professionals I trust, I trust them to recommend a reasonable offer with decent credit over a great offer than will not go through.