Actually presenting your offer; are all resellers created equal?

[Raisincain]

Hi guys,

In the last couple of weeks I have made a few offers on some DVC listings. These have been lower offers, but I have made it clear that I am open to counteroffers and all of my offers have been within the dollar amounts that are listed here at DB as recently making through ROFR.

Many of the times I have made these offers, I hear back within 5 minutes that the seller is firm on their price and will not make a counter. I guess the skeptic in me finds it hard to believe that my email can be (1) immediately received and read, (2) all of these sellers can be contacted regularly within 2-3minutes, (3) seller can make a large financial decision and (4) a return email is sent to me; all of this transpiring regularly in the course of 4-5 minutes after I make an offer.

I can understand it happening, but I find it hard to believe that the process takes 5 minutes or less 100% of the time.

All of this to ask my question: the resellers list their properties at a certain price on their websites. In your experience, is each of the resellers equally good about truly presenting the offers? Is there something else at work here I don't know about, such as instructions to not contact the seller unless the price is at least X amount?

Any feedback is appreciated; thanks!

 

[Missyrose]

Hi guys,

In the last couple of weeks I have made a few offers on some DVC listings. These have been lower offers, but I have made it clear that I am open to counteroffers and all of my offers have been within the dollar amounts that are listed here at DB as recently making through ROFR.

Many of the times I have made these offers, I hear back within 5 minutes that the seller is firm on their price and will not make a counter. I guess the skeptic in me finds it hard to believe that my email can be (1) immediately received and read, (2) all of these sellers can be contacted regularly within 2-3minutes, (3) seller can make a large financial decision and (4) a return email is sent to me; all of this transpiring regularly in the course of 4-5 minutes after I make an offer.

I can understand it happening, but I find it hard to believe that the process takes 5 minutes or less 100% of the time.

All of this to ask my question: the resellers list their properties at a certain price on their websites. In your experience, is each of the resellers equally good about truly presenting the offers? Is there something else at work here I don't know about, such as instructions to not contact the seller unless the price is at least X amount?

Any feedback is appreciated; thanks!

I think it all depends on which broker you're making these offers through. Fidelity will present all offers, including lowballs.

 

[mrjef]

I think it all depends on which broker you're making these offers through. Fidelity will present all offers, including lowballs.

The Timeshare Store is the same as Fidelity in this matter.

 

[DougEMG]

I've had the same thing happen to me.

The sellers could have left instructions that they are firm on the the price. Typically this is because they have a loan.

 

[AllieV]

I did not deal with timeshare store, but I did deal with fidelity and a couple of other off-off-broadway type of brokers. All of my responses took at least a full day, often two. It was an entire month before I had a deal brokered. But that doesn't meant it couldn't take 5 minutes. Many people keep their phones on them and get immediate notification of email or answer the phone when called. Or like Doug said, they may have left instructions with the broker already, so all the agent had to do was look up the account details.

Lowball offers are often met with scoff and ridicule, even from so-called neutral parties like seller's agents. Many have noted that Fidelity is a little easier to lowball with because they basically have two types of clients: troubled and ignorant. What I mean is that they contract with Disney, so when someone who bought direct wants to sell, they call up Disney and say, "so how much will you give me for this contract?" These are not people who are aware of the resale market or these boards, which means they aren't savvy. So you will either see very cheap (those ignorant of the resale market) or very expensive (those who bought direct and can no longer afford it) contracts there.

I've painted with a very broad brush; obviously not all fall into that, but for your purposes I hope this helps some. I'd recommend calling on the phone to speak to the agent. You find out so much just with a little conversation.

 

[Raisincain]

...The sellers could have left instructions that they are firm on the the price. Typically this is because they have a loan.

Quite honestly I have no problem with this if it is accepted practice; I know no one wants to be underwater on this investment.

That being said, the reselling agent could at least be more straight-forward with their response instead of feigning actual contact with the seller. All of our lives change day-to-day, and it would seem to me that the resellers owe at least an email to the seller since their position may soften from from one time period to another.

Thanks for the input; glad to know I'm not alone!

 

[DannysMom]

To be fair, contact can be made within 5 minutes. I am using Fidelity, I am currently in my ROFR wait. I had a handful of emails back and forth with an agent. Once I identified a contract to make an offer on, not 5 minutes after I sent my offer email I had a response back from the agent saying my offer was accepted. Even she seemed surprised at how quick the deal happened, so that is likely not the norm.

I agree that the sellers that are firm in their price probably have outstanding loans they need to pay off, especially if you are shopping the newer resorts. They may be waiting a long, looong time for a buyer that is willing to pay their price.

 

[Caren90]

Quite honestly I have no problem with this if it is accepted practice; I know no one wants to be underwater on this investment.

That being said, the reselling agent could at least be more straight-forward with their response instead of feigning actual contact with the seller. All of our lives change day-to-day, and it would seem to me that the resellers owe at least an email to the seller since their position may soften from from one time period to another.

Thanks for the input; glad to know I'm not alone!

The listing broker probably has hundreds of listings (example:Fidelity) and may not have the actual file of the listing in which you have made an offer directly in front of them. Maybe when they locate the file, there are instructions about what would be considered the lowest acceptable offer or that the owners lowest price is firm. If this were the case, I would expect they would let you know whether the offer is in the ball park without necessarily contacting the owner. This is only a guess...

Stephen

 

[Sandisw]

To be fair, contact can be made within 5 minutes. I am using Fidelity, I am currently in my ROFR wait. I had a handful of emails back and forth with an agent. Once I identified a contract to make an offer on, not 5 minutes after I sent my offer email I had a response back from the agent saying my offer was accepted. Even she seemed surprised at how quick the deal happened, so that is likely not the norm.

I agree that the sellers that are firm in their price probably have outstanding loans they need to pay off, especially if you are shopping the newer resorts. They may be waiting a long, looong time for a buyer that is willing to pay their price.

I have to agree that in today's day, with email so accessible by a lot of people via their phones, you could possibly have an offer presented and response quickly...texting can also make things happen quickly.

I know that when I bought and sold, we had answers pretty quickly--not quite, 5 minutes, but I would say no more than 20 all 4 times (two times as a buyer and two times as a seller), not to mention the times I got refused.

 

[MickeyFan612]

I always receive quick responses back on my offers with Rachel at Fidelity! Now if she doesn't respond back it's because they are older listings w/ little interest in selling or out of the country. She works with a lot of sellers who spend six months in US and six months elsewhere in the world!

 

[lions1995]

I have been trying to find a contract for a few months. In some cases, I have had a counter offer back to me in minutes. A good agent knows the faster they can go back and forth, the more probably a deal becomes. THere have been cases were the agent told me straight out that the person has a loan and can not possiblly sell at what I am offering. And then there are times when the people are not available immediately.

 

[jarestel]

The resellers function as transaction brokers and don't "work for" or represent either party. It would seem a little hard to believe that a broker would choose not to present any and all offers since this puts them in the position of working against both seller and buyer.

I imagine it is possible if a seller receives an offer that is too far below the asking price that they may simply assume the buyer isn't serious and not bother to waste time with counter offers.

Good luck!

 

[ColonialMouse]

The resellers function as transaction brokers and don't "work for" or represent either party. It would seem a little hard to believe that a broker would choose not to present any and all offers since this puts them in the position of working against both seller and buyer.

This is a really important point that I think people aren't aware of enough---the timeshare agents are not acting as either a buyer or seller's broker. Obviously since they work on commission, they have incentive to maximize the price of the sales, but they don't have quite the obligation that a regular seller's agent does to a seller.

In practice, working with Sharon, I found that this meant we could have a bit more open conversation about what sellers were looking for, i.e. which ones were still convinced they could sell for the full value of their loans, which would be more willing to listen to offers, in some cases offers they had previously refused. In the end I paid slightly more than I expected for one contract and less for another.

So going back to the original question, it's their job to close the deals. And they're the ones who know whether they have instructions, when it's time to see if a seller is ready to move, whether to contact via email or phone messages, etc. If you ask, they'll probably tell you whether they know an offer won't work or you'll get the "it never hurts to ask" response.

Bruce

 

[Raisincain]

Thanks for all of the input!

I have had great luck with Sharon at Fidelity. She does a great job of conveying offers, and I have appreciated her insight and warm conversation.

Thanks again for the input; I appreciate your time!

 

[rg35]

I guess it all depends on who you get.

We made one offer Tuesday night for $10/point lower than the asking price on ***************. They submitted it to the buyers on wednesday morning who countered with a $2/point higher counteroffer a few hours later and we accepted. I sent my deposit to the title company this morning.

It couldn't have been a smoother process.