Any resalers to avoid?

[Granny]

Thanks for the vote of support! It really means alot to me as well as my staff.

Thomas E. Yeary (Tom)
Owner/Broker

Tom....I think it's awesome that you sponsor this board as well as taking the time to provide solid advice as you did in your excellent post. Thanks for your professional advice and service!

 

[johde]

I went with Jaki at http://www.atimeshare.com. I was looking for a small contract so I was looking at several companies including The Timeshare Store. Jaki just happened to find a match first. She was great though. Kept me informed throughout the process.

 

[Deep-Thots]

Thanks for your input. The only reason I did put the emphasis on the negative was because after speaking to the nice folks at TSS (Christy was very helpful) I realized that with all the people looking for DVC in the point/cost area that I am (small) it might be awhile, perhaps a long while to get something. That being the case, I thought I'd look to other resalers to help. I did speak to one who was also very nice, but didn't have anything and I did leave a message for the fellow named Reid (sounds like I won't be hearing back from him according to an earlier poster. Just the kind of info I was looking for, who not to waste my time pursuing). Well, thanks again. Wish us luck in finding something we can afford.

I hope that you left your contact info with the folks at TTS, so that they can get back to you when they find a contract that is suitable for you. They really will make every effort to help you out with that. In fact, they'll often contact clients with new contracts that come in, and have those contracts sold before they make it to the listings page that most people peruse!! That's especially true of smaller contracts like the one you seem to be interested in.

So be certain to give them *all* of your relevant info, Dave. Trust me: They are not out to share your personal info, bug you, or sell you a load of goods. They just want to make you happy. (And no, I am not in any way affiliated with TTS. I don't know anyone who works there, or anything like that.)

 

[EdDome]

In addition to TTS, many people here (myself included) have enjoyed purchasing through Jaki Apetz at A Timeshare Broker. http://www.atimeshare.com/disney/

When looking for contracts in the resale market, it is helpful to look in multiple places to get the resort and number of points you really prefer.

Good luck in your hunt!

I've purchased three resales. Great experiences with TSS and Jaki. Not so good with Reid since it was like pulling teeth to get in touch with him (although the price was great).

 

[Beca]

Avoid Lee Reid.

I have contacted him in the past trying to buy two separate contracts. Both times, he EVENTUALLY got back to me, saying that the owners were not returning his phone calls...WHAT??? Two separate owners would not return his phone calls???!!! It sounds to me like they were tired of his inattentiveness.

Seriously, try to avoid him, but it's kind of a moot point....getting him to return your calls is almost impossible.

Any of the other "big 3" are great. I have bought from all 3 of them, and have sold one contract thru TTS. It is also very nice that both Tom and Pat post on these boards. You know that you will get a response from them very quickly. But, I cannot say anything negative about Jaki or "she who cannot be named" either. Actually, "she who cannot be named" is REALLY sweet!!



Beca

 

[PKS44]

Do Not Deal With Anyone But Disney And The Timeshare Store!

This post I think was meant to say how happy Torontogal was with these two companies--but it implies there is something wrong with others mentioned here...probably just a mistaken implication but a mistake --unless Torontogal has some actual experience with others that was bad...which is not clear from her post....I don't feel comfortable recommending others on a website sponsored by The Timeshare Store--they deserve exclusive mention for sponsoring these boards...but that does not mean good brokers should be disparaged (one of which we had a great experience with) by people who are just ignorant of whether they are any good or not...I would be happy to share my happy experiences and knowledge of other good brokers by Private Message, just not on these great boards sponsored by Mr Yeary.

Thanks

 

[T.E. Yeary]

A more recent trend that we have observed in the Resale business is a tendency for brokers to align themselves with a national franchise in order to legitimize their operation, thereby creating a false sense of security to the general public. Examples: ERA, Century 21, GMAC, RE/MAX, etc.

Some of these Resale brokers go from one franchise to another after the number of complaints build up, they simply purchase a new franchise and it's business as usual.

Most legitimate and ethical businesses should be able to use and operate under the same name for many, many years. In fact, if their reputation was one they could take pride in, they would insist upon it!

The above statements are certainly not meant to be construed to include "every" agency that is backed by a franchise. I'm sure there are some very good Resale offices with ties to franchises. My warning is, it's NOT always the case.

(Moral here, "If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it may be a ....!)

Protect yourself, look for the same warning signs with these companies as described in my earlier post.
________________________________________________________________

 

[Dean]

A more recent trend that we have observed in the Resale business is a tendency for brokers to align themselves with a national franchise in order to legitimize their operation, thereby creating a false sense of security to the general public. Examples: ERA, Century 21, GMAC, RE/MAX, etc.

Some of these Resale brokers go from one franchise to another after the number of complaints build up, they simply purchase a new franchise and it's business as usual.

Most legitimate and ethical businesses should be able to use and operate under the same name for many, many years. In fact, if their reputation was one they could take pride in, they would insist upon it!

The above statements are certainly not meant to be construed to include "every" agency that is backed by a franchise. I'm sure there are some very good Resale offices with ties to franchises. My warning is, it's NOT always the case.

(Moral here, "If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it may be a ....!)

Protect yourself, look for the same warning signs with these companies as described in my earlier post.
________________________________________________________________

Tom, I am not aware of a single instance where a franchise went out of business in a specific local. I know Stroman separated from ERA but have been in business as Stroman for a long time. So you know any franchises that have gone out of business recently which I assume would have to be the case in the situation where your warning applies. Now I realize a specific person could float from one to another but that is very different than owning the franchise. Plus that person would have to be a licensed real estate broker and thus have a license for a customer to register complains against, not just the business.

 

[T.E. Yeary]

Dean-

I'll answer you in a PM. I am NOT going to discuss individual brokers on the board. That would not be ethical.

The information I provided to the board members are my own personal observations. I have been in this business since 1982 and have seen alot of shall we say, "creative things" by resale people. It was meant to give people pause for thought, and not be blinded by a false sense of security.

 

[jevans8758]

Well, Agreed Lee Reid is not the most responsive when it comes to Dis-resale. At times contact was frustrating. However, I can say he was honest in the end. We completed the transaction in ~3 months time. That may seem long, but I got the contract and price I wanted. It is at least nice to have other contracts to look at and other general options..........

 

[Dean]

Dean-

I'll answer you in a PM. I am NOT going to discuss individual brokers on the board. That would not be ethical.

The information I provided to the board members are my own personal observations. I have been in this business since 1982 and have seen alot of shall we say, "creative things" by resale people. It was meant to give people pause for thought, and not be blinded by a false sense of security.

I received your PM and responded. I appreciate the contact and valuable information. Your perspective on this board is invaluable and I am pleased you are able to participate. Thanks for your efforts.

 

[beezerdave]

I hope that you left your contact info with the folks at TTS, so that they can get back to you when they find a contract that is suitable for you. They really will make every effort to help you out with that. In fact, they'll often contact clients with new contracts that come in, and have those contracts sold before they make it to the listings page that most people peruse!! That's especially true of smaller contracts like the one you seem to be interested in.

So be certain to give them *all* of your relevant info, Dave. Trust me: They are not out to share your personal info, bug you, or sell you a load of goods. They just want to make you happy. (And no, I am not in any way affiliated with TTS. I don't know anyone who works there, or anything like that.)

I would be very happy purchase through TSS. Kristie seemed very nice. I keep reading of folks getting something within a few days of contacting, however because my wife and I are looking for a smaller contract I fear we may not have such a smooth time getting a resale, which is why we'd thought we'd shop around a bit. We would appreciate any thoughts on the likelihood of purchasing a 60-80 point contract (onsite, not VB or HH, I think) and what sort of time frame we might expect. We understand luck has a bit to do with it, but I always believe you can help make your own luck, too.

Thanks for all the advice. Finding this board was a major stroke of Disney-sized luck for us.

 

[life with 3 babes]

Dave-

I posted on another thread to you also, but I thought I'd add something here, too. If you know what resort you want, call "The Timeshare Store"! Or even if you don't know, still call them! I got a 50 point contract on Friday and it was SO FAST and EASY! Jamie helped me and was just GREAT! I also wanted to note that our guide at Disney (got 250 points from Disney) was also MORE THAN WILLING to help us with an "add on" through them. I know that the initial contract with them is 150 points now, but in the future, they are also a resource. (more expensive, but easy) We got a much better rate through "the Timeshare Store" than Disney could do... by almost $20 a point even AFTER closing costs. (Even though we just dropped almost 20 grand with them )

Good Luck!

Donna

 

[vascubaguy]

I know that the initial contract with them is 150 points now, but in the future, they are also a resource. (more expensive, but easy) We got a much better rate through "the Timeshare Store" than Disney could do... by almost $20 a point even AFTER closing costs. (Even though we just dropped almost 20 grand with them )

Resale can definately save some money, but the larger savings are really only for OKW, VB and HHI. If you are going with BCV or BWV you are probably going to be in the same ballpark as DVC's prices. SSR would depend on how many points you buy as to the overall savings. There are lots of factors that should be considered when you look at resale vs DVC.

I had calculated 1 resale that I was considering to end up costing about 83 per point (after closing costs and considering no current year points). For the same number of points thru DVC I calculated that the end price per point could be 82 per point (if I rented the 'current' year points that would come with the contract). And it would be done about 5 weeks sooner.

Of course I should add that I wouldn't even be able to consider this comparison if I hadn't purchased my initial smaller contract thru resale to get me in the door.

Just make sure you compare apples and apples.

 

[life with 3 babes]

Thanks for that added info! We bought the 50 resale at VB, so I think we did pretty well. Was $73 a point roughly including the closing costs. It was important to me to have just 50 points at VB because my in-laws own a home there ( literally 5 minutes from the resort). We will stay there every summer for 4-5 nights for sure... Just me and 2 of the kiddo's in a studio, my older daughter will stay with the in-laws and my DH doesn't come until the 2nd week when we all troop over to WDW) I didn't want to have ALL my points there because the maint. fees are SO high and I also wanted the extra 12 years that SSR offers. I'm not someone that really cares what resort I stay at as long as I have a 1 bedroom unit. (note...I have 3 small children and I NEED a quiet place after a long day in the parks!)
Anyway...not that you asked for all of that...guess I'm just excited about my good luck in finding my 50 points I wanted.

 

[beezerdave]

Rereading the info above leads me to another question. (I know I'm full of them.) When buying smaller point contracts do people who already own DVC get preference over a first time buyer? I had a fellow from another company ask if we were adding on when I told him how many points we were looking for. Just wondering.

 

[life with 3 babes]

Dave-

I don't think so, at least not at TTS. Jamie never asked me if I was currently an owner. (I just bought at DVC with Hubert on Thursday, so I don't think I'm even "really" an owner yet.) We did put down a $500 deposit with him when we were there 2 weeks ago, but I was really unsure on how many points we wanted at SSR. Took me 2 weeks of DVC math to figure out that 250 was a good place to start...much to my husbands dismay. (he thought that 200 sounded much better ) Anyway, I'm gonna make it my mission to find you your points now.

Donna

 

[vascubaguy]

Dave-

I don't think so, at least not at TTS. Jamie never asked me if I was currently an owner. (I just bought at DVC with Hubert on Thursday, so I don't think I'm even "really" an owner yet.) We did put down a $500 deposit with him when we were there 2 weeks ago, but I was really unsure on how many points we wanted at SSR. Took me 2 weeks of DVC math to figure out that 250 was a good place to start...much to my husbands dismay. (he thought that 200 sounded much better ) Anyway, I'm gonna make it my mission to find you your points now.

Donna

beezerdave: first of all... points are points and a DVC member is a DVC member and most importantly money is money! The only priorities given are those that are associated with your home resort (the 11 vs 7 months booking windows).

Donna: just a note about your contract... if you have decided on 250 points, you might consider having them break it into smaller contracts. Say one at 150 then either one at 100 or two at 50 points each. That way, if you ever needed to sell it or just wanted to sell a small portion (because you aren't using like you thought), you could sell just 50 points. Just a thought.

 

[Laurabearz]

Since you are looking for a smaller contract, I would also contact Jaki. We used her for 3 resales.... If you call her (and I suppose the TSS) and let them know what you want (number of points, resort, UY) she will call you the moment it lands on her desk. She is also aces in keeping you informed of the process...each step, she calls and explains what is happening, how long she thinks it will take, etc. Jaki... All good in our book!

 

[vascubaguy]

I have probably mentioned this already, but I too had contacted Jaki and told her I was looking for a smaller contract. She immediately advised me that she had a listing that was actually made up of 1 small contract and 1 larger contract but she would check to see if the seller would sell them separately. They did and it worked out great for me.