Are DVC/resales cheaper than going directly thru Disney?

[HeatherAnne]

Hi,

My husband & I have been tossing around buying into DVC for a year or so. We had opportunity to buy last March for $75.00 a point and if we signed up while at WDW they would give us 12 nights free stay at several Disney Deluxe resorts. We didn't bite the bullet and now I am kicking myself for it. Now the points are selling at $80.00 each! The DVC resales seem to be a lot cheaper. Plus it looks like you can get "banked" points in addition to the ones you buy at no extra cost! Someone please correct me if I am wrong here because it seems a little too good to be true.......

So what are the pro's and con's of the DVC resales? Should we look into them or should we wait and pay $80.00 a point thru Disney? Also, does it matter more if we sign up from home or at WDW? Will DVC offer us more incentives if we sign up at WDW?

Any input on this would be greatly appreciated........I figured I would ask the experts! Thanks in advance for your hep!

HeatherAnne

 

[zulaya]

I haven't bought resale, but will be looking into an OKW resale when I have thefunds, but here's what I have gleaned so far on resales:

Pros:
Per point cost is $15-$20 cheaper
Banked points can be included - really depends on the seller
Still get the same welcome packet from DVC
Everything in the price is negotiable

Cons:
No incentives from DVC - which really isn't a big deal because what they are offering isn't anything like the free night stays
You have to arrange your own financing, if needed
Can't use a credit card for deposit or full purchase
You have to pay closing costs - usually around $400

The most frequent advice you will read on these boards is buy wherre you want to stay. If you REALLY want BCV, and want it NOW, then buy there and you will have to go thru DVC - I have only heard of one BCV contract on the resale market at this time and last I checked the sale was already pending.
If you are interested in anything else, you have to buy resale as the others are technically sold out.

Good luck

 

[yasuern]

Hi
I am no expert but we bought VWL through WDW last dec and they had the magical beginings incentive in which they bought back your current use year pts at I beleive it was $10/pt and used it towards your purchase price which allowed us to buy more points then we originally were going to.300x$10=3000 - in our minds this gave us $3000 more to spend on points.

We are also in the process of purchasing 200pt resale through The Timeshare Store and price/pt it is $16 cheaper for each pt however you will pay the closing cost but everything else is negotiable.

About banked points - I found that most resales with a large amount of banked point cost more/pt and those resales with some borrowed pts cost less/pt.

As far as paying on a credit card its NO but do you know how some credit card companies will send you checks to use anyway you want and attach a low interest rate to them for 6months-1yr well you can use these to purchase through The timeshare store.
Like I said I am NO expert but I hope this helps a little

 

[Cruelladeville]

Two other cons, which I am running into: The seller can back out after you have been working with them for several months, so all that time was wasted; and a real biggie for us--trying to get the timeshare brokers to call you back!! We had decided to buy, so I came to this board and found the names of all the resale brokers someone recommended. I can't tell you how disappointed I have been! Some of the companies don't even answer their phones. A thread on this board mentioned the top 3 as Timeshare Store, Century 21, and Remax Timeshares, and only Timeshare Store seemed professional. Century 21 told me all about their sales, but I couldn't seem to find out what was actually available thru them. Remax was a joke--they haven't updated their web site listings since last Christmas time, so I called--and called--and called. They told me that several timeshares had sold, but I couldn't do anything to buy one till I talked to the guy who handles the actual timeshares, and I am beginning to think he doesn't exist. While my experience may not be typical, the only one I would perhaps recommend is Timeshare Store. As for the rest of the timeshare people, I am guessing that they probably washed out at McDonald's before they got their current jobs.

 

[WDWguru]

We've purchased two resales from Jaki at atimeshare.com. If they don't have a contract on the site that interests you, you can get on a call list. Just give them your preferences and they'll call before they even list the contract to see if you want it.

We had no problems with either seller backing out, although I suppose that's always a risk. I'll second what most will tell you - buy where you want to stay!

 

[EROS]

Heather, we also have purchased two resales via JAKI.

Trust me, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that buying resale is a much more preferable route; we saved over $1000 on each purchase over the cost from DISNEY. .......

Good Luck,

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Cruelladeville
A thread on this board mentioned the top 3 as Timeshare Store, Century 21, and Remax Timeshares, and only Timeshare Store seemed professional. Century 21 told me all about their sales, but I couldn't seem to find out what was actually available thru them. Remax was a joke--they haven't updated their web site listings since last Christmas time, so I called--and called--and called. They told me that several timeshares had sold, but I couldn't do anything to buy one till I talked to the guy who handles the actual timeshares, and I am beginning to think he doesn't exist. While my experience may not be typical, the only one I would perhaps recommend is Timeshare Store.

That was my post and I stand by the information presented. I'm sure you're referring to ERA Stroman. I believe they are the largest Timeshare resale company in the US. I can tell you I've bought 2 expensive timeshare through them and had 2 other contracts which fell through through at no fault of theirs (DVC buyback and seller couldn't come up with their part of the money). They are not going to know the ins and outs of DVC and cannot explain much to you. You will need to know what to ask and to look for. What they were willing to do was accept what some would call low ball offers and present them to the seller in such a way they had a chance of being accepted. The 2 weeks I bought from them were about $3500 below what I think I could have gotten them through resale companies that specialized in the companies involved (DVC and Marriott). And the Marriott week alone was a full $10,000 below a resale directly through Marriott. I can give you the contact info for the broker I've talked to if you want.

If you want information or your hand held, buy through the "big 4" or through DVC directly. If you want the best price and are willing to do a little more of the work yourself, look at private resale or some of the ones that occasionally get DVC but don't specialize in it. I can tell you that the best prices are not usually through the easiest and most convenient options.

 

[dbond]

If you want personal service, you should go with the smaller groups that specialize in Disney timeshares, I recommend The Timehare Store, http://www.dvc-resales.com/ and Shontell Crawford, who used to be with The Timeshare Store, now she has her own company:

Shontell Crawford
1-800-844-4099
Ph: 407-248-0804
Fax: 407-370-4716
http://www.TimesharesByResale.com

Both of these groups have been involved in hundreds of DVC resales. I can't speak for the larger real estate groups that have a timeshare division.

 

[ron7654]

Jaki at atimeshare.com was absolutely excellent. She answered every question and was easily reachable, Good Luck!

 

[Caskbill]

Everything is relative in regards to true value of a resale. Keep in mind all of the following:

Asking price per point.

Closing costs involved. On a 100 point contract $400 in closing adds $4.00 per point. On a 200 point contract that same $400 adds $2.00 per point.

Banked points are probably good, borrowed points are probably bad, but it depends completely on what price the seller is asking. Some would suggest using the $10/point rule to add or subtract for banked or borrowed points. ($10/point is the general value for renting points). Personally I think that's high for determing resale value, but you can try it. A contract with 100 borrowed points is then worth $1000 less than one with no borrowed (or banked) points, and one with 100 banked points (nothing borrowed) is worth $1000 more. Keep in mind the seller may want you to pay the maintenance fees on any banked points (Since you will be the one using them and not the seller. Likewise, you should not pay the maintenance fees on any points that were previously borrowed since the seller has already used them. Then use these conditions to also adjust the $10/point value mentioned above.

Finance through Disney and the loan interest may be tax deductible. Finance on your own and you will have to get a home equity loan in order for the interest to be tax deductible. (Personal deductibility depends on if this is the only other property you are paying on outside of your personal home, or not)

With Disney, you can make reservations almost immediately. On a resale you must wait until the contract actually closes. (Probably about 6-weeks).

You can definitely save money on a resale. Just be sure to look at ALL the numbers when you do your calculations.

 

[joepoe]

Originally posted by Cruelladeville
Two other cons, which I am running into: The seller can back out after you have been working with them for several months, so all that time was wasted; and a real biggie for us--trying to get the timeshare brokers to call you back!!

Cruella, I am confused- If you came to an agreement and signed a contract and sent in a down payment check pending closing, how can the seller back out? IF you were just negotiating back and forth for several month with no binding contract, I can see how that would happen, but otherwise?

As for the broker not calling you back- get another broker. We used Shontell Crawford when she was still at the Timeshare Store. SHontell was very helpful and answered tons of questions for us. She left before we closed but her dad, Tom finished it up for us. No hassles whatsoever.

 

[drusba]

The price per point for resales is generally lower than Disney is offerring and in the resale market price is negotiable. Moreover there is no stigma to a resale purchaser--once you purchase you are treated by Disney the same as any purchaser from Disney (although some would say you are just "mistreated" equally). However, the "actual" price per point has to be evaluated before you purchase (and very often the resale still comes out better but you need to figure out the math). Particularly:

1. Disney's price includes closing costs which are $400 to $500 range. Note closing costs are mostly fixed -- close to the same amount regardless of whether you buy 25 or a 1000 points. In resale, the buyer pays closing costs unless negotiated otherwise.

2. If you need financing, then you have another important factor to consider. Companies that do timeshare lending charge high rates and generally they are 2 to 3% above Disney's rates. Thus, in a resale, if you need to get a loan, you need to compare its rate to Disney's and figure out actual overall cost per point. For example, buying at $80 a point from Disney with a 10 year loan at say 10% (don't know actual current rate) can overall actually cost less than buying at $70 a point resale and getting a 10 year loan in the resale market at 13%. Moreover, the resale timeshare loan is likely not to have interest that is tax deductible because it will not be a mortgage type loan secured by the property but instead a personal line of credit; Disney's loans are like regular mortgages with interest tax deductible. Thus, you have to figure the potential additional cost due to inability to deduct interest in comparison to a Disney loan. However, you may be able to get loans that avoid these problems. For example, perhaps you can get a home equity loan on your existing home to finance the DVC resale purchase. In that instance, you are actually far better off than buying from Disney because your rate will be lower than Disney's loan rate and the interest will be tax deductible.

3. You also have to make sure you evaluate the current point situation of a resale. Disney generally sells with a use year that begins 4 to 5 months before the sale, meaning you get points that start 4 to 5 months before you buy and then another allotment in 7 months or so. If the resale has its current points still available for use, and if it even has banked points into the current year on top of that, then you will usually be getting at least the same point advantage offerred by Disney. If on the other hand all current points are gone, and possibly even next year's points have been borrowed and are gone, then you are getting a contract that has a lot less current value than the one you can buy from Disney.

4. Also, Disney starts your dues from date of purchase. Thus if you bought today you would pay dues from today to end of year that equal about 5/12 of the total dues for the 2002 calendar year.n In resales, particualrly when there are all the current points, they begin with the assumption you will pay all dues for the current calendar year--in other words if you bought today you will pay at closing the full 2002 dues. Nevertheless that is a negotiable point -- you just need to be aware of it so you can negotiate on it.

 

[CarolMN]

Just wanted to add that you need to carefully consider the expiration dates of any banked or remaining current use year points. If the dates are too soon, the points will expire before you can close and/or make a reservation. Those points will be of no value to you and you should not pay extra for them or pay maintenance fees on them.

 

[Cruelladeville]

Joepoe,
In answer to your question about how to lose a resale: the first set of people decided at the last minute that they wanted to keep their pts so my deposit was returned. On the second set of pts Disney wouldn't sign off because the sellers owed $100 on dues. The sellers were so sure they were right that they refused to let the timeshare Store pay those dues in order to close, but without that $100 Disney refused to OK the sale. So after 4 months my deposit was once again returned to me--and two days later I was happily making reservations with Disney. I called them, and said "I have money". They said, "Welcome Home!" and I've been a happy member ever since I am once again looking for a resale, and once again I have my money in my hand, but so far my experience with resales has been as negative as it was the first two times I tried to buy. This time I have no choice, though, because I want to buy in at OKW, and a resale is my only option.