Buying Resale Questions

[nadira36]

After 4 years Dh has finally agreed that DVC would be a good idea - after all if we'd bought one when I'd suggested it, we'd be going back to Disney this year. Instead we find ourselves at home, in the frozen north.

But we first have to decide on direct or resale - we will buy at least one contract through Disney, but for now we think resale would be best - we don't want to finance and we suspect we can find something low enough to buy resale - and possibly even afford flights to FL as well.

My questions:

What time frame would a person look at from seller acceptance of offer to being able to use points? From my reading it looks like btwn 1-3 months? Is that correct. Is one company typically faster than another? I'd like to take a vacation this year, but doubt we'd have enough time to book (5 months(ish) for end of Nov/beg dec). Would a higher offer likely go through faster than a lower offer?

Also from my reading it seems like current members are able to pass ROFR at lower PPP than non-members. Is this a correct assumption?

If ROFR happens, what happens exactly? Deposit returned and no harm, no foul? Or do you loose the deposit?

We'd like to take a vacation this Dec, but realize it might not happen. If we're not going then we'd rather try for a lower price. Otherwise we'd buy from Disney just so I could book now.

Also is it allowed on the board to mention company names as far as good or poor experience? I've seen them blocked in some cases, but not others. I think I've figured out that the site I saw a posting on is a 'good' site, but honestly am a little trepidatious buying a large, international purchase online/through the mail.

 

[drusba]

Time depends a lot on how fast the parties move, and how fast Disney moves on ROFR but you should assume about two months from offer to closing, could be a little shorter, could be longer. Then you usually have another week or so before you are in Disney's system and can make a reservation.

Regardless, even if it was only a couple of days, you should assume that you are already likely too late to reserve end of Nov early Dec . That is a very high DVC demand time (as is all of Dec). So don't buy now under the assumption you can easily get that time this year.

Disney does not determine ROFR based on whether a new purchaser or current member is purchasing. There are no valid statistics to even begin to assume that. This site has only a fraction of all the DVC members and possible purchasers and thus ROFR information like you mention cannot be relied upon to reach the conclusion you mention. Mentioning other sites often gets deleted but whether comments on a resale experience will be deleted just depends on factors I am not even sure of. I know the Timeshare Store is a sponsor of the site and thus it deserves some preference and protection from other sites being promoted and lauded and also this site is usually the model of civility and if criticisms get ascerbic or personal, steps will be taken to remove them.

 

[DMKEDM]

It is worth factoring in that sometimes a Disney guide (salesperson) can secure a reservation that's not available to the general public (membership) as a "favor" to new buyers...this is not always possible--if there are no rooms of any kind available, it won't happen. And that may be the case if your planned vacation includes T-giving and the following weekend...But sometimes there's Disney inventory or something and guides can make it happen. It's worth asking your guide if you decide to explore buying direct...

This is not something I've ever seen possible thru resale.

It would appear that resale prices are so much lower than direct prices that this potential benefit (securing your desired late Nov/Dec reservation) may not be worth it. But it's worth factoring in.

It's also worth considering the new restrictions on use of resale points (resale points can be used only at DVC resorts and for RCI exchanges...i.e., resale points can't be used to book other options like Disney cruises)...

You'll see a lot of commentary about whether the restrictions are problematic (seems like most people think they aren't)--but for some these restrictions do matter.

Good luck w/your decision.

 

[montrealdisneylovers]

Hello fellow Canadian,

We had the exact same concern as you with regards to such a large international purchase that we in fact lost a resale contract because we questioned ourselves to death. Then a smaller contract came up for sale which we figured we would try and if we lost the money it would not be as painful.

We dealt with the Jerry Sydow of the Timeshare Store and I must say we had such a wonderful experience and service. We then purchased a subsequent contract and had no problems once again. We are in the system and have booked our first DVC vacation for this December. We did all this prior to the 03/20 deadline and it took about 2 months for everything to be completed.

Good luck with your decision and remember, the exchange rate is great right now!!

 

[chalee94]

If ROFR happens, what happens exactly? Deposit returned and no harm, no foul? Or do you loose the deposit?

disney steps into your shoes as the buyer and completes the sale.

you get your deposit back and start again.

 

[juncker]

We did our resale in 2 months and had our first visit 'home' a month later. This was during spring break too. Based upon the time that you want your first trip to be, I think that you'll find something available (probably OKW or SSR). The exception to this is if you're thinking Christmas/New Years. That gets booked at the 7/11 month marks. If this is important, direct through Disney may be your only method.

I think that we were very typical for a resale. I don't see it going much faster than this ever. So much of the resale timing depends upon how quick the buyer and seller process their paperwork, signatures, and check. I'm pretty sure that the brokers (whichever company you go through) are going to give you good, quick service as this is their way to make money. The good of the story is the usually the selller, broker, and buyer all want the deal to go through as quickly as possible.

I really think that the actual contract that meets your needs is probably more important than the broker you choose. There are a couple that specialize in DVC resales. I'd start with the Timeshare store (not who we went through) because that have a very good inventory, but look around at what else is available too. Educate yourself and you won't be disappointed.

The only situations that could be trouble if you get a seller that has issues. Bad experience examples that I read on these boards included properties being sold because of divorces, deaths (caught up in probate), etc... I don't know how much you can find out about the contract you are looking at, but it can't hurt to ask. Good Luck!

 

[nadira36]

Thanks for all the info.

It really is a toss up - if we buy resale we might not have time to book when we want - but if we buy direct we might not have the money to fly etc.

Since flights, food, and some spending will be close to $5k for us (flights are ridiculously expensive).

Normally when we visit it costs us only about $6k inclusing a value resort - I know DVC is a huge step up - and we've wanted to stay at BC for years now - but it is tought to spend a large chunk of money and then not even be bale to visit this year - where as if we don't buy DVC we can visit this year, but future years will still cost full price. It makes sense for us to buy, it's just figuring out the details that'll hopefully allow us to still visit this year.

Someone just told me that having a referral brought the cost down slightly when buying direct - our guide hadn't mentioned that - so I'll ask - that could bring the cost down enough that we can soak the difference for a few months. We'll see.

We've looked at TTS but they don't have a listing we liked - we've seen a couple listings elsewhere we liked, but don't know about company reputation.

 

[bdtracey]

Hello fellow Albertan!

We're in the same boat with a tighter timeframe. We already have flights booked for the end of Sept and are hoping to buy resale and use points for that trip. We'll likely be making an offer within the next few days and hopefully close in mid August. Fidelity had a few good contracts and there are a couple at TSS that are also appealing.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around what use year is the best for us. We like to travel in September and May. I heard somewhere on here that a Use Year the month before you like to travel is your best bet...but what about travelling in the same month as your use year? There are a few contracts out there with a September use year and I can't seem to figure out how getting points on Sept. 1 each year and travelling in September would be a bad thing to do. If I wanted to travel at the end of August it'd be a little dicey but with a little forward planning it should be alright.

Definitely keep us posted here on the DIS Boards as to what you decide.

OH! before I forget....WELCOME!!!!

 

[erikawolf2004]

You wouldn't want a Sept UY if you also travel in May, because the end of April would be your banking dead line, you would be better off with an April or May UY. If you had a reservation in May and had to cancel then it would be to late to cancel and bank the points into the next year.

Hello fellow Albertan!

We're in the same boat with a tighter timeframe. We already have flights booked for the end of Sept and are hoping to buy resale and use points for that trip. We'll likely be making an offer within the next few days and hopefully close in mid August. Fidelity had a few good contracts and there are a couple at TSS that are also appealing.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around what use year is the best for us. We like to travel in September and May. I heard somewhere on here that a Use Year the month before you like to travel is your best bet...but what about travelling in the same month as your use year? There are a few contracts out there with a September use year and I can't seem to figure out how getting points on Sept. 1 each year and travelling in September would be a bad thing to do. If I wanted to travel at the end of August it'd be a little dicey but with a little forward planning it should be alright.

Definitely keep us posted here on the DIS Boards as to what you decide.

OH! before I forget....WELCOME!!!!

 

[bdtracey]

You wouldn't want a Sept UY if you also travel in May, because the end of April would be your banking dead line, you would be better off with an April or May UY. If you had a reservation in May and had to cancel then it would be to late to cancel and bank the points into the next year.

That's a good point. There is a resale with a March UY that we're looking at. That would work out perfect for both a Sept and May trip as Oct. 31 would be the last day to bank points. I'm going to call and make an offer right now. YIPPEE!

 

[erikawolf2004]

That's a good point. There is a resale with a March UY that we're looking at. That would work out perfect for both a Sept and May trip as Oct. 31 would be the last day to bank points. I'm going to call and make an offer right now. YIPPEE!

Good luck!!!