Contracts drying up??

[boba_balla]

Thank you for the feedback. The Offer Suggestion tool is new and we're actively tweaking the algorithm. If you have examples where you think we're quoting a price that is too high please shoot me a PM. We're committed to getting this right.

Over the years I've had many conversations with participants from all sides of the transaction, brokers, sellers, and buyers. Brokers are hesitant to return to the seller with an offer that is wildly below asking price, they do it of course, but not without advising their client to reject or hard-counter the offer. Many sellers are perfectly content to let their listing sit on the market for extended periods of time. To that end, the "suggested offer" we provide was designed to provide a realistic range for negotiation for that specific contract. If we provide a suggested offer range that is too-low confidence in the tool to erode quickly as bidders get hard rejected over and over again. We worked hard to come up with an algorithm that would strike an appropriate balance of realism, but we know there is room for improvement.

You'll notice that the suggested offer tool has a movable slider, you can move the price slider up or down to quickly get a feel for how different price-points for that contract would line up with the dvcforless.com DealScore, which really is a good way to benchmark the listing against the current market. By all means, make an offer that lines up with the "Great" or "Exceptional deal" ranges. The best deals really do go fast. Often leaving the market within hours of posting them, so be sure to setup an alert to scoop them up before anyone else.

Again, let me just reiterate my appreciation for those of you on this forum. You're the real power-users that we're striving to make happy. I'll take any and all feedback!

Just wanted to say "Thank you" for your site/tool. It made it super easy for me to look up a lot of contracts and then filter by what we were looking for (Points, Price per Point, UY, and broker). Made it really useful in helping us determine whether to buy direct or do resale, and we ultimately found a listing that fit our needs and within our budget, from a broker I may not have even considered had I never used your site. Now just waiting to pass ROFR.

Did want to provide some feedback, as maybe it's the same/similar issue that the other user just reported. When I had first signed up about a month ago, I marked a few listings as Favorites and also setup an Alert when browsing on my phone (iOS, Safari browser). When I logged in using my desktop browser (Windows, Chrome browser), either the Favorites or the Alert was not saved/setup (can't remember which one, or if it was both), and I doublechecked on my phone browser and things were still saved there. I manually redid the Favorites and/or Alert on my desktop browser. It was not a big deal to me though since it was just a few listing and one alert.

 

[Cybertruck]

Same, have a 2025 trip planned but at least 3 days of that will be spent at Universal, although planning to base ourselves at Saratoga for that part of the trip and Uber to Universal (am I mad?).

We did this once when we visited the Harry Potter addition when it first opened. But it is something we disliked. We could not do this now we need our afternoon breaks. We are rope drop folks, a nice sit down lunch (Steakhouse 71 or Skipper Canteen if a Magic Kingdom day) then back for a rest before we return at night. If we return to EPCOT then it is normally a light lunch, break and return for sit down dinner. We will stay a week with a resort only day just like Disney. Just need to figure out the restaurants since it has been several years. Emeril’s was one of favorites but the kids said that is no longer there.

 

[kgou]

It’s like every DVC path ends in add-on Either you want more trips or you want more room.

Isn't that the truth??!?!?! Truer DVC words have never been spoken haha.

 

[tx911]

Same, have a 2025 trip planned but at least 3 days of that will be spent at Universal, although planning to base ourselves at Saratoga for that part of the trip and Uber to Universal (am I mad?).

I'd probably do that, but maybe book a "throwaway room" for cash at Universal, to get the included express pass, and have a room to go back to during the day if needed.

 

[bbeagle]

Personally I don't think I could be in Orlando and NOT go over to WDW, at least for a few days.

You might be right. I know there will be something new, even if it's someone we want to see for the Candlelight Processional, and I can't go to Florida without seeing the fireworks at the Castle, riding Pirates or seeing the Haunted Mansion. So, we probably will spend a few days in Disney.

 

[CarolynFH]

I'd probably do that, but maybe book a "throwaway room" for cash at Universal, to get the included express pass, and have a room to go back to during the day if needed.

We have done this twice. When we added up the cost of Unlimited Express Passes for 4-5 of us, plus parking (1 hotel night covers 2 days parking), it was cheaper than buying the EPs outright. And it was nice to take a nap in the afternoon, although we only did that once because the UOR parks closed earlier at that time than the WDW parks did.

 

[JackosinDIS]

We have done this twice. When we added up the cost of Unlimited Express Passes for 4-5 of us, plus parking (1 hotel night covers 2 days parking), it was cheaper than buying the EPs outright. And it was nice to take a nap in the afternoon, although we only did that once because the UOR parks closed earlier at that time than the WDW parks did.

I’ve not visited Universal yet… does the express pass make a big difference? The room rates seems to be around $700 but if it’s worth it for 4 adults I’ll give it a go!

 

[tx911]

I’ve not visited Universal yet… does the express pass make a big difference? The room rates seems to be around $700 but if it’s worth it for 4 adults I’ll give it a go!

I see now that you plan on multiple Universal days, I assume after Epic has opened. For that many days, I think I would just do a split stay between Universal and WDW, and stay on-site for each. Ubering back and forth for 3 days would be a bit much for me.

For sure the Express pass is worth it, IMO, and the cost of the room can be less than the express passes, depending on how many you have going.

 

[jparilla]

Just wanted to say "Thank you" for your site/tool. It made it super easy for me to look up a lot of contracts and then filter by what we were looking for (Points, Price per Point, UY, and broker). Made it really useful in helping us determine whether to buy direct or do resale, and we ultimately found a listing that fit our needs and within our budget, from a broker I may not have even considered had I never used your site. Now just waiting to pass ROFR.

Did want to provide some feedback, as maybe it's the same/similar issue that the other user just reported. When I had first signed up about a month ago, I marked a few listings as Favorites and also setup an Alert when browsing on my phone (iOS, Safari browser). When I logged in using my desktop browser (Windows, Chrome browser), either the Favorites or the Alert was not saved/setup (can't remember which one, or if it was both), and I doublechecked on my phone browser and things were still saved there. I manually redid the Favorites and/or Alert on my desktop browser. It was not a big deal to me though since it was just a few listing and one alert.

I’ll second this. The website is fantastic. I had the same issue where Favorites did not crossover or correspond between my desktop Chrome browser and iOS Safari browser.

Otherwise, it’s an invaluable tool. Thank you!

 

[TinkAgainU]

I’m not slagging it off, I think it’s a great tool. Just my account appears to have issues.

The owner can reach out if they want to take a look and see what’s wrong.

Just saying it’s odd I get the email alerts but website doesn’t have any of the info saved anymore.

If something has an accepted contract by the time you get to www.DVCforLess.com, you can only see it by scrolling down and toggling the "Show Inactive Listings" button -- if your search is mostly for super deals, some of those WILL be gone before they hit your email There are literally full time stalkers (typically commercial renters) looking for deals who check every site dozens of times each day. My guess is using any aggregate site (some have come and gone) works better if you are looking for average deals like 150+ point contracts in heavy use years - the small, loaded, subsidized, or more rare use years will get snapped up quickly. Personally, I would happily pay a little more to get what I wanted, and not have to race for the super deals against the full timers

 

[CarolynFH]

I’ve not visited Universal yet… does the express pass make a big difference? The room rates seems to be around $700 but if it’s worth it for 4 adults I’ll give it a go!

I always do the arithmetic, comparing cost of EPs (price fluctuates) and parking to cost of hotel room and parking there. (We’ve always had our car.) It’s important to note that one night of hotel parking covers two days of parking when coming from offsite!

UOR has two EPs (may change when Epic opens, so follow their website). One gives you one ride on each attraction, the other one (the one that comes with a deluxe hotel stay) allows unlimited rides on each. We found that having the Unlimited EP was wonderful - we simply walked from one ride to another and got in line. We were able to ride everything we wanted in a day, with repeats of favorites. Two days of UEPs was amazing!

 

[Chili327]

There are literally full time stalkers (typically commercial renters) looking for deals who check every site dozens of times each day.

I'm not a renter, but that is me to a tee. Multiple times a day. lol

 

[Lorana]

but the practical side of me is saying I need to spend more time thinking about my DVC goals and strategy before I buy another contract.

I hear you on this! Is it wrong that part of me wants to add another 35-50 points at least for Poly (I already have 100)? We got the initial points so that we could do 1-3 nights at Poly at the beginning of a trip (we often fly in late, so thought we usually stay in 1BR/2BR, I hate spending 2BR points on a first night when we're just going to go to sleep then get up and head to a park in the morning). I started with just 50 points, then decided to make it 100, so that we could do 2 Studios if desired. However, one of my dreams is to do NYE at Poly for at least 2 nights for the fireworks, and I need a minimum of 398 points for that, so even if I banked and borrowed, I would need 133 points, or 199 points if I wanted to only use 2 years of points for that trip. So I'm holding out for Poly Tower info before I decide what I might want to do, and then decide if I'm adding on or swapping out (sellling another contract to fund a Poly add-on).

Reflections is putting a wrinkle in my plans, though, as I really really want to own there (provided it remains close to its original concept, has a variety of accommodation options, and a LAZY RIVER), and I really don't need to add-on... but what points to give up??

 

[Mikey15]

I hear you on this! Is it wrong that part of me wants to add another 35-50 points at least for Poly (I already have 100)? We got the initial points so that we could do 1-3 nights at Poly at the beginning of a trip (we often fly in late, so thought we usually stay in 1BR/2BR, I hate spending 2BR points on a first night when we're just going to go to sleep then get up and head to a park in the morning). I started with just 50 points, then decided to make it 100, so that we could do 2 Studios if desired. However, one of my dreams is to do NYE at Poly for at least 2 nights for the fireworks, and I need a minimum of 398 points for that, so even if I banked and borrowed, I would need 133 points, or 199 points if I wanted to only use 2 years of points for that trip. So I'm holding out for Poly Tower info before I decide what I might want to do, and then decide if I'm adding on or swapping out (sellling another contract to fund a Poly add-on).

Reflections is putting a wrinkle in my plans, though, as I really really want to own there (provided it remains close to its original concept, has a variety of accommodation options, and a LAZY RIVER), and I really don't need to add-on... but what points to give up??

I’m sure you’d be able to stay sometime at Reflections with direct Poly points. I doubt you’d be able to book NYE at Poly with Reflections points

 

[Lorana]

I’m sure you’d be able to stay sometime at Reflections with direct Poly points. I doubt you’d be able to book NYE at Poly with Reflections points

Oh, yes, quite true. It’s just I want to own at both!
But Reflections is probably still a few years off and I’d Poly has good incentives I may buy in and then figure out my plan if and when Reflections comes into play.

 

[Jack Kerouac]

Yep!! I never thought we'd go twice a year and it happened last year and is happening again this year too. I think if we only go once in 2025 and stay at a less point heavy resort we should be out of the borrowing cycle for the 2026 UY.

Since we purchased, we've stayed at BRV and BWV and loved them both. I didn't think I'd consider a 2042 resort but those two resorts have me thinking otherwise. I'm tempted by some smaller contracts out there right now but can't get past the earlier expiration and the stripped status. @Chili327 am I remembering correctly that you sold a BRV and purchased a BWV? Any insight or advice for me about one over the other based on your experience?

When we bought our original contract, I thought we would do a trip once a year or so.

We leave Saturday for our third trip this calendar year. It's a slippery slope.

Watch out below.

We just bought a small 85 point contract at BRV. We stayed there this summer and loved it. It was more $ per point than what we wanted to spend at SSR (SSR would be sleep around and BRV is only BRV) but I wanted BRV. Once I stay at BWV, I'm guessing I'll want to own there too. So maybe it's an "and" not an "either or" question for you.

 

[eticketplease]

I’ve not visited Universal yet… does the express pass make a big difference? The room rates seems to be around $700 but if it’s worth it for 4 adults I’ll give it a go!

When we went during Spring break we paid $1,000 which was 66,700 CUR points with my reserve card for one night.

As @CarolynFH mentioned we only had to pay parking once and then used the boat to go tho the park.

We were a party of four and the price being advertised on checkin day was $250 and check out day was $300.

The price of the Express Pass unlimited would have been $2,250 and we would still need a room for the night.

 

[kgou]

Yeah, I think you're right ...it's probably not an either or. We stayed at BRV last summer and loved it, and at BWV earlier this summer (and on the hotel side over Thanksgiving ) and love them both a lot for different reasons. Not really any small contracts in my UY other than that stripped BRV contract I mentioned earlier in the thread so I'll continue to keep looking. Would love smaller contacts at each. An 85 pointer would be ideal! I know in general small point contracts are rare but I just can't bring myself to spring for a contract that doesn't have points until 2026.

I bet you'll love BWV too! Any plans to stay soon?

We just bought a small 85 point contract at BRV. We stayed there this summer and loved it. It was more $ per point than what we wanted to spend at SSR (SSR would be sleep around and BRV is only BRV) but I wanted BRV. Once I stay at BWV, I'm guessing I'll want to own there too. So maybe it's an "and" not an "either or" question for you.

 

[TinkAgainU]

...I know in general small point contracts are rare but I just can't bring myself to spring for a contract that doesn't have points until 2026.

Right? I figure if I can be patient enough to wait two years for points, I can be patient enough to wait a few months for a better contract to turn up. But there "is" an invisible cost for the hours spent watching for that elusive contract

 

[Kailunkat]

We built some "headroom" into the DealScore range to accommodate assessing these penalties, but we've been cautious about applying them for many reasons, including fear that it could introduce a perception that our ratings include personal bias. For now, we might consider distributing that headroom more evenly across the full five-star range while still leaving the option for penalties to be assessed in the future.

Since you asked… in my opinion it’s much cleaner to have the stars be purely based on value and then having maybe a red x or red flag or some separate indicator that alerts the buyer to look for traps. (who knew there was an emoji for trap, maybe use that one instead, lol)

@rferrar1 Thank you for providing such an amazing tool. I know I am late to the party here but just wanted to also make a suggestion. Currently, the way the site is setup with the star rating algorithm is effectively limiting your range to a 2 point range instead of 5 points (contracts are really only 2 or 3 stars) so your limiting the usefulness of the ratings.

I would suggest implementing a Flag function as @HyperspaceMountainPilot suggested and using that to flag the contracts that need further scrutiny. Then adding more nuance to expand the range based on your rating/ranking criteria.