LouisianaDisneyFan
DVC owner, Disney stockholder, & all-around fan!
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2006
- Messages
- 1,343
We're in the process of our third and fourth resale purchases. At this point, we've done business with three of the four "big" resale companies and I've noticed some differences in their practices. I thought I would share our experiences to date.
Our first resale was through Shontell at DVCbyresale.com. Shontell was a bit difficult to reach (lots of times leaving messages on the answering machine), but she was very pleasant to work with. Once I established contact with her, she was very quick to call back with a contract that exactly matched our "wish list" and we quickly made an offer for the asking price. It was a loaded 50-point BWV contract, and as many of you know, those go FAST. So, we were thrilled to get it... even if the price was a bit high. We were told that the closing agents would be Timeshare Title & More. Later in the day, we received the documents to execute and FAX back and were given instructions to send our $1000 deposit. The instructions told us in bold, italicized letters to overnight our check to the title company. From the moment we signed the documents, we received no further contact from DVCbyresale. We were not informed when the seller signed, we were not forwarded executed documents, we were not told when it was submitted to ROFR, and we were not told when it passed ROFR. We knew it passed ROFR when we received an email from the Title Company with instructions for closing, and we knew it had closed when we received notice from the Title Company that the deed had been filed with Orange County. We have not yet received any membership info from Disney, nor have we received instructions on how to proceed. It has been a month since closing. The deed is on the Orange County Comptroller's website, so I know that the sale has gone through. Since this purchase, we have tried to purchase a second resale through DVCbyresale, and Shontell was very helpful during the negotiation process, but we were unable to reach an agreement with the seller and looked elsewhere for our next purchase. Overall, I was pleased that Shontell worked so hard to help us find what we wanted, but I was frustrated that after the documents were signed, we didn't receive updates as to the progress of the sale.
Our second resale is through ************* over at ***************. It was very easy to reach them... the phone was answered immediately. We made an offer on a contract that was significantly below the asking price. A few hours later, **** contacted us with a counter offer and we accepted. The contracts arrived via email a few hours later, which we signed and FAXed back. Again, we were told the closing agents would be Timeshare Title & More, but ****** instructions specifically stated that expedited mailing was not necessary (which I would agree with since the buyer has 10 days to change their minds anyway). We sent in our $1000 deposit on a personal check via regular mail. The next day, we received an email with copies of the executed purchase agreement (with sellers' signatures). We were also notified immediately when the contract was submitted for ROFR. The communication level has been wonderful. We have not yet passed ROFR, so I can't speak to how closing and recording will go. (Perhaps someone else can share their experiences regarding closing with this company.)
Our third resale is through Rachel over at Fidelity. Working with their listings on the website is frustrating as the UY and point status are not included in the listing. So, we were blind trying to compare contracts until we specifically contacted Rachel to request info about each one of them. It was next to impossible to reach her via the phone number listed on the website (endless recording and music just to be sent to voicemail), but once we made the first contact and she gave us a better phone number, it was smooth sailing. Our first offer was for a contract that had a great listing price (it's actually still on the website), but the seller never responded. It took quite a few follow-up emails from us to Rachel before we even had a clue what was happening with our offer... so that was frustrating. We finally withdrew the first offer (due to lack of seller response) and moved to our second choice, making an offer that was significantly less than the asking price. The seller accepted. A few hours later, we received the documents, signed them, and FAXed them back. The closing agent again is Timeshare Title & More. This time, the deposit was only $500 and it could be paid by mailing a personal check or authorizing a charge/debit payment via FAX. We were notified by email when the seller had also executed the documents and then about a week later, we received a hard copy of the executed documents via USPS mail, along with a detailed letter telling us what we could expect from the ROFR and closing process. Again, we have not yet passed ROFR, so I can't speak to how closing and recording will go. (Can someone else can share their experiences with this company?)
So, from these three companies, I have been most pleased with the complete package of service from ***************. Shontell at DVCbyresale was very helpful and communicative in the offer stage, Rachel at Fidelity was very helpful and communicative in the purchase stage, but **************** have been communicative during the entire process. From descriptions I have read of the service at The Timeshare Store, I believe they are also communicative through the whole process... but I haven't found the right contract through them... YET!
What have your experiences been like with the resale companies?
Our first resale was through Shontell at DVCbyresale.com. Shontell was a bit difficult to reach (lots of times leaving messages on the answering machine), but she was very pleasant to work with. Once I established contact with her, she was very quick to call back with a contract that exactly matched our "wish list" and we quickly made an offer for the asking price. It was a loaded 50-point BWV contract, and as many of you know, those go FAST. So, we were thrilled to get it... even if the price was a bit high. We were told that the closing agents would be Timeshare Title & More. Later in the day, we received the documents to execute and FAX back and were given instructions to send our $1000 deposit. The instructions told us in bold, italicized letters to overnight our check to the title company. From the moment we signed the documents, we received no further contact from DVCbyresale. We were not informed when the seller signed, we were not forwarded executed documents, we were not told when it was submitted to ROFR, and we were not told when it passed ROFR. We knew it passed ROFR when we received an email from the Title Company with instructions for closing, and we knew it had closed when we received notice from the Title Company that the deed had been filed with Orange County. We have not yet received any membership info from Disney, nor have we received instructions on how to proceed. It has been a month since closing. The deed is on the Orange County Comptroller's website, so I know that the sale has gone through. Since this purchase, we have tried to purchase a second resale through DVCbyresale, and Shontell was very helpful during the negotiation process, but we were unable to reach an agreement with the seller and looked elsewhere for our next purchase. Overall, I was pleased that Shontell worked so hard to help us find what we wanted, but I was frustrated that after the documents were signed, we didn't receive updates as to the progress of the sale.
Our second resale is through ************* over at ***************. It was very easy to reach them... the phone was answered immediately. We made an offer on a contract that was significantly below the asking price. A few hours later, **** contacted us with a counter offer and we accepted. The contracts arrived via email a few hours later, which we signed and FAXed back. Again, we were told the closing agents would be Timeshare Title & More, but ****** instructions specifically stated that expedited mailing was not necessary (which I would agree with since the buyer has 10 days to change their minds anyway). We sent in our $1000 deposit on a personal check via regular mail. The next day, we received an email with copies of the executed purchase agreement (with sellers' signatures). We were also notified immediately when the contract was submitted for ROFR. The communication level has been wonderful. We have not yet passed ROFR, so I can't speak to how closing and recording will go. (Perhaps someone else can share their experiences regarding closing with this company.)
Our third resale is through Rachel over at Fidelity. Working with their listings on the website is frustrating as the UY and point status are not included in the listing. So, we were blind trying to compare contracts until we specifically contacted Rachel to request info about each one of them. It was next to impossible to reach her via the phone number listed on the website (endless recording and music just to be sent to voicemail), but once we made the first contact and she gave us a better phone number, it was smooth sailing. Our first offer was for a contract that had a great listing price (it's actually still on the website), but the seller never responded. It took quite a few follow-up emails from us to Rachel before we even had a clue what was happening with our offer... so that was frustrating. We finally withdrew the first offer (due to lack of seller response) and moved to our second choice, making an offer that was significantly less than the asking price. The seller accepted. A few hours later, we received the documents, signed them, and FAXed them back. The closing agent again is Timeshare Title & More. This time, the deposit was only $500 and it could be paid by mailing a personal check or authorizing a charge/debit payment via FAX. We were notified by email when the seller had also executed the documents and then about a week later, we received a hard copy of the executed documents via USPS mail, along with a detailed letter telling us what we could expect from the ROFR and closing process. Again, we have not yet passed ROFR, so I can't speak to how closing and recording will go. (Can someone else can share their experiences with this company?)
So, from these three companies, I have been most pleased with the complete package of service from ***************. Shontell at DVCbyresale was very helpful and communicative in the offer stage, Rachel at Fidelity was very helpful and communicative in the purchase stage, but **************** have been communicative during the entire process. From descriptions I have read of the service at The Timeshare Store, I believe they are also communicative through the whole process... but I haven't found the right contract through them... YET!
What have your experiences been like with the resale companies?
. Just wanted to say THANK YOU for posting this, it is extremely helpful. 
Bill 
