JimMIA said:
My guess - and this is JUST a guess - is that the ROFR dude/dudettes are not concerned with banked, reservation, holding points. I'd bet they are looking at forward points, because that's what they can sell.
I don't know... I would think that unused points going to waste must mean rooms someplace not being used, which they could then sell for cash payers. Just conjecture.
But a better way may be for the buyer to pay a little more per point and have the seller pay closing.
This makes the advertised cost per point LOOK higher (and makes us feel like we've got a better chance at passing), but the actual cost to the buyer OR to to Disney if ROFR'd remains the same. If I were the Disney ROFR dude, I wouldn't be fooled by this. (I.e., 150 point contract: 1) $75/point, buyer pays $450 closing = buyer ends up paying $78/point; vs. 2) $78/point, seller pays closing; these are the same.)
Actually, I saw a very interesting post here recently (I believe by Caskbill) pointing out that maintenance fees have nothing to do with use year. They are calendar year fees for the upkeep of the property, not fees which are related to a particular batch of points. And therefore, they should be apportioned - as Disney does - based on who owned the contract during what period of time, not who had the points.
I saw the same. I believe Dean posted that he has very strong feelings in agreement with this, and that there are others who have equally strong feelings the other way.
Personally, I don't think it matters. Just figure out the bottom line: how much lower my bank account would be at the end of it all. If it were currently December, and MF were $3/point (charged in Jan and paid by the seller back then), I'd consider the following 2 contracts identical: 1) $75/point, buyer pays past year's MF; 2) $78/point, seller pays past year's MF because it's December. If it's Jun/Jul, make the value difference $1.50/point difference if prorating occurs, because half the year's gone by.
But when comparing a resale contract and buying direct, I guess it is important, to take this into account (especially if the deed passes hands close to the end of the year).
In any case, I think it's become clear that as a buyer of a resale contract, haggling over the contract terms matters less than whether Disney will ROFR you if you haggle too well. And as you posted, there are odd discrepancies in Disney's behavior.
Out of curiosity, has anyone here been around long enough to have a sense of a historical trend (say, over just the last two or three years) of ROFR levels, and concomitant changes in price per point on the resale market?
Once again: take everything I ponder with a boulder of salt. I only went on the DVC tour for the 1st time 19 days ago, and am clearly no expert.