Dues past due when selling/closing your DVC contract using Magic Vacation Title/DVC Resale Market?

[Lorana]

Has anyone ever sold a DVC contract and had this happen to them?

I am in the process of selling two of my DVC Contracts, and I am presuming at this point we are in the process of closing on them (all closing documents were returned, and we were expecting closing to occur after 2/27). Yesterday, my DVC Membership was locked and flagged as past due on my Dues. I had prepaid dues through April 2024 in advance of closing, knowing that the dues would be paid as part of the closing process. I am seeing now that the remaining is due, my account is locked, and it is saying I am past due and to call member accounting (which I will do soon as I'm out of work meetings). This is with Magic Vacation Title (***) and the Board sponsor.

I've only ever sold a contract through www.dvcstore.com and Mason Title, and it was a similar situation where I prepaid a few months but then allowed the balance to be paid during closing, and I never had this issue where my dues were considered past due and my account was locked during the closing process.

I've also emailed ***/DRM to find out what is going on and get this resolved, but I also want this fixed so that my account never has a record of being past due.

 

[Lorana]

So, I heard back from the Title company, and it turns out that they started the closing process and then realized they had never received the funds from the buyer, so that resulted in my account being locked and flagged as past due as the Closing Company hadn't paid the dues and the closing process was begun.

I had really preferred to use Mason or Cammy for my closing, by www.dvcresalemarket.com insisted on their preferred title company, and their preferred title company then somehow missed they didn't have the money from the buyer before they began closing and locked my account, and then didn't unlock it while they waited for the money (or send me a note to let me know)? I get that mistakes happen, but I confess I would have expected better communication and attention to detail. I knew I should have insisted on using Mason...

 

[drusba]

One possibility: if you are not on automatic monthly withdrawal for 2024 dues, then your entire year's dues became payable by mid-Feb and thus your account has been locked for failure to pay total annual amount when due. You will need to contact MS to have this worked out.

You mention the buyer will pay the rest , which I assume is under contract, but in any such closing of a real estate transaction, those amounts usually get paid after (but near the same time) the actual closing takes place, not beforehand, and thus your dues were still late as of Feb 27, resulting in the DVC closing of the account, and even if there had been a Feb 27 closing, the money to DVC may not have gotten to DVC in time, i.e., you were late as of Feb 16.

 

[heynowirv]

So, I heard back from the Title company, and it turns out that they started the closing process and then realized they had never received the funds from the buyer, so that resulted in my account being locked and flagged as past due as the Closing Company hadn't paid the dues and the closing process was begun.

I had really preferred to use Mason or Cammy for my closing, by www.dvcresalemarket.com insisted on their preferred title company, and their preferred title company then somehow missed they didn't have the money from the buyer before they began closing and locked my account, and then didn't unlock it while they waited for the money (or send me a note to let me know)? I get that mistakes happen, but I confess I would have expected better communication and attention to detail. I knew I should have insisted on using Mason...

Cammy has left Mason and has started her own Title company. It's called DVC Title and Escrow. That's for future reference of course.

 

[pianomanzano]

I had really preferred to use Mason or Cammy for my closing, by www.dvcresalemarket.com insisted on their preferred title company

I've heard previously here on the boards that the buyer generally has freedom to choose the title company. Does the seller also? Sorry, this happened to you OP. I've also run into issues with Magic Vacation Title in the past when the person handling my contract left the company and they didn't re-assign it to someone new until a couple weeks later when I heard from the boards here that the agent left the company and I inquired on the status of documents.

 

[FFMickey]

Does the seller also?

Nope. The seller chooses the resale broker and the buyer chooses the title company.

 

[Sandisw]

As a seller I have always had to have the dues paid in full before closing with DVC, even if the buyer was paying them. I was reimbursed then via closing.

If I was on monthly payments I had to settle that up. I have used several different title companies as well, including Mason and that was always required.

 

[Lorana]

As a seller I have always had to have the dues paid in full before closing with DVC, even if the buyer was paying them. I was reimbursed then via closing.

If I was on monthly payments I had to settle that up. I have used several different title companies as well, including Mason and that was always required.

They do need to be settled up, but any remaining balance is paid as part of closing. In my prior sale, I had the same situation (paid ahead two months, balance paid at closing) and did not run into this issue... probably because the closing company had the seller's money and could take care of it all at once. I'm now sitting in a limbo because they began the closing but didn't have the buyer's money.

 

[Sandisw]

They do need to be settled up, but any remaining balance is paid as part of closing. In my prior sale, I had the same situation (paid ahead two months, balance paid at closing) and did not run into this issue... probably because the closing company had the seller's money and could take care of it all at once. I'm now sitting in a limbo because they began the closing but didn't have the buyer's money.

Interesting...we always had to settle it before they would close....even last year when DVD took it in ROFR...so the balance showed $0...maybe things are now different....

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

They do need to be settled up, but any remaining balance is paid as part of closing. In my prior sale, I had the same situation (paid ahead two months, balance paid at closing) and did not run into this issue... probably because the closing company had the seller's money and could take care of it all at once. I'm now sitting in a limbo because they began the closing but didn't have the buyer's money.

What does “began the closing” mean? Did they already record a deed? That’s a major screw up if they did. Closing a timeshare really just is recording a deed, and once it’s recorded it’s closed, so that sounds like a really major screwup if they recorded a deed to the new person without receiving the funds. That’s going to be a difficult one to fix. How much money are we talking about? The escrow company / DVC resale market is going to be on the hook for the full amount of funds you are owed here if they did that, I hope they pay you without you having to take them to court.

 

[Lorana]

The process, so far as I understand from the title company, is that they contact DVC to inform them of them closing. DVC locks the contract and requires full payment of dues at that time. Normally this is seamless to the seller as it all happens at once. But because they initiated the closing - and thus transfer of the contract - with DVC, DVC locked my account and made the dues “do now.” When the title company realized they didn’t have the money from the buyer, they just didn’t pay the dues, which resulted in my membership getting locked for past due dues. And the title company didn’t stop the process, so my contract remained locked as they prepare for closing.

The biggest thing for me is I don’t want my record with DVC to reflect that I’ve been “past due” at any point since this is not on me, and will affect my ability to finance and get a good rate with DVC if I ever decide to do so.

Okay; I’m also annoyed that the title company didn’t cancel the whole process. Yes, in theory, the buyer is still buying but as they haven’t sent money, then you shouldn’t begin closing on my contract.

 

[Lorana]

Did they already record a deed?

I don’t actually know… do deeds show up immediately on the comptroller site? Now I need to go check.

 

[MyDogTink]

Why would the title company initiate the closing or close bract DVC if they didn’t have the funds from the buyer? That sounds like a major accounting mistake.

 

[Sandisw]

The process, so far as I understand from the title company, is that they contact DVC to inform them of them closing. DVC locks the contract and requires full payment of dues at that time. Normally this is seamless to the seller as it all happens at once. But because they initiated the closing - and thus transfer of the contract - with DVC, DVC locked my account and made the dues “do now.” When the title company realized they didn’t have the money from the buyer, they just didn’t pay the dues, which resulted in my membership getting locked for past due dues. And the title company didn’t stop the process, so my contract remained locked as they prepare for closing.

The biggest thing for me is I don’t want my record with DVC to reflect that I’ve been “past due” at any point since this is not on me, and will affect my ability to finance and get a good rate with DVC if I ever decide to do so.

Okay; I’m also annoyed that the title company didn’t cancel the whole process. Yes, in theory, the buyer is still buying but as they haven’t sent money, then you shouldn’t begin closing on my contract.

Now it makes sense. We were always told that we had to pay the dues in full during the process and that the funds to reimburse us at closing from buyer funds.

 

[Lorana]

Now it makes sense. We were always told that we had to pay the dues in full during the process and that the funds to reimburse us at closing from buyer funds.

Well, I’m learning my lesson not to let *** handle this ever again.

They finished closing out the 100pt contract, but didn’t pay the dues on the contract. I got the “Congratulations, your contract is now closed!” From them yesterday and that contract shows now as passed due and frozen.

I did NOT have this issue with Mason and the sale of my VGC contract.

I thought it would be easier not to front the dues cost upfront and wait to be reimbursed, and it was easier… with Mason. This is turning out to be a frustrating headache with ***.

 

[Lorana]

Why would the title company initiate the closing or close bract DVC if they didn’t have the funds from the buyer? That sounds like a major accounting mistake.

Right? I don’t know. But that was my same thought. Why would you even begin the process if the buyer hadn’t sent the funds??? They could still back out if they haven’t paid!

As of this morning, they are still waiting on the buyer to respond and funds to be sent.

 

[Sandisw]

Well, I’m learning my lesson not to let *** handle this ever again.

They finished closing out the 100pt contract, but didn’t pay the dues on the contract. I got the “Congratulations, your contract is now closed!” From them yesterday and that contract shows now as passed due and frozen.

I did NOT have this issue with Mason and the sale of my VGC contract.

I thought it would be easier not to front the dues cost upfront and wait to be reimbursed, and it was easier… with Mason. This is turning out to be a frustrating headache with ***.

Hopefully it’s settled soon! I just wonder why they are letting sellers do this now as even Mason always required me to PIF even if buyers were responsible.

But, my last one sold was 2022.

 

[CarolynFH]

I don’t actually know… do deeds show up immediately on the comptroller site? Now I need to go check.

In order for DVC to process the ownership change, they have to have the new deed, marked as filed by the relevant county, in hand. So I expect that the new deed has already been filed. Which means the buyer owns it whether they've paid or not. Is this a WDW resort, which would be filed with Orange Co. FL?

 

[Lorana]

In order for DVC to process the ownership change, they have to have the new deed, marked as filed by the relevant county, in hand. So I expect that the new deed has already been filed. Which means the buyer owns it whether they've paid or not. Is this a WDW resort, which would be filed with Orange Co. FL?

At the moment, I don't see the deed recorded with Orange County, but I will keep my eye on it. I am going to remain positive that *** & the Board Sponsor will make this right and pay me if it turns out the deed was filed.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

I don’t actually know… do deeds show up immediately on the comptroller site? Now I need to go check.

You can look up your deed on the Orange County Comptroller's website (although it looks like the website may be down right now). Boy, it sounds like they already recorded it though if you got that "congratulations" email. If that's the case and they don't have the funds, you may be in trouble. I'd be on the phone with DVC resale market, they're going to need to make this right. You may have just given you DVC contract away for free and you might need to take legal action (against the escrow/closing company and the broker) if they don't make it right. Make sure you hang on to all your paperwork including your contract with the broker!