Fidelity communication?

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I emailed a Fidelity agent this morning (early) with questions about 2 listings and haven’t heard back about 12 hours later. I also called three times today to try to catch her and she didn’t answer (didn’t leave a message though). Is this normal? I found a couple of contacts I would be interested in but don’t want to just blindly submit an offer without talking to someone first.

 

[Sandisw]

I had that happen and moved on...I have heard they are slow to get back to people.

 

[RoseGold]

I would use Fidelity/Mason again, and I'm happy with the contract I ended up with. But yea, communication is not ideal. I never got anything to work but email.

I don't see why you need to talk to submit an offer though. The contract is the contract, I'm not sure what there is to talk about.

 

[Matty B13]

Also, until you sign a contract for a purchase, no offer is binding.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

How much are closing costs? It isn’t listed.

How are maintenance fees handled? 2021? 2022?

Are they willing to bank prior points before submitting ROFR?

Timing?

There are plenty of questions I might want to ask before just blindly submitting an offer.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Also if the agent is completely unresponsive how helpful will they be if there are issues? The agent that we bought our house from completely disappeared for a couple of months and almost blew up the purchase. Finally the head of the whole agency called us on Christmas morning to apologize and try to get the process back on track.

 

[PalmettoPath]

We just sold our points with Fidelity. Listed in March and they sold in two weeks. Just closed the deal last week. Second time we've used them and both times an excellent experience.

 

[RoseGold]

How much are closing costs? It isn’t listed.

Closing costs are fairly standard. You can get a good guess at the board sponsor with a contract of similar size. Maybe varies a little depending on title company and a few points difference.

How are maintenance fees handled? 2021? 2022?

This is also standard, and you can see on the board sponsor the standard way it is handled. Contracts that deviate will be noted.

Are they willing to bank prior points before submitting ROFR?

For ROFR/timing, you submit the offer with what you want. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. The timing is fairly standard, so not sure exactly what you want there. Delayed closing will be noted in the listing.

Also if the agent is completely unresponsive how helpful will they be if there are issues?

The title company handles all the issues once there is a deal anyway. Non-issue to me.

If they don't like your offer, maybe they'll call you back to discuss the term they don't like. And an offer is just an offer. You have to write up the whole timeshare contract with the 10 day rescission and all that before it's binding.

 

[RoseGold]

If you're concerned about everything being clear, you could write a very clear offer:

$162/point cash. Seller pays 2021 dues and commission, buyer pays closing and 2022 dues, closing in 60 days, Mason title company. Seller must bank 2021 points before submitting to ROFR.

A lot of that is standard, but doesn't hurt to write it out.

 

[Huskerpaul]

I emailed a Fidelity agent this morning (early) with questions about 2 listings and haven’t heard back about 12 hours later. I also called three times today to try to catch her and she didn’t answer (didn’t leave a message though). Is this normal? I found a couple of contacts I would be interested in but don’t want to just blindly submit an offer without talking to someone first.

I tried the chat function with them a couple of times and had good luck getting my questions answered mainly "is this an international seller?."

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

If you're concerned about everything being clear, you could write a very clear offer:

$162/point cash. Seller pays 2021 dues and commission, buyer pays closing and 2022 dues, closing in 60 days, Mason title company. Seller must bank 2021 points before submitting to ROFR.

A lot of that is standard, but doesn't hurt to write it out.

I only see a place to put a number in, as in “here’s my name and my offer is $100.”

Your language is super helpful. That’s exactly what I want to be able to do.

 

[Jgc014]

In my experience with Fidelity, after I submitted an offer, they got back to me with any additional anticipated costs (closing, admin fee, MFs) and asked me to confirm prior to submitting.

 

[john7994]

I have bought two contracts via Fidelity/Mason in the past six months - absolutely no issues, very responsive, they called to confirm details and updated consistently on next steps. I would definitely buy (or sell down the road) through them for sure.

 

[thelionqueen]

I have worked solely with Fidelity for years. I worked with Bonnie for all transactions except my current one. I left a message and never got a call back, so I looked at other listings. I worked with Shawn and she has been super responsive. I had good experiences with both, and great communication with the exception of this last go round. I always assume the best, and just figured it wasn't meant to be. Turned out to be the case, because I ended up getting just the right contract. I cannot speak for any other agents there, but both Bonnie & Shawn are amazing!!!

 

[NVDISFamily]

I've had to call them to ask questions and also to make an offer. Two different agents and both were fairly quick to answer and talk about things. I would guess that this agent is just out of the office. I had mixed responses via email. Currently going through ROFR with my first contract for DVC with them and would say it's been okay so far.... Wish you the best.

 

[wnielsen1]

Also, until you sign a contract for a purchase, no offer is binding.

And not even then as you have 10 days to cancel.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I spoke with the agent yesterday. Unfortunately the contracts I am interested in aren’t currently available but at least I feel like I understand the process a bit more.

Thanks all for your perspective!

 

[NVDISFamily]

I just got an unsolicited follow up email letting me know that we are still in ROFR and waiting from the closing coordinator at Fidelity so that's a nice touch. Just thought I would share. Seems like they are trying to help/communicate

 

[NVDISFamily]

Update - Overall I’d have to rate working with Fidelity as bad to fair. Most emails are not responded to and I’ve also had some fairly poor passive-aggressive responses to questions when they do respond. They make it seem like its a chore to deal with you. The other broker I’m working with is great, very responsive to emails, and seems like a much nicer person overall. I would not say don’t do a deal with Fidelity if the numbers are good, but don’t be surprised if they are hard to work with via email.

I’ll also add that they sat on my completed contract for a week before sending to ROFR while the second broker sent it over within 24 hours after getting all signatures on the documents.

 

[savvy101787]

Update - Overall I’d have to rate working with Fidelity as bad to fair. Most emails are not responded to and I’ve also had some fairly poor passive-aggressive responses to questions when they do respond. They make it seem like its a chore to deal with you. The other broker I’m working with is great, very responsive to emails, and seems like a much nicer person overall. I would not say don’t do a deal with Fidelity if the numbers are good, but don’t be surprised if they are hard to work with via email.

I had a similar experience with Fidelity, especially the passive-aggressive nature. It was my first resale purchase and Bonnie didn’t seem to appreciate all my questions. OTOH, Evelyn was very pleasant to work with and usually responded immediately. She even nudged Bonnie a few times via email.