Is now a good time for us to buy resale?

[zeferjen]

Hi all - I have spent the last few weeks reading this board and a few other DVC message boards. It seems that due to the economy there are a lot of good deals out there for resale DVC.

My family is already planning a Disney vacation in March at a moderate resort. We have friends that own DVC at BLT and have been talking to them about the benefits of membership.

My two kids are huge Disney fans, although my dh is more of a reluctant participant in our trips. I have talked to him about DVC and he is considering it. He would probably be more interested if I can avoid some of the up front acquisition costs.

My thinking is that we may be in a good position to buy right now, considering our flexibility in closing. Since we already have a trip planned and paid for, we probably wouldn't need to go back until 2013. Maybe we can look for stripped contracts that others would not want and get a better deal. What are you thoughts? We would likely be paying all cash, if that makes a difference.

TIA!

 

[juncker]

Yes, there are some good deals out there on the resale market right now. It seems to be a buyers market. It sounds like you have time, so I'd look for the right contract for your family and then low-ball the offer to start. There's no shortage to people wanting to sell.

As for the right contract, you should start looking at the resort that is right for your family. Is there 1 DVC property that you like the best and would be happy staying at every time if it came down to that? If so, I'd buy there. If you don't have a preference to any one resort, then you can shop around based upon price per point, use year, and maint. fees. Remember that the only guarantee that you're actually purchasing is the right to book your points at your home resort. Most everything else is just a perk added on that can be removed whenever the mouse wants (although I don't expect many more changes - just my opinion).

The only red flag that I can see is that your DH has to be a reluctant participant in your trips. Investing in DVC means that there are going to be a lot of trips to Disneyworld in your future. Maybe you should re-think this, at least until you get back from your March trip to see how he feels then. Personally, if my DW didn't want to go to Disney, I think that I'd keep my DVC and start shopping new wives (just kidding).

Best of luck in whatever you decide!

 

[chalee94]

Since we already have a trip planned and paid for, we probably wouldn't need to go back until 2013. Maybe we can look for stripped contracts that others would not want and get a better deal. What are you thoughts? We would likely be paying all cash, if that makes a difference.

paying cash would not make a difference.

remember that you will owe DVC for 2012 maintenance fees of $5+ per point depending on the home resort even if you don't get any points that year, so make sure you are adjusting the offer price accordingly...

i would agree with the prior poster, take some time and read threads here on the DVC boards to learn more before you make an offer to jump in...

 

[zeferjen]

paying cash would not make a difference.

remember that you will owe DVC for 2012 maintenance fees of $5+ per point depending on the home resort even if you don't get any points that year, so make sure you are adjusting the offer price accordingly...

i would agree with the prior poster, take some time and read threads here on the DVC boards to learn more before you make an offer to jump in...

I have been reading the forums, although I clearly have more to learn

Regarding the maintenance fees, I am seeing several posts where the buyer negotiates that seller covers fees on the years for which the points were stripped. Is that not your experience?

 

[Deb & Bill]

...My two kids are huge Disney fans, although my dh is more of a reluctant participant in our trips. I have talked to him about DVC and he is considering it. He would probably be more interested if I can avoid some of the up front acquisition costs. ...

What happens if you buy into DVC and he hates it? Will you plan a future of vacations without him? That really doesn't sound so fun.

Don't buy DVC with plans on using points at places other than DVC. That is an option that changes all the time. And it really isn't as easy as the guides make it sound.

 

[zeferjen]

What happens if you buy into DVC and he hates it? Will you plan a future of vacations without him? That really doesn't sound so fun.

Yes, that is a good point. I think he will come around, but I am not going to strong-arm him. I'll see how our vacation in March goes. Unless he gets more excited in the meantime

 

[suncup1225]

Also don't "low ball" the seller as a previous poster has said...people may need to sell but they also are not stupid and it's just like buying a house...it can be insulting and then the seller may not want to negotiate with you. Go in with an offer that is a little less than what you are willing to pay and hopefully the seller appreciates this (as I would) and works with you!

 

[Brian Noble]

Nonsense. It's still a buyers' market, so if you are willing to be patient, there is no reason not to negotiate shrewdly---you just have to find the right motivated seller. You aren't going to be fast friends with these people, it's a business transaction.

That said, I would not even consider a DVC purchase unless you and your husband both imagine yourselves going to WDW regularly---and even after the kids are a bit more grown up. My kids are 11 and 13. The 13 year old would much rather be at Universal and Sea World, because the coasters are actual coasters. The 11 year old is still on the fence. He hasn't been back to WDW in a while---his two most recent Orlando vacations were DCL, and Universal---and said the other night that he missed it. But, that's probably not going to last for very much longer.

 

[CMOORE185]

Also don't "low ball" the seller as a previous poster has said...people may need to sell but they also are not stupid and it's just like buying a house...it can be insulting and then the seller may not want to negotiate with you. Go in with an offer that is a little less than what you are willing to pay and hopefully the seller appreciates this (as I would) and works with you!

One should try to get the best deal they can. You cannot worry about insulting people. If they won't negotiate with you move on. There are tons of contracts for sale and many motivated sellers. It is a buyers market right now.

 

[zeferjen]

One should try to get the best deal they can. You cannot worry about insulting people. If they won't negotiate with you move on. There are tons of contracts for sale and many motivated sellers. It is a buyers market right now.

Thanks for saying this. I am seeing people getting contracts at $50 or so a point at SSR posted both here and on ****************. The listing prices at the big three brokers are still in the mid-60s. I wonder where the disconnect is?

 

[Brian Noble]

Listing prices are not necessarily selling prices.

 

[Bonnie151]

Nonsense. It's still a buyers' market, so if you are willing to be patient, there is no reason not to negotiate shrewdly---you just have to find the right motivated seller. You aren't going to be fast friends with these people, it's a business transaction.

That said, I would not even consider a DVC purchase unless you and your husband both imagine yourselves going to WDW regularly---and even after the kids are a bit more grown up...

ITA. We found a contract which had clearly been on the market for a while and made low offer which was immediately accepted. The worst they could have said was no, in which case we would have moved onto another one. We used the ROFR thread here to judge what was the lowest we could reasonably offer.

We're also WDW addicts with or without our children- we spent part of our honeymoon there followed by several other pre-children holidays. Part of me can't wait to do Disney without the kids again (though DH thinks they'll still want to come with us even when they've grown up)!

 

[SabresFan]

Thanks for saying this. I am seeing people getting contracts at $50 or so a point at SSR posted both here and on ****************. The listing prices at the big three brokers are still in the mid-60s. I wonder where the disconnect is?

I recently picked up an SSR contract at $50 per point. It was listed at $60 per point, I offered $50, and the seller accepted immediately. They were very motivated to sell, so we closed very quickly too. Extremely smooth transaction.

 

[Sandisw]

One should try to get the best deal they can. You cannot worry about insulting people. If they won't negotiate with you move on. There are tons of contracts for sale and many motivated sellers. It is a buyers market right now.

I have to agree...a buyer should really offer what they want to pay or they think is fair...if the seller agrees, then it will work out.

If a seller is firm on their asking price and is willing to wait, then they will decline the offer.

The only way to find a seller who is willing to go below their asking price is to offer them below it and see what happens. That is how we got our BWV contract for the price we did.

We offered $8 less than the asking price but also asked that the 2011 MF's get paid as well (even though we were getting all 2011 points). They countered with $5 less but agreed to the MF's.

DH and I decided that it was within our range for what we wanted to pay and agreed to the counter offer.

Had we now tried, we would have never known that this particular seller was willing to negotiate.

 

[rmcildw2m]

I think anytime is a good time if you need points or even just looking for that first contract .

 

[n2mm]

I think it's a good time to buy resale. I purchased my first resale contract last year. I was nervous as I had always bought through Disney. You can sign up to get listings emailed to you because often some companies will email you an advance copy of their listings before they are offered on their website and the good ones are gone when you see them. Also, don't hestitate. I did that once and dragged my feet just by a few hours and by the time I called it was gone. It took 6 months to fine the right contract for me but that was because I wanted my same UY. I was also lucky as my contract was offered for the exact price I wanted to pay so I grabbed it. There was one offered prior to that one that I lost because I asked if the seller would pay part closing, but another buyer offered to pay the full closing so they got it. Small contracts go fast (100 or less) and often at the price asking. I would not buy a stripped as I find there was not that much of a savings. Finding a fully loaded is great but harder to find, but I would aim for at least the current year's points. Then you can bank them and will start out with double. I used Fidelity -- the first time I called them and lost a deal I was not happy, but the second I called them and asked for another agent, it worked perfectly and I was more than happy. I also had great communications with the TSS, but never found what I was looking for there. Doing your homework really helps and there's lot of info here on the boards. I did figure out that Fidelity updates on Friday, but they are closed on the weekend. When I saw the contract I wanted I called and left a message that Friday evening, plus I emailed them and on Monday morning I called when they openned. My persistence paid off as I got the contract I wanted at the price I wanted to pay. I can't help with convincing your DH. My DH is a Disney fan too and enjoys our many trips to WDW. Afterall, he's a former cast member!

 

[lovin'fl]

Maybe think about buying HHI points...they are cheaper than WDW resorts (to buy, but the MFs are a little more) and maybe your DH would be happier if he could get a beach vacation every once in a while too (if he likes beach vacations). VBR is the cheapest DVC points to buy, but HHI is a little closer to us North-Eastern folks.

Edited to add: Never mind...I just realized you have a contract at SSR in for ROFR...hope it passes quickly!!

 

[zeferjen]

Thanks everyone, for the advice! I did end up bidding on a contract at SSR. My dh, while not the fanatic that I am, did agree to buying it. I think it helped that I put together all of the numbers in a spreadsheet and was able to demonstrate that we break even in about 5 years of trips to Disney. Our kids are still young, and I wanted to do this while I knew that vacations every year to Disney are still pretty much in the cards anyway. When everyone is older we can always go to every two years and stay in nicer accommodations.

Now I am hoping for a speedy ROFR process so that we can start using our points

 

[lark]

Regarding the maintenance fees, I am seeing several posts where the buyer negotiates that seller covers fees on the years for which the points were stripped. Is that not your experience?

Congrats to OP for making a decision. Just wanted to tag along on this point. I think this is usually the way it goes. Dues are accounted for depending on who gets the points associated with the dues.

Just by way of example, I pay dues once a year at the beginning of the year, not monthly, so I've paid my 2012 dues. I have my BLT contract listed for sale right now. I have used some but not all 2012 points. If my listing sells, I'd expect to be reimbursed at closing for the dues I have paid for the remaining 2012 points. Of course, everything is negotiable. I have a total number in mind that I want to sell for and built in a little wiggle room for my selling price to negotiate. If I get better than the number I'm hoping for, then I'd be willing to forego reimbursement of some of the dues, whereas if I get negotiated down to my lowest number, I'll likely stand firm on the dues.