New $500 Resale DVC Transfer Fee

[Cfabar1]

It is like we are playing the bratty 6 year old in a board game and they make up new the rules to favor them.........

Yes, but you signed a contract allowing that bratty 6 year old to do whatever they want.

 

[mkatsy]

Yes, but you signed a contract allowing that bratty 6 year old to do whatever they want.

And yet, despite all the warnings, I somehow convinced myself that they were above the fray … when someone tells you they’re a “timeshare” … believe them

 

[pkrieger2287]

New $500 DVC Resale Admin Fee Added to Disney Vacation Club Terms​

A new $500 fee has been quietly added to all resale contract closings starting January 1, 2026. No official announcement, no warning — just a surprise change buried in the DVC website.
This “Contract Administration Fee” could shake up the resale process and raise costs for buyers and sellers alike. Who pays it? Is it negotiable? We’re breaking it all down.

Read the full story: https://dvcfan.com/purchasing-dvc/dvc-resale-contract-fee/

#DVC #DisneyVacationClub #DVCResale #DVCNews #DVCFan #DisneyTimeshare #DVCMembers #DVCBuyingTips #DisneyVacation #DVCFee #DVCResaleMarket

 

[pkrieger2287]

Yes, but you signed a contract allowing that bratty 6 year old to do whatever they want.

Can we just keep this thread going... its entertaining my pre-caffeinated brain this morning.

 

[BeachClub2014]

I don't like the way DVC quietly rolled out this new charge, but I can understand the logic behind them doing so. DVC makes no money off a contract resale, and bears an administrative cost for processing the transaction, so charging a fee seems logical.

 

[melissa70]

If Disney wants to make direct more attractive than resale-why don’t they add more perks?! Good ones, not this laughable bs they try to market. People love perks, when they actually are worth something. And if they ever want to sell Riviera direct, they really should remove that ridiculous restriction. Such greed!

 

[pkrieger2287]

AI told me https://www.dvcresalemarket.com sold 4,400 contracts last year. If we use that as the baseline, that is another $2.2 million dollars in their pockets for doing nothing extra, just business as usual.

I want more free Mickey Ice Cream bars now

I crunched this number right away as well... You can't tell me they are going to hire enough new closing agents to match that. This is an easy financial win for them for 2026 budget. It makes me wonder a bit if they are hedging against slower sales possibly in the 2nd half of this year. If Riviera sells out and Island Tower gets close before Lakeshore comes online they might have a problem with a viable product at WDW to sell direct. When you are having problems selling direct... you find money where you can...

 

[atthebeachclub]

I feel like sub $200 would have been a lot more reasonable for the presumed amount of work that goes into this. But maybe there’s more that goes into it than I know.

I don’t think it’s unfair to have a fee, but this fee is punitive to owners.

 

[matt_in_nh]

If Disney wants to make direct more attractive than resale-why don’t they add more perks?! Good ones, not this laughable bs they try to market. People love perks, when they actually are worth something. And if they ever want to sell Riviera direct, they really should remove that ridiculous restriction. Such greed!

Because they would rather you pay for things rather than get them as perks...this way they have their cake and eat it too, they make out on both ends. Not sure it is wise in the long term but it will make their 2026 numbers look better.

 

[atthebeachclub]

Adding on about adding on: I’ve considered adding another direct contract in a few years. About 50 points. I probably won’t do that with the addition of this fee.

 

[Add-On-Itis]

Adding on about adding on: I’ve considered adding another direct contract in a few years. About 50 points. I probably won’t do that with the addition of this fee.

People will add on for 100 points instead of 50. Since $500 is a fixed cost when selling, less $pp.

 

[gvel]

To anyone who thinks Disney has a vested interest in a strong resale market, or that they care about resale value, remember this decision.

Yep. But I truly believe that there is a tipping point somewhere that will adversely affect Disney's beloved DVC cash cow. We might not be there yet, but at some point they will keep pushing and pushing to the point in which the overall DVC product is so diluted that it loses part of its appeal. I know this is somewhat unpopular opinion, but without a heatlthy, liquid and feasable resale market I think direct sales will ultimately be affected.

 

[atthebeachclub]

People will add on for 100 points instead of 50. Since $500 is a fixed cost when selling, less $pp.

Or they won’t add on at all. I probably will default to resale.

 

[eticketplease]

I don't like the way DVC quietly rolled out this new charge, but I can understand the logic behind them doing so. DVC makes no money off a contract resale, and bears an administrative cost for processing the transaction, so charging a fee seems logical.

Aren’t we paying for it already through the administration fees in our dues?

 

[airjay75]

I continue to wonder whether this $500 fee replaces the current $150 estoppel fee or is in addition to the $150 estoppel fee. I can't find any references to the $150 estoppel fee on DVC's website - can't remember whether it was there before. Even tried the waybackmachine, but I never really use that and can't seem to find older versions of the FAQs.

IMO, if this is an increase from $150 to $500 AND they continue to process transfers as quickly as they have been in the past month or so, this isn't as big of a deal as it might have seemed at first.

OTOH, if this increases the total transfer fees due to Disney to $650 and/or they revert to their slow 4-week transfer timelines (after 4 weeks of ROFR), then this is much bigger slap in the face.

 

[Brian Noble]

This could get a little tricky. I don't think resale purchase contracts address surprise fees imposed by Disney to transfer the contract.

I would think that as long as the contract is agreed upon and signed by all parties

Except that Disney was not a signatory; they are a third party. The sales contract only states the agreement between the buyer and the seller. There is a larger philosophical issue here that is interesting, but maybe not important for the thread.

$500 seems steep.

It is on the high side. Wyndham is something between $350-$400. It will also be interesting to see if this is charged for gratuitous transfers, e.g. adding (or transferring to) a child. On the other hand Wyndham is wildly inconsistent in how long everything takes. I've seen reports as short as a number of weeks, but I have an account split that has been in process since July.

can understand the logic behind them doing so. DVC makes no money off a contract resale,

The business of timeshare development is selling new timeshares. Managing existing buildings is a revenue stream, but nothing compared to the selling. So, to a first-order approximation, resale buyers are not "DVC customers."

 

[CraigInPA]

Oh no, the sky is falling! You'd think that a $500 fee is going to destroy the entire resale market based upon some of the comments in this thread! It's not. Will it devalue some resort points? Possibly, and then only for the cheapest resorts and smallest contracts. Resale will still base pricing on the cost per point. The $500 fee will show up on the estimated closing cost sheet, and buyers and/or sellers will pay it.

What I have a problem with is the amount. Transferring 4,400 contracts per year is approximately 20 per day. At $500 per contract, this means that to "break even" on the salaries, benefits, and infrastructure, they've got to have about 10 people who each process just 2 each per day. I don't believe the process is so complex that it takes someone 4 hours to do one contract. So, there's money being made here...

 

[Brian Noble]

Also a note on Marriott: While they do charge a large amount, that is not just to transfer resale points but also to "wash" them, so it isn't really the same thing.

 

[eticketplease]

If Disney wants to make direct more attractive than resale-why don’t they add more perks?! Good ones, not this laughable bs they try to market. People love perks, when they actually are worth something. And if they ever want to sell Riviera direct, they really should remove that ridiculous restriction. Such greed!

Riviera is selling just fine and it’s almost sold out.

We are on year six right now which will finish I believe in March but it could’ve been January 2019 that they started I can’t remember.

Riviera has about 650,000 less points than AKL which took 7 years to sell out without restrictions and less upfront costs (not looking at inflation here)

Riviera most likely would have sold out by now if not for the pandemic.

 

[airjay75]

Except that Disney was not a signatory; they are a third party. The sales contract only states the agreement between the buyer and the seller. There is a larger philosophical issue here that is interesting, but maybe not important for the thread.

I think it is somewhat comparable to buying normal real estate where an appraisal (upon which the financing is contingent) comes in under what is required to secure the financing. The lender is similarly a third party to the overall transaction. When that happens, the deal can (a) fall apart, or (b) be negotiated between the buyer and seller as to who will bear the burden of additional cash to close or reduction in purchase price.

Maybe Disney, for ease of administration will allow any contract that passes ROFR before 1/1/2026 to be considered in the clear, but I don't see any reason why they have to. And what do they care? I assume they will simply say, if you close on 1/1/2026 or later, we will require $500 to complete the transfer. TBH, that is probably administratively easier than pointing to ROFR.