If you buy resale, plan on 8-10 weeks for the resale process itself, and another 2 weeks or so before you are "In the system" and can make reservations.
I started looking in early February, had a deal which the seller reneged on in mid-February, got a second contract in late February, passed Disney's Right of First Refusal on March 10, and am finally hoping to close next week. And that is with expedited service from the closing agent. Some resales have taken a LOT longer than that.
It's a long, complex, frustrating process on its best day. On its worst day, you may find yourself trying to do business with unethical people. This week, two others on these boards have reported that they went all the way through the process and were ready to close, and their sellers backed out. You have to have been through the process to realize how gut-wrenching that is.
Before you buy resale, I would strongly recommend that you carefully research the players, the process, and the costs of doing so. I can't emphasize that enough - research, research, research!
I think it is very important to understand that, with resale you have no recourse with an unscrupulous seller...especially if they are located overseas. Sure, you've got a contract, but if they breach it, what do you do? The answer to that - for all practical purposes - is nothing. The costs of a lawsuit are prohibitive, so there really is no practical recourse in the real world. Most resales go through without a hitch, but as that great philosopher Yogi Berra said, "It ain't over 'til it's over!"
Also, instead of looking only at the per-point cost of a purchase, I would look at the whole picture.
With resale, unless you buy SSR, you are buying a 37 year contract. SSR, either from Disney or resale, you're buying 49 years of points. If you don't intend to keep your points until expiration, I'd try to look out into the future however long you think you'll keep them and then see what you'd have left to sell.
Buying new, you can finance through Disney; resale, you have to get your own financing. That may not be an issue for you, or you may have the ability to finance by home equity, which would be cheaper anyway.
With Disney, there are no closing costs; buying resale, you pay closing costs which range from about $350 up. I'm doing a $22,000 contract and mine are $610. If you pay closing costs, you have to factor that into your price calculations.
With Disney, you are dealing with a very reputable company. Resale, you are dealing with mostly reputable people.
The biggest overlooked factor is dues, which include maintenance, taxes, etc. Those range currently from a low of $3.83 per point per year at SSR, to about $4.87 pp/py at Vero. That's a big difference, and it's not a one-time difference - it's every year.
I think the best way to do an accurate calculation of your real cost is to consider total dollars, not per-point pricing. Take your initial purchase price, add closing costs if applicable, figure about how long you intend to keep
DVC, calculate the annual dues and multiply those by the duration you expect to be a member. Add the initial price, closing costs, and dues for the duration of ownership, and that's your total cost. It will be a BIG number.
Compare the two options that way and see which makes more sense for you. I think you will find that if you are buying a larger contract, resale may save you some money. It'll give you some grey hairs, but it may save you some money. The smaller the contract, the less likely you will want to go resale.
See how much you will save with resale. Then, in the context of the TOTAL expense for the duration of your membership, ask yourself whether the initial savings in the murky waters of resale outweighs the ease and confidence of dealing direct with Disney. It may, or it may not. The answer is different for everyone.
