Thinking of buying resale, any suggestions??

[Marine Mom]

I have been thinking of purchasing a DVC and have been speaking with Disney directly and then a friend of mine told me if I am serious about purchasing a DVC I should do so through resale. From all the Diser's out there it looks like the Time Share Store is the place to go but I have a few questions. Is there really much difference between buying straight from Disney or resale and do the end dates of your DVC change from purchasing resale?

I am not sure how the entire process works. I know that the TTS will have all the answers but before I contact them, I just thought my fellow disers would have alot of insight.

Anyone???

 

[chalee94]

Is there really much difference between buying straight from Disney or resale and do the end dates of your DVC change from purchasing resale?

the end dates are the same no matter where you purchase.*

*if you are purchasing OKW, this is a little more complicated. a direct purchase of OKW will end in 2057 while a resale OKW may end in either 2057 OR 2042...so you'd have to pay more attention in case of an OKW purchase.

here is a comparison of resales vs. direct, as stolen from DVCMike:

Initial Purchase from DVC

• You can get the exact number of points that you want (although you must buy a minimum of 160)
• Faster than resale (you will be in the system and have your points and be able to make reservations much faster than resale)
• No worries about the purchase if Disney executes ROFR, since that only applies to resale purchases
• More expensive cost per point than the resale market
• You can finance through DVC, and Disney doesn’t report the loan to credit reporting agencies
• You can pay with a Rewards credit card and get points/cash back
• The full set of points you buy will be available immediately, versus a resale contract which may be “stripped” of points.
• If you don’t want the resorts they are currently selling (AKV/BLT), you may have to do some firm talking to a guide to convince them you really want an older resort.

Initial Purchase via Resale

• You may not get the exact number of points you want
• You can purchase fewer than 160 points for your initial buy-in to DVC (Disney won’t let you buy fewer than 160 points - except for a recent deal at AKV).
• It will take much longer to get into the DVC system and have your points (resales typically take 6-8 weeks)
• Disney may exercise ROFR and you may lose the resale and have to start all over (When buying resale, one of the potential pitfalls to try to avoid is making an offer that will cause Disney to exercise it’s Right of First Refusal)
• Resale is typically less expensive than buying from DVC
• You can’t finance through DVC, although most resale brokers will recommend a finance company
• A resale contract may be “stripped” of points where the user has used many of the current year’s points, and may have borrowed some or all of next year’s points. Just be aware of “stripped” contracts on the resale market.
• Easier to pickup large point packages at any of the older DVC resorts.

 

[backyardponder]

I bought resale and had no problems. It is a great way to go if you have the time. Resale can take 2 or 3 months. It can save you thousands of dollars.

The above summary from chalee94 is good. It does imply that there is a "worry" if Disney exercises ROFR. I wouldn't list this as a worry. You might have to start the process over again, but your deposit money is safe since it is held in escrow by the closing company.

TSS has some good information on their site, referenced at the top of this page.

 

[kristenrice]

We went the resale route. It was very smooth and from the date our offer was made until the day we closed was less than one month. We paid cash so I assume that financing takes longer. Overall, I am very pleased with our purchase. We bought 100 points at AKV. We could have gone directly through Disney, but our points wouldn't have been usable until May 1, 2009. With our resale, we got all 100 points for 2008 and they were bankable. Since we aren't planning a trip for ourselves until 2010, we had time to do the resale route. In addition, I already had a coworker who was willing to rent the 2008 points from me. That was the icing on the cake. If we had bought from Disney, we wouldn't have had those extra 100 points to rent. It worked out great!

Good Luck with your decision. FWIW, we used TSS and would do so again in a heartbeat!

 

[Pakey]

We have purchased 3 times, original contract via Disney, a resale via Disney and a resale through TSS. Paid cash all 3 times so can't give an opinion regarding pros/cons of financing via each.

All 3 sales were easy. Disney's closing process is faster but TSS was abe to find availability for my second BC contract faster than Disney was able to.

 

[mom of princessx2]

The info Chalee has is great for weighing out your pros and cons. Resale can certainly take awhile longer so if you are patient you can save $$.
We were looking at 100 pts thru Disney and found we could get 150 for about the same amount on resale. Completely worth it, however we started process 9/8 and just received closing papers today so it is a little slower but I got the time!! You could also check out Donald is #1's ROFR section to see what prices are going for now. That was useful for us as well.

 

[Uncle Remus]

The info Chalee has is great for weighing out your pros and cons. Resale can certainly take awhile longer so if you are patient you can save $$.
We were looking at 100 pts thru Disney and found we could get 150 for about the same amount on resale. Completely worth it, however we started process 9/8 and just received closing papers today so it is a little slower but I got the time!! You could also check out Donald is #1's ROFR section to see what prices are going for now. That was useful for us as well.

I agree!

Here's the link to Donald's. This is some very useful info you might want so you can negotiate a price between you and the seller AND let you know what prices may cause Disney to use their ROFR.

 

[Marine Mom]

I really appreciate everyone's comments. All my fellow Disers have been so helpful. I am still in the planning and investigating stage and I thank you all so much for your help.

 

[CheapMom]

Hi Marine Mom! What resort(s) are you interested in?
There are great resale deals out there especially on OKW, SSR, VWL, VB, and HHI. You won't see as much savings going resale on BCV and BWV but it still may be worth it to do resale- you will just have to diligently compare your total purchase prices to see which makes more sense.

 

[5forDiz]

I would just add that although VB and HHI have some of the lowest prices on resale dues at these are highest. Also if you want to vacation at WDW but own points at VB or HHI then earliest you'd be able to book a DVC resort at WDW would be 7 months before your check-in date. So if you intend for majority of your vacations to be at WDW pick an on-site resort for your Home Resort so at least you may take advantage of 11 month booking window.

Best Wishes on your planning

 

[Marine Mom]

Hi Marine Mom! What resort(s) are you interested in?
There are great resale deals out there especially on OKW, SSR, VWL, VB, and HHI. You won't see as much savings going resale on BCV and BWV but it still may be worth it to do resale- you will just have to diligently compare your total purchase prices to see which makes more sense.

I was thinking about Boardwalk Villas. Unfortunately, I have not seen the vacation club villa but I do like that resort. Someone told me I should buy into Saratoga since the end date is 2054 and the treehouses will be finished soon. Otherwise, I am really not sure which resort is my favorite.

I usually don't book vacations more than 6 months in advance (except I did book in Sept. for free dining next August) and we usually go to Disney during the off season so I am not sure if my "home base" really matters a whole lot.

 

[CheapMom]

It sounds like you understand this- but just in case let me mention- if you aren't likely to plan your trips 7 months or more in advance it makes sense to just go for the best deal. After the 7 month window opens up all points are treated equal. You will pay a lot more for points at BWV then say OKW- and you will be basically paying for a home resort advantage that you won't be using.
It is important to know that DVC has some "peak" times that aren't the same as peak WDW times.

Busy times for DVC are
holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter Breaks)
All of December
October/Food&Wine (Especially BCV&BWV)

IMO the least busy time for DVC:
June-Sept

 

[Marine Mom]

It sounds like you understand this- but just in case let me mention- if you aren't likely to plan your trips 7 months or more in advance it makes sense to just go for the best deal. After the 7 month window opens up all points are treated equal. You will pay a lot more for points at BWV then say OKW- and you will be basically paying for a home resort advantage that you won't be using.
It is important to know that DVC has some "peak" times that aren't the same as peak WDW times.

Busy times for DVC are
holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter Breaks)
All of December
October/Food&Wine (Especially BCV&BWV)

IMO the least busy time for DVC:
June-Sept

That was my feeling as well. Our favorite time to go to WDW is June-Sept. I heard that the busy times for DVC are different but do you think August for instance would be a busy time? I never take my son out of school and we are usually busy the first part of the summer so it always works out that we take our vacations in August. I appreciate the feedback!

 

[CheapMom]

That was my feeling as well. Our favorite time to go to WDW is June-Sept. I heard that the busy times for DVC are different but do you think August for instance would be a busy time? I never take my son out of school and we are usually busy the first part of the summer so it always works out that we take our vacations in August. I appreciate the feedback!

I think August is one of the least busy DVC months. I went this year in August and we didn't decide to go until June- So I called less than 3 months out. I had my choice of AKV, OKW, SSR. This was for 3 nights in a studio. We chose AKV justfor something new and different. It was great.

 

[Marine Mom]

I think August is one of the least busy DVC months. I went this year in August and we didn't decide to go until June- So I called less than 3 months out. I had my choice of AKV, OKW, SSR. This was for 3 nights in a studio. We chose AKV justfor something new and different. It was great.

That is good to know!

 

[VTNuke]

The saying "buy where you want to stay" is really important. Not so much if you want to stay at one of the larger resorts at non-peak DVC times (which may be different than peak park times).

If you want to stay at BWV, I'd buy there. I tried to book a 2 bedroom at BWV at the 10 month, 29 days out mark for an Oct 2008 stay and the standard view was already booked. I had to move the week. It still worked out fine because we were still booking almost a year in advanced, but it did surprise me I couldn't get exactly what I wanted.

We purchased via resale with TTS. We started the process in June of 2007, closed in August of 2007 (our first contract was ROFR'd by Disney) and we booked our first trip in November. Our second trip won't be until Jan 2010 and we may try another resort, but I'll always be fine staying at our home resort of BWV.