Why does Fidelity get so many listings if they are so bad?

[erikawolf2004]

If Fidelity is so bad why do they have the majority of the listings? Can the TSS do offers thru them? I have liked the people I have talked to at the TSS, but they don't have many listings that I'm interested in at BWV, but Fidelity has pages of them-what gives???

 

[mjc2003]

My understanding is that they have a relationship with DVD, and if you call Disney to sell your DVC membership they will refer you to Fidelity.

Let me also add that they are not "so bad". They were simply overwhelmed and ill-equipped to handle the recent influx of contracts. That said, we hear a lot about the problem cases but there are many who have had seamless transactions. I would suspect that this is more of a blip than a pattern with them.

In our dealings with them, we had a hard time getting prompt answers. But ultimately we closed about 55 days after our offer date, so they did as promised--got is in the system in 60 days. So just b/c I couldn't always get them on the phone didn't mean they weren't working.

 

[JimMIA]

For several years now, going back to when they were GMAC, they have had a referral/fee splitting agreement with DVC. DVC refers sellers to them (many of them in distressed situations) and Fidelity splits the commission with DVC 50/50 for the referral.

 

[JimMIA]

In fairness, I think we have to remember the "Lumpy Pillow Rule" here on the DIS. People are much more likely to post negative experiences than positive on Internet boards. The DIS is probably less like that than some, but we still tend to hear the bad news pretty quickly here.

 

[TisBit]

All the above and if enough people feel the same way as you so Fidelty won't turn them over as quickly as TSS....hence they have a lot of inventory sitting from sellers with buyers not wanting to deal with them.

 

[cvjw]

*********** can sell you Fidelity's contracts. I purchased 4 contracts thru them that were originally listed with Fidelity. That is a great compromise - get the contract you want, and get great service from your broker.

 

[Jason@dvcstore]

If Fidelity is so bad why do they have the majority of the listings? Can the TSS do offers thru them? I have liked the people I have talked to at the TSS, but they don't have many listings that I'm interested in at BWV, but Fidelity has pages of them-what gives???

In my opinion at The Timeshare Store, Inc.® we do a better job of actually selling the properties and not just listing them. We are open 7 days a week (Monday thru Friday 9 to 9, Saturday 9 to 6, Sunday 10 to 6). If anyone out there has not been able to get their property sold by listing with GMAC aka Fidelity please let us know at sales@dvcstore.com

Thanks,
Jason

 

[dbs1228]

In my opinion at The Timeshare Store, Inc.® we do a better job of actually selling the properties and not just listing them. We are open 7 days a week (Monday thru Friday 9 to 9, Saturday 9 to 6, Sunday 10 to 6). If anyone out there has not been able to get their property sold by listing with GMAC aka Fidelity please let us know at sales@dvcstore.com

Thanks,
Jason

I will second what Jason is saying, I bought and sold contracts through TSS and felt very confident with the purchase and sale process. I had every question answered even if the agent I was working with was not available someone helped! I do not think I even heard "he is not in can I take a message" the phrase I did hear on more then 1 occasion was "he is not in can I put you through to another agent who can try to help"

TSS gave me a piece of mind! I got an e-mail when I sold our property on a Friday that we closed, and the check was in my mail box on Monday!!

 

[theww228]

I am currently in the middle of a purchase with Fidelity and I have had no issues.

 

[ORD2KOA]

I will second what Jason is saying, I bought and sold contracts through TSS and felt very confident with the purchase and sale process. I had every question answered even if the agent I was working with was not available someone helped! I do not think I even heard "he is not in can I take a message" the phrase I did hear on more then 1 occasion was "he is not in can I put you through to another agent who can try to help"

TSS gave me a piece of mind! I got an e-mail when I sold our property on a Friday that we closed, and the check was in my mail box on Monday!!

And I have to second you, dbs. In the last month we bought and sold through TSS and I don't have anything except praise for the way our contracts were handled.

 

[FindingFigment]

One thing I really like about TTS is they do not post a listing until they've checked on the points first with Disney. The other brokers cannot say they do this all the time. If this isn't checked thoroughly, you can actually get an accepted offer and have it submitted to ROFR only to find out a week or so later that that the seller misrepresented the points available (ask me how I know). I actually had one agent from another broker tell me it's too time consuming to go through that step and that Disney will hold the request for a couple of weeks.

Jason, is that how long it usually takes for TTS to get a response?

 

[nunzia]

I have sold a contract through TSS and purchased one through Fidelity (when it was GMAC) both went very smoothly with no issues.

 

[grace&philipsmom]

I would hardly call Fidelity bad. Some people have had negative experiences with them, but we have purchased with them twice. Other than them being a bit slow on the second transaction the overall experiences have been positive.

 

[missycj96]

I've bought from both TSS (2 contracts) and fidelity (1). TSS was a better experience - better service, more communication. Fidelity was my 3rd contract and by then I knew what I was doing so I was ok. Fidelity had more contracts to choose from and at that time I got a lower price. All things being equal I'd prefer to buy from TSS. Fidelity wasn't bad (and i got my contract without problems) but it wasn't great either.

 

[DizGirl20]

I've posted this on other threads... but we've had no problems with Fidelity whatsoever. We found a great deal and couldn't be happier with how nicely the transaction has progressed. Began the resale process on March 8th with an offer that was accepted on the spot... just closed yesterday. Now just waiting for our points to show up in the system. Would highly recommend them!

 

[rock_doctor]

Fidelity is ok. They are a very small outfit and unless you stay on top of the timeline it will start slipping... We did our resale purchase start to finish in less then 60 days with no issues, but we also had a great seller... So we had to be proactive but also saved $5 a point and got a completely loaded contract...to me that is well worth a couple extra phone calls... I would recommend them with only one caveat, it is a very slow process. Have a reasonable time line in mind and try to stay on it if possible.

 

[appleorchard]

We're waiting on Disney for ROFR right now through Fidelity. we've had zero problems so far and I suspect having a good seller is half the battle. Bottom line for us was, Fidelity had the contracts and TSS didn't.

 

[saintstickets]

On our 1st resale purchase in Sept 2009, it took 60 days from the time we made an offer until the points were in Disney's system for us to use. We used a broker whose name will not be mentioned (DISboard rules) and Timeshare Title & More (TT&M) was the title company. It took the title company 34 days after passing ROFR to get the Deed to Disney.

On our 2nd resale purchase in Mar, 2010, it took 44 days from the time we made an offer until the points were in Disney's system. We used Fidelity as the broker and 1st American Title was the title company. It took the title company 15 days after passing ROFR to get the Deed to Disney. However, the title company recorded the deed with an incorrect address and they had to resubmit to the Orange Co Recorders Office.

We are now on our 3rd resale purchase. It has been 70 days from the time we made an offer and we are still not in Disney's system. We used Fidelity as the broker and TT&M is their title company now. It has been 41 days since we passed ROFR. Since passing ROFR, TT&M had to send the closing docs back to the seller because they did not have the proper witness signatures. TT&M did not notice this until they were ready to submit the Deed to Orange County so they had to get the sellers to start over. It seems like to me you would go over the docs upon receipt to make sure they are in order even if you do not plan on processing them until later but that is me I guess. I have been told that the Deed has been submitted to Disney so I called to see if the transfer was complete and was told that the seller had not paid their 2011 MF's on this contract! Kevin @ DVC contacted TT&M and was told that they had sent payment for the MF's today.

Now to my point - I have had pretty good service from the brokers except for on our 2nd purchase. Rachel @ Fidelity was very slow to respond to any email or phone calls (days to respond, not hours) but on this current purchase, Sharon @ Fidelity has responded within minutes to any query. The broker on our 1st purchase was excellent - she even called on Saturday to let us know we passed ROFR. Our problems, snags and delays have all been with the title company. Once the broker hands off the transaction to the title company, their hands are pretty much tied at that point. I have been told that the buyer/seller can request a specific title company but the two we have used would not be top on our list.

 

[JWG]

I just think Fidelity is less personal and hands on due to their size and scope. Not necessarily bad. The DVC only or specific resellers are smaller and more personalized with you. They also only do DVC so are able to better react to things (such as the 3/21 change) that Fidelity may not be as apt to do.

Kind of like buying something from Walmart versus your local grocer. You'll get a more personalized experience from the local grocer, but have more variety and choice from Walmart.

 

[disneyofcourse]

I bought from Fidelity recently and will use them again in about a year to buy HHI and maybe an OKW or SSR contract or sooner if I find a good Feb use year contract. Someone who had a less than good experience will talk about it every where they can. Someone with a good or great experience is less likely to talk about it.