Tips for Selling Disney Vacation Club
It recently occurred to us that although we have a comprehensive guide to buying Disney Vacation Club, we have nothing about selling one’s membership. Perhaps because it’s not quite as “happy” of a topic, but in reality, it’s something that does occur. In this post, we’ll offer some tips for selling your DVC contract, choosing the right broker, and how to get the most out of your sale.
For starters, I think the very fact that there’s such a robust resale market speaks volumes about Disney Vacation Club, and is actually a compelling reason to purchase in the first place. Our Saratoga Springs DVC contract is actually worth more now (based on average sale prices) than when we purchased it a decade ago. That may be unremarkable in a traditional real estate transaction, but DVC contracts have a shelf life, and ours expires in 2054.
When you compare that to other timeshares, it’s doubly remarkable. All you have to do is search eBay for “timeshare” and you’ll find a sea of contracts available for $1, as owners are desperate to unload a worthless asset that cost them tens of thousands of dollars. Those $1 prices are to avoid throwing good money after bad in the form of annual maintenance fees, which turn a worthless asset into a money pit. As compared to that bleak scenario, selling Disney Vacation Club for–in many cases–a modest profit, is not too shabby…
Long-term value was really important to us when we purchased. We were still in college when we bought our DVC contract, and didn’t have long-term financial stability. While buying into DVC definitely made sense for us at the time, we also wanted to have a valuable asset that we could sell should the need arise. Basically, the same reason you comparison shop the resale markets for any big-ticket item before making the initial purchase.
When it comes to timeshare resales, Disney has no equals. Just look at this list of the top 25 best-selling timeshares on the resale market, which is dominated by DVC. Aside from a couple of luxury products by Marriott and Westin, DVC is by far the strongest. Disney Vacation Club resorts occupy the top 6 rankings, 8 of the top 10, and 11 of the top 25.
Once you’ve decided to sell your Disney Vacation Club contract, the first thing you need to determine is where to sell it. Disney has no resale department and will not repurchase your membership from you (at least, not initially), so you have to look to third parties.
My first recommendation in this regard is using a licensed and insured real estate broker. As mentioned above, you’ll see timeshare contracts on eBay (and Craigslist), but those are about the last places I’d ever consider buying or selling. There are just too many liabilities (not to mention fees on eBay) that pose risks for both buyers and sellers.
Beyond that, I would steer clear of general purpose real estate brokers and timeshare sellers. Unfortunately, timeshare scammers are prevalent, with many shady and fly-by-night operations. In addition to ones that outright rip people off, there are others that are marginally reputable, but are still seedy. Ones that don’t have BBB accreditation, have no physical office in the United States, or anyone that charges upfront fees (this is illegal in Florida).
Fortunately, there is an incredibly robust market for DVC resales. There are several brokers that specialize in buying and selling Disney Vacation Club, and we recommend choosing one of these brokers. The reasons for this are pretty straightforward: why choose a generalist when you can have a specialist who knows the product inside and out, and only deals with it?
Regardless of the broker you choose, you want to make sure you ‘click’ with your agent. This is similar to when you purchase DVC–you want to make sure the agent isn’t going to be too pushy or eager to ‘force’ a below-market sale.
The vast majority of agents are good in this regard, and realize they have a product that pretty much sells itself, so this will usually come down to ensuring the agent is affable, knowledgeable, and has a quick response time. (Just remember, if they’re slow to respond to you, the same is likely true for potential buyers.)
Other important considerations are the broker’s site having a strong presence on Google and social media. I’d highly recommend going onto Google and searching various keywords that buyers are likely to use (“DVC resale” and “Disney Vacation Club resale” being the big ones) and seeing which agencies rank the highest–discarding the ads. Same goes for Facebook.
This is significant because it’s how the vast majority of potential buyers are going to find a place to purchase DVC. Obviously, you want the businesses that are getting the most traffic in terms of potential buyers. You don’t want to list with a broker languishing on page 2 of Google search results that sees a fraction of the traffic as the top results on page 1.
There are other things you could look for, such as whether the seller’s site is responsive (mobile-friendly) or looks like it has been updated since 1998. Not so much because people are buying timeshares from their iPhones, but because a broker’s laziness to update their site could reflect laziness in other aspects of the business.
By and large, the niche DVC resellers are a good, reliable group. There are a few that were started by Disney fans or former Cast Members, and are family-run. These are people who got into the business because they are truly passionate about Disney Vacation Club. Between personal experience and feedback from friends and readers who have used them, the overall feedback for DVC resellers is 99% positive.
This is a stark contrast to the timeshare market as a whole, which is so riddled with scams that the FTC is actively investigating it (there’s even a warning on the FTC site). This is why we so strongly recommend a DVC-specialist when choosing a reseller. We really cannot emphasize this enough. The niche DVC brokers tend to be very good, and there’s too much garbage in the general realm of timeshares, so why even risk it?
Frankly, Google page ranking and social media presence matter a bit less at this exact moment than was the case a few years ago (and perhaps a few years from now). Right now (October 2017), we are in the midst of a very strong sellers’ market, with most DVC contracts selling in under 30 days.
Due to the strength of the market at the moment, I’d be inclined to price my listing at an above market price and prepare to have a slight amount of patience. This is entirely a personal thing, but I’d rather wait 45-60 days in exchange for a potentially higher sales price. Obviously, some people don’t have the luxury of time, or just won’t want the risk or uncertainty.
In terms of basics, I think that’s about all you need to know before selling your Disney Vacation Club contract. That should be enough to help you determine whether you should sell and helping you in choosing the right broker for you. From there, the DVC resale broker should be able to ‘pick up the ball’ and answer any remaining questions you might have. There are definitely things we don’t cover here (such as the ROFR process, closing, fees, etc.), but those are all things that can vary, and a broker can help you with all of that. If our experience with buying is any indication, the DVC resale process is completely painless and easy. Selling your DVC membership might not be the most “magical” thing, but at least it’s simple and not difficult!
If you’re thinking about joining DVC, be sure to read our Ultimate Guide to Disney Vacation Club. This covers the pros & cons, resale v. direct, how much money you’ll save, and other important things to know before taking the plunge. If you still can’t decide whether membership is right for you, “try before you buy” with the recommendations in How to Save BIG on Deluxe Disney Accommodations Renting DVC Points.
YOUR THOUGHTS
What are your thoughts about selling Disney Vacation Club? If you’re a member, did you purchase via resale? Any particular broker or agent that you used and recommend (or don’t)? Any questions about selling DVC? Hearing your feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!
I found this very helpful. Thinking of selling my Saratoga Springs timeshare. I was dreading dealing with resales.
We have really enjoyed the many vacations we have had but I now live 20 minutes from the parks. I’d much rather sleep in my own bed after a day at the parks. Wish me luck!
I and my wife are researching, trying to determine best way to salvage/resell 71 points we will lose very soon. Have to be used by August, and never intended to sell any points, but cannot use right now, so, open to any help in doing this. We don’t want to resell ourselves really, but open to all avenues. Does this site help us with this type of partial sale ? We are of course, not selling our entire membership of 300 points. Thank you all..
I have read your entries about DVC. They are incredibly detailed and beautifully informative. Thank you very much.
As you have stated, the best value of your points is to use them at DVC resorts at WDW and DL.
I don’t believe you mentioned this, or I may have overlooked it, but what about staying in Disney Resorts overseas like Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Paris?
Is staying at those resort properties good uses of points, or is it better to pay out of pocket for those?
We lived in Japan for three years and were able to go to Tokyo Disney twice, pre and post pandemic. I would definitely say it was worthwhile using our points for our rooms, but it wasn’t without challenges. We had to call DVC to make the reservations, and since there is a 13 hour time difference, that was challenging. Also, the window for reserving a room was only 90 days out, so finding available rooms in the more expensive resorts was touch and go. We stayed at the Celebration our first time, which was a 25 min bus ride away and the beds were tiny. You can’t beat the customer service both at Disney and in Japan, so all the challenges were well worth it. We got to stay at the Mira Costa right before we moved and boy was that a 5 star experience- entrance into Disney Sea right from the resort!
We have had excellent, patient, smooth, professional service with The Timeshare Store. Jason Padilla has been our agent for all 3 contracts we have purchased. I highly recommend them. I was so impressed that I wrote a Yelp review.
No, that was just a reference to the previous comment from the “gentleman” who questioned your credibility because you were friends…Haha…I am sure you have plenty of friends
Thanks for bringing up the topic of selling. I am curious how the ROFR affects the seller. If Disney takes the contract how does that work with closing costs and other items you might have negotiated for the buyer to pay. On a side note, I’ve had great experiences on the buy sidee with ResalesDVC – Garden Views Realty,Inc.
We bought with DVC Resale Market and everything went pretty smoothly except for the seller waiting right until closing date to finalize. Then while that contract was still under works, we found an attractive contract on DVC Sales. I would highly recommend them as they were on top of everything when we hit a couple of bumps. We are so excited about using our points for many years. However, I see how spending so much upfront is a scary prospect for many people. I justified it to myself by knowing I can rent out my points and use the cash for whatever vacation we would have taken without our DVC. It really is like preparing for vacations for the next X years.
Regardless of the fact that you are “friends ” of the owners, we can not say enough about DVC Resale Market. We recently sold some of our points thru this company. From start to finish, they were totally professional. Our contract was listed and sold at a higher price than expected within 48 hours…closed quickly and we received our check for the proceeds in about 30 days. We still own DVC points and are not planning to sell them at this time, but would definitely use this company again in the future.
You put friends in air quotes as if you know I don’t actually have any friends! 😉
Good to hear you had a great experience with them.
My wife and me have been members since 2001, no matter how the annual dues keep going up we will never saleour points. We have always wanted to own a getaway place in Florida but with this membership we can go everywhere with it. Try spending a whole month at Disney’s auluni, can you amagine the price staying there without a point system, would never be able to afford this, but with our 600 points it allows us to have those many weeks away every year. I’m so happy that we never bought a home in Florida.
I think as soon as you said you are friends with the owner you pretty much watered down the credibility of the recommendation.
I think it’d be unethical if I made the recommendation without disclosing that, or the fact that they’re an advertiser. If people want to discount the credibility of my recommendation based upon the disclosure, they are more than welcome to do so.
I’d go a step further and encourage readers to do independent research into reviews and testimonials from those who have sold with the various DVC resale companies.
I think if you’re a regular reader of this site, you look at Tom’s honesty as a positive and not a negative. I’d go with his recommendation, friend or not, because of his candor.
I think as soon as you post two letters to represent a middle name, you’ve pretty much watered down your credibility.
I’m sorry, this comment has nothing to do with this post per se, as sadly, I will never be in the market to either buy or sell a DVC membership (but I read all of your posts regardless).
I just wanted to know the location of the top photo of this post – is that the Grand Floridian? Thanks.
Haha, no worries. The photo is from the Grand Floridian Villas, looking down at the main atrium from the top floor.