How To Select The Right DVC Resale Listing For You

When considering the purchase of a DVC resale contract, you might wonder how to decide between all the listings available. There are certain factors you’ll want to consider while choosing a listing and getting ready to make an offer. Let’s break down these factors to determine how to choose the right DVC resale listing for you and your family.

Home Resort

To some buyers, selecting the perfect Home Resort is their top priority when purchasing into DVC. Our resident broker and DVC expert Bee Thaxton also recommends making this your first step in the buying process. While your Home Resort won’t determine where you stay every time you book a DVC vacation, your Home Resort choice will have an impact on your DVC ownership. 

Your Home Resort will determine: 

• Your 11-month Booking Window 
• Contract Expiration Date
• Annual Maintenance Fees

While each of these three factors are important, only you can decide which is the most important for you and your family. To learn more about selecting your Home Resort see How To Choose Your DVC Home Resort. 

Number of Points

After Home Resort, the number of points in a contract is likely the next item you’ll consider when selecting your DVC resale contract. As Bee recommends, you’ll want to be sure you are looking for a resale listing that will provide you with a sufficient number of points each year to take the vacations you and your family are dreaming of. Purchasing too few points can be a cause for frustration each year. Of course, you’ll always have the option of purchasing more points in the future, but when browsing resale listings, be sure you factor in how many points you’ll ideally need for your vacations each year. 

A review of the DVC Point Charts will come in handy when calculating the optimal points you’ll want or need each year. Although you can bank and borrow DVC points each year, you’ll likely want enough points to take stress free Disney vacations each year you plan on traveling. 

Use Year

If you’ve been researching DVC ownership, you’ve probably already come across the term “Use Year” several times. When it comes to DVC ownership, Use Year can be an important factor. Your DVC Use Year will determine when your yearly allotment of points will become available. For example, a June Use Year means your points begin on June 1st of each year and expire on May 31st of the following year. 

Use Year can affect your banking deadlines and short-term cancellations. See Does DVC Use Year Matter When Buying a DVC Membership for more details on what effect Use Year has on your vacation planning.

Expiration Date

Each of the fifteen DVC Resorts come with their own expiration date. This expiration date will determine how many years you’ll get to travel with DVC before your contract expires. Select DVC Resorts did offer extensions to the original expiration dates and you may find these extended contracts on the resale market as well. Check the resale listing details for any extended expiration date information. 

DVC Resort Expiration Dates:

*All deeds expire on January 31st of their respective expiration year.

Maintenance Dues

Similar to expiration dates, each DVC Resort has a unique set of maintenance dues. Every DVC contract owner is responsible to pay maintenance dues each year. These fees are calculated on a per point basis. Meaning, your yearly dues bill will be based on the number of points you own. While you’re searching for your perfect resale listing, be sure to consider how much your maintenance costs will be each year. 

DVC Resort Maintenance Fees (estimated):

Price of DVC Resale Listings

As with any other type of large purchase, price is an important consideration when selecting the perfect DVC resale listing. While all resale prices are negotiable, it would be prudent to consider how much you would like to or are able to spend on your purchase. 

Also, keep in mind that while resale pricing is negotiable, all sales will need to pass through the Right of First Refusal during the sale. During the Right of First Refusal, Disney will have the option to purchase the contract from the seller if they feel that it is being sold at too low of a price (or for any other reason they deem valid). Your DVC Shop Resale agent will discuss the Right of First Refusal with you prior to making an offer. 

Financing is also available for DVC resale purchases through our partners.

Current Points and Extras

Just like when purchasing a home, a DVC contract can come with a few extra perks. With a home, maybe the sellers throw in a free appliance or swing set. With a DVC contract the seller may offer some extra points. Or you may find a contract with no points available until next year, which may also be a perk.

Of course, extra points are great! If you can use them this year or bank them into next year, you just got an extra vacation. 

Stripped contracts, or contracts without points available for this year (or even next) can be a great perk as well because no points means no maintenance dues for that year. And to top if off, you could still take a DVC vacation by borrowing points. For more information on stripped contracts, see Hidden Benefits Of Buying A Stripped Contract. 

While each of these factors are important to consider when selecting the right DVC resale listing for you, the order of importance will be solely up to you and your family. While there are different theories and schools of thought, only you can determine which of these considerations will provide you with the DVC vacations you’ve dreamed of for many years to come. 

Our DVC Shop representatives have over 15 years experience in owning, booking, buying and selling DVC and are happy to answer any questions you have throughout the buying process. They’ll love to share their ideas with you and further help guide you in how to select the right DVC resale listing for you. Contact us today.