Sometimes, we all get excited in the salesroom and agree to purchase before we consider the consequences.
For example, many Disney Vacation Club members bought their memberships before they fully understood the rules.
Some don’t even know the answer to an essential question.
Can you sell your Disney Vacation Club contract? Obviously, you can. I’ll explain everything you need to know.
How Selling Works
When you joined DVC, you bought a deed. It’s a legitimate real estate interest, a property that you own.
Like any other property, you can exchange your interest for cash should the need arise.
Similarly, you can gift or will your DVC membership to others. As such, you shouldn’t think of it as some shady timeshare.
Disney has implemented a full-throated real estate consortium wherein members share ownership of a set of DVC properties.
So, when you wonder, “Can I sell my DVC membership,” the answer is yes!
I’ll detail the steps in the final section, but the basic process involves only four phases.
First, you’ll decide that you want to sell. Then, you’ll hire a broker to list your DVC interest.
Afterward, you’ll settle on a reasonable price for your contract. When someone offers that amount, you’ll accept.
Finally, you’ll go through a series of legal steps just like you would in selling your home.
An expert here will walk you through every step of the process, but those are the basics.
The stigma of timeshares confuses some DVC members when it shouldn’t. You own a deed at a participating DVC property.
Any unsatisfied or cash-hungry member can sell that deed at any point.
The Value of a DVC Contract
When you think, “Should I sell my Disney Vacation Club membership,” there’s another vital piece of information here.
You legitimately may feel shocked when you learn the current value of your contract.
When you purchased, you paid a specific price per point for your ownership interest.
I’ll use a general example here. Let’s say that you bought directly from DVC ten years ago. In this scenario, you paid $120 per point for a Bay Lake Tower contract.
Folks, this is a Bitcoin situation. If you haven’t kept up, you may be stunned to learn what the value is today.
In a standard timeshare, you’d have gotten a decade’s worth of usage out of the transaction. However, you’d expect the contract to be an albatross now.
If you check eBay, you’ll find many timeshares selling for $1! That happens because owners no longer want to pay membership dues.
Alas, the timeshare possesses no other value. So, it’s free to a good home, so to speak.
With DVC, the opposite is true. The Disney executives in charge of this vacation program have protected the brand throughout the decade.
To wit, someone who tried to purchase the same Bay Lake Tower contract today would pay $245 per point.
To be clear, there’s no difference between what you bought and what they’re purchasing now…other than price.
If you bought 100 points, you paid $12,000. Someone in 2021 would need $24,500. Friends, you got a steal in this scenario!
Now, you couldn’t sell at that price, but you have turned an unrealized profit. You just haven’t realized it.
You’ve amortized any loan debt and almost certainly finished payments on your deed. So, all you have now is the pure value of your contract!
Current Pricing
Have you read the current DVC resales prices article on the blog? Here are a few eye-popping numbers for you.
The average Bay Lake Tower contract sells for $143 per point. Now, that comes with a few caveats.
Generally, larger contracts sell at a lower price per point. Conversely, smaller contracts sell at a higher price per point.
In practical terms, you’ll get a higher price per point for a 50-point contract.
However, you’ll earn significantly more money selling a 230-point contract, just not as much per point.
That’s basic Costco rules in effect. You get the discount when you buy 80 rolls of paper towels as opposed to eight, right?
Keeping that in mind, let’s talk hard numbers here. In our example, you’d have 100 points at Bay Lake Tower.
Since that’s a smaller contract, you should receive a higher price per point when you sell.
I’ll just randomly pick $160, although an agent here would offer better advice, which is why you should speak to one about selling your DVC contract.
At $160 per point, your DVC timeshare, the one you fear has lost value, is actually worth $16,000!
Remember that you paid only $12,000 for it! Yes, your contract has increased 25 percent in value over the past decade.
How many timeshare programs could say that? Obviously, DVC isn’t like the others.
Also, I’d like to add another point here. Some properties have increased even more in value since you purchased them.
The Grand Californian started at $112 in 2009. Per our data in the link above, the average resales contract sells for $210! Cha-ching!
Some properties like Hilton Head and Vero Beach haven’t increased as much, but the point remains.
Every DVC contract that’s at least a few years old has either maintained its value or increased in worth!
What Should You Know About Selling?
A friend of mine recently made me jealous by purchasing a DVC contract at a place where I don’t own.
She purchased via resales based on my advice. Since then, she’s updated me on the status of the transaction. It’s proven educational to her.
Most people don’t recognize that selling a DVC contract isn’t like an eBay transaction.
You don’t just ship the item, leave positive feedback, and spend your newfound Paypal money on Disney Funkos. (You do that too, right?)
Instead, the transaction will follow a schedule. First, you’ll list your DVC contract here.
One of the expert agents will recommend a selling price. You’ll settle on that price, which may have some wiggle room in a seller’s market.
Then, the listing will publish on the website, and someone will make an offer on your contract.
You may haggle some, but let’s presume that you accept the offer. Then, your agent will submit the contract to Disney for First Right of Refusal.
DVC always possesses the ability to take the contract at the accepted price. This won’t impact you at all as the seller.
You’ll simply get your money from Disney rather than the potential buyer.
Before that happens, a title company must file the paperwork. Then, the contract will close, and the deed will be recorded in the applicable county’s records.
After that, your contract changes hands, and you get your money. It’s easy but can take a few months to complete.
So, the process is straightforward, and your contract is probably worth more than you could have possibly expected.
Obviously, you should explore the idea of selling your Disney Vacation Club contract if you’re not using your membership to the fullest.
