Resale Changes Eff 4/4/16 -UPDATED AGAIN??

John;2482037 wrote: The money grab continues - so the only ones who now would benefit from resale are existing members who already have the benefits because they have membership prior to today.

What this may do is really drive down the cost of points on the secondary market...

This has to represent a significant loss of value for anyone who may ever want to sell their DVC stake. If Disney isn't buying it from you, nobody will without a huge markdown. Even then, gauging that markdown would be tough given that you would have to pay an ever-increasing retail price for passes to the parks. This has got to be bad for every DVC "owner", even if they never planned to sell.

I don't know. The current "perks" are pretty weak. Eventually, they will probably disappear entirely. And at the end of the day, people who buy resale will still come out ahead, money wise. I mean, a lot of these discounts can be had by buying an AP, which at full price is what, $150 more than the DVC discounted price? Or get a Disney Visa...lots of the same discounts available with that and that is free to own!

Ah. DVC was the only "timeshare" I ever considered being a part of, but given the way things have gone I am glad I never did buy in. I would surely have regretted it by now. Hope things work out well enough for those with some skin in this game.

Tekneek;2482342 wrote: Ah. DVC was the only "timeshare" I ever considered being a part of, but given the way things have gone I am glad I never did buy in. I would surely have regretted it by now. Hope things work out well enough for those with some skin in this game.

We have gone back and forth about it as well. It's a battle between emotions and logic. Since I'm much more of a logical person, I still haven't bought in. ;)

Tekneek;2482342 wrote: Ah. DVC was the only "timeshare" I ever considered being a part of, but given the way things have gone I am glad I never did buy in. I would surely have regretted it by now. Hope things work out well enough for those with some skin in this game.

Yep... In all honesty, the more I read about all of the rules and regs (and the hoops that you seem to have to jump through), the more we DIDN'T want to buy into DVC. DH and I are so glad we didn't. I've read so much griping about not being able to book a home resort, or the need to book a couple different rooms/resorts in one trip, and annual dues increasing, losing benefits, etc... I've never regretted not buying DVC.

Nope - gotta disagree whole-heartedly with the comments coming now. We've been members going on 23 years now, and we have NEVER regretted the investment. When I think of our family memories of Disney - priceless memories - most of them involve our purchase into the DVC timeshare.

I remember the flexibility of using the ownership. I remember the 5 family trips we've taken that probably would not have been possible without this timeshare. I remember the family (and I'm talking 15-20 of us) spending the afternoon at the pool or grabbing ice cream at Beaches N Cream or sitting down together for dinner at Boma an 'OHana.

I don't remember if I got a 10% discount on my tee-shirts at the souvenir shop, or got 10% off my lunch at the park. To be completely honest, I bet you I FORGOT to use perks I have available more times than I've ever used them! Are they nice to have? Absolutely. But it wasn't why we purchased there. We purchased there because of the memories.

I know I probably sound like a Disney commercial - but I'm serious. We have never regretted the initial investment we made at The Vacation Club (now Old Key West), and 4 other additional smaller purchases of points over the years - many of them resale points. Is it perfect? Not even close. We just had a less than perfect stay at the new Polynesian Studios last month. But I'm already looking forward to learning from that experience and heading back down again later this year - looking for more fun and more memories, while I can still enjoy them!!!

ThanxForNoticin;2482354 wrote: Nope - gotta disagree whole-heartedly with the comments coming now. We've been members going on 23 years now, and we have NEVER regretted the investment.

I know I probably sound like a Disney commercial - but I'm serious. We have never regretted the initial investment we made at The Vacation Club (now Old Key West), and 4 other additional smaller purchases of points over the years - many of them resale points. Is it perfect? Not even close. We just had a less than perfect stay at the new Polynesian Studios last month. But I'm already looking forward to learning from that experience and heading back down again later this year - looking for more fun and more memories, while I can still enjoy them!!!

Well, to be fair, the price of points 23 years ago was amazing! If I had joined back then, at the wee age of 14, I'm sure I would be singing its praises right about now too. ;)

However, at $150+ per point nowadays, it's extremely hard to justify a purchase...

BrerGnat;2482356 wrote: Well, to be fair, the price of points 23 years ago was amazing! If I had joined back then, at the wee age of 14, I'm sure I would be singing its praises right about now too. ;)

However, at $150+ per point nowadays, it's extremely hard to justify a purchase...

That's a valid point.

But even with resale contracts no longer including access to certain perks, buying resale today at $80 or $100 or $120 a point is likely still a good investment for many Disney lovers!

I just got a reply from our sales agent. At the moment.... we lost out on the "benefits". The upshot from them........

DVC management released statements on April 4 to the real estate people and brokers handling DVC re-sales stating that contracts pending would not be affected by this change. The agents started to communicate this to people with contracts in the works (in or just out of ROFR but before closing) pending. Then one day later, Disney rescinded that prior official statement and said that the restrictions would apply to anything not CLOSED by April 4th.

It is clear from the language the agent used to me, that they themselves are not happy with the WAY that Disney handled this matter. It obviously put them in a difficult position, as well as their clients.

I have no problem with the ability of Disney to change the rules for DVC members. Once we own... I always knew that they could change things at any time, as they have done in the past. I expected this kind of thing to possibly happen. The "core value" of the DVC membership is not in the discounts stuff; those are little added extras.

The issue here is the way that sales contracts that DISNEY was already involved in approving, were/are being retroactively changed while the sale is still in process... THAT is the issue. It would be like you buying a house, having the agreement in place and thru inspections and such, and then the day before closing, you go over and find that the old owners removed the already agreed upon included small above ground swimming pool from the back yard. That swimming pool was not really WHY you bought the house... it was 'a little extra'. But it was what you were expecting to BUY.

So now, what you are about to buy is not what you agreed to buy for a specific price. (And it is not the old OWNERS fault!) So by rights,, we should void the agreement we have pending and look for another or re-negotiate it. But that would move us back to "square one", and another ROFR process. That now leaves both us and the old owners kinda' "high and dry" if we were to do so. And the real estate company will not refund the escrow deposit.....so we'd be out that if we cancelled now. (That is possibly illegal given these circumstances......... so we'd have to get lawyers involved... which would cost more than the refund.)

Seems to me that a letter writing campaign is in order. The key players:

Karl L. Holz

President

210 Celebration Place

Suite 400

Celebration, FL 34747-4600

karl.holz@disney.com

Ken Potrock

Disney Vacation Club

Senior Vice President and General Manager

1390 Celebration Blvd.

Celebration, FL 34747

407.566.3830 ph

Ken.Potrock@disney.com

Grrrrrrrrrrr................

best,

..............john

Disney really should go by the date of the buyer's signatures on the contracts. That is only fair.

People are starting to report that the decision has been back switched again and brokers are emailing their clients. John contact your broker.

Today's email

This note is to inform you that anyone with a contract that was received by Disney Vacation Club by the end of the day on April 3, will be grandfathered in to have the same access to Membership Extras that are available to others who have purchased DVC memberships from sources other than Disney since March 21, 2011. (Note: Those members who purchased from sources other than DVC after March 21, 2011 may not use their points for the “Disney Collection” (select Disney Resort Hotels, Disney Cruise Line and Adventures by Disney) and the “Concierge Collection” resorts. As a reminder, the Membership Extras are incidental benefits offered by DVC and are subject to change.)

If true, that would certainly be fair and the right thing to do.

VWL Mom;2482380 wrote: People are starting to report that the decision has been back switched again and brokers are emailing their clients. John contact your broker.

I have been reading the same thing from multiple sources as well and was coming here to post about it, thinking of John as well. Call your broker!

I heard from my broker. Disney sent out a communication to them. The decision has been reversed to contracts pending as of April 3 retain the "bennies".

All the fuss and letter writing apparently had an effect.

best,

..............john

Got our official communication in the mail yesterday.

I understand people don't like being nickeled and dimed every step of the way. As previously mentioned on this thread DVC is still a great investment if you want to regularly vacation at Disney properties.

I just wonder where DVC goes from here with with partnerings at every deluxe at WDW plus two stand alones, one at DL, Aulani and the other two east coast sites. Maybe something Star Wars themed adjacent to Hollywood Studios?