Buying your first DVC contract is exciting and, if you are being honest with yourself, a little overwhelming. You are making a real estate commitment that will last decades, and the details matter in ways that are not always obvious to someone who has not been through the process before. The good news is that the process is learnable, and the buyers who have the best experiences are almost always the ones who took the time to understand what they were doing before they signed.
Here is what I wish every first-time buyer knew before they started the process.
Understand the Difference Between Retail and Resale Before You Look at Anything
This is the single most important concept for a first-time buyer. Disney sells DVC directly at retail prices. The resale market sells the same contracts from existing owners at significantly lower prices. The difference is often tens of thousands of dollars for a comparable contract.
On the resale market, you purchase a deeded real estate interest from an existing owner who is selling. The resort, the points, the booking windows, and the villa access are all the same as a direct purchase. The restrictions that come with a resale contract, specifically the loss of access to Interval International exchanges and some Disney Collection perks, are generally minor for buyers whose primary goal is staying at DVC resort properties.
Take a few minutes to compare our DVC retail prices against current resale listings. The visual impact of seeing the gap in black and white is often the clearest argument for taking the resale route seriously rather than defaulting to a Disney direct purchase out of convenience.
Choose Your Home Resort Based on Where You Actually Want to Stay
Your home resort is the resort where you can book 11 months in advance, versus the 7-month window that applies to all other DVC properties. For popular resorts during peak seasons, this four-month advantage can be the difference between getting your preferred room and finding nothing available.
First-time buyers sometimes choose a home resort based purely on price, which makes sense financially but can backfire if the resort they end up owning at is not actually where they want to stay most of the time. If you consistently want to stay at EPCOT-area resorts and you purchase at Saratoga Springs for the lower cost, you will rely on the 7-month window for your preferred resorts, and availability at those properties during popular seasons can be limited.
Think about which resort genuinely excites you. Which property has you planning your next trip in your head right now? That enthusiasm is data. Owning at a resort you love makes you more likely to use your membership consistently, which is ultimately what makes DVC ownership worthwhile.
Browse our DVC resorts guide to explore the character, location, and features of each property if you are still making up your mind.
Calculate Your Point Needs Before You Shop for a Contract
Do not start browsing listings before you have a working estimate of how many points you actually need. Buying too few points leaves you perpetually short, constantly banking and borrowing and feeling like your membership is not quite working. Buying too many means paying higher annual dues every year for points you are not using.
The calculation is not complicated. Pull up Disney's point chart for your preferred resort. Look at your typical travel dates. Write down the nightly cost for the room type you want. Multiply by the number of nights per trip and then by the number of trips per year. Add a 10 to 15 percent buffer for flexibility. That is your target.
Be honest with yourself about your actual travel history, not your aspirational travel plans. The buyers who end up with oversized contracts are almost always the ones who calculated based on how they planned to travel rather than how they have been traveling.
Pay Attention to the Use Year and What It Means for Your Timing
The use year is the month when your annual point allocation refreshes. It affects your banking deadlines and how well the contract's calendar aligns with your travel schedule. A use year that aligns well with your typical travel months is meaningfully easier to manage than one that does not.
If you travel primarily in October and November, a use year that starts in September works well. Your fresh points arrive before your trips. If your use year started in December, those same October and November trips would be using points from a nearly year-old allocation, and you would need to have managed banking carefully to avoid complications.
When evaluating resale contracts, the use year is listed as part of the contract details. If multiple contracts at your preferred resort are available with different use years, choose the one that fits your travel calendar best.
Look at the Expiration Date and Remaining Contract Term
All DVC contracts expire on a specific date that is determined by the resort. When the contract expires, your deeded interest returns to Disney. The remaining term directly affects the total value you get from the contract and its current market price.
Some resorts expire in 2042, giving current buyers roughly 16 more years of ownership. Others expire in 2054, 2060, 2064, or 2068. The difference between a 2042 and a 2068 contract is 26 additional years of vacation stays, which is substantial value that should factor into your comparison.
A lower per-point price on a shorter-term contract is not automatically a better deal when you account for the difference in total ownership years. Do the math for your situation before deciding based on headline price alone.
Understand the Current Point Balance Before You Make an Offer
When a DVC contract is sold on the resale market, the points that come with it can vary significantly depending on how the current owner has managed their allocation. A contract listed as 150 points per year might transfer with anywhere from zero to 300 points, depending on whether points have been used, banked from prior years, or borrowed from next year.
Ask for the specific point situation before you make an offer: How many current-year points remain? Are there any banked points from a previous year? Have any future points been borrowed? A contract with a full current-year allocation plus banked points from last year is worth more in immediate practical terms than a contract where the current owner has already used this year's points entirely.
Good listings on reputable platforms will document the point state clearly. If it is not clear, ask before you commit to anything.
Factor Annual Dues Into Your Total Ownership Cost
Annual maintenance fees are your permanent financial commitment for as long as you own the contract. They vary by resort and increase most years. Before you commit, calculate what your annual dues will be and make sure they fit comfortably in your budget.
Our annual dues page has current rates by resort. For a 150-point contract with dues of $8.50 per point, your annual bill is $1,275. For a 200-point contract at the same rate, it is $1,700. These are real recurring costs that continue whether you use your points in a given year or not.
The dues also tend to increase every year, typically by a few percent. A dues calculation that feels comfortable today will be higher in five years and higher still in ten. Budget with some cushion for that growth.
Know What Happens During Disney's Right of First Refusal Process
Every DVC resale transaction goes through Disney's Right of First Refusal process. After a purchase contract is signed, Disney has approximately 30 days to review it and decide whether to exercise their right to purchase the contract themselves at the agreed-upon price. This step is standard for every transaction and is not something that happens only to contracts with problems.
If Disney exercises ROFR, the seller receives their sale price from Disney and the transaction closes, but you as the buyer do not receive the contract and need to start the search over. If Disney passes on ROFR, the transaction proceeds to closing through a title company.
Understanding this step helps you set realistic timeline expectations. The full process from accepted offer to deed in your name typically takes two to three months. Do not make travel reservations based on a contract you have not received ROFR clearance on yet.
Work With a Broker Who Knows DVC Specifically
DVC resale transactions have nuances that general real estate agents encounter rarely. The ROFR process, the Disney-specific title work, the point balance verification through the estoppel process, and the coordination with Disney's Member Services team are all steps that benefit from broker experience working specifically in this market.
Our team at DVC Sales has 25 years and hundreds of transactions of experience in this specific space. We know current ROFR patterns at each resort, which affects pricing strategy. We know which title companies work efficiently on DVC transactions. We can help you evaluate whether a specific contract is priced appropriately and whether the terms make sense for your situation.
Start by browsing our current listings to see what is available. When you are ready to talk through your situation, reach out through our contact page. We are happy to answer questions with no pressure and no obligation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the DVC resale buying process take from start to finish?
The typical timeline from accepted offer to deed transfer is two to three months. The ROFR review takes approximately 30 days. Closing through the title company adds additional time for paperwork processing, recording, and Disney's activation of the membership. Well-priced, clean contracts without complications tend to close at the faster end of this range.
Can I finance a DVC resale purchase?
Financing options for DVC resale purchases exist but are more limited than for primary real estate purchases. Disney does not offer financing for resale contracts. Some buyers use personal loans or home equity lines of credit. Our DVC financing page has more information on available options.
Should I buy a contract at a resort I have never visited?
If possible, I would strongly encourage visiting a resort before committing to purchase a home resort contract there. A one or two-night cash stay gives you firsthand experience with the property. That experience is more reliable than reading reviews. Some families discover that a resort they expected to love does not quite work for them, and others find a resort they had not considered becomes their favorite.
What if I want to upgrade to a different resort later?
You can sell your current contract on the resale market and use the proceeds toward a new purchase. Many DVC members have done this over the years as their vacation priorities evolved. The resale market gives you a path to upgrade, though you will pay transaction costs on both the sale and the new purchase. Planning your initial purchase carefully reduces the likelihood you will want to change course quickly.
