DVC Resale Offer and Counteroffer Timeline
The offer and counteroffer process in a DVC resale transaction moves quickly by design. From the moment you submit an offer to the moment both parties agree on terms, the entire negotiation can be completed in a matter of hours, or it can stretch over a few days depending on how long each side takes to respond. Here's a realistic picture of how the timeline typically unfolds.
Submitting Your Initial Offer
Offers on DVC Sales are submitted through the platform instantly. Once you click submit, the seller receives a notification immediately. There's no review period on our end. The offer goes directly to the seller's dashboard and to their email. Your dashboard also updates to confirm the offer is pending.
Each offer includes an expiration window. The seller can see exactly how much time they have to respond before the offer expires automatically. This deadline exists to protect purchasers from having their offers sit unanswered indefinitely while a seller waits to see if something better comes in.
How Long Does It Take for the Seller to Respond?
Most sellers respond within 24 to 48 hours. Many respond within a few hours, especially sellers who are actively checking their accounts and motivated to close. Some take longer due to travel, work schedules, or the need to discuss the offer with a spouse or partner before responding.
If the seller hasn't responded by the time the offer is approaching expiration, the DVC Sales team follows up with them proactively. We reach out to confirm they've seen the offer and encourage a response. This isn't guaranteed to produce an immediate answer, but it helps move things along.
Seller's Three Options: Accept, Decline, or Counter
When a seller reviews your offer, they have three choices.
If they accept, both parties receive the purchase agreement immediately. The transaction moves into the contracting phase. You'll both sign electronically, and then you submit your deposit. The negotiation is done.
If they decline, your offer is closed. The listing remains active and you can either make a new offer at a different price or move on to other listings. A decline doesn't end your relationship with DVC Sales or prevent you from purchasing a different contract.
If they counter, you receive a notification showing their proposed price and any modified terms. The counter starts your own response clock. You now have a set window to respond before their counteroffer expires.
How Counteroffers Work
A counteroffer replaces the original offer. When you receive a counter from a seller, the original offer you submitted is no longer on the table. You're now responding to their counter, not your original number.
You have three options when you receive a counter: accept it, decline it, or send another counter with a different number. This back-and-forth can continue until both parties agree on a price, or until one side decides the gap is too wide and walks away.
In practice, most DVC resale negotiations involve one or two rounds. The initial offer from the purchaser, a counter from the seller, and either an acceptance or one more response from the purchaser. Three-round negotiations happen but are less common. Extended back-and-forth over five or more rounds is rare and usually signals that both sides are close to agreeing but neither wants to blink first.
The Full Timeline From Offer to Accepted Agreement
When things move smoothly, the offer and negotiation phase can be completed in a single day. A purchaser submits an offer in the morning, the seller reviews it and counters by afternoon, the purchaser accepts the counter by evening, and the purchase agreement goes out that night. That's a realistic best-case scenario for motivated parties.
A more typical timeline is two to four days from initial offer to accepted agreement, accounting for the 24 to 48 hour response windows on each side. If the negotiation involves two rounds of countering, add another day or two.
What Comes After the Offer Is Accepted
Once both parties agree on terms, the purchase agreement is generated and sent to both the purchaser and seller for electronic signature. Both parties review and sign, typically within a few business days. The agreement specifies the deposit amount and deadline, which is usually three to five business days after full execution.
After the deposit is confirmed by the title company, DVC Sales submits the contract to Disney for their Right of First Refusal review. Disney has 30 days to decide whether to purchase the contract themselves. Most contracts pass through without Disney intervening. If Disney waives ROFR, the title company handles the transfer of ownership.
From accepted offer to completed transfer, the total timeline is generally 60 to 90 days. The negotiation phase is actually the shortest part of the process. The ROFR period and closing take much longer by comparison. Our how DVC works page details every step after the agreement is signed.
Tips for a Faster Negotiation
If you want to keep the negotiation moving quickly, respond promptly. The faster both sides respond, the faster the deal gets done. Sitting on a counteroffer for 36 hours when you already know what you want to say just adds unnecessary time to the process.
Starting with a reasonable offer also helps. A lowball offer that's far below the listing price signals to the seller that you may not be a serious buyer, and they may respond with a counter that's equally far from your number, or not respond at all. Looking at comparable listings and pricing your offer fairly gets you to a signed agreement faster than aggressive low offers that the seller rejects.
Browse our DVC resale listings to see what current contracts are priced at, and check our DVC compare prices page to understand how resale pricing compares to what Disney charges for direct contracts. If you have questions about what a fair offer looks like for a specific listing, contact the DVC Sales team at our contact page and we'll give you an honest take on the market.
