Fidelity Real Estate Resales Back on The Market

[Jimmy Geppetto]

I don’t want to argue or debate but for a future DIS’er who finds this post…I want to be clear that the admin fee was clearly disclosed to us before they presented our offer to the seller.

I also did not find the contract “nasty” - like a previous poster mentioned, read the contract prior to signing it and if it is not acceptable then do not sign.

Again we were very happy with fidelity’s responsiveness and efficiency. We would absolutely use them again.

While it may have been disclosed to you, there are many agents there who bundle it into the “closing costs” and if you don’t know better and if you don’t review the contract in detail it can be easy to miss.

I agree with @TinkAgainU that they are not forthcoming with that fee. While some agents are, many are not.

That being said… I dislike Fidelity more for their many errors and lack of attention to details followed by their non-responsive brokers. IIRC offers on contracts can go into a black hole with no response whatsoever.

If we want to talk about gouging buyers or not disclosing non-arms length affiliations than DVCRM and Magic Vacation Title take the trophy IMO.

 

[CastAStone]

And if NO other broker charges that same fee

Lots of other brokers charge a fee.

None of the *DVC exclusive* brokers charge the buyer a fee, but most of the non-DVC exclusive timeshare brokers (which is what Fidelity is) do.

 

[CastAStone]

That being said… I dislike Fidelity more for their many errors and lack of attention to details followed by their non-responsive brokers. IIRC offers on contracts can go into a black hole with no response whatsoever.

If we want to talk about gouging buyers or not disclosing non-arms length affiliations than DVCRM and Magic Vacation Title take the trophy IMO

Bingo and bingo.

My experience with Fidelity last year was mixed.

I saved at least $5K (over 20%) vs the cheapest offer DVCRM would listen to for any contract.

I paid $250 for that privilege.

They didn’t disclose that the seller was international including in the initial contract (they had a US address) which led to huge delays in closing.

The had errors in the contract I had to have them fix before I signed it.

They told me they’d submitted my contract for ROFR on a certain date and I eventually found out they actually did it 4 days later.

All that said I’d use them again if the price was right. It’s just a broker. The errors were annoyances, not disasters.

The title company is who I actually care about. And they did not flinch when I told them I was going to use Mason (they’d suggested First American IIRC).

 

[Chili327]

I don’t want to argue or debate but for a future DIS’er who finds this post…I want to be clear that the admin fee was clearly disclosed to us before they presented our offer to the seller.

I also did not find the contract “nasty” - like a previous poster mentioned, read the contract prior to signing it and if it is not acceptable then do not sign.

Again we were very happy with fidelity’s responsiveness and efficiency. We would absolutely use them again.

Yep, I have got a few great deal with them.

Lots of other brokers charge a fee.

None of the *DVC exclusive* brokers charge the buyer a fee, but most of the non-DVC exclusive timeshare brokers (which is what Fidelity is) do.

And this is what I wanted to reply.. I know I’ve paid a fee at other places too, they aren’t the only one.
We all got bills to pay and so do they.

 

[Kailunkat]

I've noticed, where www.fidelityrealestate.com used to be the "king" of reselling small contracts (often at perceived lower prices) a few of their contracts seem to go in and out of escrow over and over lately.

Probably that $250 fee came about because the percentage fee on those contracts wasn't enough to cover the admin costs/man hours spent on the small size contracts. I would be willing to bet that the larger the contract - the more likely they are to waive the fee.

 

[CastAStone]

We all got bills to pay and so do they

Especially if most of the contracts you sell are for a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars…what’s an 8.5% commission worth on a $1600 floating week at a random Holiday Inn vacations property in Florida? What about a $100 contract for a week at a Wyndham timeshare in Shawnee Pennsylvania? That’s a big chunk of Fidelity’s business, annd they’re not getting out of bed for $8.

Ergo, buyer fee.

 

[CWTC]

That being said… I dislike Fidelity more for their many errors and lack of attention to details followed by their non-responsive brokers. IIRC offers on contracts can go into a black hole with no response whatsoever.

I had seen several posts about errors and those were what made us hesitant to make an offer on a fidelity contract. Ultimately they had the right contract for us and we bid on it. We knew about the fee prior to sending our offer in. Their reported lack of responsiveness was a lesser concern since we weren’t in a hurry and we had done resale before so we knew the process.

As it turned out, the broker and the sellers were very quick to respond and we had an error free transaction.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

I have purchased a couple contracts from fidelity over the years, and both times the fee was disclosed. Communication about other things was nill to none. SMTN - on the other hand did not disclose the fees to me until I got the paperwork and wow!! those fees were around 1000 if I remember correctly. It changed my great price into an average price.

 

[heynowirv]

We have bought 3 or 4 contracts through fidelity.As a previous poster mentioned you should know who the agents are. Some are great and some or blah. They have always been upfront about the fees and yes you really can choose any title company you want. The title company is what makes the sale smooth IMHO.

 

[atthebeachclub]

We are waiting to close on a Fidelity contract. Lauran B was our agent, and she was succinct and professional. I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again so far; they aren’t as responsive as some agencies and they appear not to work evenings or weekends, but also…good for them! They shouldn’t have to work at those times. Everyone deserves time off away from work. I did negotiate my buyer’s fee but ultimately ended up splitting it with the seller to make the deal work for all of us.

 

[VGCgroupie]

We have used fidelity on 2 out of 3 contracts. I agree the agent matters, the 1st agent did not disclose the fee and I was a bit shocked and annoyed by it, he made a mistake with my offer so we backed out. Then I offered a couple days later with a different agent and she disclosed the fee prior to the offer being presented to the buyer. Fidelity was great and kept up with me, the title company was not great but fidelity didn’t force me to use them.

2nd contract the fee was disclosed but I wasn’t informed the seller was international until I received closing docs. I would’ve liked to have known this ahead of time. This contract is still in progress and they have been good at keeping up with me. Again I was not told which title co to use.

I will get out my contract that wasn’t fidelity and see what it says, I think it also said I would be liable for commissions if we backed out. I will update. Edit: my contract with another broker only said I would forfeit deposit.

All in all I would use fidelity again, but I always add $225 divided by the amount of pts on the contract when considering my price per point I’d be paying.

 

[The_MT]

I have successfully purchased from Fidelity many times. I almost always get the seller to cover the service fee. Shawn, Bonnie, Lauran, Cindy, and Zach are excellent agents!

 

[TheDailyMoo]

One other thing about Fidelity...and this is coming from a low baller...they have never chastised me about my...sometimes very low...offers. They are always courteous and kind and it SEEMS that they pass along the offers to the clients no matter how low. Again this is coming from someone who was very upset at them as my second contract with them got all screwed up and I swore I would never deal with them again...yet here I am...making offers with them.

100% I agree Bonnie and Shawn are great.

 

[VGCgroupie]

One other thing about Fidelity...and this is coming from a low baller...they have never chastised me about my...sometimes very low...offers. They are always courteous and kind and it SEEMS that they pass along the offers to the clients no matter how low. Again this is coming from someone who was very upset at them as my second contract with them got all screwed up and I swore I would never deal with them again...yet here I am...making offers with them.

100% I agree Bonnie and Shawn are great.

We have also used Bonnie and Shawn. Both really good

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

I've noticed, where www.fidelityrealestate.com used to be the "king" of reselling small contracts (often at perceived lower prices) a few of their contracts seem to go in and out of escrow over and over lately.

Could it be the BUYERS are finally getting more savvy? The $250 Fidelity tacks on to the buyer's side for a "service fee" the other brokers do not have, plus they are insanely pushy (at least my agent was) about using their own "affiliated" escrow/title for more than the industry average of closing costs per transaction, and last but the BIGGIE for us -- their purchase contact that states the ENTIRE DEPOSIT is non refundable PLUS the buyer would owe the full seller's Commission (amount unstated?) if they cancel for any reason after the 10 day period...

This has to make Fidelity the worst broker in our opinion, and the fact Disney seems to refer sellers to them is nearly mind-boggling. Is Disney somehow getting a cut for these referrals? Otherwise, referring sellers to arguably the worst brokerage for buyers seems odd other than the fact it makes their Direct sales look even better.

P.S. I know it looks like I work for a competing brokerage (I do not, and don't have any family or friends who do lol) -- I just HATE the idea there is a Brokerage blatantly padding sales and adding what I think are sneaky terms in their contracts for buyers!

I still don’t think their practices are worse than DVC resale market engaged in self-dealing without disclosing this fact to prospective buyers. $250 is pretty nominal in the face of generally lower prices for buyers. (I would never sell with Fidelity, because of those lower prices, but I have purchased from them before, and have been quite happy with those transactions).

 

[evolady73]

We bought from them six years ago and they were pretty upfront about the fee. The only thing that was a little shady was our agent tried to talk us out of asking for a price lower than what was listed. The were fine with us asking for a price comparison with two other title agencies, which we provided to them.

However, we also bought our points with straight cash (technically, put it all on a credit card then paid that off immediately with cash for the points). Not sure how much of a difference it makes.

Did the title company charge you extra for paying with a credit card? I just talked with Fidelity yesterday on a contract and they said the title company would charge an additional 3.5% if payment was made by credit card.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Did the title company charge you extra for paying with a credit card? I just talked with Fidelity yesterday on a contract and they said the title company would charge an additional 3.5% if payment was made by credit card.

Deposits made by credit card don’t carry a fee with most title companies. If you want to pay the whole contract amount by credit card they will charge a fee, some just won’t even let you even if you will pay a fee.

 

[disneylandtour]

Did the title company charge you extra for paying with a credit card? I just talked with Fidelity yesterday on a contract and they said the title company would charge an additional 3.5% if payment was made by credit card.

If it is a small contract you can pay the whole thing on a card without a fee if it doesn’t hit the max on the title company’s deposit limit.

 

[TinkAgainU]

Did the title company charge you extra for paying with a credit card? I just talked Fidelity yesterday on a contract and they said the title company would charge an additional 3.5% if payment was made by credit card.

I think www.dvcclosings.com reduced the amount we could put on a card recently, and they charge more than some processors. I do love their e-notary, which they did Not charge extra for that Or for cc use. The e-notary can really speed up closing times if the e-notary is not backed up...

 

[davidhr]

I have heard some title companies are reducing the limit they allow on credit card or adding fees.

One more reason for me to consider direct (unless I’m looking for a sold out resort), as I can put all on credit cards and get some nice bonuses to reduce the cost.