DVC Resale Closing Costs for Buyers: Fees, Dues, and Timing
On a DVC resale purchase, you pay two fixed closing costs: Disney's $500 Contract Administration Fee and $300 to $500 in title and closing costs. The third cost changes with each contract, and that is annual dues reimbursement. From accepted offer to funded closing, a resale purchase typically takes 45 to 60 days.
What you pay at closing
| Cost | Amount | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | Points x price per point | Seller, through the title company |
| Contract Administration Fee (CAF) | $500 | Disney |
| Title and closing costs | $300 to $500 | Title company |
| Annual dues reimbursement | Depends on points and closing month | Seller, or credited to you |
Disney Contract Administration Fee
The CAF is $500 and the buyer pays it. Disney charges it to transfer the contract into your name. It is not split with the seller, it is not negotiated, and it is not optional.
Title and closing costs
Title and closing costs typically run $300 to $500. The amount depends on the title company handling the file. The title company holds your deposit, prepares the closing documents, and records the transfer.
Annual dues reimbursement at closing
Disney bills annual dues in January for the full year. The seller has already paid them by the time most resale contracts close. The rule for settling that is simple: whoever has usage of a year's bankable points pays the dues on them.
- January through November closings: The seller paid the full year's dues in January. If you are receiving bankable points for the current use year, you reimburse the seller for the dues on those points at the resort's per point dues rate.
- December closings: There is no current year dues reimbursement. You pay the following year's dues in advance at closing.
- Borrowed points: If the seller borrowed next year's points and spent them, those points are missing from your first full year. The seller reimburses you for the dues on the missing points.
A worked example
Take a 160 point Animal Kingdom Villas contract closing in May 2026. Animal Kingdom Villas dues in 2026 were $10.16 per point. If all 160 current use year points come to you as bankable points:
160 points x $10.16 = $1,625.60 reimbursed to the seller.
Now say the seller already used 60 of those points, so you receive 100 bankable points for the current use year. You reimburse dues only on what you receive:
100 points x $10.16 = $1,016.00 reimbursed to the seller.
As of October 2026, resale listings on this site were asking an average of $116.20 per point for Animal Kingdom Villas. At that price, the full picture for the first version of this contract looks like this:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase price (160 x $116.20) | $18,592.00 |
| CAF | $500.00 |
| Title and closing costs | $300 to $500 |
| Dues reimbursement (160 x $10.16) | $1,625.60 |
| Total cash to close | $21,017.60 to $21,217.60 |
The reimbursement is not an extra fee. You are paying for a year of points you get to use. Rates for each resort are on the DVC annual dues by resort page, and the DVC cost of ownership calculator adds dues and closing costs to the purchase price for you.
When the seller has borrowed points
Borrowing runs the reimbursement in your favor. Suppose the seller of a 160 point contract borrowed 40 points from next year's allotment and used them on a trip before closing. Your first full use year will load with 120 points instead of 160, because those 40 are already spent. You still owe dues on the full contract that year, so the seller reimburses you at closing for the dues on the 40 missing points.
Borrowed points also cannot be banked. If a listing shows current year points that came from borrowing, those points must be used in the current use year. Ask for the exact split between current year, banked, and borrowed points before you agree to a price.
Right of First Refusal (ROFR)
Disney holds a Right of First Refusal (ROFR) on resale DVC transactions. It cannot be waived. After you and the seller agree on a price and sign the purchase agreement, the title company submits the contract to Disney. Disney then has 30 days to decide whether to buy the contract itself at the exact price you agreed to.
If Disney exercises ROFR, Disney takes the contract, your deposit is returned in full, and the sale is cancelled. If Disney waives ROFR, the sale moves on to closing. Disney's decision is final and there is no appeal. Nobody can promise you a specific contract will pass. The full process is explained in Disney's Right of First Refusal explained.
How long DVC resale closing takes
| Stage | Duration |
|---|---|
| Offer accepted, contract signed | Same day to 2 business days |
| Contract submitted to Disney for ROFR | Within 1 to 2 business days |
| Disney ROFR review | 30 days. Cannot be shortened. |
| Estoppel letter from Disney | 7 to 10 days after ROFR passes |
| Closing documents prepared and executed | 3 to 5 days |
| Total: accepted offer to funded closing | 45 to 60 days |
The ROFR review is the longest single stage, and no one can speed it up. The estoppel letter is Disney's official statement of the contract's current point balance. It confirms what points come to you and feeds directly into the dues reimbursement figure. Once it arrives, the title company prepares closing documents for you and the seller to sign.
Do not plan a trip around points you do not yet own. Until closing is funded and the contract is in your name, the points are not yours to book with.
Questions to settle before you sign
- How many points come to you for the current use year, and how many of them are bankable.
- Whether the seller has borrowed from next year, and how many points.
- Which month you expect to close, since that decides how dues are settled.
- Which title company will handle the file, and what it charges within the $300 to $500 range.
The answers to the first three questions set your dues reimbursement figure. The fourth sets the only closing cost that varies by provider.
Costs that are not part of closing
Annual dues for future years are not a closing cost. You pay them to Disney each January for as long as you own the contract, whether you travel or not. On the 160 point Animal Kingdom Villas example, the 2026 rate works out to $1,625.60 a year. Factor that into any decision about contract size before you make an offer.
Closing month changes your cash at the table more than any other choice you control. A closing between January and November usually means reimbursing current year dues on the bankable points you receive, while a December closing skips that reimbursement but asks you to prepay the following year's dues, so either way you are paying for one year of points at closing.
Written by
DVC Resale Plus Editorial Team
The DVC Resale Plus editorial team covers the Disney Vacation Club resale market, including resort guides, pricing trends, annual dues, and the resale buying and selling process.
