When it comes to DVC resale experts, I know them all.  As the leader in affordable DVC financing, I get the pleasure of working with the best and there is none better than DVC Resale Market’s Jodi Gross.  I recently had the opportunity to meet with Jodi and a few of her outstanding colleagues (Marissa Vallotton, Scott Kaufman, and owner Nick Cotton) and it made me want to get to know her and her DVC story better.

I wanted to share this with you all as well.

Jodi Gross has held her Florida real estate license for 20 years.  This explains why she is so thorough and amazing with each contractual sale while servicing both the buyer and the seller.  Originally from Southern California where she met her husband Tim in 1988, she moved to Florida in 1998.   Jodi and Tim are raising their two children, Rebecca 16 and Nicholas 12, in the most magical place in the world, Orlando!  Living so close to the magic gives the four of them plenty of chances to visit all the Disney theme parks, while Epcot remains Jodi’s favorite.

      

When asked how she got into Disney Vacation Club, Jodi fondly tells the story:

“My brother in law works for Walt Disney Corporation and mentioned DVC to me since I was already in real estate.  Originally, I foolishly wasn’t interested because I thought it was a traditional timeshare.  Then after doing research, I learned it was different and better, so I decided to send my resume and interview.  I feel extremely fortunate that I was chosen as a candidate and I was a DVC Guide for 5 years from 2009 to the end of 2014.  I received very valuable training and worked with so many amazing people, who I still stay in touch with.

During this time, I was very aware of resales and knew it was substantially less than direct (as a guide, I even bought DVC through resale), so at times I felt conflicted about selling direct knowing the guests could save so much more buying resale.  My friend and DVC Associate, Nick Cotton launched DVC Resale Market and I was very happy for him and figured I had a place to refer clients to.  A few months later I met with Nick, he and Kevin were getting very busy with the new resale company and needed someone.  I was happy to make the change and take a chance with the new venture. 5 years later, I am very glad I did!  DVC Resale Market is an amazing place to work and I feel great being able to save people thousands of dollars on their DVC membership!”

I loved listening to Jodi’s stories and can easily tell how much her family means to her.  Her favorite place to go as a child was Disneyland.  She can remember the 45-minute drive there feeling like it was hours and hours away just because she was so excited!  Now as a parent, she loves taking her own kids to Disney World especially since she has a nephew within the parks who plays various characters and gives their kids lots of attention when they visit (making mom and dad super happy).

As a former DVC owner, Jodi has some great advice to share as well. Her best advice if you’re looking to sell: first, make sure the immediate family is on board so there are no regrets or second guesses later.  Talk to her to get a full understanding of the process.  Second, is to price your contract properly so that you can sell quickly and for the best price possible for your family.  She knows the market better than anyone and will give you the best advice on pricing.

Her best advice if looking to buy Listings – first, buy where you want to stay! I know it is tempting to buy at another resort that may be priced less, but this purchase is for the long haul, don’t let a lower-priced listing that isn’t what you really want to affect what you will be using for the next 25+ years.  Second, speak to me or someone at DVC Resale Market because we know this product better than anyone else and we can guide you as to what to offer, and go over financing.

And that’s not all…. she also has hidden talents!  Yes, Jodi is a huge Trivia expert!  She’s especially good at music, science, and geography so you want her on your team if you’re playing this game. Jodi LOVES science and is a nature nerd.  She rarely watches TV and in her free time would rather be out in the garden tending to her little butterfly habitat.  She also “collects” seeds from the different plant collections when at Disney which mortifies her children.

    

Jodi says:

“My family always teases me that I “talk to everyone” and that I am always making friends with strangers.  I try to tell the kids, that isn’t a bad thing and they should give it a try.  But with that said, I do tend to attract folks that want to tell me their life story ( and some stuff I just really shouldn’t know) and I find it hard to get away to get back to whatever it was we were doing.  I think this is what the kids complain about, I tend to hold them up, especially if someone is wanting to talk with me.”

“A funny story is on one trip to Disneyland when we were kids- our parents didn’t tell us where we were going, just that it was a surprise.  Of course, we nagged and bugged them the whole time they drove, we passed by the famous Matterhorn along the highway and I said, “I wish our surprise was that we were going there ((Disneyland))”.  My parents said nothing, took the exit and headed to the parking lot.  I was so confused, as they had never surprised us before- they always told us when we were going to Disney.  Being incredibly clueless, I kept saying “can’t we just go to Disney instead” (this is as we are now entering the parking lot).  I still couldn’t figure out why my parents were exchanging glances and laughing. It wasn’t until we parked and got out of the car that I got that we were actually going to into Disneyland- and it was because my Dad had to literally say to me “yes, Jodi, we are parked and walking towards the gate, we ARE going into Disneyland”.  Then the jumping for joy happened.  He wasn’t impressed with my deduction skills at the age of 6.”

     

To speak with Jodi directly to learn more about buying or selling DVC points please email:  Jodi@dvcresalemarket.com  or call 407-325-7116.  I’m happy to have gotten to know Jodi better and look forward to working with her for many years to come as we both help families own DVC points and create fond memories as Jodi has.

• contributed by Debbie Ely