DH and I are considering buying a resale but we have some questions...

[lodge]

PS make sure you buy enough points to treat your inlaws (and parents) to go with you. They are good people. Resale is the way to go.

Sounds like they may know your in-laws. It wouldn't hurt to consult their opinion as well (if indeed they are good people, if they are like Cinderella's step mother, forget it)!

 

[Illini Al]

Wow, #5 is the "hot" question.
If you are saving for a house (and it sounds like you are), most of the advice will be to not buy DVC. But don't take the word of total strangers. Get some professional financial advice from someone who knows your complete financial health. Based on the limited info you provided, I would not pay for 30 years of pre-paid lodging before buying a house that you say you want to buy. That doesn't mean you still can't go to Disney every year. Good luck with your decision. Either way, you'll end up with something you've been saving for, and eventually, you'll have both!

 

[Deb & Bill]

...We like waking up and walking to a park. DH hates the buses.

Ah, there is something I can comment on. There isn't one DVC resort that you can walk to all the parks. BLT, you can walk to the MK. BCV and BWV, you can walk to Epcot and DHS. But that is it for walking. You boat to MK from VWL or you can boat to Epcot and DHS from BWV and BCV. But, other than those combinations, you'll be riding a bus to a theme park. Or driving your car and parking in the theme park parking lot.

SSR, OKW, AKV, you take a bus to all four theme parks. BCV and BWV, you take a bus to MK and AK. VWL, you take a bus to Epcot, AK and DHS. BLT, you can monorail to Epcot but it takes a while because you change at the Ticket and Transportation Center to the Epcot monorail. And you take a bus to AK and DHS.

 

[Kidanifan08]

So this is my first question, 1) Would a DVC purchase make sense for us if DH is able to get a discount at the Dolphin and I could continue to rent points? But then of course I would have to rent one or two bedrooms or get 2 hotel rooms at the Dolphin as the kids get older.

$1720 would equate to the current maintenance fees on about 300 points. Those will go up, just as the cost of staying at the Dolphin will go up. See what 300 points gets you and decide if that is a fair trade-off. Just looking quickly, 300 points does not even get you a full week in a 1BR for 12/23-1/1, but you could definitely get a studio (if you can book 11 months in advanced)

2) How do you check availability? Can you just go online and book online or do you have to call?

You can check on-line. You will only be able to see forward 11 months for your home resort and 7 months forward for all others.

3) Do you have to pay any additional fees when booking your stay using points? Does Disney charge anything to DVC members?

There is currently no charge for DVC stays at DVC properties at WDW. I think that is true at other DVC resorts, as well.

4) Do you like the RCI and II resorts when using your DVC points to book them? How does your points convert?

Never done it -- don't know. Don't anticipate needing to know, either.

5) We do not have a house but are saving for one. However, we love to travel. Is it bad to buy a timeshare before buying a house? We would be able to purchase the DVC in cash but prefer not to as we like to hold onto our money. We have high credit scores and would want to take a personal loan with a small interest rate. Good or bad idea?

I live in Indiana. You buy a house before you buy a timeshare. But seriously, if you have credit scores in the 800's, you have a college plan for your kids, and your other other debt is $0, then go for it. But I would be inclined to pay cash for DVC if you have it. And I am one of those horrible people who financed through Disney at 11%, no less. We paid it off in about 2 years and the interest was deductible, but if we had the cash laying around, we probably would have paid cash, as we have done for our 3 small add-ons. Of course, we already owned our house (and vacation home) when we purchased DVC. We are fortunate to have good, reliable jobs and credit scores in the 800's (after owning 6 homes in the past 18 years and paying off our student loans).

6) Are resale buyers able to purchase a discounted annual pass?

Yes. . . at this point in time, the only disadvantage to owning resale is the inability to use the Concierge Collection, DCL and ABD.

7)I like to go to Disney at least once a year but DH does want to go to other places. Ideally, we would like to go to Disney as well as take another non-Disney vacation a year. How has owning DVC points saved you money? More specifically, has owning DVC points made it more affordable for you to travel to both Disney as well as take other vacations or have you found yourself bound to Disney?

No. We are staying in accommodations that we would never have paid cash for. We stay longer than we would have. Because of that, we buy tickets that cost more and spend more money eating at Disney. No . . . we have definitely not save any money by owning DVC. With that said, there is definitely not money left over for other vacations, but we still are able to do those.

8) Can you sell your resale?

Yes.

9) Will GFV cause an increase in the value of DVC's? DH and I think so and that is why we want to buy before they are for sale.

Highly unlikely.

10) Is it hard to find availability at 7 months out? We are looking at BLT, BWV or BCV but want to be able to stay at other resorts.

This is a very important issue. If you cannot plan more than 7 months in advance, then there is no reason to spend the extra premium for BLT. We have not had any trouble getting into BLT at exactly 7 months for the dates we travel (with the exception of the first week of Dec). Of course, there are certain times of the year that your home resort advantage will be critical, if you want a specific resort. BWV and BCV are virtually impossible to get for an extended stay the first week of Dec or during F&W at the 7 month mark, but WL's can come through.

11) If you didn't want to go to Disney that year and rented your points to travel elsewhere. Have you lost money by having to pay maintenance fees and then the cost of the trip? Or were you able to recoup those fees and earn some money towards your trip?

Those who rent more than make up for the maintenance fees on the points they rent, based on the current rental rates.

12) Do you have a spreadsheet I could see?

I don't have a spreadsheet for anything DVC.

13) I see that there is a year the contract is up. So if you buy BCV or BWV resale, you only have it for 29 years? Do they offer you an option to extend this?

No one knows if this will be offered. Some would suggest that DVC is better off tearing down, upgrading and reselling. I am in my 40's and own at a resort where the contract won't expire until I am in my 90's, so I am not concerned about my expirations day. And no, I would not pay for an extension. Even BCV and BWV have another almost 30 years, so for me, an extension would probably not be appealing.

See above. GOod luck with your decision.

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

Ah, there is something I can comment on. There isn't one DVC resort that you can walk to all the parks. BLT, you can walk to the MK. BCV and BWV, you can walk to Epcot and DHS. But that is it for walking. You boat to MK from VWL or you can boat to Epcot and DHS from BWV and BCV. But, other than those combinations, you'll be riding a bus to a theme park. Or driving your car and parking in the theme park parking lot.

SSR, OKW, AKV, you take a bus to all four theme parks. BCV and BWV, you take a bus to MK and AK. VWL, you take a bus to Epcot, AK and DHS. BLT, you can monorail to Epcot but it takes a while because you change at the Ticket and Transportation Center to the Epcot monorail. And you take a bus to AK and DHS.

I am aware of this. We stay at Epcot resorts to walk to Epcot and take the boat to HS. We also walk through Epcot to take the monorail to MK. Or we stay at BLT and take the monorail to Epcot, walk through Epcot to the boat for HS and walk to MK. DH hates VWL because not all boats are stroller friendly. DH hates all resorts that only have bus transportation. If we go to AK, we only go once since DH will take that bus ride for Yak and Yeti lol. That may sound ridiculous to some but it is better than listening to DH complain and never want to go back to Disney.

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

See above. GOod luck with your decision.

Thank you for your taking the time to answer all of my questions. I have been trying to persuade DH away from BLT and hopefully your input about 7 months out will help. As it would be hard for us to plan 11 months as well as 7 months out. DH is in sales and his schedule varies as well as when he can take time off. And we will not take our daughter out of school for vacation.

 

[Missyrose]

I am aware of this. We stay at Epcot resorts to walk to Epcot and take the boat to HS. We also walk through Epcot to take the monorail to MK. Or we stay at BLT and take the monorail to Epcot, walk through Epcot to the boat for HS and walk to MK. DH hates VWL because not all boats are stroller friendly. DH hates all resorts that only have bus transportation. If we go to AK, we only go once since DH will take that bus ride for Yak and Yeti lol. That may sound ridiculous to some but it is better than listening to DH complain and never want to go back to Disney.

In all seriousness, why not stay at a resort you love and rent a car? It takes the bus issue off the table.

 

[k3chantal]

Thank you in advance. I greatly appreciate your taking the time to answer my questions. DH and I have rented DVC points a few times and really like the villas. Our family consists of myself, DH, DD (5 but will be 6 in July), and DS (1 but will be 2 in April). We have been staying in the studios but realize as the kids get older, we are going to need a 1 or 2 bedroom. We go to Disney at least once a year and always stay deluxe and like the dining plan but also have a TIW card for when we stay at the Dolphin. On our last trip, 12/23-1/1, we stayed 2 nights at BCV in a studio on rented points and 7 nights at the Dolphin in a standard hotel room with a balcony resort view using DH's employee discount (he does not work for the Dolphin but the company he works for has a discount). Our total hotel costs for that trip were: $1720.

So this is my first question, 1) Would a DVC purchase make sense for us if DH is able to get a discount at the Dolphin and I could continue to rent points? But then of course I would have to rent one or two bedrooms or get 2 hotel rooms at the Dolphin as the kids get older.

2) How do you check availability? Can you just go online and book online or do you have to call?

I like to call but you can book online.

3) Do you have to pay any additional fees when booking your stay using points? I know RCI charges $150 at time of booking and then $95 at the time of check in. Does Disney charge anything to DVC members?

You would have yearly maintenance fees. The costs depend on which resort you choose. For my 280 points at AKL I pay in the $1500 range currently. These fees have and can go up.

4) Do you like the RCI and II resorts when using your DVC points to book them? How does your points convert?

I have used RCI transferring my DVC points. I liked the particular resort we went to and thought that the particular resort was a good value. We went to Princevalle, Kauai Hawaii and stayed in an ocean view condo that easily slept my family of five for 7 nights for 160 points.

5) We do not have a house but are saving for one. However, we love to travel. Is it bad to buy a timeshare before buying a house? We would be able to purchase the DVC in cash but prefer not to as we like to hold onto our money. We have high credit scores and would want to take a personal loan with a small interest rate. Good or bad idea?

Buy a house first!! And when you have purchased that house, save the money to buy DVC. I would never take out a loan for a timeshare. My main two reasons are that you are paying interest thus spending more on the timeshare and you are not going to gain any equity on your DVC purchase. You never want to put yourself in a situation where you may owe more than what the item can sell for.

6) Are resale buyers able to purchase a discounted annual pass?

7)I like to go to Disney at least once a year but DH does want to go to other places. Ideally, we would like to go to Disney as well as take another non-Disney vacation a year. How has owning DVC points saved you money? More specifically, has owning DVC points made it more affordable for you to travel to both Disney as well as take other vacations or have you found yourself bound to Disney?

8) Can you sell your resale?

9) Will GFV cause an increase in the value of DVC's? DH and I think so and that is why we want to buy before they are for sale.

10) Is it hard to find availability at 7 months out? We are looking at BLT, BWV or BCV but want to be able to stay at other resorts.

11) If you didn't want to go to Disney that year and rented your points to travel elsewhere. Have you lost money by having to pay maintenance fees and then the cost of the trip? Or were you able to recoup those fees and earn some money towards your trip?

12) Do you have a spreadsheet I could see?

13) I see that there is a year the contract is up. So if you buy BCV or BWV resale, you only have it for 29 years? Do they offer you an option to extend this?

Ok I think that is enough questions TIA

What ever you decide, have fun!

 

[GOOFY D]

In all seriousness, why not stay at a resort you love and rent a car? It takes the bus issue off the table.

Do many people do this? Even when we drive to Disney, we never drive to the parks. We use Disney transportation almost 100%. The only exception may be if we drive down to the Boardwalk as the bus transfers can be a pain sometimes from some resorts. I would also not add the cost of a car rental when Disney provides transportation.

 

[Brian Noble]

Do many people do this?

I do. I generally only let Disney do the driving to MK (about half the time) or when I'm planning a second BEvERage that evening. I will only completely skip a car if I'm staying in the EP area, or am taking an "extra" budget trip.

 

[bakenatj]

I am aware of this. We stay at Epcot resorts to walk to Epcot and take the boat to HS. We also walk through Epcot to take the monorail to MK. Or we stay at BLT and take the monorail to Epcot, walk through Epcot to the boat for HS and walk to MK. DH hates VWL because not all boats are stroller friendly. DH hates all resorts that only have bus transportation. If we go to AK, we only go once since DH will take that bus ride for Yak and Yeti lol. That may sound ridiculous to some but it is better than listening to DH complain and never want to go back to Disney.

Thank you for your taking the time to answer all of my questions. I have been trying to persuade DH away from BLT and hopefully your input about 7 months out will help. As it would be hard for us to plan 11 months as well as 7 months out. DH is in sales and his schedule varies as well as when he can take time off. And we will not take our daughter out of school for vacation.

Don't mean to sound rude, but it sounds to me like you might not be happy with DVC. If your husband doesn't like buses and he doesn't want to drive, and he hates the boats. Your family isn't going to be happy at a lot of DVC resorts. Plus you're not sure if you will be able to book 7 months out and you are going to travel when schools are out. Just doesn't sound like DVC will fit your lifestyle. Just being honest with you. Don't want you to get into something you regret.

Plus what do you need DVC for? Your parents have a big house in Kissimmee! Save yourself thousands and stay with them. That is what I would do.

 

[k3chantal]

We are on a 5 year plan for the house. And that couldn't happen for a very important but personal reason. Thank you though. And I honestly have no idea how this thread became all about buying a house. I feel like homeowners think they are better than non homeowners. You do not know my situation. You do not know the circumstances. And yet you are judging me for wanting to buy a timeshare before we commit to buying a home. We almost did buy a home a few years ago but the deal fell threw. But it worked out as I lost my job shortly after. I have been a stay at home mom ever since. DH is the sole provider for us. The houses here are not like the houses in other parts of the country. We don't want to pay a lot of money for a box. We want to pay a lot of money for our dream home. My inlaws gave us the opportunity to save for that dream home. We can afford to to buy DVC right now as well as a box for a home. We don't want to do that. So why is it a problem that we buy DVC and save for our dream home at the same time? As we travel no matter what. We just wanted to know if buying DVC would save us money when we travel. Because that is what we do; save money for our dream home.

It's funny, I gave my original response before reading through all the previous responses.

And I am certainly in the camp that believes that one should buy a house first. It has nothing to do with homeowners being 'better' at all. It just that homeowners know that there are costs to owning a home that may make keeping a DVC membership difficult so our suggestion is more about layering your debt so that your are sure you can afford homeownership AND the costs of not only owning DVC but going on an expensive vacation each and every year.

No, we don't know your financial situation. But you must see a theme here that no matter where we are all from (and everyone on this forum is from somewhere different) our experience says house first. I for one, think my location is probably a lot like yours....I live in the Bay Area, California. Prices are high. But by my waiting to spend my money on luxuries, I own two houses (one is now a rental) and we have our DVC and I too am a stay at home mom (though I wasn't when we were working towards what we currently have).

Again, just advice, and good luck with your decision.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Don't mean to sound rude, but it sounds to me like you might not be happy with DVC. If your husband doesn't like buses and he doesn't want to drive, and he hates the boats. Your family isn't going to be happy at a lot of DVC resorts. Plus you're not sure if you will be able to book 7 months out and you are going to travel when schools are out. Just doesn't sound like DVC will fit your lifestyle. Just being honest with you. Don't want you to get into something you regret.

Plus what do you need DVC for? Your parents have a big house in Kissimmee! Save yourself thousands and stay with them. That is what I would do.

And if you can't plan a DVC trip a seven months out, RCI will be even harder to get at six months or less. So you probably want to cross that off your list. And cruising on points will require even more notification.

For holiday periods, you really have to book your DVC stay at 11 months out or close to that. Otherwise, you will always be at SSR or OKW or AKV where you will be stuck driving to the parks or riding the bus. If you want BCV or BWV or BLT, you really need to own there and book at 11 months out.

Why not just book for cash when you can?

 

[Missyrose]

Do many people do this? Even when we drive to Disney, we never drive to the parks. We use Disney transportation almost 100%. The only exception may be if we drive down to the Boardwalk as the bus transfers can be a pain sometimes from some resorts. I would also not add the cost of a car rental when Disney provides transportation.

I do. I generally only let Disney do the driving to MK (about half the time) or when I'm planning a second BEvERage that evening. I will only completely skip a car if I'm staying in the EP area, or am taking an "extra" budget trip.

We've transitioned into this. We relied solely on Disney transportation before and didn't "hate" it, it definitely serves its purpose. But for our upcoming Boardwalk stay, we decided that for $100 for a seven-day rental, we'd love to have the option of driving straight to resorts for meals or to DTD. We'll likely take the bus to MK except for the morning we have an early breakfast at Kona (we'll valet the car there instead).

 

[lodge]

sent a PM to OP instead

 

[Jasonkat]

If you have trouble planning your trips consistently at 8+ months then the best choice for you is......(drum roll, please).....

Saratoga Springs!

Once that 7 month window opens a point is a point is a point, regardless where the home resort is. So if you imagine you will be booking within the 7 month window it makes NO sense to buy anywhere other than SSR.

SSR has cheap resale points and low maintenance fees. It is the best deal in terms of raw point cost.

The reason other resorts sell for more is because people want to stay there and not at SSR, but if you're booking within 7 months you will give up that right and the premium you pay when you join will be worthless.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you have trouble planning your trips consistently at 8+ months then the best choice for you is......(drum roll, please).....

Saratoga Springs!

Once that 7 month window opens a point is a point is a point, regardless where the home resort is. So if you imagine you will be booking within the 7 month window it makes NO sense to buy anywhere other than SSR.

SSR has cheap resale points and low maintenance fees. It is the best deal in terms of raw point cost.

The reason other resorts sell for more is because people want to stay there and not at SSR, but if you're booking within 7 months you will give up that right and the premium you pay when you join will be worthless.

And you will always drive or ride a bus to the theme parks.

 

[bakenatj]

I can totally relate to the transportation dislikes expressed and it affected our choice of resorts. We don't like the buses either, especially with strollers. Granted that stage is NOT forever, but for a few years, it is EXTREMELY hard for OUR situation.

The same goes for the boats that don't allow the stroller to be walked on (needs folded up). Without going into details, this is TOUGH too! Not everyone is disabled enough to need the ramp lowered on the buses or can't navigate the certain type boats, but these factors are legitimate to those who have trouble in those areas.


though not OP, here's my responses to this (in red)

Okay I will spell it out in black in white. People who like it their way or no way aren't typically good DVC members. They are the ones that are in line at check-in yelling at the castmembers while everyone is

The point everyone is trying to make (nicely, expect me of course) is that you have to be flexible. If you don't like buses, boats or cars, your options are very limited. That is all....don't read into it to much. Sorry to be blunt.

 

[Brian Noble]

If you don't like buses, boats or cars, your options are very limited.

Until we get that whole transporter technology figured out, at least.

 

[bakenatj]

Until we get that whole transporter technology figured out, at least.

Well....I heard that Disney has hired Spock and Sheldon Cooper to work on that for them. Part of the Magic + experience.