OK, Tell me how you'd spend my money!

[MinniesYooHoo]

I just came into an unexpected $7500. Yes I know I should invest it, but what I want to know is how you all would spend it as far as DVC is concerned? I don't own now, but it has been a dream of mine since my Disneymoon in 1996. We are a family of three (but travel often with my parents) that go at least once a year, but sometimes twice a year. I would LOVE proximity to Magic Kingdom, but we also fell in love with AKL on one of our last trips. PLEASE tell me what you would do!!!

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

I just came into an unexpected $7500. Yes I know I should invest it, but what I want to know is how you all would spend it as far as DVC is concerned? I don't own now, but it has been a dream of mine since my Disneymoon in 1996. We are a family of three (but travel often with my parents) that go at least once a year, but sometimes twice a year. I would LOVE proximity to Magic Kingdom, but we also fell in love with AKL on one of our last trips. PLEASE tell me what you would do!!!

I would buy a DVC contract through resale BLT is close to MK but is more expensive than AKV so with a $7500 budget, I would look at AKV since you already love it.

 

[shwn]

Ditto on the suggestion to look at Animal Kingdom resale. To stay in budget, I would look for a 100-110 point contract, which I think you should be able to get in the mid 60s price range per point. I have one that is in ROFR in that range and another poster as well.

The benefit of AKL with a small contract like that is the ability to use them on the "value" villas at Jambo. They are a great point value and can really stretch your 100 points. Also they seem to go before the 7 month window, so owning at AKL would be useful if you are interested in staying in them.

I would not pick BLT as your home resort in your case, as staying in budget would be less then 100 points and the points/night cost at BLT is higher. So you would not get as much bang for your buck. Good luck in your research and decision!!!

 

[Dean]

I just came into an unexpected $7500. Yes I know I should invest it, but what I want to know is how you all would spend it as far as DVC is concerned? I don't own now, but it has been a dream of mine since my Disneymoon in 1996. We are a family of three (but travel often with my parents) that go at least once a year, but sometimes twice a year. I would LOVE proximity to Magic Kingdom, but we also fell in love with AKL on one of our last trips. PLEASE tell me what you would do!!!

Assuming DVC makes sense for you otherwise and that the yearly fees are not an issue and that you plan to use the points only at DVC locations and that you don't have other consumer debt, I'd buy around 140-150 SSR or OKW points, second choice, 100-120 AKV points. If your group would be 9 or better at times, I might put OKW first due to the 3 BR option.

 

[ELMC]

Congrats on your windfall. Before jumping in and buying a contract, I would investigate what the annual maintenance fees would be and see if they are something you can handle year in and year out. Finding the money for the initial purchase price doesn't do you much good if you can't afford the annual costs as well.

That said, if it ends up making sense for you I would consider buying at SSR if you like that resort at all and are flexible as to what times of year you travel. Given that you don't really have one favorite for your home resort, you're better off going with the less expensive points and fees.

 

[lovin'fl]

OOOhhh...OK...will do (spend your $7500)...gladly. Here's what I would do:

1) buy AKV resale (and I am in the process of doing this) in order to book the value or standard view villas (we need a 2BR now that our 3 kids are teens and the value/standard are low point costs compared to all other 2BRs).

2) buy BWV resale in order to book the standard view villas which are also low point costs and tend to get all booked up by the 7 month window (so you need to own there to get them...same with the value/standard views at AKV).

3) I would...but you wouldn't probably want to do this: add onto my 75 HH points Aug UY...if couldn't find a good resale, I'd buy 75 points direct (DH would fight me on the direct thing, but if it was my money...). HH is good to own as well as a WDW resort because you can then alternate every other year...WDW and beach trip (beach trip saves us the cost of park tickets and airfare as we can drive more easily from MD to HH than to FL).

4) if you have a little more to add to that $7500, I'd buy 2 small contracts (75-100 points each) at any combo of the 3 resorts mentioned above.

You mentioned MK though...so BLT would be better than VWL (IMO...we just weren't too into VWL). But BLT is expensive to buy and costs a ton of points to book a stay...though if you own there, you can book the lesser costing standard view.

SSR would get you more points for your money AND it has lower annual dues, but you can always get SSR at 7 months out (and even sometimes for last minute trips a month or 2 out). It is a LARGE resort and has tons of villas. If you think you'd ever want to get a Treehouse villa, then that would be another reason to get SSR points (TH villas can be tough to get at 7 months out...not impossible). SSR is only near Downtown and has many internal bus stops. OKW is the same, but they have THE largest villas on property. I wouldn't buy at SSR or OKW (I own OKW and wish it was BWV instead).

BCV is lovely and our fave WDW DVC resort (we haven't done BLT or AKV yet). But it costs more to buy and it takes more points to book as well. You do get the fabulous SAB pool and the location is fabulous (but BWV is right there too and if you own there you can save points booking standard view).

 

[heynowirv]

So I'm guessing after 4 yrs and over 1200 posts you'd done some investigating about MF's and other costs,food,theme park tickets&transportation just to name a few. With that being said I would still buy where you'd want to stay the most,again being aware that resorts like SSR and OKW are the cheapest. WE own and love both resorts.

Think it over DVC will be there whenever you are ready.

 

[Illini Al]

Option #1: College fund for DD7
Option #2: OKW or SSR (DD7 will probably get full scholarships, anyway!)

 

[JimMIA]

I'd be very cautious.

$7,500 is just not that much money, and it's not going to buy very many DVC points -- even in the resale market buying lower cost resorts as others have suggested.

I would look at how many points that would buy, and what that would bring you in terms of lodging. I think the honest answer is: "Not much...at any resort...in any season."

I personally would use this one-time windfall for some one-time expense/investment/paydown of debt.

To obligate yourself to 30 years or more of maintenance fees based on a small one-time windfall is a sucker bet, IMHO.

If you won the lottery, I'd give different advice.

 

[Kidanifan08]

I just came into an unexpected $7500. Yes I know I should invest it, but what I want to know is how you all would spend it as far as DVC is concerned? I don't own now, but it has been a dream of mine since my Disneymoon in 1996. We are a family of three (but travel often with my parents) that go at least once a year, but sometimes twice a year. I would LOVE proximity to Magic Kingdom, but we also fell in love with AKL on one of our last trips. PLEASE tell me what you would do!!!

As someone already going 1-2 times per year, it sounds like you have an awareness of the trip costs. If you normally stay in moderates or deluxe, then DVC will likely save you money over time.

AKV is a pretty good value right now on the resale market, but as other have noted, SSR is probably the best deal. AKV would be a good choice because of the Values and Standards. BWV may also be a good choice, but by the time you find a small contract (hard to come by) and get through ROFR, you will only have 28.5 years left on the contract, vs 43.5 with AKV or 40.5 with SSR. BLT would be a waste of money, IMHO, due to the high point value of the rooms. We have loved our BLT stays, but we aren't huge fans of the styling or the pool.

If you cannot plan in the 7-11 month booking window, you might as well buy SSR.

The current annual MF's range for 100 points at one of the WDW is $534-584.

Of course, if there is a decent tax credit for contributing to your daughter's 529, I would probably do that with the money first. We have a 20% tax credit in Indiana for 529 contributions up to $5000.

 

[rmcildw2m]

Buy resale ,you get the most bang for your buck and maybe have some left over for shopping on your first trip .

 

[a742246]

I would buy a (loaded) 50-60 point contract at SSR with the first 3750. With the other 3750 set up a rainy day fund.

 

[puffkin]

I would buy a 150 point contract at SSR. That should give you enough points to work with for decent stays. Our first contract was 150 and we were able to work with that awhile through banking and borrowing before we needed to add on. There are plenty of SSR contracts out there at that size and if you are patient and good at negotiating, you should be able to get one between $45-$50 point which would put you right on budget (you may need to chip in a few hundred extra, but definitely doable for $8000 or less) and the MF would not be too bad yearly.

I personally am not a huge fan of the really small contracts at high point resorts like BLT. I like my contracts to have enough points every 2 years for a 6-7 night stay in a one bedroom (our preferred room size). Thats why all our contracts are 100-150 points. I don't like to pool my points or use multiple contracts either. I like to book trip a with contract a and trip b with contract b, etc. It is just easier for me and we don't like to resort hop too much on a trip.

 

[MinniesYooHoo]

Thanks everyone for the input! I really appreciate it. I was just curious how other people would handle this. We don't have any debt other than the usual mortgage and a car payment so MF's are not a problem for us. We'd like to stay debt free of course, was just curoius if you all thought it would be smart to put that money as a down payment on a larger contract and finance the rest. I wouldn't mind a payment on that as I'm sure we would likely pay it off early. (We are very smart/frugal with our money.) Is this a bad idea, or would everyone just buy several smaller contracts? I consider myself a Disney World expert, but am absolutely a DVC novice. Thanks for the advice my DVC experts!

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

Thanks everyone for the input! I really appreciate it. I was just curious how other people would handle this. We don't have any debt other than the usual mortgage and a car payment so MF's are not a problem for us. We'd like to stay debt free of course, was just curoius if you all thought it would be smart to put that money as a down payment on a larger contract and finance the rest. I wouldn't mind a payment on that as I'm sure we would likely pay it off early. (We are very smart/frugal with our money.) Is this a bad idea, or would everyone just buy several smaller contracts? I consider myself a Disney World expert, but am absolutely a DVC novice. Thanks for the advice my DVC experts!

I wouldn't finance it. And if you were considering buying direct and financing it, you are spending extra money on points as well as finance charges. Instead, look into the resale market and buy a small contract with cash. If in a few years you come into extra money again and like DVC, then purchase another contract to have more points. If you start big and find out you do not like it, you will want to sell your contract. Now add the fact that you financed and possibly bought direct. You will never recover your losses. If you buy small on the resale market with cash and decide to sell, you have a better chance of at least breaking even. Remember if you start small, you can always add to it later.

 

[Missyrose]

Thanks everyone for the input! I really appreciate it. I was just curious how other people would handle this. We don't have any debt other than the usual mortgage and a car payment so MF's are not a problem for us. We'd like to stay debt free of course, was just curoius if you all thought it would be smart to put that money as a down payment on a larger contract and finance the rest. I wouldn't mind a payment on that as I'm sure we would likely pay it off early. (We are very smart/frugal with our money.) Is this a bad idea, or would everyone just buy several smaller contracts?

I would buy the number of points you can afford with the money you have. Then if you find you need more points, you can save up to add on. Financing negates any real savings you see when buying DVC.

I consider myself a Disney World expert, but am absolutely a DVC novice. Thanks for the advice my DVC experts!

Before you start contract hunting, you need to do some real reading about how the system works, Use Year, banking/borrowing, booking windows and the ins and outs of the different resorts. Good luck! Feel free to ask any questions you have along the way.

 

[ELMC]

Thanks everyone for the input! I really appreciate it. I was just curious how other people would handle this. We don't have any debt other than the usual mortgage and a car payment so MF's are not a problem for us. We'd like to stay debt free of course, was just curoius if you all thought it would be smart to put that money as a down payment on a larger contract and finance the rest. I wouldn't mind a payment on that as I'm sure we would likely pay it off early. (We are very smart/frugal with our money.) Is this a bad idea, or would everyone just buy several smaller contracts? I consider myself a Disney World expert, but am absolutely a DVC novice. Thanks for the advice my DVC experts!

Well based on the responses you've received in this thread, I don't think you're going to get much support for this approach. The fact of the matter is that given today's current market, purchasing direct and financing can be up to three times as expensive as paying cash for a resale contract. So if your buying decisions are financially motivated (and it seems that they are) I don't think there is a way you can justify this course of action.

If you are going to purchase DVC, you might want to consider buying a smaller contract now and creating a savings account that you make monthly payments into. When that account reaches a certain amount, use it to purchase another contract if you see fit.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[ELMC]

I wouldn't finance it. And if you were considering buying direct and financing it, you are spending extra money on points as well as finance charges. Instead, look into the resale market and buy a small contract with cash. If in a few years you come into extra money again and like DVC, then purchase another contract to have more points. If you start big and find out you do not like it, you will want to sell your contract. Now add the fact that you financed and possibly bought direct. You will never recover your losses. If you buy small on the resale market with cash and decide to sell, you have a better chance of at least breaking even. Remember if you start small, you can always add to it later.

Well said. This is the single biggest reason not to buy direct (and finance).

 

[lovin'fl]

I agree with the others about not financing. I would just buy what you can for $7500 now and then start saving up to buy a second contract later. We just passed ROFR on our AKV add on and it will cost us about $7500. It is 100 points with Aug UY and we are paying $66/point plus 2103 annual dues ($567) and the closing costs ($425). SSR would be a bit less...say $55-58/point and $481 for 2013 annual dues (the closing costs would be the same, I think)...you may be able to eek out 125 points there. Smaller contracts get snatched up quick, so after doing some research and you are ready to shop...when you find a good one that fits your needs, you should jump on it fast.

Just some info: You will pay more for contracts that come with 2012 points (loaded...some may even have some 2011 banked points). A contract where the points have been used (stripped) will be a better deal, but you won't be able to use any points for awhile (I avoid these contracts as we ALWAYS need points to use). If it doesn't have 2013 points, you shouldn't pay the 2013 annual dues...and if it has some points missing you shouldn't pay ALL the 2013 annual dues. And some folks pay prorated annual dues even if all the points are there (and you can negotiate any of these fees...some folks get the sellers to pay CC and AD even if it's loaded). Check out this thread to see what kind of deals have gone through and also to see what contracts get ROFR'd (Disney gets Right Of First Refusal...when you make an offer, Disney has right to buy that offer for the price you offered)....http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3001288

Timeline (may vary):
1-you make offer (may negotiate back and forth)
2-you sign contracts and mail in deposit (check for $1000 or X% of sale...whichever is more).
3- as soon as buyer and seller send back signed contracts (and deposit from buyer) the contract goes to Disney for ROFR
4- ROFR takes up to 30 days (usually 3-4 weeks)
5- then it takes 10-14 days to go to closing where you sign contracts and pay remainder (by certified check or wire)
6- then 10-14 days for Disney to transfer membership
7- then 7-10 days to receive membership # from Disney

Since my add on passed ROFR today, I am looking at 27-38 more days until I can book a trip with these points (as long as there are no snags along the way).

 

[disbound09]

Thanks everyone for the input! I really appreciate it. I was just curious how other people would handle this. We don't have any debt other than the usual mortgage and a car payment so MF's are not a problem for us. We'd like to stay debt free of course, was just curoius if you all thought it would be smart to put that money as a down payment on a larger contract and finance the rest. I wouldn't mind a payment on that as I'm sure we would likely pay it off early. (We are very smart/frugal with our money.) Is this a bad idea, or would everyone just buy several smaller contracts? I consider myself a Disney World expert, but am absolutely a DVC novice. Thanks for the advice my DVC experts!

If you are indeed frugal and can watch your money and haven't made the plunge into to DVC I would purchase as much bang for my buck that I could. That would be SSR or OKW SSR can be had in the mid 50's so you could get 125-150 pts. Enough to decide if you want the obligation. Then I would save and if I wanted additional pts I would pay cash. I don't like debt on toys or luxury items myself. Good luck and hope the wind continues to blow money your way.