Buy DVC advice

[lchute1158]

Ok...so I am thinking of a Dvc contract...my plan was to get a cheaper 100 point at VB or HHI and just use the points where we actually plan to stay. In a nutshell...I wanted enough points to cover a day or two at WDW before or after our annual DIsney Cruise, and maybe a day or two at Aulani as we vacation in Hawaii once a year a well.

But alot of folks seem to think you need to buy where you stay...is it better to get two small contracts? One at a WDW resort and one at Auluani or can I make the VB idea work? We usually go off season, cruising in January/February and Hawaii in spring or fall.

Thanks for the comments.

 

[Sur]

For the amount of money spent, I'd rather be SURE I'll have what I purchased for the duration of the contract. I bought at a few specific resorts, and although I can currently stay at others, I plan to stay at the ones we chose. My opinion would be to purchase a few smaller contracts where you intend to stay.

 

[chalee94]

But alot of folks seem to think you need to buy where you stay...is it better to get two small contracts?

i'd vote for buy where you want to stay. SSR is pretty reasonably priced upfront for a resale contract, expires in 2054, has lower annual dues per pt AND has access to onsite stays at 11 months out. if there is limited access to other wdw resorts at 7 months out (or the rules change harming your ability to book non-home resorts, you would still have a reservation at SSR, onsite at wdw...

VB might work fine (not counting the higher annual dues that will continue to be higher due to coastal storm risks) but i would not risk is personally.

One at a WDW resort and one at Auluani or can I make the VB idea work?

aulani is still too new for me to have much of an opinion.

 

[Minniesgal]

I wouldn't say you necessarily need to buy exactly where you want to stay but I certainly wouldn't buy where I don't want to stay.

If you want to go to WDW, you need to own somewhere in WDW. If you buy VB or HHI the chances are sometimes you will get in to WDW at 7 months sometimes you won't. You might get a few nights or you might get them all. You certainly won't be garanteed a stay at WDW ever. I'd only buy either VB or HHI if I was actually going to stay there. We own at AKV so we know no matter what we will always have a room at WDW as I will always book it at 11 months. If I am lucky I will be able to visit more than one resort as I will try and swap some of the nights for a different resort at 7 months. Somtimes I will be able to sometimes I won't. For our upcoming trip most resorts were fully booked within 24 hours of the 7 month window.

If I want to go to CA, the simple answer is you need to own at VGC otherwise you will be seriously lucky to get in at all. For this reason we are looking for an add on there.

Particularly since you want to tie in with cruise dates your VB idea is a very bad one. If you were totally flexible on dates i would say take your chances if you can go whenever but if you want specific nights you need to be able to book before 7 months.

I would imagine Aulani will be similar but less restrictive than VGC but more restrictive than WDW.

There is a very good reason why everyone doesn't buy cheap points at VB and HHI.

 

[wordwitt]

Also, points at HH are not all that cheap in the current market. I am in ROFR on a 90 point contract because we want to stay at HH, but honestly it is in the same ballpark as many SSR and OKW contracts. When I tried to do more lowball offers I had no luck. And there is a waitlist at HH, also, and there has been some ROFR activity this past month. Also, closing costs are more expensive than any of the WDW resorts (but more reasonable through TSS than others), as are maintenance fees (but really, on a smaller contract, not by a whole lot, and not as much as VB).

 

[jjmat]

This is not an investment. Don't tie up your money this way. You make better returns on a mutual fund.

 

[com_op_2000]

VB & HHI have the highest MFs of any of the resorts.

 

[wordwitt]

This is not an investment. Don't tie up your money this way. You make better returns on a mutual fund.

Like a lot of things in life, the answer is never this simple. I rarely hear DVC owners refer to their contracts as "investments," but sometimes the purchase does make sense for certain types of travelers. And as a cancer survivor, I can honestly say that it's not all about the $$$ in life anyway.

 

[bkny]

Like a lot of things in life, the answer is never this simple. I rarely hear DVC owners refer to their contracts as "investments," but sometimes the purchase does make sense for certain types of travelers. And as a cancer survivor, I can honestly say that it's not all about the $$$ in life anyway.

Well said. I am waiting to see if my resale passes rofr. I did not go into it thinking it was an investment. My break even is about 10 years. There is a strong demand for dvc. If some reason I need to get out sooner than later I may lose money but hopefully I would have had a few vacations with family and friends that they will remember forever.

 

[chalee94]

This is not an investment. Don't tie up your money this way. You make better returns on a mutual fund.

not counting 2008 and similar years when DVC owners came out ahead, you'd get better returns on a mutual fund than you would spending money on any trip to disney. so why are you even on the DIS? just put all your money in a mutual fund and never take vacations to maximize those returns...

but if someone wants to spend some of their vacation money (not investment money - that should be in a separate account) on DVC, it can be a reasonable value for people that are going to spend their vacation dollars for annual onsite stays at wdw anyway...

 

[bkny]

This is not an investment. Don't tie up your money this way. You make better returns on a mutual fund.

No magic words here but mutual funds can lose value too. Points have value in the rental market which can pay for 1-2 years of mfs. The key is not getting too emotional and taking the time to research,run the numbers and choose a contract within your limit. Hopefully at the end of the day you will be happy and not regret your decision.

 

[Dean]

Ok...so I am thinking of a Dvc contract...my plan was to get a cheaper 100 point at VB or HHI and just use the points where we actually plan to stay. In a nutshell...I wanted enough points to cover a day or two at WDW before or after our annual DIsney Cruise, and maybe a day or two at Aulani as we vacation in Hawaii once a year a well.

But alot of folks seem to think you need to buy where you stay...is it better to get two small contracts? One at a WDW resort and one at Auluani or can I make the VB idea work? We usually go off season, cruising in January/February and Hawaii in spring or fall.

Thanks for the comments.

I think your current plan is a bad one assuming you want to stay mostly at WDW. IF you wanted to stay at say VB part of the time, maybe but otherwise no. The reasons are two. Long term cost is actually more as others have said and you have NO 11 month window at WDW. For your plan I'd get the cheapest contract you can get at WDW, looked at objectively, that's likely SSR. My view is to buy the cheapest resort you'd be happy staying at most of the time. Compared to your current plan SSR will be far cheaper in the long run, have a much higher inherent value, give you an 11 month window at WDW and give you a later expiration date of 2054. OKW, AKV and others can come close though other than most expiring 2042 like VB & HH. The ones of those that will be later are AKV (all) and a few OKW that were extended.

The other approach you could take since you're in CA is to buy at VGC but you won't see the same savings we're talking about with the other contracts.

 

[CarolMN]

Given what you said you planned to do with a DVC contract, my advice is to seriously consider renting DVC accommodations for what/when you go.

Going that way, there is no long term commitment to pay dues and no worries about getting rid of points you can't use. Plus you can probably get exactly what you want by booking before the 7 month window opens. VGC is notoriously difficult to get without the home resort booking window, as are some categories of WDW DVC resort villas. Still too soon to tell for Aulani.

You will have to give up total control of the reservation, but at least some of the various brokers escrow and we have had no resorts of a renter getting scammed through their sites.

Obviously, you may feel differently, but if I only wanted a day or two before or after a cruise or a day or two at Aulani, I would not buy a contract.

 

[lchute1158]

Thanks everyone so far for the input...much appreciated.