A Few Use Year Questions...

[devonsmommy]

Hi everyone,
I did search for old posts about Use Year and some of my questions were answered. However, I still have some!

First let me say, we are seriously looking into purchasing DVC, and have been investigating and reading everything we can this past week. So we are not current owners of either resale or direct.

What I'm really leaning towards is buying direct at AKV and then a smaller point resale somewhere else.
Soooooo:
1. When you purchase the DVC direct, do you PICK your use year, or does it go by the month you are purchasing in?? We have a trip planned for August and will take the tour. If we do purchase, does that make our use year August?

2. Purchasing resale, you are buying a contract with a Use Year already. If the resale contract has a different use year than the AK one we buy direct, how am I affected? How does the banking, reserving, etc. work with these two different contracts?

Thanks so much for the help.
I've learned tons by reading everything in this forum and really appreciate you all sharing your knowledge!
Taryn

 

[chalee94]

1. When you purchase the DVC direct, do you PICK your use year, or does it go by the month you are purchasing in?? We have a trip planned for August and will take the tour. If we do purchase, does that make our use year August?

1. they will usually offer you whatever UY they are currently selling, but you can pick the UY (if they have it available). nothing at all to do with when you buy. (4 months don't even have UYs.)

ideally, you want to travel early in your UY and never in the last few months of your UY. UY only really becomes an issue, though, if you need to cancel.

2. Purchasing resale, you are buying a contract with a Use Year already. If the resale contract has a different use year than the AK one we buy direct, how am I affected? How does the banking, reserving, etc. work with these two different contracts?

if you buy a contract with a different UY, it is not an "add-on" but a new membership. each contract works independently as if you were 2 separate members - you have different banking windows and cannot combine pts from both contracts to book a single night. you'd have to book 4 nights with one contract and 3 nights with the other or something like that, and call to ask MS to link the 2 separate reservations (unless you use up your once-per-year transfer to transfer pts from one contract to the other - then you won't be able to see the transferred pts online and would still have to call MS to use them.)

 

[ELMC]

First let me say, we are seriously looking into purchasing DVC, and have been investigating and reading everything we can this past week. So we are not current owners of either resale or direct.

What I'm really leaning towards is buying direct at AKV and then a smaller point resale somewhere else.

I was just getting ready to answer your UY questions when I refreshed the page and saw that Charles took care of it. So not to be redundant, I left that part of my response off. The question I had for you pertained to your thinking about buying AKV direct now and a small resale later. I am curious how you came up with this plan.

One caveat I'd like to share with you is that AKV is a resort where the gap between direct and resale prices (50% or more depending on the contract) is larger than almost any other DVC property. This means that you could run into some trouble should you decide to sell, or you simply could be paying money you don't have to when you decide to buy. Something to think about. Good luck with your research.

 

[Dean]

Hi everyone,
I did search for old posts about Use Year and some of my questions were answered. However, I still have some!

First let me say, we are seriously looking into purchasing DVC, and have been investigating and reading everything we can this past week. So we are not current owners of either resale or direct.

What I'm really leaning towards is buying direct at AKV and then a smaller point resale somewhere else.
Soooooo:
1. When you purchase the DVC direct, do you PICK your use year, or does it go by the month you are purchasing in?? We have a trip planned for August and will take the tour. If we do purchase, does that make our use year August?

2. Purchasing resale, you are buying a contract with a Use Year already. If the resale contract has a different use year than the AK one we buy direct, how am I affected? How does the banking, reserving, etc. work with these two different contracts?

Thanks so much for the help.
I've learned tons by reading everything in this forum and really appreciate you all sharing your knowledge!
Taryn

For resorts like AKV, finding a UY and points amount that fits your needs is not difficult. I wouldn't buy direct just to get exactly what you want, the almost double price tag is not worth it. I'm not sure how many points you're looking at for AKV or how many/which resort for the other. As for how to do it and match them up and assuming you decide to do both soon, it's likely better to buy the smaller package first (assuming it's not one you really need to do direct like VGF) and then the AKV package second.

 

[nalajms]

it's likely better to buy the smaller package first (assuming it's not one you really need to do direct like VGF) and then the AKV package second.

Another option is to buy the smaller contract direct (assuming they will sell you a small contract), then look for a larger AKV resale. The price difference between direct and resale for smaller contracts isn't as much. And smaller contracts resale are much harder to get.

 

[devonsmommy]

1. they will usually offer you whatever UY they are currently selling, but you can pick the UY (if they have it available). nothing at all to do with when you buy. (4 months don't even have UYs.)

ideally, you want to travel early in your UY and never in the last few months of your UY. UY only really becomes an issue, though, if you need to cancel.



if you buy a contract with a different UY, it is not an "add-on" but a new membership. each contract works independently as if you were 2 separate members - you have different banking windows and cannot combine pts from both contracts to book a single night. you'd have to book 4 nights with one contract and 3 nights with the other or something like that, and call to ask MS to link the 2 separate reservations (unless you use up your once-per-year transfer to transfer pts from one contract to the other - then you won't be able to see the transferred pts online and would still have to call MS to use them.)

Thank you! This definitely answers my questions.

I was just getting ready to answer your UY questions when I refreshed the page and saw that Charles took care of it. So not to be redundant, I left that part of my response off. The question I had for you pertained to your thinking about buying AKV direct now and a small resale later. I am curious how you came up with this plan.

One caveat I'd like to share with you is that AKV is a resort where the gap between direct and resale prices (50% or more depending on the contract) is larger than almost any other DVC property. This means that you could run into some trouble should you decide to sell, or you simply could be paying money you don't have to when you decide to buy. Something to think about. Good luck with your research.

I guess my answer is I don't really know! We are heading down in August for 10 days and were planning to take the tour then. I perused the resales on several different sites, and there aren't that many available in the point range I would like for each (150ish). The pickings are slim for resale at any resort! (Unless I'm not checking all the right places) The resale I would want would not be AKV. I'm not sure why, but I'm "scared" to go completely resale for some reason?? Talk me off the ledge!

For resorts like AKV, finding a UY and points amount that fits your needs is not difficult. I wouldn't buy direct just to get exactly what you want, the almost double price tag is not worth it. I'm not sure how many points you're looking at for AKV or how many/which resort for the other. As for how to do it and match them up and assuming you decide to do both soon, it's likely better to buy the smaller package first (assuming it's not one you really need to do direct like VGF) and then the AKV package second.

Thanks for responding! I guess I have more thinking to do!!

 

[Dean]

Contact one or more brokers and get on their list for what you want.

 

[devonsmommy]

Contact one or more brokers and get on their list for what you want.

Doing that now!

 

[chalee94]

I'm not sure why, but I'm "scared" to go completely resale for some reason?? Talk me off the ledge!

some things to remember:

1) no need to be scared of resale. if your circumstances change and you need to sell, guess where you are headed? disney won't be buying your contract back.

2) also, if your circumstances change and you need to sell, you will be selling at resale prices whether your original purchase was direct or resale. your losses will be higher if you bought direct.

3) all you really lose if you buy resale is the option to trade for disney options like cruises, a few disney hotels and ABD. these trades take a lot of pts...if you are interested in those options, you are better off paying cash than planning to use pts for them.

 

[Kidanifan08]

What I'm really leaning towards is buying direct at AKV and then a smaller point resale somewhere else.

I guess my answer is I don't really know! We are heading down in August for 10 days and were planning to take the tour then. I perused the resales on several different sites, and there aren't that many available in the point range I would like for each (150ish). The pickings are slim for resale at any resort! (Unless I'm not checking all the right places) The resale I would want would not be AKV. I'm not sure why, but I'm "scared" to go completely resale for some reason?? Talk me off the ledge!

The bolded statements are an interesting contradiction in your thread. You are saying that if you buy direct, you would go with AKV, but if you were to purchase a resale, you would not go with AKV. This tells me that you may not really be "into" AKV, so why would you concede to pay twice the cost of resale to purchase this resort direct if you don't really want to own there? We have all of our points at AKV and love the resort, but I would not encourage someone to own there if they really don't like the resort.

I am sure that you know that you can buy any of the DVC resorts direct, right? DVC is actively marketing AKV and VGF, but all of the resorts are available direct. You may have to go on a waitlist, but if you would rather own BWV or BLT, it is a direct option. Of course, I am not advocating a direct purchase. In fact, over half of our points were purchased on the resale market.

As far as the "value" of direct points, there really isn't any. The few things you lose by buying resale are not guaranteed "perks" and could be taken away from direct buyers at any point. Additionally, if you look at the points requirements for ABD and DCL, you really need a ton of points to use those for a family of 3-4. You are better off paying cash for those options and renting your points.

Keep reading these threads. When you go in August, try to take some time to go visit the resorts that you think you might be interested in. Being at the resort is very different that looking at pictures on the internet. I think that the models that you will see at SSR are AKV, Aulani and VGF. If BWV is someplace that you might be interested in, there is a model of the villas next to the Screen Door on the Boardwalk.

Good luck!

 

[ELMC]

I guess my answer is I don't really know! We are heading down in August for 10 days and were planning to take the tour then. I perused the resales on several different sites, and there aren't that many available in the point range I would like for each (150ish). The pickings are slim for resale at any resort! (Unless I'm not checking all the right places) The resale I would want would not be AKV. I'm not sure why, but I'm "scared" to go completely resale for some reason?? Talk me off the ledge!

My guess is that you're scared of DVC resale because it is not the "official" product or you're not buying it directly from Disney. I'm here to tell you, I don't think you have anything to be scared of when it comes to DVC resale. I bought 6 contracts, all resale and have had no issues whatsoever. In fact, I actually sold one of them because I wanted another home resort and was able to make a small profit on it. I'm not saying that this is going to happen to you, but the chances are better if you get in at a lower cost. One thing I can assure you of is that you will most likely not be making a profit if you buy direct, especially if you buy AKV. I would take as much time as you can to read the threads here. I think that by building a familiarity with resale you will open up to the idea more. Good luck!

 

[devonsmommy]

some things to remember:

1) no need to be scared of resale. if your circumstances change and you need to sell, guess where you are headed? disney won't be buying your contract back.

2) also, if your circumstances change and you need to sell, you will be selling at resale prices whether your original purchase was direct or resale. your losses will be higher if you bought direct.

3) all you really lose if you buy resale is the option to trade for disney options like cruises, a few disney hotels and ABD. these trades take a lot of pts...if you are interested in those options, you are better off paying cash than planning to use pts for them.

Thank you, thank you!

The bolded statements are an interesting contradiction in your thread. You are saying that if you buy direct, you would go with AKV, but if you were to purchase a resale, you would not go with AKV. This tells me that you may not really be "into" AKV, so why would you concede to pay twice the cost of resale to purchase this resort direct if you don't really want to own there? We have all of our points at AKV and love the resort, but I would not encourage someone to own there if they really don't like the resort.

Good luck!

I wouldn't say I'm contradicting. I've read here on these boards about owning at two different places because of being able to book at the 11th month window. I would not want to stay at AK or the other resort we choose every single time. It will give us a chance to book earlier at another resort. I've stayed at AK with my cousin who owns there and loved the resort and the restaurants, so that's not really an issue.

My guess is that you're scared of DVC resale because it is not the "official" product or you're not buying it directly from Disney. I'm here to tell you, I don't think you have anything to be scared of when it comes to DVC resale. I bought 6 contracts, all resale and have had no issues whatsoever. In fact, I actually sold one of them because I wanted another home resort and was able to make a small profit on it. I'm not saying that this is going to happen to you, but the chances are better if you get in at a lower cost. One thing I can assure you of is that you will most likely not be making a profit if you buy direct, especially if you buy AKV. I would take as much time as you can to read the threads here. I think that by building a familiarity with resale you will open up to the idea more. Good luck!

Yes, I think you nailed it...
Thanks for the input!

 

[chalee94]

I wouldn't say I'm contradicting. I've read here on these boards about owning at two different places because of being able to book at the 11th month window. I would not want to stay at AK or the other resort we choose every single time. It will give us a chance to book earlier at another resort.

don't misunderstand that, though.

if you own 300 pts at SSR and 25 pts at BLT and want to book BLT at 11 months out, all you have access to are the 25 pts from the BLT contract. if you wanted to book THV/SSR at 11 months out, all you can use are the pts from the SSR contract.

if you own multiple resorts, you can ONLY combine pts at 7 months out, not 11 months out. at 11 months out, you need the right "currency." there's no way to use another resort's pts to book a resort at 11 months out...

 

[devonsmommy]

don't misunderstand that, though.

if you own 300 pts at SSR and 25 pts at BLT and want to book BLT at 11 months out, all you have access to are the 25 pts from the BLT contract. if you wanted to book THV/SSR at 11 months out, all you can use are the pts from the SSR contract.

if you own multiple resorts, you can ONLY combine pts at 7 months out, not 11 months out. at 11 months out, you need the right "currency." there's no way to use another resort's pts to book a resort at 11 months out...

Thanks for the clarification!
That's why I want 150ish at each. We are a family of four and my girls are still pretty young, so a studio is good for us. So we could technically do 2 trips a year (one at each resort), or bank and do a longer trip the following year, or invite more family to come with us and get something bigger at the 7 month mark.

My brain is spinning

 

[Dean]

I wouldn't say I'm contradicting. I've read here on these boards about owning at two different places because of being able to book at the 11th month window. I would not want to stay at AK or the other resort we choose every single time. It will give us a chance to book earlier at another resort. I've stayed at AK with my cousin who owns there and loved the resort and the restaurants, so that's not really an issue.

For some this is a good choice, for others it's an unnecessary aggravation and expense. If you truly want 2 different resorts that are very unlikely to get at 7 months out, the extra costs may be worth it. Just realize with the higher costs of buying 2 smaller and/or higher demand resorts resale, you'd adding as much as $25 a point more than other viable options. Just the buy two 150 pt contract option will cost around $3K more than 300 pts at the same resort and then you add in that higher demand resorts will cost more. Also consider the dues which are not make or break at WDW, IMO (even for highest or lowest) but are a factor.

I think many people with a family of 4 who go in thinking studio come out thinking 1 BR pretty quickly. What I would not do in your situation (still gathering info and learning) is buy 2 contracts now. IF you decide that the extra expense and aggravation is worth it, buy one now and see how it goes then buy the other later if you think that's what you want. Another option is to buy one now for an in between size (say 200-225 instead of 2*150) and then decide later how to proceed. Either keep what you have or add to it later. You might buy one and get what you want over time realizing you don't need the second resort. That's definitely going to be the case buying say SSR to stay at AKV assuming non value rooms or concierge are not your plans but you may not get those even if you own there.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thanks for the clarification!
That's why I want 150ish at each. We are a family of four and my girls are still pretty young, so a studio is good for us. So we could technically do 2 trips a year (one at each resort), or bank and do a longer trip the following year, or invite more family to come with us and get something bigger at the 7 month mark.

My brain is spinning

A studio is not much different from a hotel room. Except you only get one real queen sized bed in the studio and one double sized sleeper sofa (except at OKW where you get two real queen sized beds) in a studio.

So all you are gaining is a microwave and you are losing a real bed. Why bother with DVC?

 

[susannebraska]

If all your contracts have the same use year (month), you only have to purchase one insurance policy. We had sept and Oct and had to purchase two (when we combined points in one reservation). We sold the sept one and bought another Oct one so they are all the same.

 

[DisneyDenis]

If all your contracts have the same use year (month), you only have to purchase one insurance policy. We had sept and Oct and had to purchase two (when we combined points in one reservation). We sold the sept one and bought another Oct one so they are all the same.

Insurance for what? Trip insurance for you? ...or anything to do with renting?

Thanks!
Denis

 

[susannebraska]

They offer you a trip insurance on a use year points. If you have 2 use years and you have to use them both for a reservation, then you have to buy two policies. It insures you for all your points for that use year--if you have to cancel.

 

[susannebraska]

we have dvc at 4 different resorts (some small--but a good deal at the time)--no problem using them except for the contract we had with a different use year. So we sold that one and got another October one.