Buying Resale Vs. DVC

[DSanJose]

So, I currently have 160 points in BLT which I bought thru the DVC , but now we realized we would like to have about 60 more points that way we could get a 1 bedrooom instead of a studio. So is it better to buy it straight from the DVC or from resale which is cheaper. My UY is March and right now on resale the only 60points available is with a Feb UY for BLT. So will I have difficulty when I call MS to book a room? Is it worth it to buy resale?

 

[AlwaysDreamofDisney]

We purchased directly from Disney because we didn't think we could handle the stress of ROFR. We had just completed 2 real estate transactions within 6 months of each other and the stress on that plus a move with 3 kids was too much for us.

There really was no advantage to doing it with Disney, other than the ROFR.

 

[pmcpmc]

So, I currently have 160 points in BLT which I bought thru the DVC , but now we realized we would like to have about 60 more points that way we could get a 1 bedrooom instead of a studio. So is it better to buy it straight from the DVC or from resale which is cheaper. My UY is March and right now on resale the only 60points available is with a Feb UY for BLT. So will I have difficulty when I call MS to book a room? Is it worth it to buy resale?

I have points at boardwalk which i bought from disney direct and other contracts bought resale.
member services do not treat you any differently whether it is resale points or direct points you are using

 

[sweetdana]

If you found the same YU resale it will save you a little money. And for a small contract like 60 points, it would be a lot of trouble to find same UY, might have points even borrowed from it, and you pay closing costs it is not a ton of diff.

Look once at resale, but dont regret going direct if itis not available.

 

[CarolMN]

So, I currently have 160 points in BLT which I bought thru the DVC , but now we realized we would like to have about 60 more points that way we could get a 1 bedrooom instead of a studio. So is it better to buy it straight from the DVC or from resale which is cheaper. My UY is March and right now on resale the only 60points available is with a Feb UY for BLT. So will I have difficulty when I call MS to book a room? Is it worth it to buy resale?

If you buy a different use year, you will have two different member numbers. It will take a little extra effort to manage, but many here do so successfully. You will have different banking deadlines and you cannot combine points from the two contracts for a single night. You would have to book some nights from your 160 point contract and the rest from your add on. To combine points, you would have to transfer points from one contract to the other. You are allowed to do this once per use year. Again, it takes extra effort to manage, but once you learn all the rules, it's just a matter of paying attention, keeping track and knowing when to challenge MS if something wasn't done correctly.

Resale BLT points are not always cheaper. Be sure to factor in closing costs. You pay those for resale, but not for an add on directly from Disney.

Make sure you understand exactly what points you will get with the add on. Are there banked points, reservation points, points in holding? Is the contract stripped? Also, be sure you understand who is paying dues for the remainder of 2010 & 2011. You don't want to pay if you aren't getting usable points for those years. Annual dues are negotiable in a resale contract.

Way more than you asked for, so feel free to ignore anything you already knew.

Good luck!

 

[btrim]

I agree with everyone posted above. Also, we have a March Use Year and they are hard to find. I find it amazing that you don't see that many on the resale markets that I visit. Also the small contract will be hard to find. Because the price probably would be close since BLT doesn't have that many resales right now, probably going through Disney would be faster and easier and approximately the same price.

 

[Garthilk]

IfResale BLT points are not always cheaper. Be sure to factor in closing costs. You pay those for resale, but not for an add on directly from Disney.

This is not completely true. As a buyer you can ask the seller to pay closing costs in many cases.

As a side note. Trust me, while there might not be any BLT March on the secondary market, there will be. Just bide your time.

 

[Sandisw]

We owned contracts with two different UY's for a short time. 130 points at BLT and 50 points at VWL.

We realized, after buying, that neither one was big enough to book all the nights of our vacation at the 11 month window without having to borrow, which we really didn't want to do. For example, 50 points was for 1 night in a 1 bedroom, but not enough for 2.

Our 130 points was enough 3 nights in a 1 bedroom, but not enough for 4. That meant we could only book 4 of our 5 nights at the 11 month window.

So we sold VWL and re-bought direct through Disney. We now have all in the same UY and I am happy with this.

So, if you do look at a new UY, because it is a new membership, you want to be sure you can book whole nights with each contract the way you want. As PP mentioned, you can transfer between the two but having the same UY for booking whole stays is a bit easier, IMO.

And, for the smaller contracts, the price difference may not be huge.

 

[CarolMN]

This is not completely true. As a buyer you can ask the seller to pay closing costs in many cases. .....(snip).....

Thanks for the clarification.

Most everything on a resale is negotiable. My point was that Disney does not charge the buyer closing costs for an add on. Nothing to negotiate.

If time is an issue, than Disney is the way to go, especially for BLT.

IMO, a 60 point BLT resale with a specific use year will be tough to find. But you never know.

Only the OP knows how important getting the extra 60 BLT points quickly is to his family. You and I might be OK with waiting, but he may not.

 

[DSanJose]

Thanks for all the info. If I add on thru DVC, who do I contact MS or the original guide we used?

 

[bobbiwoz]

Thanks for all the info. If I add on thru DVC, who do I contact MS or the original guide we used?

We contacted the original guide. Unless that person is gone, or you specifically ask for a different one, your original guide is the person you buy through.

 

[DSanJose]

Ok, thanks. We might just go that route. I wonder how much a point the guide will charge us??

 

[cvjw]

We also have a March use year, and I second the pp that March use years are hard to find - especially small contracts. For that few amount of points, I would buy direct from Disney. Who knows how long you would have to wait for the same contract to become available thru resale.

 

[JimMIA]

I think your decision will probably turn on how much of a hurry you are in.

If you buy resale, you'll probably pay about $100, possibly a little more with a small contract. Larger BLT's are going in the low $90's, but not 60-point contracts. Also, you will have difficulty finding a contract the size you want with the UY you want.

On the other hand, if you are patient, you should save about $20 per point or so. With a 60-point contract, you'll probably save at least $1,000 even if you pay the closing costs.

The good thing about buying direct in your particular case is that you will be able to get exactly what you want and get it quickly. If timing is important to you, that may outweigh the resale savings.

The other consideration is whether you really want your add-on to be BLT. If another resort with the March UY would work for you, resale would offer substantial savings -- especially if you buy SSR or OKW for $40 per point less!

 

[Friendofpluto]

The webinars are coming up this month so they may have some new BLT incentives. I would wait a few more weeks to see what they are offering then.

 

[nolabr]

I just went to a DVC presentation this week and asked the disney agent why should I buy with him vs resale. He mentioned a few things that I have never heard about. He said that often times you get to closing and find that the resale is not up-to-date on maintenance fees and as the buyer you are responsible for the fees. Then he said that if you buy resale, you will not be able to do RCI exchanges or use the concierge collection. Supposedly this is "unofficial" currently but he says the change is coming. Has anyone heard of this or is the guy just lying so I buy through Disney?

 

[CarolMN]

I just went to a DVC presentation this week and asked the disney agent why should I buy with him vs resale. He mentioned a few things that I have never heard about. He said that often times you get to closing and find that the resale is not up-to-date on maintenance fees and as the buyer you are responsible for the fees.

By the time closing rolls around, you should know exactly what is in the contract and what you are and will be paying for. The contract will be the same as the one you signed/agreed to - there should not be surprises. I suppose it could happen, but you could walk away if it did. I would just dismiss this bit of "information".

Then he said that if you buy resale, you will not be able to do RCI exchanges or use the concierge collection. Supposedly this is "unofficial" currently but he says the change is coming. Has anyone heard of this or is the guy just lying so I buy through Disney?

There have been some rumors to this effect lately. It is possible that DVC will make this change. However, most here think that those who purchased resale before the "change in policy" (assuming there is one), will be grandfathered, and only those who close after the change will be impacted.

That said, the best value of a DVC point is using it to stay at a DVC resort. Buying points to use for the Concierge, Adventurer's and Disney Collection options is not recommended. You'll end up paying more for something than you would if you just booked one of those options directly for cash.

IMO, exchanging through RCI pretty much falls into the same category - you can buy a less expensive timeshare than DVC if you want to trade. Some here prefer to trade via II and DVC has a contract with RCI now.

My advice is to buy just the number of points you will use for DVC resorts. That's the best deal.

Again, IMO, the rumored changes really aren't much of a reason to buy direct if you can get what you want via resale.

Here's a thread with the discussion on the rumors:

Scared to death by the restrictions on resale pts thread

 

[djm195]

We contacted the original guide. Unless that person is gone, or you specifically ask for a different one, your original guide is the person you buy through.

We were contemplating buying resale (with a different use year) but decided to call our original guide before taking the plunge. Kelly Jo Williams got us exactly what we wanted at the same price as resale. Closing was a breeze--she did everything.

So, if your original guide is gone...ask for Kelly Jo...she'll take good care of you. (Mods...can I say that? )

 

[CarolMN]

W

So, if your original guide is gone...ask for Kelly Jo...she'll take good care of you. (Mods...can I say that? )

Yes. (But please do not post guides' email addresses or individual telephone numbers).

 

[JimMIA]

I just went to a DVC presentation this week and asked the disney agent why should I buy with him vs resale. He mentioned a few things that I have never heard about. He said that often times you get to closing and find that the resale is not up-to-date on maintenance fees and as the buyer you are responsible for the fees.

Whenever you talk to a timeshare salesman, it's important to know how the system works, because they tend to twist things around a bit. The only situation where there could be a discrepancy at closing would be if DVC themselves messed up the paperwork in their communications with the closing agent. That is probably theoretically possible, but I've never heard of it happening on a resale.

It did, however, happen to us on a DIRECT purchase, but was easily corrected.

Then he said that if you buy resale, you will not be able to do RCI exchanges or use the concierge collection. Supposedly this is "unofficial" currently but he says the change is coming. Has anyone heard of this or is the guy just lying so I buy through Disney?

Well, first of all, he is lying. He's just fanning speculation because he will tell you anything he has to tell you to get you to buy.

But again, you have to know what you are buying. Whether you buy directly from a DVC timeshare salesman or resale, you are really only guaranteed two thing -- 1) you can use your points at your home resort subject to avaiability, and 2) as long as DVC permits points usage at non-home resorts, you will enjoy at least a one-month booking advantage over non-owners at your home resort.

That's it. DVC can change anything else with the stroke of a pen, and they have made numerous significant changes in the five years we've owned. None of those changes have been designed to differentiate between resale and direct, though. They've all been designed to either reduce costs or make life easier for DVC.