Newbies humble and honest opinion???

[daboyz5177]

So I'm a newbie to DVC, but you have to start somewhere...right?
I've been doing a little bit of homework.
1. I think my family will rent points first to get a feel for DVC properties..
2. Most likely would buy resale...
3. Our typical vacations would consist of yearly visits for about 7 days...
4. Would like something that we could have at least 4 adults and 3 kids on occasion, but typically 2 adults and 1 child 5+

What is the amount of points I should look for?
Your thoughts?

 

[rcchello]

The number of points you will need depends on a bunch of factors:
1) What sized units will you be staying in? Some people use studios until they hit occupancy limit. Others use a two bedroom if they have a child with them.
2) How frequently will you be coming as a large group? Every other year or every third year you could calculate a number of carryover points to do it. Or you could buy enough points for the larger group and rent out the extra points when it's only the smaller group.
3) When it is 4 adults and 3 children, do you want share a Grand Villa or Treehouse Villa or use two rooms? Do you want to minimize points by using two studios? Or do you want to do something in between?
4)Which resort do you want to stay at? Each one requires a different number of points and not all have the same room configurations.

There are probably more factors, but this is a start.

 

[Dean]

As noted it varies a little with studio vs 1 BR, home resort, time of year and the % of time it'll be the large group. Assuming magic season, no specialty views (like AKV value or BWV standard), half and half smaller vs larger group, here's a rough ideal. For a studio for the smaller group you're looking at roughly 250 for those assumptions and for a 1 BR instead, maybe 300. In this situation I'd likely decide the ideal but look for a loaded contract in the 150-225 range that was loaded. Also consider the restrictions and possibly adding 25 points retail. You can always add on more later even a second home resort.

 

[disneynutz]

Depends on how much you have to spend. IMO having more points than needed for a vacation is easier to deal with than not having enough. When new to DVC people tend to take extra vacations and after a few stays you will know if a studio works or if a 1 bedroom is a better fit. You can also plan on x amount of points at resort x and y amount of points at resort y. We own several resorts VGF and VWL we use for our MK stays and BWV for our Epcot/DHS stays. Our other resorts we mix in once in a while and rent out what we don't use.

Bill

 

[zavandor]

To get an idea of how many points to buy, you can use the point calculator on David's rental website:
https://www.dvcrequest.com/cost-calculator.asp

Select the period, then click on "Switch to Point Amount". You can have an idea about the difference between different periods, resorts and room size.

 

[Aliceacc]

We don't have DVC-- I wish we had done this before we had kids. But out oldest starts college in 7 days, so the money simply isn't there.

But I think I would reconsider renting points first. If this is something you're pretty confident you want to do, then I would dive in. Why spend money renting if that money could be put towards your points? As I understand it, those points don't have to be spent on your home resort. So give your "home resort" your best shot, and dive in.

Is it possible to have more than one "home resort" if you buy points at a few different ones? If so, then that might be a good approach for you.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

But I think I would reconsider renting points first.

Renting first is ABSOLUTELY the right thing to do. Staying in a studio villa is very different than staying in a hotel room, and it's not to everyone's preferences. I have seen people investigating DVC who will only buy if they can get Club Level at AKV every time, because that amenity is critical, for instance.

Is it possible to have more than one "home resort" if you buy points at a few different ones?

Yes, but you would be booking split stays each time because you can only use points at the purchased resort at 11 months, and can only combine them at 7 months. If you're okay mostly staying at AKV or Saratoga, that's fine, but not everyone enjoys split stays.

 

[crisi]

I'd also recommend you think long term. One child five plus will VERY SHORTLY be one child 15+. My son turns 18 in two weeks - he was three when we bought. He doesn't like Disney anymore and will be staying home this next trip.

So you need to think in terms of if you want him/her in the same room with you - if you want him/her on the sofa bed, or will you want another bedroom. Will you get to the point where you are bringing a friend for him (since my son isn't going, my nearly seventeen year old daughter will be taking a friend). And also think in terms of the expenses of having kids that age - college tuition. You may wish you had some of the money you sunk into vacationing when the FAFSA comes back.

Also think carefully about this other family you are planning around. Buying and paying dues for someone else can be a huge commitment - not just for you, but if they need airfare and park tickets and food at Disney prices - they might not be up for the vacations you are envisioning. From experience, working around my own families schedule is difficult - between sports and school and drama and jobs - working around the schedules of others adds complexity. In fifteen years, we may finally be taking the first trip where we invited guests a year before the trip - they said yes - and exactly those people will be going for the time period where we made our original plans.

 

[daboyz5177]

Depends on how much you have to spend. IMO having more points than needed for a vacation is easier to deal with than not having enough. When new to DVC people tend to take extra vacations and after a few stays you will know if a studio works or if a 1 bedroom is a better fit. You can also plan on x amount of points at resort x and y amount of points at resort y. We own several resorts VGF and VWL we use for our MK stays and BWV for our Epcot/DHS stays. Our other resorts we mix in once in a while and rent out what we don't use.

Bill

So I understand that if we do buy and we rent out our points on occasion, is there profit to be made on that or most people just breaking even with paying dues, etc.... I just ask because I see a lot of DVC members have multiple units....

 

[disneynutz]

So I understand that if we do buy and we rent out our points on occasion, is there profit to be made on that or most people just breaking even with paying dues, etc.... I just ask because I see a lot of DVC members have multiple units....

Depends on the numbers, if you bought a few years ago your cost was lower than today. Brokers are renting at up to $16 per point.

Bill

 

[chalee94]

So I understand that if we do buy and we rent out our points on occasion, is there profit to be made on that or most people just breaking even with paying dues, etc.... I just ask because I see a lot of DVC members have multiple units....

I would not recommend buying more points than you need. You can typically rent and make a small profit if you need to, but Disney can take some steps to discourage it (and you also may wind up competing with owners who bought in at half the price you paid. )

But I tend to be more conservative, so I would think in terms of what you need for 2 adults and 1 child before buying to support larger groups - too many problematic stories of extended family and friends bailing out at the last minute...

 

[Dean]

So I understand that if we do buy and we rent out our points on occasion, is there profit to be made on that or most people just breaking even with paying dues, etc.... I just ask because I see a lot of DVC members have multiple units....

IMO I would buy extra up to around 150 if looking at needing a smaller amount and less in the situation you're in. You'll have a lot more options, flexibility and protections if you don't go too large. Maybe you find it's not that great for you, or you prefer a different home resort than you thought or you're trips don't remain the volume you're thinking. In this situation I would not go all the way to 300 initially.

 

[Perelandra]

So I'm a newbie to DVC, but you have to start somewhere...right?
I've been doing a little bit of homework.
1. I think my family will rent points first to get a feel for DVC properties..
2. Most likely would buy resale...
3. Our typical vacations would consist of yearly visits for about 7 days...
4. Would like something that we could have at least 4 adults and 3 kids on occasion, but typically 2 adults and 1 child 5+

What is the amount of points I should look for?
Your thoughts?

I would go to dvcresalemarket.com and click on the 2017 points chart click on the resorts you would be interested in and times of year you would like to travel. That should help you decide