On the verge of DVC!!! Have a question..

[disneyfan77]

about price and whether location and use year are a big deal. I posted before and wanted to thank everyone for responding! Currently, I have located several resales that we like including Beach Club and Boardwalk at $70/point and OKW at $65. Are these about right for the property and given that the only real difference is yearly dues do you think it would be better to save with OKW or spring for BCV? (Beach Club is our favorite and likely candidate for 1-2 weeks every year! But we want to experience all the different DVC resorts at least once) Thanks again for the info. Once we buy in I'll be more than happy to answer any questions for anyone.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I personally don't happen to think use year is a big deal, but WHERE is! The watchword here is buy where you want to stay most often, so I think for you, that would be BCV.

 

[disneyfan77]

Is it tough to get into BCV once you're in the 7 month window and is generally tough to get into of the newer onces at that point.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

You will also stand a better chance of being able to book at the BCV at 11 months and switching at 7 months to OKW than you would to book at OKW and trying to switch at 7 months to the BCV. The BCV is one of the smaller DVC resorts, so owning there becomes very important if you want to make sure you can stay there.

Good luck with your decision.

HBC

 

[bobbiwoz]

The only "problem" is that your BCV stays will cost more points. Somebody just posted on a thread that he books somewhere then at 7 months switches to OKW and books an extra night with the point savings! I got a kick out of that. We've only stayed at VWL at DVC, our next WDW visit is to the BCV, I got a Saturday night and Sunday night ressie at around 6 months out, for the beginning of May.

If you really like BCV, go for it, we don't want to see you second guessing or doubting your decision.

Bobbi

 

[disneyfan77]

and the cost is the second highest (at 134 per week). I would assume that BCV would be more readilly available given the high number of points and the lack of any real holiday season. However, this is the "Magic Season" and disney charges the high rate for a reason. Is the demand from DVCers high for the newer resorts during "Magic Season?"

 

[tjkraz]

I don't know that you can use backdoor logic to try and reason your way into purchasing OKW. The reality is that a LOT of things could happen to impact DVC travel patterns.

- Points could be reallocated making February a "cheaper" season (unlikely but possible).
- DVC could place additional restrictions on booking non-Home resorts (likelihood varies depending upon who you talk to but still possible).

Also realize that barring expansion, the fixed number of BCV rooms will not grow in coming years. However, overall DVC membership will continue to grow. That means more non-BCV owners potentially trying to book BCV rooms at 7 months. Even if it's not difficult NOW to book BCV on 7 months' notice in February, that situation may change in 10-20-30+ years.

Assuming that you're looking to purchase 150-200 points, is that degree of uncertainty REALLY worth about $1000 in up-front price difference???

Buy where you want to stay and you'll never (OK, rarely!) be disappointed.

 

[disneyfan77]

by purchasing under the current rules and regulations regarding use of points and reservations, wouldn't you be "grandfathered" in under the rules and regs at the time ownership began? If not Disney has the opportunity to devalue points at the older resorts by making them less desirable, ie OKW. I know the changes spoken of earlier were hypothetical but the idea makes me cringe! "Resort Ownership" doesn't look to rosey if Disney reserves the right to change the rules in the middle of the game!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Hi disneyfan77, and WELCOME to the DIS Boards!
I am not sure what rules and regs you are referring to, but if DVC changes the rules, it must be in good faith. Perhaps I am a sucker, but I trust Disney on that one.
DVC can not change total points required to stay at any DVC resort. However, they can re-allocate points (not likely, though). This means if they add points to a particular category (season, weekday, size villa, ect...), they must reduce another category by that number of points.

Good luck...

MG

 

[JohnnyII]

Disney can not change the rules so to speak, but they can re-allocate the point values from one day to another. But the total number of points must remain the same.

From what I understand, they have only done this one time several years ago at OKW. But they could decide that Friday and Saturday stays are to high and lower them by a few points and raise the other nights to compensate. It is probably unlikely, but possible. The same holds true to the seasons, they could raise and lower point totals there too as long as the total points remains balanced.


Also, I woul not count on getting a OKW resale at $65 or a BCV at $70. It is very possible at those numbers Disney will go the ROFR route.

-John

 

[jimmytammy]

You have 2 options here to weigh out. More for your money at OKW or 11 mos window at BCV. I think you would have to determine which scenario is best for you. OKW is easier to book at 7 mos. BCV is not as easy to book at 7 mos.
As for the prices both sound good but make sure your not giving too much for a contract thats points are used up or worse, all points for next use year are gone.
Good luck!

 

[tjkraz]

With DVC as the management company, there are a LOT of things they could / could not do which would adversely impact our DVC investment.

For example, if they quit exercising ROFR on resale contracts, the prices of resales, and thus the value of DVC ownership, will PROBABLY begin to decline. I say "probably" only because some people claim that supply and demand will keep prices high. That may or may not be true.

If DVC chose to practically rebuild the resorts from the ground up as 2042 approaches, they COULD do so at our expense (via maintenance costs).

They also directly impact our maintenance fees via the staffing and efficient (or inefficient) operation of the resorts.

Recently a great example of this has apparently occurred. According to reports from winter meetings, DVC has decided to enhance the pool at OKW. While DVC is paying for the pool expansion, the annual upkeep and wages of full-time lifeguards will be passed along to OKW members via higher dues. OKW owners were not asked to vote and approve this move--DVC made the decision unilaterally and each OKW owner will pay some portion of the cost over the next 38 years.

Another sore spot with current owners are the exchange rates for the other Disney resorts. They've really skyrocketed in recent years, which is no doubt disappointing to those who purchased 4-5 years ago or more.

Yet another example would be park tickets. People who bought into OKW when it first opened were given free park tickets. I don't know what sort of commitments were made regarding that specific perk, but I do know that it was eliminated in 1999.

Now this element of uncertainty is by no means exclusive to DVC in the timeshare world. But the reality is, as owners, we are often subject to the whims of the management company.

95% of the time I agree with Maistre Gracey--we are probably in very good hands with DVC as a timeshare manager. But, 40-50 years is a LONG time. Disney will be a very different company in the next 3-4 decades, as will DVC.

That's your reality check.

But remember I am still a member, as are most of the other people you see posting on these boards. With all of the inherent risks, we still took the plunge.

But, back to my point. I think you're doing yourself a disservice to try and save $1000 by purchasing at a resort which is NOT your first choice. That's my opinion, and it's shared by many others here based upon the posts I've read.

If you decide to ignore that advice, it's certainly within your right to do so.

Personally I love OKW and would be happy spending EVERY trip there. But if you would be happiest at BCV, then isn't it worth the extra money to OWN a piece of that resort? Would you rest easier knowing that you have a much better chance of reserving a room there than any of the THOUSANDS of people in the DVC program who do not own a part of BCV?

 

[JohnnyII]

Originally posted by tjkraz

If DVC chose to practically rebuild the resorts from the ground up as 2042 approaches, they COULD do so at our expense (via maintenance costs).

I believe the increase in dues is capped at 15% per year. So they probably won't be building from the ground up at our expense. But your point is well taken.

-John

 

[BWVDee]

I will echo everyone else and say: Buy where you want to stay!!!!
There is a very big difference in location, atmosphere, dining options, resort amenities, park access etc between OKW and BCV. Both are very nice resorts but both are very different.
If you prefer BCV, then buy there. BCV is the smallest DVC resort at the present time and is also a very popular DVC resort and is also one of the harder resorts to book on short notice. With the ever growing number of DVC members, BCV will most likely get even harder to book. If BCV is the resort you like the most then buy there, you will most likely have no problems trading into OKW at 7 months but the same will most likely not be true with trading into BCV.
Good luck!

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by JohnnyII
I believe the increase in dues is capped at 15% per year. So they probably won't be building from the ground up at our expense. But your point is well taken.

-John

No, they couldn't do it in a single year. But full building rehabs starting in, say, the last 5 years of the contracts wouldn't be out of the question. Even with the 15% annual cap, dues could virtually double over those last few years (cumulatively) and still stay within the cap. In fact, DVC could intentionally exceed the 15% cap, and simply absorb the excess themselves.

I agree that it's unlikely, but there is nothing in the contract to prohibit them from doing so.