60 points at SSR: Direct or resale?

[ClaireinTN]

This is starting to seem crazily like a good idea . . . I am wondering, if I did purchase 60 points at SSR, would it make more sense to buy from Disney at $110 per point or resale at something like $68 per point. I understand closing costs will be less buying direct from Disney, but lower enough to offset the big difference in purchase price? And I am purchasing the points with the plan to use them at WDW, so don't need the other options that would come from buying direct.

 

[zavandor]

For a 65 points contract at SSR I paid 400$ for closing costs with Fidelity last May. I specified the month because back in May I saw on the Timeshare Store lower prices for closing smaller contracts, while now are significantly more, so maybe something changed also with Fidelity.
If you want to be sure you can contact the broker, but the difference for 60 points between direct vs resale can be up to 50-60$ per point (I paid 55, but not all current UY points where in the contract: 41/65), it means 3000$-3600$ total. With such a difference on SSR resale contracts and such availability of contracts on the resale market, to me it makes sense to buy resale (in fact, I did).
For some resorts this may not be true. For example VGC resale contracts the cost per point difference is much lower and are more difficult to find with the right UY and size, so direct can make sense, given also the higher closing costs per point on smaller contracts.

 

[DizBub]

For price per point resale is the way to go. But finding such small contract, especially with a specific UY might be difficult. Sometimes it does make sense to buy direct. If you aren't in a hurry, call a broker and tell them what you are looking for. It can be done if you are willing to wait for what you want to become available. Good Luck!!

 

[DougEMG]

Buying resale you migt get a contract for $60-65 per point and closing costs are going to add another $7 per point, while Disney is $110? That is at least a $35-40 per point difference. So you are trading time (resale) for money (direct).

One good reason that would make going direct make sense is if you wanted to go on a vacation within the next 2-3 months. With direct you would have the points in time and be able to use them, with reslae you would not have the points in time and have to pay cash.

I've bought all my points resale and once you have an accepted offer it will be anywhere from 2-3 months before your points become available.

 

[Sandisw]

The savings in closing costs won't close the gap enough to make it comparable in terms of cost.

But, IMO, there is more to things than just the cost. Small contracts are hard to find. If you have a specific UY you want, because you do have consistent travel patterns, that makes it even harder.

If you have a Disney Visa, you would get 1% back and maybe more with the new Premier one...but, you'd get 6 months, 0% interest to pay it off..

And, you'd get your points to cover a trip right away, which could be a good benefit.

I figure it would cost about $2000 more to go through Disney--but, over the life of the contract, that isn't really that much...and, one has to weigh the benefits to get exactly what you want over the chance of having to either buy more points, get a less than ideal UY, etc. Sometimes, the extra cost is worth it.

Good luck!

 

[drusba]

You can't buy 60 points from Disney directly. Minimum SSR purchase for a new purchaser through Disney is currently 100 points. The only place to find a contract with lower number of points is resale.

 

[Missyrose]

You can't buy 60 points from Disney directly. Minimum SSR purchase for a new purchaser through Disney is currently 100 points. The only place to find a contract with lower number of points is resale.

There have been lots of people posting in the past few months that Disney has told them the minimum to buy in ( even as a new member) is now 50 points.

 

[ELMC]

The savings in closing costs won't close the gap enough to make it comparable in terms of cost.

But, IMO, there is more to things than just the cost. Small contracts are hard to find. If you have a specific UY you want, because you do have consistent travel patterns, that makes it even harder.

If you have a Disney Visa, you would get 1% back and maybe more with the new Premier one...but, you'd get 6 months, 0% interest to pay it off..

And, you'd get your points to cover a trip right away, which could be a good benefit.

I figure it would cost about $2000 more to go through Disney--but, over the life of the contract, that isn't really that much...and, one has to weigh the benefits to get exactly what you want over the chance of having to either buy more points, get a less than ideal UY, etc. Sometimes, the extra cost is worth it.

Good luck!

I agree and disagree. After reading many of your well thought out posts about direct I am really beginning to appreciate the value of the benefits of DVC (and direct purchases). Being a math kind of guy, I typically look at it from a straight numbers standpoint. But you're starting to get me to see it from other perspectives, so thanks for that.

That being said, I think there are a lot of valid reasons to justify a direct purchase (need for a specific resort/UY, not wanting to go through the resale process, applying money from an upcoming vacation, etc.). One of the justifications I can't get on board with is the "$2,000 isn't that much over the life of the contract". Here's why. It's not actually $2,000 over the life of the contract, it's $2,000 right now in today's dollars. From a cash flow perspective that is significant.

Plus, if you wanted to look at the long term value of that $2,000, you would have to consider the long term value of the next best use of that money. Let's say that use would be investing it in a low risk fund with an annual return of 4%. Over the life of the contract (42 years) the value of that $2,000 spent now would be $10,385. And that's being conservative. If you used a 7% ROR the future value of that $2,000 is $34,288.

So while I agree with a lot of what you say, I still believe that cash flow is king and amortizing the extra money spent now over the life of the contract is a viable reason to buy direct. But I do agree that it is a very comforting way to look at it, so I can see why you have that perspective.

 

[Donald & Daisy Duck]

We just purchased a 50 pt contract thru Disney direct as new owners and while it did cost us more, it was worth it to us. We were able to get the home resort we wanted BWV and the use year we desired - June. Yes, we paid alot more per point than resale, but the closing costs were about $400 less...not that the amount closed the gap really. Small contracts with the exact amount of points we wanted were difficult to find and get. Rachel at Fidelity was very good at keeping us in the loop as to what was available...I would suggest you call her and tell her what you need.

In the end, it was worth the extra $$ to us to not have to watch and wait. And of course now we are making plans for our next WDW vacation already!!

Best of luck to you!!

 

[Sandisw]

I agree and disagree. After reading many of your well thought out posts about direct I am really beginning to appreciate the value of the benefits of DVC (and direct purchases). Being a math kind of guy, I typically look at it from a straight numbers standpoint. But you're starting to get me to see it from other perspectives, so thanks for that.

That being said, I think there are a lot of valid reasons to justify a direct purchase (need for a specific resort/UY, not wanting to go through the resale process, applying money from an upcoming vacation, etc.). One of the justifications I can't get on board with is the "$2,000 isn't that much over the life of the contract". Here's why. It's not actually $2,000 over the life of the contract, it's $2,000 right now in today's dollars. From a cash flow perspective that is significant.

Plus, if you wanted to look at the long term value of that $2,000, you would have to consider the long term value of the next best use of that money. Let's say that use would be investing it in a low risk fund with an annual return of 4%. Over the life of the contract (42 years) the value of that $2,000 spent now would be $10,385. And that's being conservative. If you used a 7% ROR the future value of that $2,000 is $34,288.

So while I agree with a lot of what you say, I still believe that cash flow is king and amortizing the extra money spent now over the life of the contract is a viable reason to buy direct. But I do agree that it is a very comforting way to look at it, so I can see why you have that perspective.

My DH would say that would be my "relentless" side!!!!

From a strictly financial standpoint, it is certainly hard to make a case for buying direct.

When we first bought, though, we bought a 50 point resale at VWL, thinking it would be our 2nd choice resort with the intent of adding on at BLT down the road. It was a way to get our feet wet and at the time, rumor was direct buy was going to 200 points.

Well, within a week of closing, I ended up adding on at BLT. I spent an extra $5000 buying BLT over what I could have gotten SSR for at that time. But, in the end, I decided that spending $18,000 on something I knew I would love made more sense than spending $13,000 on something I didn't even know I would like. Matter of fact, within two months, I put VWL up for sale for a loss and re-bought those points for more at BLT...

To be fair, though, I am also someone who has a vacation budget and that money is spent for fun...if I hadn't spent it on DVC, then it would have been spent on other trips and not invested so for me personally, I don't look at the time value of money as its just not important to my own situation.

What is great about these boards and everyone's situation is we have the power to share our own thoughts with others so they can evaluate their own situation and decide what makes sense for them.

Believe me, there are times when I wish the financials outweighed the other factors-so does DH!!! But, when it was all said and done, the decisions we made worked best for us and we are very happy to have spent more in order to have exactly what we want!!!

 

[Missyrose]

This is my two cents, take it for what it's worth. I think the main reason to buy direct will often come from needing to book a vacation and not finding/closing a resale contract in time to do so.

For a small contract such as this, if the OP doesn't have a vacation they would like to plan any time soon, then I would give the resale market a shot. Especially when it comes to SSR, there are LOTS of contracts from that resort on the market and lots more come onto the market every week. If at some point OP decides they want to plan a trip and the 11-month or 7-month mark is less than three months out, they should go ahead and buy direct. But why not give resale a shot first to see if you could save that extra couple of thousand dollars (that will pay for several years' worth of MFs).

Just an idea to throw out there.

 

[ELMC]

To be fair, though, I am also someone who has a vacation budget and that money is spent for fun...if I hadn't spent it on DVC, then it would have been spent on other trips and not invested so for me personally, I don't look at the time value of money as its just not important to my own situation.

!

I think I could benefit from hanging out with you. I don't see things from the same perspective, but I definitely see the fun in doing so. Truth be told, though, I think I'm halfway there. I also bought BLT instead of the much less expensive SSR because this was my vacation money and I wanted to be guaranteed the ability to book the resort I wanted at 11 months out. Like you said...money well spent.

 

[ELMC]

We just purchased a 50 pt contract thru Disney direct as new owners and while it did cost us more, it was worth it to us. We were able to get the home resort we wanted BWV and the use year we desired - June. Yes, we paid alot more per point than resale, but the closing costs were about $400 less...not that the amount closed the gap really. Small contracts with the exact amount of points we wanted were difficult to find and get. Rachel at Fidelity was very good at keeping us in the loop as to what was available...I would suggest you call her and tell her what you need.

In the end, it was worth the extra $$ to us to not have to watch and wait. And of course now we are making plans for our next WDW vacation already!!

Best of luck to you!!

Congrats on your purchase! I think that saving $400 on closing costs does actually close the gap quite a bit. When it comes to buying 50 point contracts, direct is quite often the best way to go. Between premium pricing, high demand, lack of availability, poor amortization of closing costs among a small amount of points, etc. there are plenty of reasons to go direct for a small purchase. Have fun planning your vacation!

 

[Upon a Star]

When buying direct, will Disney pay or waive the current years MF's?

 

[DizBub]

When buying direct, will Disney pay or waive the current years MF's?

No such luck. They prorate them.

 

[Sandisw]

When buying direct, will Disney pay or waive the current years MF's?

When buying at a resort already open, you pay from the day you give the deposit. Since MF's are by calendar year it is about ownership of the points. So if you bought today, Disney would charge you from now until the end of the year. If you bought on December 1st, then you'd pay just for December. M

If the resort is not yet open, then they don't start until it does.

 

[zavandor]

If you buy a contract in November with a UY of December, do you pay only MF for two months but you get all current and next year points? It looks like a good deal.

 

[Sandisw]

If you buy a contract in November with a UY of December, do you pay only MF for two months but you get all current and next year points? It looks like a good deal.

Yes, you do. So, technically, in terms of MF's and buying direct, the farther through the year you are, the less you will pay for that first year.

 

[Cheltenham]

And if you buy contract in November with a December UY will Disney still let you bank those points?

 

[Sandisw]

And if you buy contract in November with a December UY will Disney still let you bank those points?

Yes, that is what they have allowed new buyers to do.