A home resort booking question from someone on the fence

[FutureSailor]

I came very close to buying last year but for several reasons chose not to. Now with the new DVC in the works for AKL I am thinking again about maybe buying. One of the things that kept me from buying last year is that my family loves staying at AKL. WL, though, is a pretty close second. I am wondering whether it would make any sense to buy a small number of points at WL and then maybe more at AKL when they are available. I understand the 7 months - 11 months booking difference at a very general level but am wondering exactly how it works regarding using points from another property to book. If I had both WL and AKL points and wanted to book at one or the other how would Disney know where to let me book when?

 

[JimMIA]

Here's a link to general info about buying, which starts off with a discussion of home resort: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=778634

If you have more than one home resort, you have separate contracts and all of the point transactions are accounted for separately. So you can only use home resort points in the eleven-month window, but you can use all of the points anywhere once you get within seven months.

If you want to start off with a contract of less than 150 points, you will have to buy that resale because Disney's minimimum initial contract is 150. Once you're in, however, you can add directly from Disney with purchases as small as 25 points (50 if you need to finance).

 

[Lucky82061]

If you have 150 points at WL and a 50-point add-on at AKL, you would be able to use your 150 points 11 months out to book at WL only, and you would be able to use your 50 points to book at AKL only. Once you get within 7 - months you can use the points wherever.

 

[FutureSailor]

If you want to start off with a contract of less than 150 points, you will have to buy that resale because Disney's minimimum initial contract is 150. Once you're in, however, you can add directly from Disney with purchases as small as 25 points (50 if you need to finance).

If I bought a contract through resale now, how would that affect buying AKL from Disney later? I have read (I think) that Disney would make both a single contract, with the same use year? I also have read that once you are in Disney's system, there are no closing costs for add-ons? How much of a savings is that?

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

If I bought a contract through resale now, how would that affect buying AKL from Disney later? I have read (I think) that Disney would make both a single contract, with the same use year? I also have read that once you are in Disney's system, there are no closing costs for add-ons? How much of a savings is that?

If you purchased resale, you could buy as few as 25 points for an add on. The add on wouldn't become part of the original contract but it would be the same use year. The original would be considered the "master" contract and all that followed would have similar contract numbers. You could always sell either since they are separate.

Not sure how they are handling closing costs now for new owners looking to add on.

Good luck with your decision.

HBC

 

[CarolMN]

I'm not sure the home resort booking advantage is going to be necessary to stay at the AKL. It appears there is going to be a large number of units. So unless there is some type of separate booking category for a "special" view (like at the BWV), I don't anticpate having any trouble getting in there. IMHO, it's way to early to assume you need to buy there to stay there.

Best wishes -

 

[FutureSailor]

Thanks for the comments. The rational part of my brain agrees that waiting to find out more about AKL is the prudent course of action, but the emotional-I-want-to-go-to-Disney part just wants to buy in now! And we are planning a December 07 trip so buying in now, and using the points to stay at VWL, wouldn't be totally irrational.

 

[JimMIA]

If I bought a contract through resale now, how would that affect buying AKL from Disney later? I have read (I think) that Disney would make both a single contract, with the same use year? I also have read that once you are in Disney's system, there are no closing costs for add-ons? How much of a savings is that?

Yes, if you buy an add-on from Disney, you will have the same use year -- which is more convenient for you because you don't have to keep track of multiple banking deadlines. The two contracts would still be separate in the sense that you could sell either one independently of the other if you chose.

This is a quirky thing that only happens with resorts under construction, but the UY depends to some degree on the completion date of the building to which your ownership is assigned. They legally can't sell something that is not yet built. So it is possible that when AKV comes online, your UY might not be available for several months. In that case, you could start the purchase, but would not be able to close until the appropriate building was substantially completed.

If you buy resale, the UY is what it is, and you can't change that.

The closing cost savings would be a minimum of around $200. I'm not sure of the exact number, but there is a minimum closing cost for any resale transaction. TTS has arranged for a lower minimum closing cost, but there is still a minimum...and that minimum is more than zero.

 

[mochabean]

Thanks for the comments. The rational part of my brain agrees that waiting to find out more about AKL is the prudent course of action, but the emotional-I-want-to-go-to-Disney part just wants to buy in now! And we are planning a December 07 trip so buying in now, and using the points to stay at VWL, wouldn't be totally irrational.

One suggestion is to buy a resale VWL contract now, so that you can use those points for your Dec 07 trip, then add on at AKV later when you need more points.

This also allows you the option of not adding on at AKL if it turns out that booking there at the 7 month window is relatively easy. If that turns out to be the case and you still want more points you can even add more at WVL.

This scenario gets you into the system, allowing for addons later, and allows you to use your membership for your Dec 07 trip, while still keeping many options open.