A really stupid question...resales, etc.

[goofyfordisney]

Are you ready for a really stupid question?


I have been looking over the past posts trying to grasp this whole DVC thing! I'm getting a lot of great info--thanks!

I just can't quite figure out the resale process...

When I look at the resale page (the one that lists different resales at the top of the page from the Timeshare Store it lists the sale price and the month and amount of points...

Why are the prices so high for some of them? Is it because of the amount of points?

How do you base your decision on which month is a "good" month?

What is the minimum point requirement for a new DVC property?

How hard is it to add/buy more points later on if you don't buy enough?
Is there a minimum purchase for adding on points?

Like I said...really stupid questions!! I'm sure that they have been asked/answered before! I have tried doing searches...but the search feature doesn't work well lately.

I really appreciate how patient you all are when there is a "newbie" asking questions!

Thanks in advance!
Sue

 

[RickW]

Prices of resales are affected by several things:

- The number of points (Generally a 400 point resale would cost about twice as much as a 200 point resale.)
- The number of points that have been banked or borrowed (If a person has borrowed and used all of their points for next year, for example, it would be worth less than a resale with all of those points still available.)
- The free market (People can ask any price they want, and you can offer pretty much any price you want)

The month, or "Use Year" doesn't really matter that much, it is when you get your new allotment of points. The only time it really matters is if you have to cancel. The short answer is that if you usually travel in May, for example, a Feb or March use year may be best for you, while a June use year would not be the ideal for you.

The minimum new purchase is 150 points.

Adding on is easy as long as:
1. The resort you want to buy is not sold out.
2. You have the money

I believe the minimum add on is:
25 points for a resort you already own at or
50 points for a different resort

Also, make sure you check out the FAQ at the top of the page.

Hope this helps.

 

[Caskbill]

The minimum new purchase is 150 points.

Adding on is easy as long as:
1. The resort you want to buy is not sold out.
2. You have the money

I believe the minimum add on is:
25 points for a resort you already own at or
50 points for a different resort

Just to clarify, the above applies when purchasing directly from Disney which is what you asked and what Rick answered. However, if you purchase resale, you can buy whatever is available on the market.

If you just wanted to buy only 25 points resale, and it were available (highly doubtful), you could do so. There is no minimum. The downside of course in resale is 1) you generally pay closing costs, averaging about $400, so on a 200 point contract that's an additional $2/point above the asking price. On a 25 point contract, that's an additional $16/point above the asking price.

and 2), Disney has right of first refusal on resales. They may purchase a 25 point contract themselves.

As Rick said, prices for resale contracts can vary for several reasons. However, much larger contracts will generally sell for a smaller price/point than medium size contracts. This is due because of the smaller market. A 1000 point contract would have fewer potential buyers at $63/point ($63,000 total) than a 100 point contract at $63/point ($6,300 total), so the larger contracts generally go for a lower price/point. Note that a contract cannot be split into smaller contracts. Whatever the original contract was when purchased from Disney, it will remain forever. This is one reason it is recommended today that if purchasing directly from Disney, if you want 400 points, then it's better to buy them as two separate 200 point contracts. (Note however, when buying resale, it's cheaper to buy the 400 point contract because the price/point will probably be less, and the closing costs will be less (1 contract instead of 2)).

Be very careful when considering the points that are banked and borrowed as they highly affect the true 'value' of the contract.

Also, while use year is most important in your vacation schedule as Rick mentioned (and this should be your primary concern), it can also affect value of a resale in one regard. Suppose you have two contracts available to choose from, neither has any 2001 points available, and both have all 2002 points available. If one has a use year of Feb and the other December, then in one case you have points available 'right now', while in the other case you have no points until December. You can equalize this by borrowing ahead, but I personally prefer not to borrow.

The point is that while each has 2002 points available in the contract, in one case these points are for use during the timeframe Feb 2002 thru Jan 2003 while in the other case they're for use from Dec 2002 thru Nov 2003. Notice that the timeframes are extremely different, yet both are considered 2002 use year.

 

[Hilary]

I believe the minimum add on is
25 points for a resort you already own at or
50 points for a different resort

I thought it was minimum 25 points for a <i>cash</i> purchase or
50 points for a <i>financed</i> purchase.

I'm not absolutely sure, but I think that's what I read.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by RickW
I believe the minimum add on is:
25 points for a resort you already own at or
50 points for a different resort

Apparently this was true a number of years ago but hasn't been for a while. It's 25 for cash and 50 finance regardless of where you own and where you're adding.

 

[RickW]

Originally posted by Dean
Apparently this was true a number of years ago but hasn't been for a while. It's 25 for cash and 50 finance regardless of where you own and where you're adding.

I wasn't sure about that one, I knew there was still a 25-50 thing, but couldn't remember what the 25-50 qualifications were currently (what I listed was true when we bought, and unfortunately, we haven't been in a position to seriously look into an add-on yet. )

As a little side note, you know how people say "Don't believe everything you read on the internet"? The nice thing about active discussion boards like this one is that the quality of the info is very good, since we all tend to clarify and correct. I am living in a state where DVC can't sell to me, so I really appreciated all of the info I got here before we bought our resale.