Add on direct (AKL)

[plexi15]

Hi guys,

Long term reader, but this is my first post.

We recently purchased at VGF during our last trip and are extremely happy we did (already have a couple of trips booked that was going to cost us £8k.

My question is, we are thinking about adding on in 18 months time, and we would like this to be at our favourite resort akl. How easy would this be direct and what are the chances of getting the same use year?

Have a few more questions but I'll hold fire for now.

Thanks guys, appreciate the help.

Plexi

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

Hi guys, Long term reader, but this is my first post. We recently purchased at VGF during our last trip and are extremely happy we did (already have a couple of trips booked that was going to cost us £8k. My question is, we are thinking about adding on in 18 months time, and we would like this to be at our favourite resort akl. How easy would this be direct and what are the chances of getting the same use year? Have a few more questions but I'll hold fire for now. Thanks guys, appreciate the help. Plexi

So also just bought into VGF! And are now looking for AKL on the resale..

But I did just called my sale agent last night, to ask about direct.
Right now VERY easy.. They have surplus of points in various UY..
I could have added on last night no waiting list!

Not sure on 18 mo. from now.. And depends on how many points you want

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

O and the price was $143 USD per point for current members.. Not sure if this a sale or something, but that's what I was told..

 

[plexi15]

O and the price was $143 USD per point for current members.. Not sure if this a sale or something, but that's what I was told..

Thanks for that information, that is very pleasing to know, and a decent price for direct. also ironic we are in the same position

I might give my guide a call and see.

Thanks again

 

[erionm]

O and the price was $143 USD per point for current members.. Not sure if this a sale or something, but that's what I was told..

Base price for AKV direct is currently $155/point, less any available incentives.

DVCNews.com does not show any current incentives for AKV, but that doesn't mean they aren't available.

http://dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-program/financial/pricing-a-promotions

 

[zumbergc]

The resale market over at timeshare store has listing in the 70's and $80 per point price range.


You can save significantly going resale.
If you want things under one membership to keep things easy.
Names on the deed need to be the same spelling, and same address.
Along you need to buy the same use year.

 

[plexi15]

The resale market over at timeshare store has listing in the 70's and $80 per point price range. You can save significantly going resale. If you want things under one membership to keep things easy. Names on the deed need to be the same spelling, and same address. Along you need to buy the same use year.

Thanks for that zumbergc, that is interesting to note the price difference.

What draws me to direct is that is seems a simpler process and much more efficient, yes there is a dramatic price difference which adds up over 200 or so points but buying direct seems a lot less hassle.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

Thanks for that zumbergc, that is interesting to note the price difference. What draws me to direct is that is seems a simpler process and much more efficient, yes there is a dramatic price difference which adds up over 200 or so points but buying direct seems a lot less hassle.

I will be blunt.. It is easier!
However the saving on resale can be to good to miss..

I'm not sure what you UY was, but if you see your UY on the resale, with the amount of points you want.. I would go resale..
If you not an any hurry... Maybe watch resale.. If something pops up.. Grab it... If not you can always go direct..

Ps. Check with your guide about the $143.. I'm pretty sure it b/c there is some deal going on right now.. I didn't ask when it ends..

 

[disneynutz]

Thanks for that zumbergc, that is interesting to note the price difference.

What draws me to direct is that is seems a simpler process and much more efficient, yes there is a dramatic price difference which adds up over 200 or so points but buying direct seems a lot less hassle.

It can be less hassle but you should know that IMO Disney has created most of the hassle to drive people to direct sales. They require ROFR and they make you wait 30 days on average to clear the contract, they also make you wait to set up your member account and wait to send you your website access and wait to send you your member ID. Total time from offer to reservation can be as long as 75 days.

Buying direct is faster but it comes at a premium price and only the buyer can decide if the higher price makes sense in their situation.

My goal is to even the playing field so at least the small percentage of buyers who visit the DIS get the total picture, the good and the bad, the pluses and minuses of DVC ownership. Disney spends millions of dollars to get their buy direct message out, we spend nothing.

Bill

 

[Msmithmd]

Thanks for that zumbergc, that is interesting to note the price difference. What draws me to direct is that is seems a simpler process and much more efficient, yes there is a dramatic price difference which adds up over 200 or so points but buying direct seems a lot less hassle.

Accepting a current direct price of $143, and a conservative resale listing price of $80, you are talking a $12,600 difference on a 200 point contract.

Resale takes longer, and removes some cost-inefficient point uses.

But there sure aren't a lot of people out there who find saving $12,600, to buy materially the exact same product, to be "too much hassle."

There are artificial delays that DVC has thrown into the resale process. But the actual total time expenditure for the buyer can easily be under a couple hours, if you're not worried about getting a rock-bottom resale price and just offer full asking (on whatever resale fits your UY and point total needs).

I don't know about you, but I'd be pretty content getting paid $6000 an hour for a couple hours of easy and enjoyable work.

 

[ELMC]

Thanks for that zumbergc, that is interesting to note the price difference.

What draws me to direct is that is seems a simpler process and much more efficient, yes there is a dramatic price difference which adds up over 200 or so points but buying direct seems a lot less hassle.

You are correct, it is much simpler and efficient. The question is, how much are you willing to pay for convenience? I love pineapple, but I hate cutting up pineapple. It's a huge pain in the neck. So I am more than willing to pay $10 for a container of cut up pineapple even though I could just buy a whole pineapple for $6. For me, the $4 is worth the convenience. In your case, the convenience fee is between ten and fifteen thousand dollars. So unless there are other reasons why you would consider buying direct, you're basically saying that you're willing to pay ten to fifteen thousand dollars not to have to wait two months. That's a personal decision and nobody can make that for you. All I can say is that I am not willing to pay that much for convenience.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Kidanifan08]

If you buy 200 points direct, your at $30,000+. So if you buy in 18 months, you will have to put away about $1700/mo to save enough for AKV. If you buy a 200 point resale, you will have to save about $850/mo for that same AKV contract. Of course, by the end of the resale process, it will have taken about 20 months.

AKV resales are virtually never taken back by ROFR, so once you get someone to accept your bid, you are 99.9999% assured that you will have those points. Now, that may change if AKV sells out this year, since the only way DVC will be able to sell add-ons direct is to buy back points via ROFR.

We love AKV/Kidani and own all of our DVC points at AKV. With that said, keep in mind that about the only reason to own at AKV is to have access to the value and concierge rooms at the 11 month window. If you see yourself always staying in a savanna view room, you can generally get those year-round at 7 months without owning at AKV. Just something to think about in case you would want to consider a resort that has more difficult times of the year to secure a reservation at the 7 month mark, like BWV or BCV during F&W or VWL during the holidays. Those resorts are a little cheaper than AKV if you purchase direct, but a little higher on the resale market.

 

[DizBub]

Depending on the amount of points you want to add-on it sometimes makes sense to buy direct. Small contracts between 25 and 75 points may be a challenge to find in your Use Year for instance.

I would never pay direct price for a 100 point or larger contract at AKV. There are so many resale contracts available with all Use Years for literally half the price of direct. The incredible savings make the longer buying process worth it, especially if you do want a larger contract. Twice the points for the same money.

Ultimately it's your money and your decision. Good luck.

 

[ELMC]

Now, that may change if AKV sells out this year, since the only way DVC will be able to sell add-ons direct is to buy back points via ROFR.

Don't forget foreclosures. Historically, AKV has had a pretty high foreclosure rate.

 

[Kidanifan08]

Don't forget foreclosures. Historically, AKV has had a pretty high foreclosure rate.

Good point. I would think that foreclosures would be trailing off a little from a few years ago, but are probably still a reasonable source for DVC to resell.

 

[plexi15]

Thank you all so much for all the advice, I will consider everything, but we have sort of drifted from my original question,

I will look into other resorts though as that's a good shout!!


One of the other draws to buying direct for us is financing it over 10 years, which means no lump sum, and small manageable payments, which although we have the money practically there, we still prefer the financing route

Thanks all

 

[Kidanifan08]

Hi guys,

Long term reader, but this is my first post.

We recently purchased at VGF during our last trip and are extremely happy we did (already have a couple of trips booked that was going to cost us £8k.

My question is, we are thinking about adding on in 18 months time, and we would like this to be at our favourite resort akl. How easy would this be direct and what are the chances of getting the same use year?

Have a few more questions but I'll hold fire for now.

Thanks guys, appreciate the help.

Plexi

Thank you all so much for all the advice, I will consider everything, but we have sort of drifted from my original question,

I will look into other resorts though as that's a good shout!!


One of the other draws to buying direct for us is financing it over 10 years, which means no lump sum, and small manageable payments, which although we have the money practically there, we still prefer the financing route

Thanks all

Regarding the ease of buying direct, it would be very easy. You can just contact your guide and tell them how many points you want and it should be a done deal. As far as the UY goes, they should be able to match your current UY. In fact, I think if you buy direct, you have to get the same UY as your other contracts, although that may only apply to purchasing additional points at the same resort that you already own.

You probably already know this, but those points at two different resorts cannot be combined for a reservation at AKV or VGF at the 11 month mark. To use them together for a reservation, you would have to wait until the 7 month mark.

The financing route is certainly convenient for getting into DVC, but the rates that DVC offers are rather high. There are other ways of financing this kind of purchase that may get you a better rate. Of course, financing a DVC purchase lowers the overall "savings" of owning DVC considerably; especially when you consider the fact that you are paying double for AKV points compared to buying resale.

 

[Msmithmd]

One can also finance a resale purchase, usually at rates better than through DVC direct. Contact any major broker and they can walk you through it.

Financing of course erodes your cost savings. Financing for a full ten years, plus buying direct at any resort that you could purchase resale for half the price of direct, means that you will end up paying over triple the amount you would have paid, if you simply paid cash for the same amount of resale points.

You describe "almost having the cash to buy direct outright," but not wanting to do that. If that's the case, you have plenty to buy resale and have money left over.

The choice is always that of the purchaser. I'm simply pointing out, since you have chosen to discuss this purchase in an online discussion forum, that your proposed method of entry into DVC is economically unwise.

You can still make that choice, but paying triple for what is functionally the same product, especially for a product with a common base cost over $10,000, is not an intelligent move toward financial freedom.

Your finances are your business. I and other posters here have no vested interest- but at least for the benefit of other readers of this forum, it shocks one's conscience when someone casually discusses financing a timeshare at usurious interest rates, utilizing a purchase price that is double the market rate, and implies that that is a reasonable thing to do. It is not. No other conclusion can be made.

 

[chukdotcom]

Thank you all so much for all the advice, I will consider everything, but we have sort of drifted from my original question,

I will look into other resorts though as that's a good shout!!


One of the other draws to buying direct for us is financing it over 10 years, which means no lump sum, and small manageable payments, which although we have the money practically there, we still prefer the financing route

Thanks all

Do not finance a direct purchase. Period. If that is your only way to buy in, then don't.

 

[DizBub]

My question is, we are thinking about adding on in 18 months time, and we would like this to be at our favourite resort akl. How easy would this be direct and what are the chances of getting the same use year?

It would be extremely easy to add-on direct at AKV and you would most definitely be able to get your same Use Year.

Thank you all so much for all the advice, I will consider everything, but we have sort of drifted from my original question,

Plexi, if you are a long time reader here you should know that this particular thread/board (purchasing DVC) is a bit, shall we say, incendiary. If you come here and talk about adding on direct and financing it's like throwing red meat to lions....people have very strong opinions but it's all well intended.