Adding on through DVC or Resales - Can the cost be right???(long)

[5infam]

OK - I am looking for a 100 point add on, BWV. I currently have 200 BWV points, the first 150 came through a resale purchase and the next 50 came from DVC. The first place I went looking was the resale sites. To my surprise, it looked like many resales are going for the high $70's or even into the $80's per point. Some were $80 and they had borrowed points on them!!! This was a bit of a shocker to me as I had purchased my resale 18 months ago and paid $72 per point with a full year of banked points. Since I didn't find the resale I wanted, I sent a request to the brokers to get on their waiting list. In the meantime, I figured I would call my guide and check on points. It started to make sense to me to add through DVC because last April I paid $84 per point, and if I paid close to $80 on a resale plus closing costs, it would work out to about the same price. When my guide called me back today he said they had no more BWV points (I expected that answer) but that I could give him a credit card and get on the list. He then told me that it was going to be $89 per point for BWV. I reminded him he told me the same thing last April, then quickly went to $84. He put me on hold, came back and said, sorry, we will only sell the sold out resorts at $89 per point, and the points would only come in through ROFR. He then told me that I should buy SSR. He said SSR was $95 per point, but he could sell it to me at $85, and I would get to keep all of my April 05 points. Does it make sense that they would sell the newest resort with more years left for less than an older resort? Also, what have some of you paid recently at BWV for a resale?

Now, here is the problem: I never wanted to split resorts, but it kinda makes sense to pay the $85 at SSR and get 12 extra years. I don't need a GV, I will go during busy season so the 11 months plays a factor, but I wouldn't mind switching resorts during my stay. Also, it is my goal to eventually stay at all of the DVC resorts and I would only stay at DVC every other year, while looking at trading into II every other year, or possibly even cruising. The question is, am I talking myself into the split resort thing because it is convenient and cheaper, plus I get the extra years...or am I setting myself up for future vacation disasters?!! Help!!!!

 

[simpilotswife]

If I were looking for an add-on that size I would buy SSR. I can't see spending the same amount of money for something that will expire 12 years sooner.

 

[bongo59]

this really is not a dilemma at all............i would do something you did not even mention..........i would call the timeshare store and buy an SSR resale at 75-78 a point.............with the banking and borrowing rules you'll lamost always have enough points to make most ressies and if you dont renting points is easy to do to fill in and a whole lot cheaper than adding on..........

 

[LIFERBABE]

If staying at SSR would be a vacation disaster then dont buy there. I own 4 of the 5 onsite DVC's and depending on the time of year we go we choose what resort we want to stay at.

If you can find an SSR resale that may be the way to go, but remember to add the closing costs and fees to your final price per point. I cant imagine you saving more than $2 to $3 per point but it may be worth it after you work the numbers.

Yes SSR is currently cheaper than the sold out resorts thru DVC. The dues are lower and once we owned enough BCV points to stay in a 2 bedroom unit in any season, we started purchasing SSR for GV stays.

 

[5infam]

Nice thought Bongo59, but I checked the boards and saw that resales at SSR are also in the high $70's for large contracts, and small contracts are in the low $80's. Add in closing, and I might as well buy through DVC at $85 - it is the same money. The Timeshare Store has a 115 point SSR listing for $83 per point. Then add closing and you are at $86.91 per point, plus I have to wait up to 2 months and contend with ROFR. If I were to go to SSR, I would rather pay $85 and be done with it.

 

[bongo59]

i bought a SSR resale in Nov at 77 a point with 200 banked points..............so it can be done........and this contract never made it out to a listing............call a broker and tell them what you want and show them your money and you will have one in your hands faster than you can imagine

 

[5infam]

Thanks Liferbabe, that is the kind of personal use feedback I was looking for. Let me be clear as well...staying at SSR would not ruin my vacation!! I meant that by having 2 different home resorts with 2 different point values, would it cause me troubles. By the looks of it, worse case is that I would have to split my week long stay between 2 resorts, assuming I could not combine them at the 7 month window. Anything else along those lines I am missing? I do like the fact that at BWV, we can walk to 2 resorts (this is why I bought there), but I could always rent a car if we stayed at SSR.

 

[5infam]

Your right Bongo, I could add the SSR to my BWV request with the brokers. I am ready to buy and have made that clear to all of them, but no BWV points yet, although it has only been a couple of days. I agree with you...if I could get a contract like yours, it would be well worth it!!

 

[LIFERBABE]

5inFam,
I didnt mean to be flip,

If you purchase another resort resale, I would try to make it the same UY. That is where it can get hairy is owning 2 resorts with 2 different UY's. All mine are the same UY.

If you are looking to add on to your 200 BWV then you are staying in larger units for a week?

If you add on at SSR whether thru DVC or resale, you could stay at BWV one year by banking and borrowing and plan to stay at SSR the next. The 7 month switch is still an option too.

BWV is an excellent add-on location and I know how exhausting it can be looking for the perfect add-on. Yes I added my name to the resalers list and checked their sites 20 times a day until DVC called me with the good news! I was just relieved I could give my poor wrists a break from all the clicking! LOL!

Good luck with your search

Also you wont necessarily have to rent a car at SSR. They have direct bus service to the parks and easy resort to resort access by catching the resort bus from DTD marketplace. I dont think you would be any more inclined to have a car than at BWV.

 

[5infam]

Thanks Liferbabe. I didn't think you were flip at all - but I also didn't want any of our new SSR members flaming me thinking I insulted their resort (especially if I become a new SSR owner). To answer your question, we always stay in a 2 bdr. - but we do not want to bank or borrow. The theory here is to have enough points to stay a full week the year we go, and the next year, we could trade our points into II for another resort somewhere in the world. I know it could take more than 300 points for a 2 bdr depending on the time we go, but we would have 30 points left over from an II trade that costs 270 points. I hope that made sense.

 

[tjkraz]

Does it make sense that they would sell the newest resort with more years left for less than an older resort?

It does from the standpoint that when you buy points at SSR, DVC is putting $85 per point in their pocket.

When you buy one of the other resorts, DVC has already laid-out $80-85 per point to acquire the contract, and then is generating very little additional revenue reselling at $89. When you add in administrative and marketing expenses, DVC is probably lucky to break even on some contracts.

With all of the ROFR activity right now, it looks like they may be heading for an across-the-board price increase on March 1st.

 

[LIFERBABE]

The theory here is to have enough points to stay a full week the year we go, and the next year, we could trade our points into II for another resort somewhere in the world. I know it could take more than 300 points for a 2 bdr depending on the time we go, but we would have 30 points left over from an II trade that costs 270 points. I hope that made sense.

I can see a couple of ways this could go. You need enough points to stay in a DVC 2 bedroom in any season every other year and you want to trade into II every other year. I personally would not want to pack up a 2 bed in the middle of the week and move to another resort, even if it is as beautiful as SSR.
That being said, I also wouldnt want to pay premium DVC points and dues to primarily trade into II, which is the case if you are only visiting WDW every other year.
I see your dilemma, because I want to own DVC over any other timeshare and am not savvy enough to purchase a timeshare just for trading purposes and pull it off on a regular basis. Owning DVC would definitely make it easier.

In this case, I would hold out for the BWV resale hopefully in the same UY as what you currently have. This way you can stay put in one place and not have to worry about moving if your 7 month window or waitlist doesnt come thru and complete your II trade.

 

[Scotch]

Don't forget, whatever you see posted on brokers' site or ads are asking prices, not necessarily the end sales price.

 

[5infam]

That being said, I also wouldnt want to pay premium DVC points and dues to primarily trade into II, which is the case if you are only visiting WDW every other year.
I see your dilemma, because I want to own DVC over any other timeshare and am not savvy enough to purchase a timeshare just for trading purposes and pull it off on a regular basis. Owning DVC would definitely make it easier.

This is the problem in a nutshell. I am still looking at other timeshares (mostly Hawaii), but to get every other year there I would be paying in the neighborhood of $16,000 to $22,000, plus dues of about $500 a year. Instead, I could buy 100 more DVC points for as much as $8,900 and that would give me enough to stay in a 2 bdr one year and go for a Hawaii trade the next. I could even rent the non-WDW year and collect $3,000 and pay cash wherever I wanted. This is why I am looking at spending half or less up front, with a little less dues, and having some options. I agree there are only a few II trades I would make, but they are worth the points and match dollar for dollar if I were to rent at $10.00 per point. The only problem is getting the exact resort and dates I want on a trade, which is why I am still considering a purchase outside of DVC. At this rate of indecision, by the time I make up my mind, I will be paying $150 per point at DVC wishing I would have "bought sooner"!!

 

[Scotch]

This is the problem in a nutshell. I am still looking at other timeshares (mostly Hawaii), but to get every other year there I would be paying in the neighborhood of $16,000 to $22,000, plus dues of about $500 a year. Instead, I could buy 100 more DVC points for as much as $8,900 and that would give me enough to stay in a 2 bdr one year and go for a Hawaii trade the next.

You really need to spend a long time on TUG (www.tug2.net) and study the posts, read the articles and ask for TUGgers' advice. If you are truly looking at owning in Hawaii because you want to go there (and not to trade because Hawaii maintenance fees are on the high side), you can buy an every year 1 or 2 BR at many places at around that $8,900 figure via resale and your lodging would be much bigger than what 100 DVC points could get you. Heck, you could buy a nice non-Hawaii Marriott 2BR and have trading priority into other Marriotts in Hawaii. (Or you can buy many other nice non-DVC resorts for every year use for that amount of $.) Spend some time to research. Like other TUGgers, I've owned many timeshares over the years, both resale and developer purchase. The only reason we've bought into DVC now is because we want to use it for guaranteed on-site stays. (I say "guaranteed" because I have also traded into DVC using less expensive timeshares during the off-seasons or last minute.) We would never trade our DVC for non-DVC timeshares because the cost (in initial outlay and maintenance fees) for the points necessary to trade into places/seasons we want via II is WAY more -- more than double in some instances -- than our cost using another timeshare we obtained resale.

I only say all this because it sounds like money is an issue for you. If that is the case, take your time and research on TUG. TUG members are in general more experienced and well versed about the general timeshare world than non-TUGger DIS members.

 

[bongo59]

one nugget i have found in 14 yrs is that a DVC trade out to anywhere is not likley to be even...........what i mean is that on a value basis your not going to get one for one..........i would tell you my best option for hawaii is to rent out all the points for the yr your going and pay cash in hawaii....it gives you way more options and we think renting big houses over there far outweighs any timeshare on tug or through II............we rent out 6500 sq ft houses for a week for 2500-5000 bucks..........if you have 300 points your going to get 3K for it.........so you may rent a house there for 1500-3500 ith less square footage..........i used to be a trader..........but it does not makes sense given all the wrok..........I would ask Dean about it here because he seems to still be into trading out............i left that behind 7-8 yrs ago and have been rather happy without all the hassels..............

 

[bongo59]

and on the big island in
Kohala we rent a 6500 sq ft house and it comes with a maid and chef for the week and we can ride their horses and go kayaking down Mauna Kea old log flume that they used in the late 1800's for loggin...........talk about fun!!!!

 

[5infam]

Thanks Scotch and Bongo. I think you are both talking about the different options we are looking at. On Scotch's point, I do not know the resorts that well and so I have been lurking on TUG heavily to get more information. It seems to my inexperienced eye that it makes some sense to go with a bigger name timeshare such as Marriott, Westin, etc. I have looked at many sites and wish I could find a resale for the $8,000 range I would pay for my add on. Even with an EOY purchase, they are still in the low to high teens. I will not be purchasing directly from these resorts though, as the resale market is definately much cheaper. It is kind of like comparing DVC to other timeshares in Orlando. It would be cheaper to buy elsewhere, but DVC is where we want to stay. In turn, the Marriott in Hawaii is where we want to stay, but I am having trouble spending the money, when I have the DVC add on capability for a cheaper price. In the end, for me, it is about making sure I got the best deal with the smartest choice - not necessarily the dollars spent. As far as Bongo's suggestion, if I get to the 300 point range at DVC, I will be renting out EOY so I can pay cash at a Marriott or anywhere else that I find appealing. This is why it is making sense to me to add DVC, but I am not 100% for sure with this choice. Maybe that is it - there are just far too many choices and not enough clear cut roads.

 

[attymoot]

In trying to follow this thread, can you tell me what EOY, ROFR, UY, tug, II and GV mean?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[CarolA]

Keep in mind those are asking prices.... you can always offer lower. The worst that happens is someone says no.