AKL - about to make an offer

[reggiemcp]

Need some opinions, about to make an offer on AKL contract, 160 points, fully loaded 2018/19/20 use year Oct, they are asking $94 a point. If I offer $91 a point, is that reasonable? If we change our mind after offer is accepted, do I have an out? Is Oct a good use year? Excited and nervous, thanks for the help!

 

[fearthisinc]

The only one who can determine a "good" Use Year is you.. All a Use Year is, is the time in which your points are reloaded.. I suggest you look at the times of year you normally travel and then compare it to your banking window.. I believe with an October Use Year you must bank any points by May 31... After that date any points that go unused are lost.. So if you normally travel July - September then an October Use Year would not be the best for you..

You can make an offer at any time.. If it is accepted you will then be sent paperwork to sign.. Up until signing any documents you can back out.. Once you sign the documents they will also want a deposit.. This deposit will be lost if you decide to back out..

As a side note.. We have not reached the October 2017 Use Year.. So essentially you are not getting a fully loaded contract UNLESS you are getting the 2017 points that are coming this October..

As far as price goes, only you can decide if a price is reasonable.. After all, you are paying for it.. Prices have been all over the place.. A few months ago prices for Animal Kingdom were down around $78 a point.. I got mine for $85 a point in June.. Prices seem to have been on the rise.. Although many suspect that the closer we get to December/January the market will see an influx of contracts which will bring the prices down..

 

[Smilelea]

The only one who can determine a "good" Use Year is you.. All a Use Year is, is the time in which your points are reloaded.. I suggest you look at the times of year you normally travel and then compare it to your banking window.. I believe with an October Use Year you must bank any points by May 31... After that date any points that go unused are lost.. So if you normally travel July - September then an October Use Year would not be the best for you..

You can make an offer at any time.. If it is accepted you will then be sent paperwork to sign.. Up until signing any documents you can back out.. Once you sign the documents they will also want a deposit.. This deposit will be lost if you decide to back out..

As a side note.. We have not reached the October 2017 Use Year.. So essentially you are not getting a fully loaded contract UNLESS you are getting the 2017 points that are coming this October..

As far as price goes, only you can decide if a price is reasonable.. After all, you are paying for it.. Prices have been all over the place.. A few months ago prices for Animal Kingdom were down around $78 a point.. I got mine for $85 a point in June.. Prices seem to have been on the rise.. Although many suspect that the closer we get to December/January the market will see an influx of contracts which will bring the prices down..

Yep, all of this.

I would just add, if $91 is what you're comfortable paying, then make the offer. The broker will present it to the seller. The seller will either accept, counter, or stand firm at $94. If they don't accept, the ball will then be in your court to decide if you want to raise your offer or not.

 

[OlafSchmolaf]

Agreed that this is not a fully loaded contract since there are no Oct 2017 points. I believe that $91 is more than reasonable but just my opinion. I haven't seen many October use years for AK. My experience in searching is limited to the past couple of months though. Does a rare use year (if October even is one for AK) impact resale value down the line? This may or may not matter to you. It seems that if its a good use year for you maybe that is a non-issue. Good luck if you decide to make an offer.

 

[SPLzero]

Just an FYI on use years for Animal Kingdom

 

[OlafSchmolaf]

Just an FYI on use years for Animal Kingdom

Good info. Thanks for this. My impressions that December and February were the highest were correct but I wouldn't have guessed that really other than December its not nearly that wide of a gap between all use years. An October use year would seem to be a non-factor if there ever was a need to resell again. It would just be a matter of finding a buyer that fits.

 

[LAX]

Agreed that this is not a fully loaded contract since there are no Oct 2017 points. I believe that $91 is more than reasonable but just my opinion. I haven't seen many October use years for AK. My experience in searching is limited to the past couple of months though. Does a rare use year (if October even is one for AK) impact resale value down the line? This may or may not matter to you. It seems that if its a good use year for you maybe that is a non-issue. Good luck if you decide to make an offer.

The way I understand the terminology, a loaded contract is one with current UY points and a fully loaded contract is one with banked prior UY points. Hence, for an Oct UY, we are technically still in 2016 UY (2017 UY for Oct starts next month). If OP doesn't even get 2017 UY points, that's a stripped contract.

LAX

 

[Matty B13]

Your UY is more important to determine than +/-$5. Figure out when you are more than likely to travel and pick a UY month before that.

For us a February UY is best because we have small children who can only go during February and April vacations, or heaven forbid during the summer.

 

[Nie0214]

We have an Oct use year and love it because we typically travel to Disney for the holidays and/or to escape winter. I'm sure that will change as kiddo gets older and we can't take him out of school, though.

Basically, unless you plan to vacation the same times of year forever, use year can become irrelevant in the future.

 

[GoofyDisneyDaddy]

The way I understand the terminology, a loaded contract is one with current UY points and a fully loaded contract is one with banked prior UY points. Hence, for an Oct UY, we are technically still in 2016 UY (2017 UY for Oct starts next month). If OP doesn't even get 2017 UY points, that's a stripped contract.

LAX

Agreed, unless OP forgot to mention the 320 2017 points.

 

[Lindsay's4littles]

When it comes to price I believe it's a very personal choice. We are waiting to close on an AKV contract. It's 160 points and we are paying $109 a point. The contract was loaded with 278/2017 (113 banked from 16) and full 2018 and full 2019. This contract is going to allow us to go twice in 2018 since we have to use the 113 banked points by July and we already had an October trip planned. It was worth the price to secure the contract. People think we are nuts for paying $109 per point for an AKV contract however we are happy. I am not buying this as a financial investment I am buying this as a way to invest in memories with our 5 children. I have been looking into DVC since 2015 and it feels so awesome we are almost members! Regardless of what I paid for my contact I still saved THOUSANDS over direct and that's what matters!

Any update?? Did you make an offer?

 

[Lindsay's4littles]

When it comes to price I believe it's a very personal choice. We are waiting to close on an AKV contract. It's 160 points and we are paying $109 a point. The contract was loaded with 278/2017 (113 banked from 16) and full 2018 and full 2019. This contract is going to allow us to go twice in 2018 since we have to use the 113 banked points by July and we already had an October trip planned. It was worth the price to secure the contract. People think we are nuts for paying $109 per point for an AKV contract however we are happy. I have been looking into DVC since 2015 and it feels so awesome we are almost members! Regardless of what I paid for my contact I still saved THOUSANDS over direct and that's what matters!

Any update?? Did you make an offer?

 

[Lindsay's4littles]

Good info. Thanks for this. My impressions that December and February were the highest were correct but I wouldn't have guessed that really other than December its not nearly that wide of a gap between all use years. An October use year would seem to be a non-factor if there ever was a need to resell again. It would just be a matter of finding a buyer that fits.

Do you mind to explain why the use year is important for resale?

 

[Matty B13]

Do you mind to explain why the use year is important for resale?

It is cheap insurance for your points. Say if you have a February UY and plan a vacation for February or March, you can cancel your vacation and still retain the points for a vacation later in the year up until September. As long as you don't cancel under 30 days before your reservation, then the points go into holding.

 

[Matty B13]

If your buying your points for Food & Wine a September or October UY is best, for Kids February and April School Vacations a February UY is best, for Christmas at Disney a December UY is best, and for summer vacations a June UY is best.

 

[drusba]

If your buying your points for Food & Wine a September or October UY is best, for Kids February and April School Vacations a February UY is best, for Christmas at Disney a December UY is best, and for summer vacations a June UY is best.

That is correct with some caveats. If you usually go early Oct through Columbus Day, and what you want is an AKV "value" studio (or 2BR), the lowest point cost rooms, then you want a Sep use year but not Oct, which would be the worst choice for making that reservation. To have a chance of getting that reservation at 11 months out for the first part of Oct, you have to "walk" the reservation beginning in September, and you cannot "walk" using October use year points (the ones from the prior use year expire Sep 30, and the ones from the current use year cannot be used for Sep time when you would need to begin your walk). That same warning applies to a December use year and wanting to go first week of December, the highest DVC demand time of the year,

 

[Matty B13]

That is correct with some caveats. If you usually go early Oct through Columbus Day, and what you want is an AKV "value" studio (or 2BR), the lowest point cost rooms, then you want a Sep use year but not Oct, which would be the worst choice for making that reservation. To have a chance of getting that reservation at 11 months out for the first part of Oct, you have to "walk" the reservation beginning in September, and you cannot "walk" using October use year points (the ones from the prior use year expire Sep 30, and the ones from the current use year cannot be used for Sep time when you would need to begin your walk). That same warning applies to a December use year and wanting to go first week of December, the highest DVC demand time of the year,

I've never walked a reservation, but thanks for the good info.

 

[Lindsay's4littles]

That is correct with some caveats. If you usually go early Oct through Columbus Day, and what you want is an AKV "value" studio (or 2BR), the lowest point cost rooms, then you want a Sep use year but not Oct, which would be the worst choice for making that reservation. To have a chance of getting that reservation at 11 months out for the first part of Oct, you have to "walk" the reservation beginning in September, and you cannot "walk" using October use year points (the ones from the prior use year expire Sep 30, and the ones from the current use year cannot be used for Sep time when you would need to begin your walk). That same warning applies to a December use year and wanting to go first week of December, the highest DVC demand time of the year,

We plan on going in late October and have an August use year. We have a family of 7 so will always get a 2 bedroom. Is the august use year ok??

 

[drusba]

We plan on going in late October and have an August use year. We have a family of 7 so will always get a 2 bedroom. Is the august use year ok??

August is a fine use year for October trips (or any trips in the Fall)

 

[jvattes]

If your buying your points for Food & Wine a September or October UY is best, for Kids February and April School Vacations a February UY is best, for Christmas at Disney a December UY is best, and for summer vacations a June UY is best.

I have read and heard that you want a use year closest to your usual travel time "without going over" (similar to Price is Right LOL). That if you travel, say, in April you would want a March use year. The points come available for use in March so they will be there for your April trip. If you have to cancel, March is greater than 30 days out, AND you then have the entirety of April to October to use or decide to bank. So you have the most flexibility.