Am I doing the right thing? Need advice!

[Rash]

I am currently awaiting contract papers for a resale of 100 BCV points through The Timeshare Store (see the listing at the top that says sale pending? that's me!!). We agreed to $72/point with about $400 in closing costs, which works out to $76/point. There are 11 points remaining in the current use year (March).

I know the minimum points through Disney is 150 at $84/point. However, if Magical Beginnings is still $10/point at BCV, that would bring the actual cost to $74/point, which is less than the resale option! I realize I'd be putting out more due to the minimum 150 points, and the annual dues would be higher, but if I could manage that financially, doesn't that make buying through Disney a better deal? Am I missing something?

At this point, 100 points is perfect for us, but 150 wouldn't be excessive, and I expect we will add on later as our 3yo DD gets older we possibly add a sibling (!) Since I'll be paying through a fairly low interest home equity loan, we could manage it financially, but of course there's many other things we could do with the approx. $4000 difference (like save it!). We definitely want BCV as our home resort.

I am curious as to what others out there would do in my situation. Thoughts or advice?

 

[Richyams]

You are selling back your first year's points?

To make it an even comparrison, lets say you find a 150 point resale with 150 banked points. Say its $75 per point. You rent out the banked points, that brings your cost down to $64. Now to make it even, we have to rent out the current year's points also, this brings you down to $54 per point.

I guess I don't see your point.

 

[Rash]

If I understand you correctly - are you saying in order to make the comparison, I should factor in renting my first years resale points? At $10/point, that would bring the resale total to $66/point. Correct?

 

[JOC]

With the resale contract you're looking at, you're not really getting a "deal" because there are no banked points. However, if you really only wanted to purchase 100 BCV points then the only way to do it is via resale.

If you already know that you'll add on in the future, why not just go through Disney directly right now and purchase the 150 point minimum (if you can handle it financially, of course!)?

 

[Poorman]

I think what Richyams is saying is you are paying $76.00 per point because you don't have '03 points. You won't have any points until March '04. If you get MB from DVC you are paying $74.00 per point. You are paying about $200.00 more to get a 100 point contract. If all you can afford is the 100 points then it may be worth it to you to pay a little extra. Also I hope you aren't paying any maint fee's. And also you will be paying '04 maint. in January,about $400.00.


Good luck. Rich

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Are the resale annual fees paid through March '04? If they are, that is worth about $2.65/pt (2/3 of a year @ $4/pt).

Price aside, I will bet dollars to doughnuts that you will end up wanting more than 100 points!

 

[CarolA]

I would probably go with the resale just because you have the points to use NOW. With MB you don't get those first year points so....if you plan to use them for a vacation this year or even bank them for a big trip next year then you figure you just saved on accomodations for one trip. Could you have bought the accomodations for the extra $2 x100 points (probably not)?

However, I like using my points not letting Disney use them! LOL!!!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by CarolA
I would probably go with the resale just because you have the points to use NOW. With MB you don't get those first year points so....if you plan to use them for a vacation this year or even bank them for a big trip next year then you figure you just saved on accomodations for one trip. Could you have bought the accomodations for the extra $2 x100 points (probably not)?

However, I like using my points not letting Disney use them! LOL!!!

Carol, Perhaps I did not understand Rash correctly, but the way I understood it was that current use year points were gone (except for 11).

 

[JOC]

I also took the OP's post to mean that there are only 11 points left this year (March use year), hence my reply about the resale not being much of a "deal."

 

[DeeP]

You are selling back your first year's points?

Technically yes but in reality not necessarily, it all depends on when you buy and when your use yr is. I just added on pts at BWV the end of May, I used MB but my use yr is Oct so I got the pts for $10.00 off with no closing costs and could not use the pts for 4 months (NOT a yr!) which was fine because I already had my Sept trip booked and paid for with existing pts and my next trip is Nov which will then have all my new years worth of pts available both existing and newest add on for use. I have NEVER rented out my points and most likely never will, I go to WDW much too often to have pts left over to rent out, LOL!
As with ALL things DVC, what situation is right for one person might be the exact opposite for the next person!

 

[Rash]

Thanks to everyone for their opinions. They really did help me make my decision. I believe I will ultimately want (need) at least 150 points, and with Magical Beginnings, the Disney price per point is comparable to the resale since it only has 11 points for this year to rent or bank. I called DVC and they have a use year of Feb available, which is perfect for us since we usually go in May or June. We just got back a few weeks ago, so we weren't planning on returning until next May, thus giving up this years points with Magical Beginnings doesn't bother us. DVC offers 4.9% financing for 1 year with 50% down - I think we can do that (was going to pay off the car loan - oh well!).

Again, thanks for all the advice. And by the way, I'll be calling The Timeshare Store to cancel the resale, so if anyone is interested in 100 BCV points, they'll be available again tomorrow!

 

[Caskbill]

You made a good choice.

Disney: Feb use year, sell back all 2003 points, receive your new allotment in Feb 2004. Base cost to you = $74/point.

For Disney they'll pro-rate. Say you close in August, so pay 5/12th of annual maintenance fees. I think BCV is $3.88/point, so pro-rated that's $1.62/point, making Disney's true cost to you $75.62/point ($74 + $1.62).


Resale, March use year, 11-points remaining. Cost $72/point. Closing costs $4/point, for total of $76 points. Renting the 11 points remaining (this would be equivalent to MB), for $10/point gives you $110 in cash, or $1.10/point back for your contract, bringing your total base cost to $74.90/point for the resale.

With Disney you get new points in February 2004. With the resale you would not get new points until March 2004.

The only thing that wasn't clear was the maintenance fees on the resale's 2003 points. If they have been paid for by the seller and they're not looking for reimbursement (they shouldn't since they used almost all of them), then that will make another slight adjustment.


The difference between the two contracts is 72 cents/point in favor of the resale. And that's ONLY if you sold the 11 points for $10.00 each. If you didn't, then the Disney deal is better by 38 cents/point, except you wouldn' get 11 points to use yet this year

If the seller wanted you to pay the maintenance cost on those 11 points (it wouldn't be prorated), that would be another $43 added on, or 43 cents/point for the contract, making Disney better by 81 cents/point (.43 + .38).

Based on 100 points (the resale contract), this makes a difference of $81 more for the resale, but you get 11 points, giving them a value (or cost) of $7.36/point. A value more than the maintenance fees, but less than the a probable rental value.

In other words, it's pretty much 6-of-one and half-a-dozen of the other.

 

[Rash]

Yes, the sellers wanted me to pay maintainence fees on the 11 points. This and the fact that there are no significant points available currently that I could rent to offset the closing costs was the main reason I cancelled the contract. Now I just have to work my budget to see if I can afford 150 points through Disney, or wait for a BCV resale to show up that has some available current points.

Either way, I learned a great deal from all the responses - thanks! I'm looking forward to posting on these boards in the future as an actual DVC member!

 

[Disney Doll]

Good decision to buy from WDW direct. Doesn't sound like the resale was any great shakes, and as long as the 150 points is a financial strain, all in all, you'll come out on top.

Besides, 100 points is SO not enough!! 150 is workable. You have to be a little craetive about not staying DVC on the weekends when the point per night charge is higher, but I always enjoyed that because I got a chance to try a different resort and then knew I'd be at my DVC with a washer/dryer!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lexxiefern]

I also agree you made a wise decision. You will find a way to use the extra points. My sister is looking into buying and she wants about 100 BCV points.......maybe I will tell her to call the Timeshare Store

 

[TwingleMum]

Rash- I came to the exact same decision. I'm looking into the 3yr direct draft option even though I'm only financing 6,000.00. There is no prepayment penalty and I have a 3 yr old and twin infants so I'm reluctant to lock myself into a bigger payment. Worse case I'll have it paid off in 3 yrs.Hopefully Every once in awhile I'll pay a larger sum and pay it off quicker. But if moneys tight like at Christmas I have the smaller payment.

 

[Rash]

Good idea on the 3 year financing. Since I was planning on doing the one year finance, I could still make the larger payment on the 3 year option, but if things got tight I wouldn't have to. Thanks!

 

[JimC]

The way I evaluate these is to calculate the total number of points I am buying over the remaining years of the contract (39 now), adding for banked points and subtracting for borrowed points. Then I add what I am paying for the contract plus any closing costs and maintenance fees that seller is asking the buyer to pick up. I divide my total costs by the total number of points and make my comparisions on that basis, including buying direct form Disney.

For example there are 39 years left on our contracts. If you buy 150 point contract from Disney at $84, the cost per point for your 5,850 points is $2.15. If you take MB (is it $10 now?) and sell an entire year's worth of points, then the cost per point for 5,700 points is $1.95.

Do the same analysis with your contract and you can compare.