Aye, aye, aye! Need help with some numbers here from some vets (purchasing).

[SwirlTheCitrus]

Hello all! This is my first post here. I have been studying up on DVC for the past couple of years now (already have FOMO from the restrictions, don't talk about it), and I think that it finally seems more economical to purchase for my family and I than to continue to book non-dvc. I just returned from WDW 2 days ago, and did finally take the DVC tour from a cast member with a hard-sell nature, which made me wary, particularly about RR.
Here are my specifics:

The plan would be for at most 4 people, mostly 2 or 3 per night. We currently are staying at deluxe for 20+ days per year, and have only increased this number for the past 23 years. This is not budget friendly, and so the number of nights would be lowered.

Please tell me your thoughts/caveats/pitfalls/ etc. for the following idea, or recommend any other better ideas!

• My family loves Contemporary, and so I was thinking about purchasing resale at BLT; worst case scenario we would be locked into this resort, no? We would need around 200 points.
• Right now there is a sale at Aulani; if 200 points are purchased, 240 points are given, with bonus points beginning at 150. This seems to be too good to be true-- what am I missing?
  • Are ALL resorts hard to get at the 7 month window? which ones might be available to me? What might be a better investment, particularly if I start at 75 points?
• I assume that RR is a bad idea? What's up with that? So, I could USE those points to book all 14 resorts, but if I were to sell the contract, it would be for metaphorically pennies on the dollar because the new owner would be locked in to that one resort (do I have that correct)?

EDIT: What do you think about split points? 160 BLT, 160 BRV, 75 official (maybe Saratoga)? What are the benefits or detriments to this?

Finally, where should I look-- which site is the most trustworthy?

Anything else that you have to say that might be helpful I would be greatly appreciative!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Right now there is a sale at Aulani; if 200 points are purchased, 240 points are given, with bonus points beginning at 150. This seems to be too good to be true-- what am I missing?

Aulani is a terrible buy unless your plan is to travel to Hawaii. Aulani direct is a terrible buy because it is $182 per point. Even getting 240 points for the price of 200, that is $36,400. Meanwhile, resale, I can get 230 Aulani points for $23k. It is easily purchased for $100pp or less. There is no reason to buy Aulani to stay at WDW. There is no reason to want/need direct benefits buying to stay at Aulani, as the direct benefits at Aulani are pretty weaksauce.

I assume that RR is a bad idea? What's up with that? So, I could USE those points to book all 14 resorts, but if I were to sell the contract, it would be for metaphorically pennies on the dollar because the new owner would be locked in to that one resort (do I have that correct)?

You are basically correct. If you really want RR as a home resort, you need to view the capital buy-in of the points as a wholly sunk cost and be very conservative about assuming an asset value should you need to sell.

My family loves Contemporary, and so I was thinking about purchasing resale at BLT; worst case scenario we would be locked into this resort, no? We would need around 200 points.

It is nearly impossible for Disney to legally restrict the purchaser of an Original 14 DVC resort via resale to only their home resort. Rules are different for Riviera because it joined the trading association under a different contract and set of rules with that umbrella organization.

 

[JDOrlando]

A few points I would consider.

1. With the amount of points you are considering the difference between BLT resale and RR direct is quite significant.
2. It can be extremely difficult to get rooms at 7 months during popular times to visit, and with the changes Disney has made to point charts and tinkering with availability by adding cabins/bungalows, there is a possibility that the 7 month mark becomes even harder to get. There will be room types that are unavailable at 7 months at BLT, so I would recommend buying where you want to stay.
3. Keep in mind over the length of the contract maintenance fees are more than the purchase price. Aulani and RR have some of the highest.
4. No one really knows what RR resale will be yet, but it will definitely be less than you bought it for direct.
5. I would recommend using multiple resale sites to see all of the options available to you.

 

[jerseyduke]

First, will you be booking at 11 months? (Or at the very least outside of 7)
If not, then all points are equal, buy the cheapest.
If yes, then the general consensus is buy where you want to stay, or at the very least, where you would not mind staying. (BLT resale is probably one of the better values as well)

Aulani, is something Disney is having a hard time selling. Its dues are high. I would only buy it if I planned at staying there a good portion of the time.
Part of the problem is that it has been on sale for so long, that there is a good number of resale contracts available already. Most DVC resorts sell out before the resale market gets as robust.

Since you ask what sites are most trustworthy, is that to say you are buying resale? If so, RR is off the table, as is the Aulani Special.

You can use RR points to book at all DVC resorts as long as the points are purchased directly from Disney. Issue is, what will the resale value of this contract be? Different theories there, and no one knows who is right. Only time would tell. But at the very least, it is a risk. A nice thing about DVC contracts is that they do seem to hold their value. It would be unfortunate if this were not true for RR because of the new restrictions. - Yes you have it correct, the purchaser of a RR contract on the resale market would be locked into RR.

As for it Aulani being too good be true - its the annual dues that end up costing the most, not the initial purchase. Its just the initial purchase is a big lump sum in one shot. In 20 years or less you will have paid more in dues than your purchase price. And thats 20 out of (about) 50 years

As for 7 months it depends on when. At certain times, it can be difficult, but I would say in general, NO, not ALL resorts are hard to get a 7 months.
See this thread about availability
https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...-studios-1-bedrooms-june-2018-update.3689931/The more flexible your travel plans are, the less risk.
(For example, I go a week in September....but I dont really have a preference as to which week. I book my home resort 11 months out. I have 4 weeks to look at at 7 months out should I want to switch)

 

[jlb727]

Hello all! This is my first post here. I have been studying up on DVC for the past couple of years now (already have FOMO from the restrictions, don't talk about it), and I think that it finally seems more economical to purchase for my family and I than to continue to book non-dvc. I just returned from WDW 2 days ago, and did finally take the DVC tour from a cast member with a hard-sell nature, which made me wary, particularly about RR.

Interesting that this is like the third person on here in recent weeks who said a DVC person used hard sale tactics on them. Hmm. I’m thinking Riviera sales aren’t going the way Disney wanted.

The Timeshare store and DVC Resale Market are the best brokers.

 

[SwirlTheCitrus]

Since you ask what sites are most trustworthy, is that to say you are buying resale? If so, RR is off the table, as is the Aulani Special.

As for it Aulani being too good be true - its the annual dues that end up costing the most, not the initial purchase. Its just the initial purchase is a big lump sum in one shot. In 20 years or less you will have paid more in dues than your purchase price. And thats 20 out of (about) 50 years

As for 7 months it depends on when. At certain times, it can be difficult, but I would say in general, NO, not ALL resorts are hard to get a 7 months.
See this thread about availability

Thank you for that link-- I have been trying to find a resource!
So, from the underlying consensus here, is it a BAD purchase to buy the minimum 75 to get the perks? I was considering buying from resale and the minimum 75 at least from Disney. What are your thoughts?

 

[SwirlTheCitrus]

It is nearly impossible for Disney to legally restrict the purchaser of an Original 14 DVC resort via resale to only their home resort. Rules are different for Riviera because it joined the trading association under a different contract and set of rules with that umbrella organization.

THIS is interesting-- the cast member hinged his entire sales pitch on the idea that we could be locked into one resort in the future, and outright called all resale "trash" that he "wouldn't go near."

Methinks this guy was a tad shady.

 

[jlb727]

The only direct perk worth anything is the annual pass discount. It sounds like it might be worth it if you go 20 days a year and don’t live in Florida.

PS There are 3 200 point BLT contracts on DVC Resale Market rn.

 

[Ben E N]

Thank you for that link-- I have been trying to find a resource!
So, from the underlying consensus here, is it a BAD purchase to buy the minimum 75 to get the perks? I was considering buying from resale and the minimum 75 at least from Disney. What are your thoughts?

You could purchase the 75 directly if you feel it is worth it to you (it isn't for most, but the savings on annual passes make it worthwhile to some)
You can buy those points at BLT for $225 a point if you want to keep them all in the same place.

 

[jerseyduke]

THIS is interesting-- the cast member hinged his entire sales pitch on the idea that we could be locked into one resort in the future, and outright called all resale "trash" that he "wouldn't go near."

Methinks this guy was a tad shady.

He was a salesman, who wants his commission so they will stretch the truth as much as they can. Ppl here have no financial interest.

Thank you for that link-- I have been trying to find a resource!
So, from the underlying consensus here, is it a BAD purchase to buy the minimum 75 to get the perks? I was considering buying from resale and the minimum 75 at least from Disney. What are your thoughts?

depends. best perk is the Gold APs. Would you be buying, and how many? Sounds like your party is small and it would take a while to make up the difference.

Things to note if you do buy 75 direct:
1. Buy resale first. much easier for disney to match a UY you already have then to find a resale contract to match a UY you have with the right number of points.
2. You will have a small contract you could sell in the future that will catch a premium (this is a very small benefit)

 

[_auroraborealis_]

THIS is interesting-- the cast member hinged his entire sales pitch on the idea that we could be locked into one resort in the future, and outright called all resale "trash" that he "wouldn't go near."

Methinks this guy was a tad shady.

There are two ways of looking at it. The first is wishful thinking, where the reps really want that to be true (but, seriously, it is not totally impossible, but so near as to be impossible as to make it economically unlikely to even bother trying). The second is that they know better and are full of it.

IF Disney found a way to completely dissolve BVT - the 'parent' condo association that every resort joins for trading purposes - and have everyone re-join under new terms, sure, they could enact massive restrictions. But they'd have to meet certain criteria to have that happen, and the legal challenges to the fiduciary responsibility arm of that would be immense. There are a lot of reasons, practical legal reasons, why it's only applying to resorts joining BVT after 1/2019.

Even in Orlando, Disney is subject to Florida laws on timeshares and condo associations and can't just do whatever.

 

[SwirlTheCitrus]

best perk is the Gold APs. Would you be buying, and how many? Sounds like your party is small and it would take a while to make up the difference.

Things to note if you do buy 75 direct:
1. Buy resale first. much easier for disney to match a UY you already have then to find a resale contract to match a UY you have with the right number of points.
2. You will have a small contract you could sell in the future that will catch a premium (this is a very small benefit)

How do use years work like this? This is a bit confusing for me. I understand that some have more than others, but how do they "match" them? I'm having a hard time getting relevant search results.

EDIT: I'm confusing UY with years left, I believe. How do I figure out expiration years-- I was looking into boardwalk or BC, but they have half the years left. How does this work?

Also, two or three Platinum passes.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I was looking into boardwalk or BC, but they have half the years left. How does this work?

It works exactly like that. They expire on January 31, 2042. Game over.

The key, though, is if you buy something like Riviera, you will always struggle to book either Beach Club or BWV. BCV and BWV are not good values for someone who is flexible and wants into the system. For someone who must stay at one or the other, there is no substitute for buying points at those resorts.

 

[CarolMN]

How far in advance are you booking those 20+ days? With DVC, you will end up frustrated more often than not, if you can't book at least 7 months in advance. If you can't see yourself doing that, don't buy at all.

 

[SwirlTheCitrus]

How far in advance are you booking those 20+ days? With DVC, you will end up frustrated more often than not, if you can't book at least 7 months in advance. If you can't see yourself doing that, don't buy at all.

We easily could book 11 months out; I am a teacher, and so my time off is designated in advance.


What do you think about Boulder Ridge?

 

[CanadaDisney05]

The plan would be for at most 4 people, mostly 2 or 3 per night. We currently are staying at deluxe for 20+ days per year, and have only increased this number for the past 23 years. This is not budget friendly, and so the number of nights would be lowered.

My family loves Contemporary, and so I was thinking about purchasing resale at BLT; worst case scenario we would be locked into this resort, no? We would need around 200 points.

200 points is not going to get you 20+ nights per year in any room category at any time of the year at any resort.

 

[SwirlTheCitrus]

200 points is not going to get you 20+ nights per year in any room category at any time of the year at any resort.

I was looking at 160 BLT (resale), 75 Saratoga (official), 160 BRV (resale) together, or a similar combination.

 

[SwirlTheCitrus]

It works exactly like that. They expire on January 31, 2042. Game over.

The key, though, is if you buy something like Riviera, you will always struggle to book either Beach Club or BWV. BCV and BWV are not good values for someone who is flexible and wants into the system. For someone who must stay at one or the other, there is no substitute for buying points at those resorts.

What would you recommend-- and how do I judge which is best? Which would be better-- cheaper points at BRV, or longer use for CC?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

What would you recommend-- and how do I judge which is best? Which would be better-- cheaper points at BRV, or longer use for CC?

CCV actually costs less per point over time, but is a higher current capital outlay.

However, studios are hard to book at CCV and that won't change over the next 40 years. I never recommend CCV for anyone buying for studios.

 

[Deb & Bill]

200 points is not going to get you 20+ nights per year in any room category at any time of the year at any resort.

Actually, OKW has studios (Sun through Thur) for 10 points per night in Sept, Jan and early Dec. So other than the extra points needed for the Fri and Sat (13 points per night), you could get close to 20 nights for 200 points.