Best first timer dvc resort to buy into for 100 points

[michael730]

Hey all hope everyone is healthy and safe during this crazy time! Alas, I was wondering if anyone would have any recommendations for a first time dvc resale purchase. I was advised to buy a smaller contract first and then to add on if I wanted to. I am aware of the difficulties of getting reservations at 7 months outside of your home resort and am knowledgeable of the different resorts and their prices. I just need some guidance of where owners would recommend buying into to start off? Thanks in advance!

 

[MICKIMINI]

We need more info please! Kids? Villa size? When do you travel? Which parks do you prefer? Will you go every year or every other? Anything else you can think of...expiration date etc. will help us help you.

Even if you are going to try switching out at 7 months, you still need to be able to enjoy your "home" which you should book at 11 months just in case. With the parks/resorts being closed now it will be much harder to book anything in the future - I've read on disboards possibly for 3-9 years so choose carefully!

 

[Sandisw]

Buy at the resort that you would be content staying at if you can’t trade out.

SSR good option when you consider initial cost, MFs, and the point charts, But, you must take a bus to all the parks, which may or may not be a concern,

Now, if you want to be near MK, then lots of opinions. BRV will be the least expensive but it expires in 2042. BLT is great because you can walk to the park. Poly and VGF are more expensive, including the points needed to stay there,

BWV and BCV put you with easy access to Epcot and HS, but again, expire in 2042. I am leaving out RIV because buying it resale can only be used there.

That leaves AKV and OKW...again, bus rides to all the parks, but OKW has larger rooms andtwo real beds in studios, and AKV has animals.

They all offer something different. Just have to decide what matters most!

 

[michael730]

Thank you so so so much for that information! We’re just a couple right now but will probably be adopting a child or two in the next few years.. so looking mostly at studios! I would say I would most likely travel in early or mid May or October-early November ! And I will probably be interested in going once a year! I was initially thinking about getting a 160 point contract to start but want to make sure I like it first! I also don’t mind doing split stays! I will say my favorite resort is boardwalk but also would love to stay at bay lake tower and poly! I’m not a huge fan of Saratoga springs but the maintenance fees are so low with the cost being lower per point and the 2057 expiration year it seems like it could be a contender! I would much rather book at 7 months anyways timeline wise! But I definitely would not mind a split stay between say like a resort like boardwalk and like AKL or BRV or CCV etc! Even if it was just 3 nights each for the 6 nights. Thanks again for your input!

 

[Lorana]

If BWV is your favorite AND you want to travel in Oct/Nov, I would definitely recommend buying there. You will absolutely need the home resort advantage to book studios at BWV during the fall.

 

[gharter]

another vote for buy where you want to stay. We purchased 2 contracts several years ago. Since that time,, as I have been watching for fun, it has become much more difficult to move to a resort we want to be at at the 7 months mark. Have not had any issues booking at 11 months. But, we rarely try and reserve a studio, generally a 1BR, which usually are easier to get.
A word of warning which we luckily believed. Buy more points than you think you will need. We had planned to do studios, but our first trip was a 1 BR as that was all that was available. We were hooked on the 1 BR. Most DVC'ers travel more often then they used to, and stay in nicer rooms (ie bigger) than previously.
Good luck, we have never regreeted our purchase.

 

[Sandisw]

7 months is going to be tough for studios during the Fall...those go really fast and most likely, SSR will be what you will be booking if you wait until then,

You can use waitlists, and could end up elsewhere, but it will be difficult so you’d want to be prepared for that,

Since we have no idea how these shut downs will impact booking patterns in the next few years, I would not buy SSR, if you already know you’d be disappointed, even a little, if you have to stay there,

DVC is too expensive to pick a resort you could be frustrated with when it comes to booking,

 

[_auroraborealis_]

In October and November you will find little choice at 7 months. Both months need to be booked at 11 months out at your home with listed expectations of switching save via waitlist luck.

 

[michael730]

Thank you all! I’m not sold 100% only on the fall! I know it’s a harder time to get anyways! I definitely would go in May or early June! But alas, I don’t know if I could commit to a week 11 months out every year. Hence why I was debating even caring about the home resort. I just hate how long you have to wait for them to release the Passholders discounts for the resorts. So overall for a studio it’s fairly hard to find during the spring even for just a few nights? I wouldn’t mind like Saratoga or OKW for a few nights as well. Thanks again everybody!!

 

[Jelly563]

Studios at BLT are small and could be on lower floors. Poly has tons of space + monorail

 

[clayfolks]

Thank you all! I’m not sold 100% only on the fall! I know it’s a harder time to get anyways! I definitely would go in May or early June! But alas, I don’t know if I could commit to a week 11 months out every year. Hence why I was debating even caring about the home resort. I just hate how long you have to wait for them to release the Passholders discounts for the resorts. So overall for a studio it’s fairly hard to find during the spring even for just a few nights? I wouldn’t mind like Saratoga or OKW for a few nights as well. Thanks again everybody!!

I’ve never had a problem with studios in the spring. Buy where you wouldn’t mind staying. Book as close to eleven months out as you reasonably can and then modify at seven months. We are happy with split stays and have never been totally blocked out, even in the fall. In both spring and fall, we have lucked into VGF, BLT, and BW. We own at AKV, Poly, and RIV. We are self employed and have reasonable flexibility with dates.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Your favorite is BWV and Boardwalk prices are dropping IMO faster than some of the other resorts. Even with 2042 expiration, if that is your favorite resort maybe it is a good place to start with a smallish contract and love your "home". You can buy another contract down the road. Choose your UY carefully.

It's all about the math, so look ahead to 2021 and choose potential weeks and see how many points your need for a typical stay, knowing the cheapest studios can be sold out right at 8 am at 11 months. That is where your "buffer" comes in as there is no guarantee you will get what you want for a villa.

Once you have an estimate of what you need for points you can focus in on contracts in the point range you want. There are lots of loaded contracts out there now where you can negotiate for banked points the owner has already paid MF's for. There are some good deals now and I suspect there will be better ones going forward in the next couple months. Good luck!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thank you all! I’m not sold 100% only on the fall! I know it’s a harder time to get anyways! I definitely would go in May or early June! But alas, I don’t know if I could commit to a week 11 months out every year. Hence why I was debating even caring about the home resort. I just hate how long you have to wait for them to release the Passholders discounts for the resorts. So overall for a studio it’s fairly hard to find during the spring even for just a few nights? I wouldn’t mind like Saratoga or OKW for a few nights as well. Thanks again everybody!!

If you can't commit to a week at 11 months out, DVC might not be a good fit for you. More times of the year are becoming hard to book at anything less than 11 months out. You wait two weeks and your resort/villa size is gone for when you want to go. So you wait for seven months out and even less is available. However, if renting goes down the tube after all the broker mess, there might be more available at seven months out. But time will tell.

 

[rkstocke5609]

If you can't commit to a week at 11 months out, DVC might not be a good fit for you. More times of the year are becoming hard to book at anything less than 11 months out. You wait two weeks and your resort/villa size is gone for when you want to go. So you wait for seven months out and even less is available. However, if renting goes down the tube after all the broker mess, there might be more available at seven months out. But time will tell.

THIS! If you buy DVC and you aren’t a planner it is going to end in nothing but disappointment. Example: I own at BRV. I have been successful in getting VGC at 7 months twice (well waitlisted once that came through at 4 months). Anyways, I got cocky and believed I would be successful a third time - nope! Now Corona Palooza would have blown it up anyways but the point is I didn’t get it, and as a result it was too late to find anything in Florida.

Also, as I’ve stated in similar threads / questions — my research showed that owning at SSR or AKV is not the best choice as these resorts are so huge that they are the easiest ones to book at the 7 month mark.

Also, when you do adopt you will likely not find Food & Wine as appealing (I know all the drunks turned me off with my then 9 year old).
Like others said, if you do buy, buy more points than you think you’ll need. I thought I would buy 160, but opted into a good contract of 210. As a result I can swap from a studio to a 1BR every other trip.

Anyways, good luck!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I would expect spring to be nasty for at least 2-3 years now, maybe longer, depending on how long the current closure keeps on.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

I would expect spring to be nasty for at least 2-3 years now, maybe longer, depending on how long the current closure keeps on.

EXACTLY; rent for the next few years to let this play out. This will have legs way past the end of COVID.

 

[rkstocke5609]

EXACTLY; rent for the next few years to let this play out. This will have legs way past the end of COVID.

Unless resale prices drop significantly enough to justify buying in (and I suspect this to be a distinct possibility). Prices dropped after 9/11 and attendance at parks was low. Corona Palooza is going to be more impactful to Disney parks & resorts than 9/11 was IMHO.

 

[michael730]

Thank y’all! Yes I definitely plan on waiting to buy for a few months anyways to see if the prices go down more! But alas I agree I may try to barter with a larger contract. Thanks again for your input! Dvc has been something I’ve been going back and forth with for a couple years now!

 

[michael730]

Lastly, where would y’all recommend purchasing a resale? Would you recommend a certain company based on price or proficiency or? Thanks again, happy easter to all those who celebrate!

 

[Sandisw]

There are lots of brokers, but I personally have bought and sold a lot through www.dvcstore.com.

Matter of fact, sold one in October and just sold another this week!