BLT Home Resort Question

[Magical-fan]

I've been thinking about buying resale DVC. I was wondering if BLT is worth the $30+ extra per point over the other resorts. I'm fairly new to the DVC information and do not have a full understanding. Is the only difference of a home resort (aside from different annual dues) is that you can book 11 months in advance instead of 7 months. From your experiences is there still alot of availability for a One-Bedroom vacation home at the 7 month window, in particular at BLT?

 

[sarah-jane]

I am not a seasoned pro, as we just bought in this year at BLT. However, we struggled with the same question and after asking a lot of questions on the boards and to my guide etc., I got the following big advice over and over:
- Buy where you want to stay, as your ownership interest is really only in your home resort and "hopping" from place to place is a perk. You never know if all perks will continue in the future (although it's likely it will).
- We booked at the 7 month window for all our upcoming accomodations for May and had no problem with availability for BLT, BCV, or AKL concierge. The availability thread on the DIS is also a great resource for checking out availability trends. I am told it really depends on when you're trying to book for, though.
- the lower maintenance fees and the extra time (almost 20 yrs versus 2042 expiration) made it worth it for us to buy Bay Lake. It was really the time that tipped the decision for us, as we're in our early thirties and decided resale value would be higher with more years on the contract if we decide to sell when our kids are grown or had to sell for financial reasons.

Best of luck with your decision. It was a hard choice for us, but we're really happy with it now.

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

We bought at BLT for the buy where you want to stay analogy.

Only been there once so far (we also stayed at AKV).

It all depends on the time of year you want to book. When we wanted to book our December trip (6 month mark) it was hard finding a studio. Luckily we got AKV, but it was a standard view and not a Savannah (which we would have preferred).

BLT is a pretty big resort, but there are going to be times of year where it may be difficult to switch in at the 7 month window.

It's up to you if you think the extra $$$ is worth it. For us being on the monorail is worth it, but each case is different.

 

[EeyoreEma]

I am not a seasoned pro, as we just bought in this year at BLT. However, we struggled with the same question and after asking a lot of questions on the boards and to my guide etc., I got the following big advice over and over:
- Buy where you want to stay, as your ownership interest is really only in your home resort and "hopping" from place to place is a perk. You never know if all perks will continue in the future (although it's likely it will).
- We booked at the 7 month window for all our upcoming accomodations for May and had no problem with availability for BLT, BCV, or AKL concierge. The availability thread on the DIS is also a great resource for checking out availability trends. I am told it really depends on when you're trying to book for, though.
- the lower maintenance fees and the extra time (almost 20 yrs versus 2042 expiration) made it worth it for us to buy Bay Lake. It was really the time that tipped the decision for us, as we're in our early thirties and decided resale value would be higher with more years on the contract if we decide to sell when our kids are grown or had to sell for financial reasons.

Best of luck with your decision. It was a hard choice for us, but we're really happy with it now.

This - for us too. We really like BLT, the location, all of it - so that's what we went with. We're very happy with our decision.

 

[chalee94]

Is the only difference of a home resort (aside from different annual dues) is that you can book 11 months in advance instead of 7 months.

BLT expires in 2060. AKV expires in 2057. SSR expires in 2054. the other resorts expire in 2042. (some OKW are 2057 and some are 2042.)

From your experiences is there still alot of availability for a One-Bedroom vacation home at the 7 month window, in particular at BLT?

the big question is how important is it to you to stay at BLT. if you own SSR and book SSR at 10-11 months out, you can still try to book BLT at 7 months. how would you feel if you can't get BLT?

if you'd be happy to have a spot at SSR...onsite...then buy SSR (or wherever you wouldn't be disappointed to stay) and try to trade for BLT and see how it goes.

if you'd be frustrated and feel "stuck" at SSR when you'd rather be on the monorail...and feel like you wasted money on SSR rather than saved it...then buy at BLT even if it costs a bit more.

if you can't book more than 7 months out, don't buy BLT since you can't take advantage of the home resort priority anyway.

IMO you'll probably usually be able to get the lake view 1BR at 7 months...standard and MK views would be a tougher get. but as we come out of the recession, BLT owners may be more aggressive about booking 11 months out...or other circumstances might come into play...so what happens the first time you can't get BLT?

 

[DVCGeek]

I agree w/ other posters [especially on the buy where you want to stay (or at least wouldn't mind staying) regardless of when you think you'll be able to book] but don't downplay the different costs of dues. Because the purchase price is fixed but dues typically go up 4% they can make a BIG difference in the long run! So if dues are higher to start with and on average all resorts go up over time, they will continue getting higher and higher.

I do this:

Take purchase price (including interest if financing and closing costs) of the contract, divide by the number of points, then divide by the number of years worth of points I'm getting. (Does a resale have banked points? Is it already borrowed? This could vary from contract to contract so make sure you find out) This give you the "purchase price per point per year".

Then I add in dues to get my "net cost per point per year". That way I can more evenly compare one resort to another.

Incidentally, I also use that # to look at things like my ROI w/ DVC. I multiple my net cost per point for the specific ones I used times the number of points to figure out my actual cost for a stay. I often end up with around $100 - $130 per night for some really nice studios. Put me as saving a fair amount even against the steep discounts currently being offered by CRO...

GL w/ your decision!

 

[mdsd8700]

I will sound like a broken record, but I agee with the "buy where you want to stay" advice already given. Since you will be staying there for the next 30-50 years (depending on the contract) you need to be happy with that location and not disappointed if in fact that is where you end up on your vacations. There seem to be more posts that the 7 month availibility works in the member's favor than not. However it does depend on the time of year and the days you are traveling. I think everyone picks their homes resorts for many reasons and only you can determine if BLT is worth the additional cost. Read these boards as much as you can, gather as much knowledge as you can on cost, resort information and the rules of DVC in their current form then take some time to think it all over and I am sure you will be able to come up with what will work best for you. Good luck!! Let us know when you decide.

 

[McCrae]

I think you should also consider resale value. I would bet that due to it's location the resale price at BLT will likely remain higher than other resorts.

 

[chalee94]

I think you should also consider resale value. I would bet that due to it's location the resale price at BLT will likely remain higher than other resorts.

possibly.

but with the steps DVC has begun taking to gut the value of resale contracts by removing perks that used to transfer, i would no longer recommend taking resale value into consideration. no matter where you buy, you are taking a risk that you won't be able to get very much back...

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

possibly.

but with the steps DVC has begun taking to gut the value of resale contracts by removing perks that used to transfer, i would no longer recommend taking resale value into consideration. no matter where you buy, you are taking a risk that you won't be able to get very much back...

DVD cannot take away at least a 1 month advantage to booking at your home resort. So BLT, with it's close proximity to MK and having monorail access will always have a benefit. Unless they plan on moving the MK or dynamiting the monorail.

But I agree, I wouldn't take resale prices into your decision. Buy where you want to stay.

 

[DVCGeek]

dynamiting the monorail.

Don't even joke about that!!!

But 1 mo. priority is something in the POS so that is a good point, as is contract expiration. But again, don't buy as an investment in anything other than using the points to take vacations for yourself, family, and friends!

 

[PoohsFan1]

I will sound like a broken record, but I agee with the "buy where you want to stay" advice already given. Since you will be staying there for the next 30-50 years (depending on the contract) you need to be happy with that location and not disappointed if in fact that is where you end up on your vacations. There seem to be more posts that the 7 month availibility works in the member's favor than not. However it does depend on the time of year and the days you are traveling. I think everyone picks their homes resorts for many reasons and only you can determine if BLT is worth the additional cost. Read these boards as much as you can, gather as much knowledge as you can on cost, resort information and the rules of DVC in their current form then take some time to think it all over and I am sure you will be able to come up with what will work best for you. Good luck!! Let us know when you decide.

I agree with this. We bought into BLT in September of last year and we have a trip planned for May, but not staying at BLT. We decided to stay at BCV (wanted to take advantage of SB and the close proximity of both Epcot and DHS), but if we couldn't get BCV in our 7 month window, we would of been very happy with BLT due to it's location and amenities. I too will sound like a broken record and say buy where you will want to stay, because if you can't get what you want at the 7 month mark, you should be happy that you could stay at the place that you originally bought into.

 

[Sandisw]

I think the extra for BLT is worth it if:

1. You want to stay there and will be disappointed in anyway if you can't.

2. You want to be able to book the SV rooms, which take less points.

3. If something happened with the whole DVC program and you were forced to stay only at your home resort, you would be fine.

We bought BLT(and spent about $5000 more over SSR) because of its location and ease to MK, our favorite park. We typically stayed at CR prior to DVC and only bought our DVC membership because staying in that location became a reality.

While we have traded out from there, we know that each and every trip will always include at least some or most of our nights there. Even this summer, we are trying BWV in a BW view room. I booked BLT for all 5 nights and at 7 months, called to see if we could switch.

However, if the BW view room at BWV had not been available, we would not have been disappointed in the least because we knew we were happy with what we had.

So, buy BLT if you really want to be there. If you are okay staying elsewhere, then consider cost.

 

[otterpop]

Another thing to keep in mind (and I'm going to get a lot of negative posts aimed at me for this), is that it seems like BLT has the most complaints out of any of the DVC resorts. Maybe it's because people expect it to be nicer than other resorts since it is the newest DVC, I don't know. I'll have some first-hand observations in a few weeks as we will be doing a split stay between BCV and BLT (first time stays for both; we own at OKW). My opinion is that you are paying for the location/views, but you would get more "hotel room" (size and quality) for your $$$/points at other DVC resorts.

Evan

 

[dbs1228]

We went through the same thought process but what it came down to was we probably would not have bought if it was not for the location of BLT, so we bought there. My 1st stay was at OKW 2 bedroom and all I heard was how big the rooms there were, so I thought I would be disappointed in our purchase. I was pleasantly surprise when I did stay at BLT 2 bedroom and really LOVED the layout! The whole week I was at OKW I kept thinking how much happier I would have been at BLT due to the location and the friends I was with. I will for sure go back to OKW but when I go with people who want to do the "parks and parades" BLT is where I will book at 11 months out! Going again for our first family trip with DD's in 2 weeks!

 

[gtpooh]

We bought BLT since we want to stay there more than any other resort, and we are so happy we did. We have two very young children, and the ability to walk to/from the resort to the MK is the clincher for us. It really made our last trip manageable and it was so nice to be able to push a stroller back if one kid fell asleep in 10-15 minutes and not be dependent on transportation. I agree with many of the posters above -- really think about what you want and how you would feel if you bought somewhere else and couldn't get what you wanted at BLT....

 

[Magical-fan]

Thanks for all the great replies. I think I've made up my mind to purchase at BLT. Now all I have to do is find a good deal.

 

[tjkraz]

We bought BLT since we want to stay there more than any other resort, and we are so happy we did. We have two very young children, and the ability to walk to/from the resort to the MK is the clincher for us. It really made our last trip manageable and it was so nice to be able to push a stroller back if one kid fell asleep in 10-15 minutes and not be dependent on transportation.

I always recommend that people take kids out of the equation when deciding on a purchase. Realistically, kids are always changing. Kids tastes change, the activities they enjoy change and even things like the value of transportation will certainly evolve over time.

If I had asked my kids which resort to purchase, they probably would have voted for something like Animal Kingdom Villas due to the savanna. Problem is that my wife and I have to live with the DVC purchase decision for 50 years...and AKV isn't a favorite.

Strollers are a 4-6 year issue tops. Much better to book the most stroller-accessible locations at 7 months rather than giving it ANY consideration in the purchase decision.

Think big picture when deciding where to buy.

 

[dominicve]

I am not a seasoned pro, as we just bought in this year at BLT. However, we struggled with the same question and after asking a lot of questions on the boards and to my guide etc., I got the following big advice over and over:
- Buy where you want to stay, as your ownership interest is really only in your home resort and "hopping" from place to place is a perk. You never know if all perks will continue in the future (although it's likely it will).
- We booked at the 7 month window for all our upcoming accomodations for May and had no problem with availability for BLT, BCV, or AKL concierge. The availability thread on the DIS is also a great resource for checking out availability trends. I am told it really depends on when you're trying to book for, though.
- the lower maintenance fees and the extra time (almost 20 yrs versus 2042 expiration) made it worth it for us to buy Bay Lake. It was really the time that tipped the decision for us, as we're in our early thirties and decided resale value would be higher with more years on the contract if we decide to sell when our kids are grown or had to sell for financial reasons.

Best of luck with your decision. It was a hard choice for us, but we're really happy with it now.

I am waiting for ROFR on BLT. This was my thinking exactly (lower fees and 20 extra years). Unless you are going to travel during peak/holiday times every year you should be fine with the 7 month window.

 

[moericus]

Strollers are a 4-6 year issue tops.

Strollers are a 4-6 year issue per child. If you plan on having multiple children every 2-4 years, then the years quickly add up to a decade or more.

I don't mean to be picky, but wrestling with strollers on the buses is not fun. I'm going to avoid the buses like the plague for our next trip. Give me a walk, a monorail ride, or a boat. Obviously, stroller are a short-term issue when you talk about the length of a DVC contract. But, isn't convenience part of the reason for buying into DVC?

I think the future will show that MK walking distance DVC resorts need an 11 month window more than any others.