Buy DVC resale...good deal but still very hesitant! WWYD?

[Crazy4Disney06]

You can't count on this. It's almost impossible to get a studio at VGC at 7 months which is the earliest you will be able to book.

I understand it may not always be possible but I know people who have done it more than once

 

[dmank]

We looked at buying DVC for 4 years before finally doing it last spring. I LOVE the fact that you can stay as many nights as you want/have points for. My parents have other timeshares and are locked into one week trades (I think they can do half weeks too but by the time they pay trade fees it's not worth it for 3 nights).
We like to do 8 and 9 night stays rather than 7 night ones.

DVC less like a timeshare and more like prepaying a vacation. If you are going to Disney anyway, you may as well buy DVC UNLESS as one poster suggested you rent points. That seems like a hassle to me and I'd be nervous something would go wrong but yes it does work for some people.

Good luck with the decision.

 

[S. C.]

Enjoy your DVC.

 

[Disneychix]

I agree with the above poster-Enjoy your DVC!

We purchased a resale contract last year and we've already travelled once and have 2 trips planned for 2012!

I will say though, once you get a taste of a 1 bdrm or bigger it's hard to go back into a studio. How do you think we ended up with DVC in the first place? My DH axed the thought at ever staying value again!

 

[chalee94]

is this a resale from Disney?? Now if you buy resale from anyone but Disney you can not use it outside of the DVC accomadations. They changed it last year for resale.

technically, you can't buy a "resale" from disney in the first place. buying from disney is called buying "direct." when disney sells to someone and they "resell" it, that is where the term comes from...

and the limitation from using DVC pts outside of DVC isn't so bad...with only 50 pts, you wouldn't really have any options outside of the DVC resorts anyway as trading out is so expensive.

studios will be kinda tight down the road for a family of 4, though. but if it suits you, enjoy it...

 

[eliza61]

Dh and I put in an offer for a small resale DVC contract on Friday. Today the seller accepted. The deal is a very good one, yet I am still very hesitant to spend the money. The points will allow us to travel to WDW/DL/Hawaii every to every other year.....which is typically our travel habit anyhow.
Total cost for the contract and any fees will be less than $3500 and our lodging will be paid for, for the next 30 years I'm sure that we will get our money out of it and then some....guess I'm just being my typical self and over analyzing everything
WWYD?

With a time share it pays to analyze every thing.

So, some things we considered when we purchased.

1) We did think of how we would travel long term. we got enough points for a 1 bedroom villa for 7 days in August when we typically travel.
2) annual maintence. as some one else pointed out, disney does have some of the higher fees around. This didn't surprise me as it was/is considered a prime vacation destination.
3) we did not consider resale value, as the reason for us to purchase it was not an investment. We are not budget travelers so the argument "you can do disney" cheaper does not apply to us. We don't go to disney if we have to stay in a value or a moderate (we do like some off site places). So we have since "broke even" on our inital cash out.

We don't have any regrets about purchasing. Would we purchase now? No probably not but that is due to what we see as a decline in disney quality. we're hoping that when this recession ends hopefully standards will go back up.

 

[bettymae1121]

It's not the purchase price that keeps me away from DVC, but the annual dues and taxes. For the amount of point DH and I would want/need, we could take a value or moderate trip yearly or a deluxe trip every other year for what the annual dues would be. The villas are nice (I did stay in one, once) but I don't mind regular hotel rooms at all and anyway my idea of a vacation isn't one that includes cooking.

I know it works for some, but it's not for us.

 

[MEM]

Dh and I put in an offer for a small resale DVC contract on Friday. Today the seller accepted. The deal is a very good one, yet I am still very hesitant to spend the money. The points will allow us to travel to WDW/DL/Hawaii every to every other year.....which is typically our travel habit anyhow.
Total cost for the contract and any fees will be less than $3500 and our lodging will be paid for, for the next 30 years I'm sure that we will get our money out of it and then some....guess I'm just being my typical self and over analyzing everything
WWYD?

It does sound like a great deal but keep in mind that Disney has the ROFR if it thinks the price is too low. And, BTW, we were able to book a studio at VGC at the 7 month window without a problem, for a trip in March 2011. We had a perfect view of Mickey's sun wheel/fun wheel and parts of WoC.

 

[Judique]

Dh and I put in an offer for a small resale DVC contract on Friday. Today the seller accepted. The deal is a very good one, yet I am still very hesitant to spend the money. The points will allow us to travel to WDW/DL/Hawaii every to every other year.....which is typically our travel habit anyhow.
Total cost for the contract and any fees will be less than $3500 and our lodging will be paid for, for the next 30 years I'm sure that we will get our money out of it and then some....guess I'm just being my typical self and over analyzing everything
WWYD?

Enjoy your points!

Starting out small and getting a feel for how it works is a good way to go.

I've been an owner for 12 years and I've now got 4 contracts at 4 different resorts. Addonitis is a disease!

There are also many ways to supplement your points without buying another contract. Disney will let you buy one time use points. You can rent if you need an extra day or two. Being a member gets you meal and annual pass discounts.

A small amount can be banked and borrowed, so your 50 can be 150 over a 3 year period. That will work well when you want to have an alternate vacation that is not Disney oriented.

And the 30 year time frame could be awesome for you if you decide you are finished with this type of vacation plan. However many of us heading into our sixties see DVC as a semi winter retirement home - I'm doing a couple of weeks away from the snow right now! When I actually retire, it will be more, so don't think that being in your sixties will make you not want to come to Disney! Epcot is full of elders on scooters, avoiding snow.

 

[ValpoCory]

I always advise my friends and family, that if money is a factor, to rent DVC points instead of buying a DVC timeshare. That way, you pay for only what you need, and you have none of the obligation of a timeshare. And with so many owners out there renting their points, I have never had a problem not only finding an owner, but finding an owner renting at $10/point or less.

There are so many ways to safeguard yourself against fraudulent transactions when renting from DVC owners that the risk is extremely low.

 

[HM]

The only thing I worry about for you is what happens as the children age. That 10 yr old and 1 yr old will start to take up a lot more room when they are teens. I have kids 16 and 18 and the four of us would not be happy in a studio now that they are older, where I know we would have been fine when they were elementary age kids.

It does look like you put a lot of thought into your purchase though.

 

[Judique]

The only thing I worry about for you is what happens as the children age. That 10 yr old and 1 yr old will start to take up a lot more room when they are teens. I have kids 16 and 18 and the four of us would not be happy in a studio now that they are older, where I know we would have been fine when they were elementary age kids.

It does look like you put a lot of thought into your purchase though.

What do you do now? Do you still rent single hotel rooms? I note that sometimes in threads like these people say they are just as happy at a moderate or at Pop Century.

Then they say a studio is not big enough. The OKW studio has 2 queen beds and is definitely bigger than a Pop room or any of the moderates, plus it has the kitchenette.

 

[HM]

What do you do now? Do you still rent single hotel rooms? I note that sometimes in threads like these people say they are just as happy at a moderate or at Pop Century.

Then they say a studio is not big enough. The OKW studio has 2 queen beds and is definitely bigger than a Pop room or any of the moderates, plus it has the kitchenette.

The last two trips to WDW with all four of us, we rented points for 1-bedrooms at BWVs.

We are actually going to try to do a trip to CSR this spring because we're doing free dining and it's what fit the budget. We're bringing an Aerobed, which we carry with us any time we get a hotel room these days, for more sleeping room. We know it will be crowded feeling, but its one trip, and we aren't planning on doing this every other year, like the OP is with the DVC points.

I just wanted to caution the OP about the space issue as a possible problem. I think OKW is a good choice for a studio, as they are bigger than the others.

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

What do you do now? Do you still rent single hotel rooms? I note that sometimes in threads like these people say they are just as happy at a moderate or at Pop Century.

Then they say a studio is not big enough. The OKW studio has 2 queen beds and is definitely bigger than a Pop room or any of the moderates, plus it has the kitchenette.

We are very used to staying in values or moderates, or similar type of hotel/motels on other types of vacations. Even when we visit DL we stay at the Hyatt or something similar with the typical same size of room. Once our kids are a bit older we can always shop around for another good deal on a similar small contract and double our points allowing us to stay in a 1bedroom if needed.
We have traveled a lot with my teenage nephew and still find hotel rooms with adequate space for our travel needs.

 

[Judique]

I would look at it this way...

How much would you spend on accommodations alone over 15 trips? Assuming that dues remained the same over the entire 30 years, you would be shelling out $11300 over that time period for the purchase price and maintenance fees. That comes to $754 per vacation, in what I assume would be a studio. But of course, maintenance fees will go up over time. So $754/trip is the lowest cost you would be paying.

Now think about what it would cost you to rent points every visit, no obligations and no upfront costs. I just stayed 5 nights in a studio at AKV Kidani. It was 55 points. I paid $13/pt. for a total of $715. I could rent points again at any time without having to front the thousands of $$$ that it takes to buy into DVC.

Not sure I understand your math.......

You rented for 5 nights and paid $715.

Yet you did a calculation for 15 vacations for the OP.

If we put the OP in YOUR room, she would pay $286 in dues for the 55 points, plus roughly 1/30th of the cost of her initial buy in. For 50 points that would be $166. Lets add another 10% and make that $182 to get the figures closer together.

So, $286 and $182 - the OP is getting the same room you got for -------$468. And no worries about being a renter and getting scammed.

I see a savings for the OP of $247 !!!!!.

I see perks for the OP.

I see no worries for the OP.

And, OP - you can always sell when you are ready - 50 pointers go fast!

 

[Crystal824]

That sounds like a great deal to me. I am hesitant to purchase DVC. DH and I are thinking about it now and probably will in the future. If I came across a deal like that, I would probably jump on it too.

 

[ValpoCory]

Not sure I understand your math.......

You rented for 5 nights and paid $715.

Yet you did a calculation for 15 vacations for the OP.

If we put the OP in YOUR room, she would pay $286 in dues for the 55 points, plus roughly 1/30th of the cost of her initial buy in. For 50 points that would be $166. Lets add another 10% and make that $182 to get the figures closer together.

So, $286 and $182 - the OP is getting the same room you got for -------$468. And no worries about being a renter and getting scammed.

I see a savings for the OP of $247 !!!!!.

I see perks for the OP.

I see no worries for the OP.

And, OP - you can always sell when you are ready - 50 pointers go fast!

Yep. Even if you know what you are doing as a renter to both eliminate scammers and get $10/point, 55 points is still $550.

So if you can get a resale contract for that cheap (OP got 50 points for less than $70/point), and are willing to rent out or sell points you don't need (instead of taking another vacation you can't afford in order for points not to be wasted), then buying can be better than renting.

However, I always caution my friends with credit card debt ... If I had debt, and was offered a DVC timeshare for free, with the stipulation that I had to pay fees and use the points myself, I would decline. The lodging portion of vacations is sometimes just 20-30% of the total cost of a vacation. Even with a minimal lodging expense, I'd fall further into debt with all the other costs of traveling to Disney annually.

DVC should be for people who would be going to Disney that frequently anyway.

 

[DisneyEater]

I would also add that as your kids get older, the studios are nice because if they don't want to sleep together any more you have more room for an air bed if you have one sleep on the couch still folded up (non-OKW).

Will work for short kids like mine. If your kids are 6' tall, they aren't going to fit on a couch.

 

[Judique]

The last two trips to WDW with all four of us, we rented points for 1-bedrooms at BWVs.

We are actually going to try to do a trip to CSR this spring because we're doing free dining and it's what fit the budget. We're bringing an Aerobed, which we carry with us any time we get a hotel room these days, for more sleeping room. We know it will be crowded feeling, but its one trip, and we aren't planning on doing this every other year, like the OP is with the DVC points.

I just wanted to caution the OP about the space issue as a possible problem. I think OKW is a good choice for a studio, as they are bigger than the others.

That's exactly what most people do - what fits the budget.

What I've found from owning for 12 years, is that my kids grew up! They have many other things in their lives besides Disney. That's why I think the 50 points is an excellent idea. In ten years they will have a different aged family. Some one said 30 years will go fast with a young family. That is true. So many things will change that it will make your head spin to think of it.

50 points is perfect right now. Down the road - cramped. Then it full circles....a couple can do fine in a studio. I like a one bedroom, but don't really need one - I'm in one right now - just us two. I spent a couple of nights in a studio and then moved to the one bedroom.

I've also brought the aerobed when we were 5. Not everyone wants to sleep so cosy.

 

[Marionnette]

Not sure I understand your math.......

You rented for 5 nights and paid $715.

Yet you did a calculation for 15 vacations for the OP.

If we put the OP in YOUR room, she would pay $286 in dues for the 55 points, plus roughly 1/30th of the cost of her initial buy in. For 50 points that would be $166. Lets add another 10% and make that $182 to get the figures closer together.

So, $286 and $182 - the OP is getting the same room you got for -------$468. And no worries about being a renter and getting scammed.

I see a savings for the OP of $247 !!!!!.

I see perks for the OP.

I see no worries for the OP.

And, OP - you can always sell when you are ready - 50 pointers go fast!

I based my calculations on two things: the OP would not even have enough points in one use year to rent a std. view studio at AKV for 5 nights during a low season. Those were weekday nights. Weekend nights are almost double the amount of points, so to stay for a week it would cost around 81 points at the time that I went. The OP would have to bank or borrow points from one year in order to take a week's vacation. She would not be able to vacation every year on 50 points unless those trips were very short (4 nights or less).

If the OP were to choose to vacation at a more expensive resort or more expensive room, she will have to take even shorter vacations or space them out every three years, banking and borrowing points in order to make it happen. A std. view 1-bedroom at AKV for the same week that I was there would have run the OP 162 pts. She wouldn't even be able to do that with 3 years of banking/borrowing. She would have to spend money to transfer points from another DVC owner in order to make up the difference.

I also overpaid significantly for my rental because it was from my brother and I know that he needed the cash. This was my way of giving it to him without actually giving it to him. KWIM? I'm well aware that point rentals on the disboards can go for so much less and distressed points are practically given away at $8-$9/pt.

If the OP decides that DVC is a good purchase for her, then I hope that she enjoys it. I really liked Kidani and would jump at the chance to stay there again. My brother loves his DVC ownership and has two contracts at SSR. My neighbor also owns at SSR and has used his points for stays at some very nice resort hotels around the country. He's not the type to just throw his money away, so I'm sure that he ran the numbers carefully and took everything into consideration when he made his purchase.

It just doesn't work for us and I stated why.