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

[Crazy4Disney06]

CrazyForDisney06, just couldn't get past the first page when I read your post - So you can't see yourself going to Disney much in your 60's, eh?? Well, let this little "old" lady and DH tell you a thing or two We are in our 60's, retired, and love Disney, and can run circles around you "youngsters" We have been going to Disney since the year after MK opened and for several years it was only every 5 or so years that we could afford it but now we go up to 3 times a year - AND we're not hobbling, on crutches, in scooters, but on our two very fit feet and bodies We have "raised" our 3 children on Disney and other vacations, especially the Great Smokey Mountains. Not trying to make you feel bad, but reading your post just struck me funny - our next 10 day trip is in April for the F & G show. We're full of life, so maybe you'll see us passing by you there on to the next country - hope you have as many fun-filled Disney trips as we have and hope to continue having

I'm sorry you took my post wrong! My mother is 59 and can run circles around me while working two full time jobs! My comment would have been better worded saying my dh will be totally burnt out on Disney by our 60's! As much as he loves Disney and is all for us getting DVC he is always suggesting we "try" somewhere else. Please don't be offended, as my post was not meant negative towards anyone in their 60's and on. Working as a nurse I see MANY well bodied older people who give me a run for my money any day!

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

A week at OKW in the Adventure cheapest season (January, September and Dec 1 - 14) for a studio is 76 points. For 50 points you can get 5 nights. A week at Aulani is 126 points for a studio and 18 points get you one night for a standard view.

5 nights is our standard length of travel currently......we can get 5 nights this December at Aulani for 95 points if we borrow from the next year. I have done my homework and staying in a studio we have several options for 5 night stays every year or longer stays every other.

 

[Tiger926]

Good luck OP with DVC! We have been members almost 8 years at 2 resorts (360 points). Between our buy in, add ons, dues and all associated costs (tix, food, transportation, etc.), we have spent over $70,000 on DVC. Ouch!

Being that this is the budget board, I would encourage you to not get caught in the adding on fever that permeates our DVC boards at times, as this will only cost money. I would also encourage you to watch your food budget carefully, but this is very hard to do in a Studio (which is all you can afford with only 50 points). Food is expensive!

Sounds good that you started small, and here are a few things to consider. Some have already been mentioned in this thread, while others have not:

Points are increasing - We are currently waiting on 2013 point charts. Some resorts will see increases, and therefore, some will have to see decreases, so you need to wait until new point charts are out before you will know exactly how many nights you can use. We have seen 2 point reallocations in the last few years, and this has cost us several nights of vacations.

Reservations - As others have mentioned, it is very difficult to book Californian or Auluni as they are new, so you may have to play around with travel dates in order to fit in your stays to work with your points. As well, Animal Kingdom Value is difficult to get. I own at Animal Kingdom, which means 11 months, and I can't get my rooms at certain times. Now we have to travel peak season, but you still may have trouble with certain dates, so don't assume you can get those resorts.

Banking/Borrowing - While it is a cool concept, it is permanent. Once you borrow, or bank points for that matter, you cannot undo those transactions. So, if something happens and you have to cancel, you will lose those points, unless within your Use Year. We don't bank/borrow very often at all for this reason.

Rooms - Studios are small, and with your kids being so far apart in age, I forsee problems here in the future, so be mindful of this.

It seems as if you are very excited about your purchase, so best of luck. Enjoy it!

But you also have to remember, that you are looking at best case scenarios, and with DVC, this isn't how it always works. So, as long as you are flexible, and are open minded to other DVC resorts, you should be able to work your DVC to your family's advantage.

But being that this is the Budget board, you need to consider that you may not be able to use your points for the resorts you have listed, and it may cost you more than you thought as you only have a very small amount to work with.

Have fun paying such a low dues amount! We are at $1800 and change this year. Yuck!

Happy DVCing, and come visit us on our DVC boards if you have any other questions, Tiger

 

[nunzia]

Thank you all for your replies.
Even though there are a few naysayers here, after much thought we have signed our contract and will be mailing it in later this afternoon. Hoping we pass ROFR. We got 50 points listed at $60 per point and offered $55 and seller accepted! We found our ideal UY and CAN/WILL get many vacations at LEAST every other year off our DVC ownership, since we already vacation to WDW or DL that much now anyhow! Not everyone vacations for 7 night, actually of the 9 trips in the past 12 years our longest was only 8 nights and that included a 3 night cruise on the Wonder. Even as much as I LOVE Disney at this point in time our jobs only allow us 1 week vacation at a time......flying from Oregon that only leaves us 5 nights at WDW. Our thoughts are to buy small and make sure that DVC is right for us. We are able to pay cash upfront so no debt will be made by the purchase, and we can always add on later or even sell as one poster said 50 point contracts sell FAST!

I hope it all goes smoothly for you! As you can see from the range of replies opinions are all over the place..to each their own. We own at VGC and love it..all our kids are grown and have multiplied so we have 3 family groups and 9 grandkids to work in various configurations, plus friends and extended family who we like to treat once in awhile. We bought in small increments and have 4 contracts (from Disney..since when VGC opened there WAS no resale..but I did buy a 25 point OKW to get into the system so that I could buy small point contracts direct, then sold my OKW after using it and ended up even) for a total of 225 points. The total purchase price for my points was less than what I paid for my Ford Explorer forever ago that is long gone and the MF equal less than what we would need to spend for 3 nights in a hotel room at the Grand (yes..I know all about the Harbor hotels and have stayed there and they are fine, but onsite means alot to me when we do the parks although I happily stay off site for $70 a night when doing the Expo) and those same points can give me 10+ nights a year in a studio. If our travel plans change, then we can sell some of our contracts at whatever the going price is and still feel like we got good use of our investment.
We have 3 kids and we all stayed in a single hotel room with no fussing until they were grown and gone. They knew it was what it was and if they wanted a vacation, they'd stay where we put them and do it happily, so I'm sure your kids will be fine with a studio even when they grow.
I hope you keep us posted. It sounds like you've researched well and that this contract will be a great fit for you!

 

[heartsy77]

I just wanted to say: I'm so excited for you!
After reading your post my DH husband and I sat down and talked last night about buying DVC. We are selling a parcel of land and because of that we can pay off all of our cc debt and an auto loan! In a year when I graduate with my Rn we will be in a great position to buy a DVC as well!

 

[DisneyEater]

Congrats! We love OKW. (It is our home too!)

The best part....banking and borrowing can get you 3 nights in a grand villa at OKW if you ever want to have a big family trip. After 4 days and 3 nights with the extended family you will probably be ready to go anyway.

 

[csharpwv]

With 9 trips in the last 12 years - you WILL save money by being DVC members - regardless of how many points you buy. If you want to spend three days at a Value resort on cash, and then finish your vacation in a 1BR Villa you can do that - if you want to Bank - Use - Borrow - then that's every three years, if you want to split the different and go every other year, Bank, use half, and bank again - and use. It sounds complicated - but it's easy.

Plus you'll be able to use your discount even if you aren't staying on points!

We do a ton of Christmas shopping for our niece and nephews each year with our discount!

You can always add on later if you want!

We bought our first contract in 2008 and have added on three times since then. Some people think that vacation ownership is a waste of money - but with Disney quality - and the flexibility of DVC, it fits our needs perfectly!

I hope you pass ROFR! Good luck!

 

[dzorn]

Yes, she can rent points from Disney at a rate of $15/pt., which would add another $75 to her annual cost for a 5-night vacation. But you seem to have glossed over that in your haste to prove me wrong on comparing the costs of a trip.

Let's compare apples to apples, shall we?

55 points rented at the going rate of $10/pt. would cost a renter $550.

A 50-point contract plus annual fees as per your calculations would come out to around $452 in annual costs. But then, the owner would need to make up those other 5 points somehow. If they choose to rent them from Disney for a single reservation, it comes to another $75. $452 + $75 = $527. The DVC owner wins by a whopping $23, doesn't have the stress of dealing with renting points and gets the DVC perks. The also have the ability to sell their ownership at a later date, thereby recovering some of their investment if they wish.

The renter gets none of those perks, pays an extra $23 and has to worry about whether the DVC owner that they are renting from is on the up & up. However, they do have the advantage of keeping the $3700 in the bank while the DVC owner paid it upfront for their contract. The non-owner doesn't have to concern himself with recurring fees, nor increases in taxes nor maintenance fee increases. Plus they have the ability to take their vacation dollars wherever they wish.

The point is moot since the OP has made her decision and seems to be happy with it. I wish her many pleasant stays in her new DVC home.

But as a DVC owner I also have no stress that the room will actually be there when I booked it. No chance that somone is taken my money and left me high and dry.

Denise in MI

 

[Marionnette]

But as a DVC owner I also have no stress that the room will actually be there when I booked it. No chance that somone is taken my money and left me high and dry.

Denise in MI

I think I touched on that when I stated:

The renter gets none of those perks, pays an extra $23 and has to worry about whether the DVC owner that they are renting from is on the up & up.

Of course, if you rent from friends, neighbors or relatives, then the worry factor decreases considerably.

 

[ValpoCory]

Banking/Borrowing - While it is a cool concept, it is permanent. Once you borrow, or bank points for that matter, you cannot undo those transactions. So, if something happens and you have to cancel, you will lose those points, unless within your Use Year. We don't bank/borrow very often at all for this reason.

I understand why that would be a deterrent to borrowing, but why is that a deterrent to banking?

 

[Tiger926]

I understand why that would be a deterrent to borrowing, but why is that a deterrent to banking?

Because you can only use them in the next use year. Once you bank points, you can't use them in the current use year that they were banked into.

So, say you want to add on a night, or take an extra vacation that year, you cannot use those banked points, so you would then have to borrow from the next use year.

Tiger

 

[ValpoCory]

Because you can only use them in the next use year. Once you bank points, you can't use them in the current use year that they were banked into.

So, say you want to add on a night, or take an extra vacation that year, you cannot use those banked points, so you would then have to borrow from the next use year.

Tiger

Makes sense. Thanks!

 

[*Flower*]

On the other hand, we bank regularly- but try not to borrow. We borrowed once, during our first year of ownership, due to some premature banking on my part.

I book our reservations for our use year, and bank the left-overs before the end of the last month of the banking window. That way I have more flexibility in the following use-year.

We've never lost any points.....

 

[mtquinn]

Hi. Wanted to comment on this thread. We are DVC owners, and LOVE our purchase. We just split-stayed at AKV (studio) and then BWV (one BR) in late Aug 2011. Boy, was that a treat!

These are hotels we could not afford normally. But, after buying into DVC (yes, the initial investment for 200 points was a lot up front, but we managed to pay it off within a couple months) we realized we made a great decision.

Our membership is different than yours in that our 150 point contract was a resale at BWV. We bought before the restrictions were in place, so we can use them for any trip type we choose. Couldn't resist the 55 per point price! Then, we added 50 points at SSR direct.

Thanks to our buy-in, we are going on an 8 night cruise in June, then planning Hawaii in a couple years. This is not the way people normally use their points, but these are trips we could not have taken w/o DVC. Why? Because for us it was easier to plunk down the big money and then just pay the maintenance/dues, instead of constantly saving thousands for cruises and Hawaii trips. One big payment, and done. It's just easier for us.

The AKV studio was very nice. We are a family of four. DD's are 10 and 7, and we were fine. That being said, being in the one br BWV was AMAZING. We were blown away with the space, luxury and amenities it had. Two bathrooms, w/d (LOVED that. Imagine going home with a suitcase of clean clothes!), full kitchen, two connected verandahs, jacuzzi tub. Boy, oh boy, it was unbelievable. We've never had a room like that at Disney. It's hard to go back to a studio.

But, the pull out couches in any villa have really comfy tempur-pedic mattresses. I slept happily on the pull-out with DD7 and we snoozed like logs.

I say go for it! If you are already Disney-aholics and you KNOW you will be going for a long time, why not? I would only do it if I could pay it all up front. No mortgages for me. Makes no sense to finance such a thing, in my opinion.

Good luck!

p.s. one more comment: look for a resale contract with back points. Mine had a years' worth, AND a cheap price. There is no better time to get the contract you want at a bargain. There are many reputable agencies specializing in DVC resales with lots of contracts to sell. You will find the Use Year you want WITH back points if you keep looking/waiting. ROFR is only a worry if the point price is insanely low, like in the 40's for BWV. M contract was asking 59 per point, I believe, and I offered 55. There ya go!

 

[North of Mouse]

I'm sorry you took my post wrong! My mother is 59 and can run circles around me while working two full time jobs! My comment would have been better worded saying my dh will be totally burnt out on Disney by our 60's! As much as he loves Disney and is all for us getting DVC he is always suggesting we "try" somewhere else. Please don't be offended, as my post was not meant negative towards anyone in their 60's and on. Working as a nurse I see MANY well bodied older people who give me a run for my money any day!

You didn't offend me at all It's true I did misunderstand you but not in a bad way I was just telling my husband about it and we had to laugh because when we were first married (20 & 21) we thought anyone over 40 was ready for the rocking chairs on the front porch thing We do have some friends though that would just as soon sit around home and grow old We hope to remain healthy because we love to travel and hike the mountans - our favorite pass times Good luck with your DVC purchase and future trips - our daughter has had one at BWV for several years and just loves it

 

[sherob]

Having been a DVC (Old Key West) member since 1995 I can assure you that this is a good, solid, decision. We have used our timeshare to stay several times at WDW FL, Disney Land CA, and 3 disney cruises. If you like Disney you love this timeshare.