BUY OKW or SSR and never stay there?

[rinkwide]

Thank you Ron Burgundy.

 

[jade1]

Buy at OKW (resale) or SSR because it will be much cheaper (up front and later with smaller dues).

Depends. What if you decide to sell in 8 years and buy into a new more impressive DVC Resort? Or just sell outright? Many things in life are cheaper upfront but worth less when you go to sell it.

 

[byoung]

I own at BWV and love it there, also enjoy staying at OKW.

 

[NMW]

I say "Buy where you want to stay most often." If you are only interested in staying at BWV or BCv than buy one of those resorts. Our guide pushed SSR big time and told us that staying at BCV or BWV in early Dec or Oct would be "no problem." Well, that's not what people on this board said. I took their advice and bought BWV. It's also not what MS says. When I called at 11 mos. for early Dec and Oct, I was advised to call day by day to make the reservation so I didn't have to switch rooms. I was only competing against other BWV owners! Granted, I was booking boardwalk view for Dec and standard view for Oct and both those categories are harder to book than preferred/pool view. Still, knowing my trip is booked exactly where I want to stay at 11 mos puts my mind at ease.

Others that said if you book under 7 mos out, it really doesn't matter where you own are correct. You would in effect be giving up your home resort booking advantage and taking your chances with everybody else. Good luck.

 

[rinkwide]

...Others that said if you book under 7 mos out, it really doesn't matter where you own are correct...

Correct, but only if you will NEVER book any trip longer than 7 months out.

Situations change - if you have a favorite, buy it.

 

[NMW]

Correct, but only if you will NEVER book any trip longer than 7 months out.

Situations change - if you have a favorite, buy it.

Very good point!

 

[ascardino]

Okay, I hope my thoughts make sense, since it is rather late and I have been reading for hours:

My DH and I are thinking of purchasing an add on. We cannot seem to decide on how many points or at what resort. We currently own 150 pts at SSR. We have stayed there and like it but I am not sure that I would like to exclusively stay there if my choices were really limited. I like the boardwalk area alot. I have stayed at the S&D paying cash even after owning DVC points.

Factors affecting our decision are cost per point, maintenance fees and the length of ownership. While it doesn't seem like a big difference to some, 12 years more of time ownership is nothing to sneeze at. It was a great incentive to me the first time around as well as the lower maintenance costs.

Another consideration is that from other posts, it makes sense that with the large increase in DVC ownership from the sale of SSR, it is going to get harder and harder to get a ressie in a high demand resort like BCV during any season much less a premium time frame.

What to do !? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

 

[Chuck S]

Okay, I hope my thoughts make sense, since it is rather late and I have been reading for hours:

My DH and I are thinking of purchasing an add on. We cannot seem to decide on how many points or at what resort. We currently own 150 pts at SSR. We have stayed there and like it but I am not sure that I would like to exclusively stay there if my choices were really limited. I like the boardwalk area alot. I have stayed at the S&D paying cash even after owning DVC points.

Factors affecting our decision are cost per point, maintenance fees and the length of ownership. While it doesn't seem like a big difference to some, 12 years more of time ownership is nothing to sneeze at. It was a great incentive to me the first time around as well as the lower maintenance costs.

Another consideration is that from other posts, it makes sense that with the large increase in DVC ownership from the sale of SSR, it is going to get harder and harder to get a ressie in a high demand resort like BCV during any season much less a premium time frame.

What to do !? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

If you are young enough that those 12 additional years will be useful to you in the future, I'd stick with SSR, or maybe buy a small add-on at BWV/BCV. With a small EPCOT resort area add on, and using those points only at the EPCOT area resort, you could bank and borrow to make your 11 month ressie there every 3 years, but still have the bulk of your points at SSR for the 12 years.

I have some friends who are younger than I am looking to purchase. Their favorite resort is OKW, they love the condo style resorts. I'm advising them to get SSR because of the 12 extra years, looking in to the future when they have kids, and given the fact that OKW is relatively easy to book.

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

Since the extra 12 years is important- you should wait until the next DVC is announced. You could always rent points ( if needed) or borrow until you do the add on. If the rumors are true about a MK- Monorail DVC that would be a great addition to SSR. The only hard part about this advice is that you have to WAIT.

If you want to do the add on now, I would get into one of the Epcot resorts since you like that resort area alot. The price is increasing on July 1, 2006 and in addition Disney is going to start charging closing cost around July 11.
I just bought an add-on at BWV last month and was waitlisted for about 1 week.

 

[ascardino]

Thanks, Chuck.

I was thinking exactly along those lines after reading a bit more after I posted. I like the idea of planning one BCV vacation every two - three years and then going to other resorts on the SSR points. Planning ahead for the BCV trips will pin us down to do a little more pre planning. I think it may be a bit hard to come by a 50 - 75 pt contract for BCV though. It seems it is one of the most in demand plus it seems that the small contracts are difficult to get past ROFR.

I did just get of the phone with my guide who is going to check inventory on Monday for me. She said that BCV would be extremely difficult as there are about 200 waitlisted but she did see BWV about a week ago in inventory. I guess I could give TSS a call to see what may come along, but I am working against the price increase deadline. Her recommendation was to consider buying more SSR for the pluses I mentioned earlier and at 11 months out make the ressie for SSR for the exact dates that I want and then call at 7 months out to waitlist for BCV and chances are that it would come through for anything but Christmas or Easter weeks (which I wouldn't go then anyway).

I feel like I have to decide by next week either way!

 

[Bill K]

Buy where you want to stay. The 11 month window is very important. You probably would not have a problem with less popular resorts, however it will be tough on the popular ones. I struck out at my home resort BWV and 2nd choice VWL using 7 month window.

 

[vascubaguy]

I'm not one of those that follows the "buy where you want to stay" philosophy; however, my travel habits and desires are different from others. I own at both OKW and SSR and although I really like BWV, I don't mind having to stay somewhere else. Actually my next 2 trips are currently booked at OKW (Oct) and then SSR (NYE).

I'd only suggest that if you want to buy at OKW or SSR to save money (or get more years left on your contract for the money) then you should be willing to accept that you may not be able to stay at a non-home resort on some trips. So if you would like to stay at BCV but would be okay if nothing was available and ended up staying at SSR/OKW then you'll be ok. However, if you just have to stay at BCV and can plan/book your ressies during the 11-month window, then you are better off following the "buy where you want to stay" approach.

 

[ascardino]

Since the extra 12 years is important- you should wait until the next DVC is announced. You could always rent points ( if needed) or borrow until you do the add on. If the rumors are true about a MK- Monorail DVC that would be a great addition to SSR. The only hard part about this advice is that you have to WAIT.

If you want to do the add on now, I would get into one of the Epcot resorts since you like that resort area alot. The price is increasing on July 1, 2006 and in addition Disney is going to start charging closing cost around July 11.
I just bought an add-on at BWV last month and was waitlisted for about 1 week.

Yes, the thought of buying into a monorail DVC resort is definitely exciting. However, the thought of how much per pt plus all of the additional costs seems like it might break the bank. I think that I would definitely get more bang for my buck doing SSR now! Who knows, maybe later I could find more $$$ to buy a small add on at a new resort. It never ends....I think I have been infected with "addonitis"

 

[brutus]

This thread has been helpful to me. I am in the same situation.

We are considering buying SSR. After touring SSR, we liked it, but not as much as BCV or VWL.

If someone could help me with the 11 month/7 month rule. I think it is that you can book at your home resort at 11 months but at another DVC resort at 7 months? is this correct?

Also, we would normally go either mid-June, late october or early January. has anyone had a problem booking at your "non" home DVC resort durng those times?

 

[LisaS]

If someone could help me with the 11 month/7 month rule. I think it is that you can book at your home resort at 11 months but at another DVC resort at 7 months? is this correct?

Also, we would normally go either mid-June, late october or early January. has anyone had a problem booking at your "non" home DVC resort durng those times?

Yes you can book at your home resort at 11 months from your check out date. You can book at a non-home resort at 7 months from your check out date.

I'm not sure about availability in mid-June or early January. Mid to late January is not usually a problem however. October can be difficult at BCV and BWV because of the Food & Wine festival but I'm not sure how busy the other resorts are at that time. The easiest times to get into a non-home resort are probably mid to late January, May (other than Memorial Day) and September (other than Labor Day).