Buying DVC at Aulani Direct Vs Resale

[Tanya Tink]

Does anyone have any thoughts about buying Aulani direct vs resale? From what I’ve seen, the cost per point is significantly less buying resale. But is this cost savings worth the potential restrictions Disney may continue to put on people who buy resale? Besides not getting the perks/discounts you get with buying direct, what are some other cons or risks of buying resale?

Also, does anyone know if being able to book a room or villa at Aulani is easier as a DVC owner vs someone who just pays cash?

 

[D-Trick]

Generally speaking, a room will be easier using cash, if you can afford it. Cash rooms are held in a separate inventory from DVC villas. Remember, Aulani has been on sale since 2010 and is still not sold out. Will it eventually? Most likely. Until then, there will always be cash rooms available.
_________

Are you buying Aulani because you'll be spending most of your time there? If so, then there aren't really any cons to buying resale. The direct perks are only valuable at WDW, and even less so at DLR. The basic fundamental of your contract-- meaning your ability to use your points to book a villa with a home resort advantage the same time as direct owners, will 97% never change*. In fact, with resale you may be able to find an AUL contract with subsidized dues, which is a super pro that would be very hard to outweigh.

Sure, more restrictions may come in the future on resale, but Disney has fortunately always grandfathered in existing resale contracts for the policy at the time of transfer. If they didn't then resale owners would riot.

*personally I think this is 99.9%, but people talk and worry about it too much so I reduced to 97% lol.

 

[crvetter]

https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/dvc-direct-vs-resale/

This shows what Disney says the advantages of buying direct is. For many of those benefits you only need 75 points direct to capture them. One of the only restriction you can’t get back is the ability to use all your points at resorts starting with Riviera forward. This ability is limited on a contract by contract basis. As far as further restrictions Disney could put into place, I think the view of many on the board isn’t a whole lot more (and as the Pp said they have always grandfather people in). The ability to book into the current 14 resorts likely can’t be taken away as that is attached to the Deed and can’t be separated from the Deed (that has been the general view on the board). So if you plan to use those points at Aulani maybe some at WDW (besides Riviera forward) then direct and resale can allow that. Remember though trading into other resorts is subject to availability.

If you really want the benefits you could consider purchasing 75 direct then the rest resale. The general consensus is to buy resale first with a use year that is good for you then buy direct to match resale.

 

[Tanya Tink]

Generally speaking, a room will be easier using cash, if you can afford it. Cash rooms are held in a separate inventory from DVC villas. Remember, Aulani has been on sale since 2010 and is still not sold out. Will it eventually? Most likely. Until then, there will always be cash rooms available.
_________

Are you buying Aulani because you'll be spending most of your time there? If so, then there aren't really any cons to buying resale. The direct perks are only valuable at WDW, and even less so at DLR. The basic fundamental of your contract-- meaning your ability to use your points to book a villa with a home resort advantage the same time as direct owners, will 97% never change*. In fact, with resale you may be able to find an AUL contract with subsidized dues, which is a super pro that would be very hard to outweigh.

Sure, more restrictions may come in the future on resale, but Disney has fortunately always grandfathered in existing resale contracts for the policy at the time of transfer. If they didn't then resale owners would riot.

*personally I think this is 99.9%, but people talk and worry about it too much so I reduced to 97% lol.

Thank you for the response!! What do you mean by finding a resale contract with subsidized dues?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

There is no restriction that has any meaning when dealing with Aulani points, even before you take the financials into account.

Let's say you want 100 Aulani points.

Direct will cost you $18,800 for those points.

Resale will cost you $10,500 for those points.

There is not sufficient discount at Aulani or economic benefit that covers a spread of $8,000 (allowing an extra $300 for resale close). There are no meaningful restrictions they can put on the use of those points for someone primarily using them for Aulani.

For larger contracts, the savings multiplies because your resale pricing will be lower (sub-$100 in some cases), but Disney's price is fixed. Even if they have incentives on Aulani purchase, they are nowhere close to making up those gaps.

The value of Aulani points is solely in purchase and use at Aulani. I can't emphasize this enough. There is a reason Aulani is nowhere near sell-out and has been on the market since 2011.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Thank you for the response!! What do you mean by finding a resale contract with subsidized dues?

When Disney put Aulani for sale, they understated dues to drive sales. State of Hawaii caught them. They had to stop sales for several months, and part of the settlement was that anyone who had purchased on the original dues received subsidized dues for life of contract. After the settlement, dues were set at a more honest amount.

Subsidized dues still see annual increases, but they are based on a smaller base.

 

[Tanya Tink]

Are there any sites that people recommend for buying resale?

 

[chalee94]

http://www.dvcstore.com/dvc-listings.cfm

I bought at the Timeshare Store. They are a DISBOARDS sponsor. But there are other options also.

 

[Tanya Tink]

There is no restriction that has any meaning when dealing with Aulani points, even before you take the financials into account.

Let's say you want 100 Aulani points.

Direct will cost you $18,800 for those points.

Resale will cost you $10,500 for those points.

There is not sufficient discount at Aulani or economic benefit that covers a spread of $8,000 (allowing an extra $300 for resale close). There are no meaningful restrictions they can put on the use of those points for someone primarily using them for Aulani.

For larger contracts, the savings multiplies because your resale pricing will be lower (sub-$100 in some cases), but Disney's price is fixed. Even if they have incentives on Aulani purchase, they are nowhere close to making up those gaps.

The value of Aulani points is solely in purchase and use at Aulani. I can't emphasize this enough. There is a reason Aulani is nowhere near sell-out and has been on the market since 2011.

Thank you for the response

When Disney put Aulani for sale, they understated dues to drive sales. State of Hawaii caught them. They had to stop sales for several months, and part of the settlement was that anyone who had purchased on the original dues received subsidized dues for life of contract. After the settlement, dues were set at a more honest amount.

Subsidized dues still see annual increases, but they are based on a smaller base.

How do you know if the resale contract has subsidized dues? Is it a matter of just asking the seller?

 

[chalee94]

How do you know if the resale contract has subsidized dues? Is it a matter of just asking the seller?

It's a valuable quality so it's usually advertised in the listing.