Buying Points a Little at a Time?

[U2FanHfx]

Hi All,

Please don't flame me if I'm posing in the wrong forum, just let me know.

My Fiance and I are Canadians and would really love to buy into DVC in the next few months. We are renting points from 2 people for a stay at OKW and BWV to 'test' out our experience and use it as the final decision maker.

My question is this, I don't want to buy and fianance. What I would rather do is purchase resales in the 25-50 point range over the course of the year and pay cash. Is this even possible? Has anyone ever completed this type of series of transactions? I'm in Nova Scotia which I also know causes me an issue (something about the laws with timeshares here), but I will overcome it. Even if it means flying to Florida or getting my Ontario DVC friends to forward the mail

Regs,

CJM

 

[browniemtb]

Buying points a little at a time is a great idea. If you do resale there would be a little wait for ROFR. The only thing I'm not sure about is the UY question. If you have multiple contracts with different UY would that be harder to manage?? I'm sure other more experianced DVCers can answer this. And as far as the laws go the TTS, our host, could probably answer your questions with one phone call. Good Luck
Brownie

 

[amandaC]

I would buy the first small contract resale. Take your time to find the home and use year you want. Let TTS know what you are looking for and they can call you when a contract that fits your needs comes in. Once you have a contract, you can do add-ons through Disney. Then you won't have closing costs and more important, you will get the same use year. We have 3 homes with 2 use years and I have juggled them fine so far. But I wouldn't want any more than 2 use years to deal with.
Amanda

 

[CarolMN]

You posted in the correct forum. You certainly don't deserve any flames for posting honest questions!

Here are some potential negatives of purchasing small contracts over the course of a year or so -

* Buying small resale contracts will be more expensive per point than buying a minimum contract of 150 points. You will pay closing costs for each purchase and likely a higher price per point to get by ROFR. Disney has been exercising its ROFR on the smaller contracts unless they are priced quite high. Some here think that members who own only one small contract cost DVC more money to administer and so they are more likely to use ROFR on those who want to start small. (Once you are in, you are treated exactly the same as any other member so no need to worry about that aspect of buying less than the smallest contract Disney sells to new members).

* Managing multiple smalll contracts can be time consuming - especially if they are for different use years and resorts. Unless you really pay attention, you could end up losing points. Also, there could be some problems combining the points from multiple contracts when you want to make a reservation. These aren't insurmountable, but you'll really need to understand all the transfer and reservation rules, so that you can insist when MS resists what you want to do.

*It will probably take longer to find small contracts with the same use year and resort if you elect to go that route to avoid the "management hassles".


FWIW, I applaud your desire to purchase without financing. That said, you may want to save up and purchase a 150 point contract later.

Good luck - no matter which way you decide to go!

Best wishes -

P.S. Just read Amanda's post - IMHO, she has a good alternative to consider. Buy your first contract via resale and then do your add ons through Disney. You can add on at the sold out resorts if there are points avaiable. Usually there are.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I agree with AManda and Carol. Your best case would be to save up and purchase the 150 at one time, but if you aren't sure you want SSR as your home resort, then buying a small resale of the use year and resort you want and then adding on through Disney in 25 point increments is your best bet.

 

[JimC]

You have gotten great advice so far. My take is buying as you can afford to pay cash and knowing you can support the annual fees is a wise decision. Less likely you will get in over your head.

I have tried to figure out how DVC could offer a direct purchase plan kind of like a direct stock purchase plan most companies (including Disney) offer. The hang up is that I don't know how to get around the deeded interest issue. I guess they could hold your purchases in escrow until you have at least 25 points to deed, but that seems too cumbersome.

Many of us have bought a series of small add-ons to our initial purchase of points. And even with closing costs, The Timeshare Store seems able to move smaller contracts with ease. They are a great group to work with. Good luck with your decision.

 

[TammyAlphabet]

I would buy the first small contract resale. Take your time to find the home and use year you want. Let TTS know what you are looking for and they can call you when a contract that fits your needs comes in.
Amanda

I wouldn't count on TTS to call. I called and asked to be called for a certain contract six months ago and I have seen several of the same contract on the boards with a "sale pending" next to them. I never got a call. When I called and asked to be put on the list, they advised me to check the boards often as small contracts are hard to come by and sell quickly. This may be why I haven't gotten a call for these contracts when they came in.

I was told by one of their agents that they don't have a master list, each agent keeps a list of what they are looking for and if your agent is not on duty when the contract comes in or is otherwise engaged, you can miss out quite easily. (Donning flame suit!!)

So, my advice is, check the boards early and often and be flexible about that first contract. After you get the first small contract, even if it is at a resort that you don't really want, you can use those points when you are under the 7 month window, and just add-on at your resort preference for each subsequent contract. You could also sell that first contract down the line someday if you want.

Good luck and pixie dust to you!!


ADDED: I don't want to steer anyone away from the TTS. I think it is a fine organization. I just wanted to relate my experience and stress the point that if you want to catch a small contract, check the website frequently. Don't just sit back and wait for someone to call you.

 

[cpbjgc]

I just wanted to point out (as a Canadian DVC member ) that the suggestion to do add ons through Disney has a string - the OP would need to be in Florida to buy directly from Disney. Disney is not registered as a real estate broker in Manitoba (where I live and where they don't actually need to be registered, but they don't believe me ) and they will not sell add ons to me even though I am already a member. Heck, they won't even send me the DVC DVD!

So if the OP does want to do a series of small contracts without financing (which is what we are doing btw), they will need to go the resale route or spend a lot of time in WDW ( intereseting choices! If I had the money I know what I would choose!)

 

[CarolMN]

.....(snip)....So if the OP does want to do a series of small contracts without financing (which is what we are doing btw), they will need to go the resale route or spend a lot of time in WDW ( intereseting choices! If I had the money I know what I would choose!)

If you had the money, this discussion would be unnecessary - you could just buy one contract that meets your needs via resale, right? And then you could spend as much time aat WDW as your points (or vacation allotment) allowed!

Best wishes -

P.S. Adding this PS in case someone thought this post was mean - I just meant to tease a little. Sorry if anyone (especially cpbjgc) was offended. Sure wasn't my intent!

 

[U2FanHfx]

Thank you everyone for your great suggestions!

The resale initial buy is definately the way to go for us Nova Scotians. Similar to cpbjgc, we need to go to WDW to just sign the papers and we also can not recieved any 'material'. Just an FYI cpbjgc, our friends in Ontario get the stuff for us and then mail it on. DVC is good in Ontario.

Saving up for the 150 is an option, but we are not sure about SSR. Time will only tell and these upcoming trips are going to be very helpful.

Our use year desire is sometime off season. We will rarely if ever travel during peak as we like the moderate temperatures and low crowds of off season and have no kids.

What would people say a 'high price per point' would be to make it through ROFR? (I'm sure that's like asking what the winning lottery numbers will be )

I do feel a DVC Owner sig in my future!

Regs,

CJM

 

[CarolMN]

...(snip).....Saving up for the 150 is an option, but we are not sure about SSR. Time will only tell and these upcoming trips are going to be very helpful.........

If you are politely insistent, new members can sometimes buy at the sold out resorts directly from Disney. You may have to be flexible regarding use year, but it can be done if Disney has points - they have to do soemthing with the ones they get back via ROFR, LOL.

Good luck - hope it works out for you!

 

[erikthewise]

Great advice so far. Sorry I have to break the streak

There's a lot to be said for not buying points until you need them. If you buy extra points thinking you might need them a few years from now, you may find yourself banking up to your maximum and then having to rent them. And of course you may turn out to be wrong about needing them...

And as several have pointed out, buying a number of small contracts has its price too, both in money and aggravation. Not that it wouldn't work -- it can. But just imagine yourself 10 years from now telling Member Services that for your next reservation you want to use banked points from contracts A, C, and F, plus current use year points from contract B. Oh wait a minute, that's a March use year so that won't work...
you get the idea?

 

[Shawn]

Good advice so far.

Buying smaller-medium contracts so you don't go into debt sounded like good planning to us, and that is what we are doing. We weren't so ambitious that we planned on buying several in one year, but rather buying 18-24 months apart, since that's how long it'll take to save up the money for each contract.

We're shooting for the 75-100 point range contracts, rather than the 25-50 point range. Our first contract was 100 points at VWL. We do plan on spreading the contracts out among 3 different resorts. I believe we'll be able to juggle and track the contracts just fine. We plan on banking and orrowing and using using each contract every 3rd year.

It's true that you will spend more dollars per point by buying smaller contracts due to closing fees, but the inital dollars per point are not as significant as the amout you will pay in annual dues over the decades, so I wouldn't sweat that.

Another advantage of smaller contracts is that they seem to be more in demand than larger contracts. So if you decide to sell them 10 years down the road, you should be able to do so fairly easily. Also, with several smaller contracts you can more easily downsize in the future if your vacation patterns change and you find you only need 100 points rather than 150 or 200 or 300, you can sell contracts you don't need and hang onto what you can use.

-Shawn

 

[senecabeach]

Our use year desire is sometime off season. We will rarely if ever travel during peak as we like the moderate temperatures and low crowds of off season and have no kids.

UY has nothing to do with WHEN you vacation!!!

And...IF you go the small contracts you would need the future "small" contracts to be IN the SAME UY!!

Very difficult to get!! Not to mention the closing costs "EACH TIME" you buy a contract...then there's the price increases..

Good Luck!

 

[VLee]

I have just added two small contracts to my existing master one. That makes a total of 5 contracts, ranging from 150 to 50 pts.
Boardwalk - 150
VWL - 50, 50, 50, and 65
ALL have the same use year.
I like the advantage of having them under one master contract. That way I get a longer banking period to work with. For example, having a June use year, if I had not banked by end of November, I would stand to lose some of my BW (150) points. However, now I have until end of February to bank 1/2 of my total pts. (365). So I could still bank all of my BW points by end of February if necessary. This can work to my advantage if I am uncertain of ressies.

Also, since my daughter cannot afford to buy into DVC on a 150 pt right now, but wants to become a member herself, we have worked a deal. She is "paying" me for one of the 50-pt contracts. About a year from now, I will transfer it into her name, so that she can increase her points in the future by small direct add-ons from Disney. (No closing cost from Disney). They will have her same use year.
Down the road, if she gets my contracts, then they ALL have the same use year. Or we will be able to pool points in the future for larger family vacations.

AND, if I ever do decide to sell out of DVC, then I have the option of selling only one or two contracts, yet remaining a member with perks.

 

[Sal316]

If you are politely insistent, new members can sometimes buy at the sold out resorts directly from Disney. You may have to be flexible regarding use year, but it can be done if Disney has points - they have to do soemthing with the ones they get back via ROFR, LOL.

Good luck - hope it works out for you!

When we bought ours(Feb 17th), our rep/guide informed us we could buy our initial points at any of the resorts...not just SSR. We asked Judy(Kaufman) if the others were sold out and she told us they are still available for purchase. Who knows if they still are, but we had options other than SSR.