Buying what you need or buying more and renting?

[lsutigers03]

I've been talking with my wife for a few months about buying DVC. Right now we would go every other year. We have a 6 and 2 year old so the end of May when my 6 year old gets out of school is when we would go. Originally I was set on buying SSR since it's the cheapest at WDW and I always hear it's the best resale value. I would have no plans to stay there unless I couldn't get anything else. I was also considering AKL because I would like to stay there if I couldn't get something else at 7 months. If we bought DVC we would get a 1BR which I hope would make it easier to get something at the 7 month mark. I've been going back and forth about buying what I estimate we would need or buying more and renting points to help cover maintenance fees. Based on the 2020 and 2021 point charts it looks like we would need 200-250 points for a week in a 1BR at the resorts we would consider. The options I'm considering are getting a contract around 100-125 points and banking one year for the next or getting around 180 points and banking what I need for the next year and renting the rest. I'm curious about the thought process for some of you when you bought your first contract? Also is it difficult to rent points for AKL or SSR?

 

[CmdrThor]

If you are willing to work at securing renters directly and trying to get more $ out of your points I think it is possible to buy more and rent. But if you are just going to rent through a broker there is a pretty good chance you would be better off just investing the money that you would have spent on the extra points.

Another issue is if you buy with the intention of renting, there is a pretty good chance you'll get hooked on using the points yourself and you won't have any left to rent! This has absolutely happened to me

The recommendation is always to buy where you want to stay. If you do not want to stay at SSR, I would not buy there. I own at AKL and am happy with it. Also in the process of buying a BLT contract as we like it there too.

 

[lsutigers03]

If you own at AKL I assume you can get rooms at both Jambo and Kidani? Is one better than the other? Since my kids are young we would likely get savannah view rooms as they would love being able to see the animals right outside our room. Which would be better for savannah view?

 

[CraigInPA]

If you don't want to stay at SSR, don't buy at SSR. While May is usually an easy time to choose a resort to stay in a 1 bedroom, with the ongoing pressure on studios, we will undoubtedly see 1 bedrooms become more difficult in the future.

There are lots of 150 and 160 contracts out there. I'd search for one of those, and do banking/borrowing to get the desired number of points for your every-other-year planned trip, with a strategy of renting the unneeded points. I'm actually typing this with a straight face, although I should be inserting some laughing emoji, because pretty soon you'll be looking for a 50 point contract so you can go every year, and will likely never rent any points. It's called "addonitis" and it's a real thing!

 

[lsutigers03]

Haha yeah I've seen most people falling prey to "addonitis". I guess it's easy to say that won't happen before I buy any contract. Although when our kids get a little older I can easily see my wife and I flying in for a long weekend multiple times a year.

 

[CmdrThor]

If you own at AKL I assume you can get rooms at both Jambo and Kidani? Is one better than the other? Since my kids are young we would likely get savannah view rooms as they would love being able to see the animals right outside our room. Which would be better for savannah view?

Yes you can get both Jambo and Kidani. Kidani is all DVC therefore has many more rooms and better availability. Savannah view typically has better availability than standard because it is more points. Kidani has a great pool for kids, if you are driving you get to park underneath the building hopefully near your elevator, and it is a bit more quiet. Jambo has more food options and the pool is good as well. I have not stayed in Jambo before so I can't comment on the Savannah view but I imagine it varies based on where the animals want to roam.

 

[CarolynFH]

If you own at AKL I assume you can get rooms at both Jambo and Kidani? Is one better than the other? Since my kids are young we would likely get savannah view rooms as they would love being able to see the animals right outside our room. Which would be better for savannah view?

I don't own at AKL but it's my second favorite DVC resort due to savanna view. If you own AKL you can book at either Kidani or Jambo, but I prefer Kidani because it's all DVC so you can get a room on the lower floors and see the animals better. The DVC rooms at Jambo are all on the 5th floor, so oftentimes trees get in the way of the view. Since you're interested in 1 bedrooms (good choice!), Kidani has two full bathrooms in the 1 bedroom villas while Jambo only has one, and it's across a small hallway from the master bedroom so not as private. Also, Kidani 1 bedrooms have a twin size sleeper chair in addition to the (double or queen, never can remember) sofa bed, so if your kids need separate beds (now or later) they'll have them. Jambo doesn't have that. One other thing I like about Kidani is that you park under the building, and you can usually find a spot near the elevator closest to your room, which means no loading/unloading in hot sun or rain and no need to traipse through the lobby every time you come back (if you drive).

Jambo has more eating facilities, which makes a difference to some people, but it's a short walk between the two buildings and there's a shuttle that runs back and forth all day as well. You can use the pool at either building; the kids' splash pad at Kidani seems to be very popular.

I'm going to tag @drusba here because they have the best knowledge of the various savanna views I've ever read here on the DISboards.

 

[lsutigers03]

Yes you can get both Jambo and Kidani. Kidani is all DVC therefore has many more rooms and better availability. Savannah view typically has better availability than standard because it is more points. Kidani has a great pool for kids, if you are driving you get to park underneath the building hopefully near your elevator, and it is a bit more quiet. Jambo has more food options and the pool is good as well. I have not stayed in Jambo before so I can't comment on the Savannah view but I imagine it varies based on where the animals want to roam.

Good to know. Thanks for the info.

 

[lsutigers03]

I don't own at AKL but it's my second favorite DVC resort due to savanna view. If you own AKL you can book at either Kidani or Jambo, but I prefer Kidani because it's all DVC so you can get a room on the lower floors and see the animals better. The DVC rooms at Jambo are all on the 5th floor, so oftentimes trees get in the way of the view. Since you're interested in 1 bedrooms (good choice!), Kidani has two full bathrooms in the 1 bedroom villas while Jambo only has one, and it's across a small hallway from the master bedroom so not as private. Also, Kidani 1 bedrooms have a twin size sleeper chair in addition to the (double or queen, never can remember) sofa bed, so if your kids need separate beds (now or later) they'll have them. Jambo doesn't have that. One other thing I like about Kidani is that you park under the building, and you can usually find a spot near the elevator closest to your room, which means no loading/unloading in hot sun or rain and no need to traipse through the lobby every time you come back (if you drive).

Jambo has more eating facilities, which makes a difference to some people, but it's a short walk between the two buildings and there's a shuttle that runs back and forth all day as well. You can use the pool at either building; the kids' splash pad at Kidani seems to be very popular.

I'm going to tag @drusba here because they have the best knowledge of the various savanna views I've ever read here on the DISboards.

When you make a reservation can you request where you want your room to be?

 

[sethschroeder]

I would not buy specifically to rent. You are not going to make much likely from it in the end and its going to be a pain at times depending on who is renting from you or if you can find renters.

I mean if renting was so easy and useful then it would be the #1 suggestion for people on this forum I would suspect.

 

[MonkeyKnifeFight]

We are planning on going every other year as well and are currently closing on a 210 point BLT contract. Like you we are wanting to stay in 1 bedrooms. It also is coming with a bunch of banked points. More than we could use. We are planning on going every other year for the most part which gives us somewhat of a surplus. It seems like BLT has a lot of demand so we shouldn’t have a problem getting renters. We’ve even had people we know approach us already about renting our points.

I like having more than exactly what is necessary to go every 2 years because we have flexibility to upgrade to a 2 bedroom and bring family every so often or to stay a few extra nights.

 

[CarolMN]

Don't buy to rent, especially now. You'll be competing with several established brokers in an increasingly volatile market. Lots of cancellations going on right now as people re-think travel plans.

 

[aoconnor]

When you look at your return on "investment" for renting it's not great. AKL is ~$110pp with 37 years left so $2.98 per year plus $7.67 MF is $10.65 cost per point. If you use a broker and rent them out for $15 that's $4.35 profit or about a 4.0% return on your $110 purchase. You can do much better than 4.0% in the long run by investing elsewhere.

Regarding SSR vs AKV-- pay a little more to buy AKV. Since you like the resort more you will "feel" better about owning there plus who knows how your travel plans will change over the next 37 years- maybe later you'll want to travel at busier times and you'll be glad you have AKV to fall back on if you couldn't get something else.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

I just bought 150 SSR points because I prefer 1 bedrooms and there’s decent availability for that at other resorts and I’m happy to try other resorts when they’re available. But for stays where I am not as flexible on location, I book using my 150 BWV points.

I was also going to originally buy and rent out points but 1) addonitis is real and 2) after figuring in the tax I’d have to pay, just didn’t seem worth the effort. I’d rather book another trip for the family

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you own at AKL I assume you can get rooms at both Jambo and Kidani? Is one better than the other? Since my kids are young we would likely get savannah view rooms as they would love being able to see the animals right outside our room. Which would be better for savannah view?

But they won't see Mike on the savanna.

 

[CarolynFH]

When you make a reservation can you request where you want your room to be?

Yes, your reservation will be for Kidani or Jambo specifically. They’re listed as if two separate resorts on the reservation tool, but AKL owners can book either one at 11 months.

 

[lsutigers03]

But they won't see Mike on the savanna.

Yeah I would imagine that would make for a bad morning for people to wake up to.

I appreciate everyone’s advice.

Can you book a reservation if you don’t currently have points but at the time of the reservation you will have points? For example if I buy a contract with a December use year with no points until December 2020 can I book a reservation before December for May 2021?

 

[CarolynFH]

Yeah I would imagine that would make for a bad morning for people to wake up to.

I appreciate everyone’s advice.

Can you book a reservation if you don’t currently have points but at the time of the reservation you will have points? For example if I buy a contract with a December use year with no points until December 2020 can I book a reservation before December for May 2021?

You can always book at 11 months for home and 7 months for other resorts. When you book doesn’t matter, it’s what points will be available at the time of the reservation. So yes, you could book as early as June 2020 for May 2021 with December 2020 points (which would be current UY for the reservation). You could also use banked December 2019 points or borrowed December 2021 points for that May 2021 reservation.

 

[lsutigers03]

You can always book at 11 months for home and 7 months for other resorts. When you book doesn’t matter, it’s what points will be available at the time of the reservation. So yes, you could book as early as June 2020 for May 2021 with December 2020 points (which would be current UY for the reservation). You could also use banked December 2019 points or borrowed December 2021 points for that May 2021 reservation.

Perfect. Thank you for clearing that up.

 

[luckygirl0100]

We purchased 400 SSR points a few years ago. We only use about 190 a year. We rent the rest. It IS a pain renting! There are SOOOOOOOOO many people who request you check availability then disappear! Huge waste of time!
We did it this way because,
1. A 400 point resale contract was much cheaper per point.
2. We have 5 kids (oldest is almost 19) so grandkids will happen and we want to be able to have family trips with all 5 kids, their spouses and grandchildren at some point. We will need all 400 then.

Before purchasing we didn't mind SSR but it wasn't our fav. It's grown on us, and we actually really love staying there. With that said we are 'parks' people. We don't even bring swimsuits with us. Our youngest has a genetic disorder that requires a very special diet so I cook while there, restaurants aren't important to us. We have a few favorite meals at different places but it's not a make it/ break it for our trips. I run and the pathways around SSR are amazing for an early morning run, calming and it's just so beautiful.
Decide what's right for you! How do you like to spend your vacation?