Consider buying fewer points up front

[DVCcurious]

Just a tip for those who haven't bought in yet. I'd consider buying fewer than you think you need.

I thought I needed 250 points so we could go for one week each summer in a 1 BR (which is about 270 pts for AKL Sav and VWL which are our preferred locations). I bought a 200 point contract a year and a half ago.

Since then I've rented out a couple hundred points and now I'm wishing I'd bought 150 or so. It's not that the maintenance fees are a problem, it's just that I think that maybe we won't be going for a week every year. Firstly we went for a week in July and it was too long. 6 days is better. Also we may want to do something else every couple of years. Sure we can bank the points we don't use, but with 200 pts and only needed about 220 for 6 days in the summer banking 1 year would give us 10 years of 6 day summer trips. If we bank a couple years (suppose we go to the beach in 2016 and 2019) and all of a sudden we're drowning in points.

I guess my point is that had we bought 150-180 pts we would have more flexibility to do other things and also more flexibility with banking/borrowing. With 200 if we have too many points our alternative is to rent them.

So if you think you need 200 points maybe look for 160 pt contracts. You'll save $3000-$4000 up front and you'll always have the option to buy more if you determine you need more points after a few years.

Thank God I bought 200 and not 250 like I originally planned!

 

[lovin'fl]

Just keep renting for now and someday there may come a time when you'll need a slew of points. We find we're always in borrowing mode and that's with 425 points (but we moved up from using 1BR to 2BR now that our kids are teens...and inlaws use about 150 a year). But, I agree with your sentiment that new buyers should maybe go for a few less than they think they'll need...you can always add on more plus I am all for having smaller contracts that are easier to re-sell.

 

[bakerworld]

Just a tip for those who haven't bought in yet. I'd consider buying fewer than you think you need.

I thought I needed 250 points so we could go for one week each summer in a 1 BR (which is about 270 pts for AKL Sav and VWL which are our preferred locations). I bought a 200 point contract a year and a half ago.

Since then I've rented out a couple hundred points and now I'm wishing I'd bought 150 or so. It's not that the maintenance fees are a problem, it's just that I think that maybe we won't be going for a week every year. Firstly we went for a week in July and it was too long. 6 days is better. Also we may want to do something else every couple of years. Sure we can bank the points we don't use, but with 200 pts and only needed about 220 for 6 days in the summer banking 1 year would give us 10 years of 6 day summer trips. If we bank a couple years (suppose we go to the beach in 2016 and 2019) and all of a sudden we're drowning in points.

I guess my point is that had we bought 150-180 pts we would have more flexibility to do other things and also more flexibility with banking/borrowing. With 200 if we have too many points our alternative is to rent them.

So if you think you need 200 points maybe look for 160 pt contracts. You'll save $3000-$4000 up front and you'll always have the option to buy more if you determine you need more points after a few years.

Thank God I bought 200 and not 250 like I originally planned!

Good Advice. Thankfully we had a very nice guide who advised us to buy low. We have 3 contracts now and are seriously considering selling the 1st contact as it's not one of our preferred locations.

Conversely in 2013 we did a final family vacation with our adult children which caused us to borrow so it's a decision in abeyance.

 

[disneynutz]

Buying smaller contracts may cost more but it gives you flexibility as your vacation habits change.

Bill

 

[glamdring269]

This is why we bought a 75 point contract at VWL recently. First buy in to ensure we like the idea and leaves us some wiggle room to add on at a separate resort. It also means I can jettison a contract easily if I end up with 2 or 3 of them. Sure it costs more but I consider that to be an added cost of 11-month booking flexibility.

 

[crisi]

It's easy to get excited and look forward to frequent Disney trips, taking family and friends...and forget that you might want to go somewhere else once in a while, that your family and friends might not be as excited about expensive park passes as you are, and that as the kids get older, it becomes harder and harder to schedule a week away.

 

[Dean]

Just a tip for those who haven't bought in yet. I'd consider buying fewer than you think you need.

I thought I needed 250 points so we could go for one week each summer in a 1 BR (which is about 270 pts for AKL Sav and VWL which are our preferred locations). I bought a 200 point contract a year and a half ago.

Since then I've rented out a couple hundred points and now I'm wishing I'd bought 150 or so. It's not that the maintenance fees are a problem, it's just that I think that maybe we won't be going for a week every year. Firstly we went for a week in July and it was too long. 6 days is better. Also we may want to do something else every couple of years. Sure we can bank the points we don't use, but with 200 pts and only needed about 220 for 6 days in the summer banking 1 year would give us 10 years of 6 day summer trips. If we bank a couple years (suppose we go to the beach in 2016 and 2019) and all of a sudden we're drowning in points.

I guess my point is that had we bought 150-180 pts we would have more flexibility to do other things and also more flexibility with banking/borrowing. With 200 if we have too many points our alternative is to rent them.

So if you think you need 200 points maybe look for 160 pt contracts. You'll save $3000-$4000 up front and you'll always have the option to buy more if you determine you need more points after a few years.

Thank God I bought 200 and not 250 like I originally planned!

I've stated several times lately that underbuying both the resort and number of points is often a good idea. It really depends on the assumptions and situation. In your exact circumstances, underbuying is a great option, esp for new buyers getting their feet wet. However, the reverse is true also, there are those that work it to the individual point for a studio low season and in most cases, they should give a fair cushion of 10-20%, maybe even more if they're looking very small like 120 points or less.

 

[VLee]

Every DVC purchase we have made (either direct or by resale) has been for small contracts. The largest one I have is 150, followed by 86, 75, 65, 55 (2), 50 (4), and 25.

I have stayed with the same use year for all and have just decided to put one 55 and the 86 pt up for sale, since our vacation needs at WDW have decreased.

The last two years, I have rented enough points to cover the annual dues, but have decided to sell some and visit other parts of the country as well.

I am glad now that I stayed with small contracts.

 

[Dean]

Every DVC purchase we have made (either direct or by resale) has been for small contracts. The largest one I have is 150, followed by 86, 75, 65, 55 (2), 50 (4), and 25.

I have stayed with the same use year for all and have just decided to put one 55 and the 86 pt up for sale, since our vacation needs at WDW have decreased.

The last two years, I have rented enough points to cover the annual dues, but have decided to sell some and visit other parts of the country as well.

I am glad now that I stayed with small contracts.

I'll agree it's a desirable situation to be in if you decide to sell at any time but I'll point out (for others considering this) that buying smaller contracts in this way resale increases the costs usually 15-20% over say 2 or 3 larger contracts and maybe 5-10% retail currently.

 

[VLee]

Yes, I should have perhaps clarified that 5 of the contracts: 86, (2) 55, 65, and 50 were bought directly from Disney and had no closing costs for me.

I already was a member, so the 86 was an add on.

The (2) 55s were bought as one transaction of 110, but divided into smaller contracts of 55.

Also another transaction was 115, divided as 65 and 50. So no closing costs there either.

As for as resale, I purchased a 75, 50, and 25. With two of those being at BCV, with a HTF resale year.
However, my first resale, a transaction of 100 was actually two 50-pt contracts. But at that time, it was done in one transaction and one sale. How, I don't know, but it was advertised as 100 and it was not until later I discovered that it was two 50 pt contracts.

So, my purchase price on those directly from Disney was not necessarily lower, but I preferred that option to retain my use year and to divide them into smaller bits. At that time, there was no closing cost through Disney; I am not sure if there is now. At least I am happy now that it gives me an option to sell partially and that the demand for smaller contracts seems to be greater.

 

[abarnes64]

Yes I am a newbie and have been stalking the boards reading as much time as possible and learning what I can. We are also considering buying direct vs buying resale.

I thought that one had to purchase 100 points as a buy-in now with DVC direct however I learned yesterday from Disney that one is allowed to start at a smaller I intro contract of 50 points!

My question now- how does this affect you with booking vacations? Clearly it restricts 11 mo home resort booking IF combining points...... Is it complicated to add various membership #'s to the booking? How about if booking a Jan vacation wk 7 mos out ( during a wk in 2nd half of Jan month) and combing a 50 pt direct GF with 50 pt resale AKV..... Would this be difficult to do?

The Disney rep said this would be a silly idea....but the small contracts do have a better resale and are more desired.

I am so happy I stumbled upon this post and thread!

 

[abarnes64]

Also I do not believe there are any closing costs direct through Disney

 

[disneynutz]

Yes I am a newbie and have been stalking the boards reading as much time as possible and learning what I can. We are also considering buying direct vs buying resale.

I thought that one had to purchase 100 points as a buy-in now with DVC direct however I learned yesterday from Disney that one is allowed to start at a smaller I intro contract of 50 points!

My question now- how does this affect you with booking vacations? Clearly it restricts 11 mo home resort booking IF combining points...... Is it complicated to add various membership #'s to the booking? How about if booking a Jan vacation wk 7 mos out ( during a wk in 2nd half of Jan month) and combing a 50 pt direct GF with 50 pt resale AKV..... Would this be difficult to do?

The Disney rep said this would be a silly idea....but the small contracts do have a better resale and are more desired.

I am so happy I stumbled upon this post and thread!

Buying DVC direct now is like buying a car, they change their policies like the wind. They want extra sales they lower the minimum buy in. When the demand heats up, they raise the minimum. In the past their was a 160 point minimum.

If you keep the UY's and titles the same, you will have one membership and account.

Bill

 

[abarnes64]

160 pt minimum! Geez! I like the MF's better on a 50 point contract. Doesn't get much of a stay upfront but it does buy convenience with ease of purchase, direct for 11mo booking and if this was all a person was going to buy you could go to WDW ever other yr for low maintenance fees. Sounds pretty attractive

 

[lovin'fl]

Also I do not believe there are any closing costs direct through Disney

There are...just not as much as resale.

 

[disneynutz]

Also I do not believe there are any closing costs direct through Disney

That policy and amount also changes from time to time.

Bill

 

[abarnes64]

Yes, I inquired on closing costs - on a 50 pt cash contract about 4.66 per point closing costs! Wow- that seems like quite a bit

 

[G'sMaman]

If you buy a smaller contract, you can always get points transferred in (or out) once per use year. We used to own at 5 different resorts but ended up selling two of them - VGC and VWL. Luckily, we bought those two contracts resale and ended up making a profit, not something you can ever count on with a timeshare. The rookie mistake we made was listening to all the people who said we should buy at VGC because we live in California. The reality for us was that being in California, our trips to Disneyland tended to be more spontaneous so the extra booking window wasn't much help. Also, because we're not far from Disneyland our trips were also much shorter, more of the long weekend variety. We found that most of the advantages of having a villa (with a kitchen and washer/dryer) were lost on these shorter trips. As another person mentioned, we also realized that our friends and family were not quite as interested in taking yet another trip to Disney with us (yes, imagine that!) so we ended up with more points than we needed. We recently asked my DD which of her Disney trips she liked the best (we do a lot of Disney trips). In order of preference, they were: Disney Cruise, Aulani and then Disney World . . . and she's only six years old. I thought for sure she would have picked Disney World as her first choice!

We also like having points transferred in because you have control over your reservation and you get to try a new resort. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have gotten a 2 bedroom boardwalk view and standard view studio over Thanksgiving without our transferred in BWV points. For us, having contracts at the resorts we love with the ability to transfer in additional points when we need them works for us.

 

[abarnes64]

If you buy a smaller contract, you can always get points transferred in (or out) once per use year. We used to own at 5 different resorts but ended up selling two of them - VGC and VWL. Luckily, we bought those two contracts resale and ended up making a profit, not something you can ever count on with a timeshare. The rookie mistake we made was listening to all the people who said we should buy at VGC because we live in California. The reality for us was that being in California, our trips to Disneyland tended to be more spontaneous so the extra booking window wasn't much help. Also, because we're not far from Disneyland our trips were also much shorter, more of the long weekend variety. We found that most of the advantages of having a villa (with a kitchen and washer/dryer) were lost on these shorter trips. As another person mentioned, we also realized that our friends and family were not quite as interested in taking yet another trip to Disney with us (yes, imagine that!) so we ended up with more points than we needed. We recently asked my DD which of her Disney trips she liked the best (we do a lot of Disney trips). In order of preference, they were: Disney Cruise, Aulani and then Disney World . . . and she's only six years old. I thought for sure she would have picked Disney World as her first choice!

We also like having points transferred in because you have control over your reservation and you get to try a new resort. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have gotten a 2 bedroom boardwalk view and standard view studio over Thanksgiving without our transferred in BWV points. For us, having contracts at the resorts we love with the ability to transfer in additional points when we need them works for us.

G's Amman- you refer to transferring points in- do you mean combining points from different contracts on a reservation? Or do you mean actually borrowing from next UY?

 

[abarnes64]

G's maman- sorry auto spell!

Can you give me am example of your resorts you own at and how you borrowed or combined a reservation? Do you have same UY? How many are direct vs resale?