Considering buying at VB or Aulani

[kilik64]

While definitely not a complete source of information, but will give you an idea of price range:

https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/blog/dvc-resale-average-sales-prices-for-may-2021/
Scroll down and you'll see a chart for Aulani.

Another tool to utilize is the ROFR thread. You can see what people have paid that went through and what was bid and didnt go through ROFR. There is a thread for this qtr that just started, but the one for the last 3 months you can look at, just look at the first few posts, the thread owner does a good job of listing them all by location.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/r...ost-for-instructions-formatting-tool.3831655/

 

[fgaini]

During Covid easy to do at 7 months. Recently not so easy. Especially if you want to be in a specific resort. Only SSR and OKW seems to have reliable availability.
I own Aulani and I am very happy. Wonderful resort and easy to rent if you do not go there. Vero Beach has very high MF without beeing so coveted. I would recommend Aulani over Vero.
If you find a subsidized Aulani even better (very difficult to get, but MF is significanly lower)

 

[Lee Matthews]

Especially when thinking in long term, I think people really need to be buying where they want to stay.

 

[The Jackal]

During Covid easy to do at 7 months. Recently not so easy. Especially if you want to be in a specific resort. Only SSR and OKW seems to have reliable availability.
I own Aulani and I am very happy. Wonderful resort and easy to rent if you do not go there. Vero Beach has very high MF without beeing so coveted. I would recommend Aulani over Vero.
If you find a subsidized Aulani even better (very difficult to get, but MF is significanly lower)

Don’t forget Vero also has some subsidized contracts too. I think there are more AUL ones then VB. VB ones hardly ever pop up.

 

[RoseGold]

I seriously looked into Aulani and decided against it because of Hawaii's timeshare laws, which IMO do not benefit owners. Hawaii has very different laws than Florida, and Hawaii has significantly changed them over time. Maybe your crystal ball is different than mine, but I would not buy outside of Florida.

 

[natty650]

I seriously looked into Aulani and decided against it because of Hawaii's timeshare laws, which IMO do not benefit owners. Hawaii has very different laws than Florida, and Hawaii has significantly changed them over time. Maybe your crystal ball is different than mine, but I would not buy outside of Florida.

I've seen a couple people mention Hawaii timeshare laws being an issue, and was wondering if you can elaborate more on this?

 

[Happy2BMommy0812]

Yea, I have to agree with everyone else. We considered this years ago, but are so glad we bought at Poly (and again at RIV). Availability for our trips have been hard at 9-10 months out and non existent at 7 in the room type and hotels we want to stay in. We are also glad we bought where we are happy staying because we have had no luck moving our reservations at 7 months to locations we want to try except for a waitlist that came through for 2 night at Hilton Head.
I’d buy at SSR if you want Disney and would be fine staying there. Otherwise, I’d pay more and buy where you would be happy staying.

 

[CCV]

The answer on whether to buy at non-theme park properties or theme park properties really depends on what room types and resorts appeal most to you and flexibility of travel dates. I own at Grand Floridian, Polynesian (in process of selling), Saratoga Springs (in process of selling), and Aulani. I have 4X more Aulani points than I do VGF SSR, and Poly (and have never stayed at Aulani).

My recommendation:
If you have limited travel date flexibility and want to stay in studios at theme park properties and prefer staying in resorts other than Saratoga Springs or Old Key West, then buy resale points at the resort you like best.

If you have travel date flexibility and want to stay in 1 bedrooms or grand villas at theme park properties, then buy the cheapest resale points (maintenance fee adjusted) you can find.

My situation:
In our early DVC days we would stay in studios at monorail resorts and generally needed the 11 month booking window. After staying a few nights in a 1 bedroom during a split stay, we saw the light and realized how much of a game changer a 1 bedroom is (assuming kids are traveling with you). 1 bedrooms are point hogs but can be doable if you buy cheap non theme park points at the half the price of the premium theme park resorts. Plus, 1 bedrooms are generally pretty easy to book at the 7 month mark at most any resort. We had to buy 2X the points since we wanted 1 bedrooms but it was still close from a total cost standpoint. Maintenance fees can get pricey by going this path. We bought subsidized dues contracts at Aulani to keep the fees in check. I'd stay away from Vero Beach contracts but still think Aulani and Hilton Head (in some cases) can be a good value in situations similar to mine.

Hawaii Timeshare Laws/Tax:
Hawaii timeshare laws are blown out of proportion. Aulani contracts take a little longer to close than FL based contracts and cost a few hundred bucks more in closing costs. The nightly transient tax when staying there isn't very much and doesn't ever come into play if you don't actually use your points to stay there. HARPTA is simply a required withholding to ensure you pay any capital gains taxes that are owed in Hawaii when you sell a property. Most timeshare sales will have little or no capital gains anyways.

 

[natty650]

Hawaii Timeshare Laws/Tax:
Hawaii timeshare laws are blown out of proportion. Aulani contracts take a little longer to close than FL based contracts and cost a few hundred bucks more in closing costs. The nightly transient tax when staying there isn't very much and doesn't ever come into play if you don't actually use your points to stay there. HARPTA is simply a required withholding to ensure you pay any capital gains taxes that are owed in Hawaii when you sell a property. Most timeshare sales will have little or no capital gains anyways.

Thanks for answering my question about Hawaii Timeshare Laws! I live in CA, so none of these things bother me. TAT (known in CA as ToT) is standard here, and we visit Hawaii every year so I would have to pay it no matter where I stay - DVC or not. The other things you mentioned don't bother me, either, so I guess I'm good! ☺

 

[RoseGold]

I'm not talking about a few hundred bucks in closing costs, though make no mistake, Hawaii's paperwork is another level than Florida's. Hawaii has made major changes to its timeshares over time, as well as its taxes, including property taxes which we call dues.

IMO, those historic changes have not been favorable to owners, and I do not see those changes going in the right direction for me to feel comfortable owning there. I would not be surprised at all to see new or higher taxes rolled into Aulani's dues.

If you plan on owning a HI timeshare, you should know this history as well as how Hawaii's procedures and probate operate, because they are not like other states. I would not consider any timeshare in Hawaii, even if Aulani were significantly cheaper or I actually wanted to stay in Aulani. I would still buy WDW points because I want to own in Florida. Maybe your opinion is different than mine.

 

[Paul Stupin]

I'm not talking about a few hundred bucks in closing costs, though make no mistake, Hawaii's paperwork is another level than Florida's. Hawaii has made major changes to its timeshares over time, as well as its taxes, including property taxes which we call dues.

IMO, those historic changes have not been favorable to owners, and I do not see those changes going in the right direction for me to feel comfortable owning there. I would not be surprised at all to see new or higher taxes rolled into Aulani's dues.

If you plan on owning a HI timeshare, you should know this history as well as how Hawaii's procedures and probate operate, because they are not like other states. I would not consider any timeshare in Hawaii, even if Aulani were significantly cheaper or I actually wanted to stay in Aulani. I would still buy WDW points because I want to own in Florida. Maybe your opinion is different than mine.

For me, that’s a bit of an over reaction. But I love Aulani and am willing to deal with whatever Hawaii throws at me. Of course I own in Florida as well, but that’s not without its complications either, with resale restrictions, the 2042 expiration date for a number of resorts, the 2022 point chart tweaks which may or may not be legal, etc.