Direct or Resale (yes it’s one of those)

[aleh021]

Hi everyone! Me again

yes the controversial question of direct or resale. We’ve narrowed down our choice to AKV.

We don’t care about the perks honestly.

The current deal breaker at the moment is not being able to book at Riviera, future DLH tower, and apparently (can’t confirm) but according to the guide I spoke with: the new wing at GFV.

Current price at AKV is $182/point with current incentive & resale I’ve seen $140-$145.

with that said I know it all comes down to it being our choice and I’ve crunched numbers and understand our finances and where they stand.

But would like to hear everyone’s thoughts on this.

 

[DVChris]

Sounds like you have your answer... not being able to book at Riviera and future hotels is a deal breaker.
It's too big of a cost to not get exactly what you want. Plus, direct is a quick process and you can charge the entire cost onto a credit card (if earning points or spreading out the charges in tranches is important to you).

 

[Sandisw]

We love RIV, so that is a must do for us and I think anyone who wants to stay there, or future places should consider direct,

The other piece is who knows what other resorts could come around that will also be excluded, especially when the 2042 resorts.

One thing I do think the guide is wrong about is the new VGF because it’s the same association and that should mean the same rules.

Yes, buying AKV direct will be more than resale, but in the long run, you are not spending that much more over time to end up with the flexibility direct will give you.

 

[aleh021]

We love RIV, so that is a must do for us and I think anyone who wants to stay there, or future places should consider direct,

The other piece is who knows what other resorts could come around that will also be excluded, especially when the 2042 resorts.

One thing I do think the guide is wrong about is the new VGF because it’s the same association and that should mean the same rules.

Yes, buying AKV direct will be more than resale, but in the long run, you are not spending that much more over time to end up with the flexibility direct will give you.

we just came back from a stay at AKL. we visited RIV just to browse. & I really love the vibes of the place. Maybe not to own but would love to stay there! I’m a sucker for the skyline haha.

 

[aleh021]

I also know I could theoretically rent out points and use that for a cash stay but sometimes that always doesn’t work out in the best way.

saving money is 100% important but I want to look at this long term vs short term savings if that makes sense

 

[sethschroeder]

It's crazy how pricy resale is for AKV.

If it's a $40 delta for 150 points that's $6k. I would probably go direct since AKV is a longer contract.

If you can swing a Dec UY I would do that as well and get an extra year of points for "free" essentially lowering you buy in by another $12-$14/point if you rented them out.

 

[Lorana]

The current deal breaker at the moment is not being able to book at Riviera, future DLH tower, and apparently (can’t confirm) but according to the guide I spoke with: the new wing at GFV.

It sounds to me like future resorts are important, so you should purchase direct. AKV has better direct pricing than most other DVC resorts, and doesn't expire until 2057, so that's a bonus too.

One thing I do think the guide is wrong about is the new VGF because it’s the same association and that should mean the same rules.

Hmmmm, I'm not a lawyer, and I can't find all the provisions in the contracts at the moment, but this is now making me wonder... is it true that they could introduce a new restriction? After all, they have to amend the condominium agreement to add the new building and units. Is it possible that in so doing, DVC can introduce the resale restrictions to VGF once it goes on sale? (Asking because I honestly don't know. Any real estate/timeshare lawyers out there who can comment?)

 

[MinBz]

I put in an offer on a resale contract and bought an add on direct contract a day apart. Direct was to CCV (already own there). We wanted more direct points that weren’t restricted. We are still waiting for the resale contract at BCV which just passed ROFR. The direct contracts are always so nice and easy! Points are there before you even close. No waiting for ROFR or worrying if the sellers will change their minds.

 

[ScubaCat]

Resale

Buy some food, tickets, and Genie+ direct

 

[Ruttangel]

Here's another perspective
People who bought direct at AKV are still struggling to get into new resorts. No guarantee you will get your pick of rooms.
CCV studio - not getting in
RIV standard rooms - a struggle, could be in preferred room at higher point cost
VGC - not getting in
VGF - v.hard but remember VGF2 will be open to resale owners
Etc.....
The mantra is buy where we want to stay as you won't get pick of rooms at other resorts.

In other words, resale is fine and $125pp still achievable right now as lot of contracts been on market awhile

 

[nuhusky123]

I bought akv direct about a month ago. I got my points deposited same day and this includes points for 2021. I immediately banked my points for 2021 and booked a split weeks stay at poly and akv. To the above poster the availability in April 2022 was no trouble getting the rooms I wanted.
I now have left over points from 2021 and not even touched my 2022 points. Will spend those soon

i went direct because you do get the perks and the points for 2021 sealed the deal. This gave me an extra vacation. Guarantee no resale gives you 2021 points, heck some might not even give you 2022 points.

final perk for direct, I paid Using my Disney visa.

 

[RoseGold]

RIV is going to be full of resale buyers stuck, like the servants in Belle’s castle. We just don’t know what will happen to RIV booking, or if the Blue Card bookings will work.

Id peep the RIV chart before you commit five figures to this. The chart is pretty close to VGF, and if I’m spending that kind of point count, I’m not doing it at RIV.

Another option is resale AKL and resale RIV, if RIV is important to you. There won’t be new WDW construction for years, and if there is, I’m sure DVC will be happy to take your money then:

 

[dvc lover 1970]

I would buy resale. Perks are not worth it. Also the new grand floridian 2 is attached to the original so I tend to think you will be able to book there because the original is part of the legacy 14. Can you transfer in non restricted points to use at the restricted resorts?

 

[Sandisw]

we just came back from a stay at AKL. we visited RIV just to browse. & I really love the vibes of the place. Maybe not to own but would love to stay there! I’m a sucker for the skyline haha.

That alone can be enough to swing it IMO. I bought restricted points 2020 thinking it would be no big deal since I had direct RIV points and plenty of grandfathered in points.

Sold it this summer because I just didn’t like it. When a room popped up there I realized I couldn’t get it because what I had left were the restricted ones.

As I mentioned, if you spend $5 to $8K more now, in the longer run it’s not that bad Er year extra to how a product that gives you access to it all, including any blue card benefits that may be there. Granted, you don’t buy for those but they can be a bonus. And, while there are times those not eligible have been given the discounts, owning direct means you don’t worry.

Of course, you could stay there and decide you want to go more often. That was us for sure.

One option, if you are going to start with more than 150 is buy just the minimum direct and add on resale too so you have a mix.

 

[Sandisw]

RIV is going to be full of resale buyers stuck, like the servants in Belle’s castle. We just don’t know what will happen to RIV booking, or if the Blue Card bookings will work.

Id peep the RIV chart before you commit five figures to this. The chart is pretty close to VGF, and if I’m spending that kind of point count, I’m not doing it at RIV.

Another option is resale AKL and resale RIV, if RIV is important to you. There won’t be new WDW construction for years, and if there is, I’m sure DVC will be happy to take your money then:

Any amount of resale owners stuck will have no impact for a long long time on availability. The average resort goes to resale owners from original buyers on average 10 to 20% range.

Sometimes we need to remember that this only happens once for a set of points. My 125 resale points, are now resale points and if I sell, it won’t change the % of stuck points.

Now I agree that SV rooms are booking fast with owners so as a non home resort owner, look at PV to get an idea of what you would pay to stay for those occasional visits. But that is the same whether you own AKV resale or direct.

While RIV is the only one right now, people buying for long term do need to think beyond that one resort and how they will feel to be locked out of more.

As you mention, someone is spending five figures to buy something and should not go into already having a concern about not using it at a place they already know they may want to go to when they can.

 

[CSLucas]

We bought resale first and then added on direct (all at VGF because that's where we wanted to stay). I have no use for blue card benefits (we don't go enough to make annual passes worth it even at DVC prices), but we ended up selling our resale points in favor of buying more direct. I actually didn't care for RIV, but it's important to me to at least have the option. Before we sold the resale contract we ended up adding an extra day to our trip and RIV was the only thing open - had to pay Disney the difference since we only had restricted points, and then ended up with 13 extra points that would have expired if I hadn't been able to find a 1-night reservation to rent out.
As the kids get older, I'm sure their preferences on where they will want to stay will shift (and will probably shift towards Epcot area, and maybe even RIV). I don't want to be stuck down the road regretting not being able to book things because I wanted to save on the front end - it's not an investment, it's pre-paying for our vacation, and I'm willing to pay more to not have to stress about it.
So, all that to say - for us, the delta between resale and direct isn't large enough right now to make us give up the convenience and future benefits of direct. The only thing that would change my opinion would be if you didn't need 150 points, in which case the decision is pretty much made for you by Disney.

 

[vacay77]

If staying at the other resorts is important to you, I'd buy direct. It's a huge investment either way and you might as well pay for what you want in the long run. Plus, you might get an extra year of points depending on when you buy the contract (versus the points available on the resale contract). We did that with VGC. Even though resale was cheaper, we ended up getting more points by purchasing through direct at VGC, similar to what @sethschroeder pointed out.

 

[aleh021]

If staying at the other resorts is important to you, I'd buy direct. It's a huge investment either way and you might as well pay for what you want in the long run. Plus, you might get an extra year of points depending on when you buy the contract (versus the points available on the resale contract). We did that with VGC. Even though resale was cheaper, we ended up getting more points by purchasing through direct at VGC, similar to what @sethschroeder pointed out.

If I buy direct, what's the right wording I need to use in order to get last years/extra points?

But yes - I agree, its a large investment, its prepaying for vacations, which we budget out for already in a separate account, but instead of using it mainly for vacation stays, it'll just turn in to our DVC account lol.

 

[RoseGold]

There are RIV booking categories that are already tight at 9-10 months: all the studios, 2BR standard view, all the lockoffs. That's with not much of the resort declared and no significant resale presence.

The trapped resale buyers will not help this. We just don't know how RIV is going to book in the future. That's a lot of assumptions for a commitment in the thousands of dollars.

BLT has about 5% foreclosure, and that's with a crazy escalating value that made it difficult to lose money. Resale would have almost always been the correct exit path for BLT. RIV is most expensive buy in for DVC history. High point requirement and crazy point pricing. Many direct buyers are underwater on RIV, and will have to bring money to the table to sell. We don't know how it's going to churn into resale, or how resale will change booking patterns.

 

[CSLucas]

If I buy direct, what's the right wording I need to use in order to get last years/extra points?

But yes - I agree, its a large investment, its prepaying for vacations, which we budget out for already in a separate account, but instead of using it mainly for vacation stays, it'll just turn in to our DVC account lol.

you get them automatically as long as you are buying before your new UY (so you would need to buy a December UY before the end of November). You will need to ask them to make an exception to the banking deadline so you can bank the 2020 points- that shouldn't be a problem, they have always offered it to me without asking (but if they don't, make sure you ask because otherwise those points won't do you any good). The reason you get them is that annual dues follow calendar year, whereas your points and bookings follow your use year