Direct vs Resale... are there some grey areas?

[MCDUDZ]

Hello everyone! My husband and I have been contemplating becoming DVC members for some time now. I have researched purchasing direct vs resale and a lot of times I’ve found it’s mostly black and white. With the new resale restrictions, the main benefit of buying resale is the price per point difference from purchasing direct from Disney. That being said, we may have come across a grey area that we need some advice on...

Consider this example:

OKW Direct (Deed Exp 2057)
$155pp x 170 = $26,350 (purchase price)

OKW Resale (Deed Exp 2057)
$120pp x 170 = $20,400 (purchase price)

The difference in the purchase price over 38 years is $5,950 ($156.58 per year.)

Gaining the benefits of buying direct, the DVC annual pass discount would cover the additional cost of the purchase price over time. On the other hand, the majority of people suggest not to purchase direct for the perks as they are subject to change at anytime. If you consider this example, what would you do or what advise would you give us???

Thank you!!!

 

[Marionnette]

Hello everyone! My husband and I have been contemplating becoming DVC members for some time now. I have researched purchasing direct vs resale and a lot of times I’ve found it’s mostly black and white. With the new resale restrictions, the main benefit of buying resale is the price per point difference from purchasing direct from Disney. That being said, we may have come across a grey area that we need some advice on...

Consider this example:

OKW Direct (Deed Exp 2057)
$155pp x 170 = $26,350 (purchase price)

OKW Resale (Deed Exp 2057)
$120pp x 170 = $20,400 (purchase price)

The difference in the purchase price over 38 years is $5,950 ($156.58 per year.)

Gaining the benefits of buying direct, the DVC annual pass discount would cover the additional cost of the purchase price over time. On the other hand, the majority of people suggest not to purchase direct for the perks as they are subject to change at anytime. If you consider this example, what would you do or what advise would you give us???

Thank you!!!

Will you keep the contract for 38 years or is it likely that you will be selling it? $6K is a lot to pay up front for AP discounts in the future.

In addition to the direct perks (which can change at any point), you should also consider the restrictions on resale points. If you purchase OKW on the resale market, you will not be able to use those points at Riviera, Reflections or any of the new DVC resorts. That may not mean a lot right now when there are 14 legacy resorts where those points can be used at. But when 2042 rolls around and BWV, BCV and BRV expire, you’re going to be left with fewer and fewer options for using your points.

Lastly, buy OKW if that’s where you want to stay most of the time. Changing to non-home resorts can be very difficult at 7 months if you’re hoping to book studios and for larger villas at certain times of the year.

 

[Disneykate605]

We hope to eventually buy some OKW points but we want the 2057 expiration on them because half our points expire in 2042. The OKW extended contracts are harder to find so for right now I just check the resale sites for any that have the 2057 expiration date in our 2 UY. We don't really need them right now so if they came up in one of our UY's we would pounce on it but are not in a rush. We have discussed that if we were to buy direct again it would be OKW because it definitely seems easier to get the extended expiration that way and the direct price isn't so awful especially for a smaller contract. For now though we will just wait and see what the next year brings.

 

[kniquy]

Consider this example:

OKW Direct (Deed Exp 2057)
$155pp x 170 = $26,350 (purchase price)

OKW Resale (Deed Exp 2057)
$120pp x 170 = $20,400 (purchase price)

The difference in the purchase price over 38 years is $5,950 ($156.58 per year.)

Gaining the benefits of buying direct, the DVC annual pass discount would cover the additional cost of the purchase price over time. On the other hand, the majority of people suggest not to purchase direct for the perks as they are subject to change at anytime. If you consider this example, what would you do or what advise would you give us???

Thank you!!!

When you break it down over the remaining length of the contract it doesn't sound that bad, but keep in mind many people do not own until the end of the contract. But with that said - even if you kept it for 10 years and sold it chances are the contract will still have some value.

The savings from the perks can add up over time - this is why I am holding on to an older resale contract from 2015 - just so we can buy the AP at a discount if we need to, we can get the shopping and dining discounts, maybe hit a moonlight magic and access to tables in wonderland. I would write out on paper the possible savings you could have over 10 years (possibly ownership length) and see how it could add up - 10% dining TS, 20% shopping, AP - see where your estimates fall. If you are way far off from the extra $6K that you are spending then maybe it doesn't make sense. Maybe it makes more sense to buy resale and put that $6K aside for use of buying AP (which will provide you with the same shopping and dining discounts as DVC).

One thing to consider if deciding on buying direct is when you buy- you can buy at the very end of a UY and essentially get a year of extra points. So for example you choose a June UY. In May 2019 you buy your OKW contract -- you will get 2018 points (at a pro-rated maintenance fees) as part of the deal you have them banked into 2019 -so you are starting out with 340 points. If you don't need those "extra 170 points" you could rent them out to someone at a rate of $17 per point = $2890. So this would now bring your purchase price down to $23,460. Now your direct purchase price difference is only $3060. Now most people want more points so the likelihood of you buying and then choosing to rent out those points is low, but it is an option.

These "extra points" could be a major difference between buying direct vs resale. Resale contracts often will have missing current year points or might be stripped of points (no current UY and no next year points).

 

[skippytx]

I'm generally don't recommend people pay a large difference just to get the membership perks as they're not set in stone and the "perks" can be changed in the future or just taken away.

That being said, if the price delta is reasonable, it could be worth it. I've saved the difference in my small direct add on contract vs resale already.

We used our DVC discount on 10 total Disney after hours tickets last trip, saving 30 dollars each (300). I've easily saved at least 200 dollars each trip on dining and merchandise discounts from our DVC discount. (800 dollars at least), and we saved a few bucks last year on MNSSHP tickets (5 bucks off I think). I don't really count the AP savings as "savings" as getting the AP has just led to an extra trip so we don't "waste" the AP's we bought. If anything that AP discount will end up costing me about 4,000 dollars

@kniqguy makes an excellent point about getting extra/bonus points you might not get buying resale when you buy direct as well.

 

[MCDUDZ]

Will you keep the contract for 38 years or is it likely that you will be selling it? $6K is a lot to pay up front for AP discounts in the future.

In addition to the direct perks (which can change at any point), you should also consider the restrictions on resale points. If you purchase OKW on the resale market, you will not be able to use those points at Riviera, Reflections or any of the new DVC resorts. That may not mean a lot right now when there are 14 legacy resorts where those points can be used at. But when 2042 rolls around and BWV, BCV and BRV expire, you’re going to be left with fewer and fewer options for using your points.

Lastly, buy OKW if that’s where you want to stay most of the time. Changing to non-home resorts can be very difficult at 7 months if you’re hoping to book studios and for larger villas at certain times of the year.

Thank you so much for your feedback! You make very great points. I hope we would own the length of the contract but its unrealistic to think I wouldn’t in a pinch.

I never thought of the resale restriction on the contracts that expire in 2042. I assumed that they would have always been accessible to us if we bought resale because they are part of the original 14 resorts. This is going to be tough because that would only leave 9 resorts on Disney world property to choose from... in result, there will be less availability because other people will have less options to choose from...

Thank you again for your feedback.

 

[MCDUDZ]

When you break it down over the remaining length of the contract it doesn't sound that bad, but keep in mind many people do not own until the end of the contract. But with that said - even if you kept it for 10 years and sold it chances are the contract will still have some value.

The savings from the perks can add up over time - this is why I am holding on to an older resale contract from 2015 - just so we can buy the AP at a discount if we need to, we can get the shopping and dining discounts, maybe hit a moonlight magic and access to tables in wonderland. I would write out on paper the possible savings you could have over 10 years (possibly ownership length) and see how it could add up - 10% dining TS, 20% shopping, AP - see where your estimates fall. If you are way far off from the extra $6K that you are spending then maybe it doesn't make sense. Maybe it makes more sense to buy resale and put that $6K aside for use of buying AP (which will provide you with the same shopping and dining discounts as DVC).

One thing to consider if deciding on buying direct is when you buy- you can buy at the very end of a UY and essentially get a year of extra points. So for example you choose a June UY. In May 2019 you buy your OKW contract -- you will get 2018 points (at a pro-rated maintenance fees) as part of the deal you have them banked into 2019 -so you are starting out with 340 points. If you don't need those "extra 170 points" you could rent them out to someone at a rate of $17 per point = $2890. So this would now bring your purchase price down to $23,460. Now your direct purchase price difference is only $3060. Now most people want more points so the likelihood of you buying and then choosing to rent out those points is low, but it is an option.

These "extra points" could be a major difference between buying direct vs resale. Resale contracts often will have missing current year points or might be stripped of points (no current UY and no next year points).

Thank you so much for your feedback!! I love your idea of seeing how much we would save over 10 years. Helps me decide if it extra cost would be worth it! I also love the suggestion about the extra points. Definitely would help offset the cost... I never would have thought of that.

Thank you again!

 

[MCDUDZ]

I'm generally don't recommend people pay a large difference just to get the membership perks as they're not set in stone and the "perks" can be changed in the future or just taken away.

That being said, if the price delta is reasonable, it could be worth it. I've saved the difference in my small direct add on contract vs resale already.

We used our DVC discount on 10 total Disney after hours tickets last trip, saving 30 dollars each (300). I've easily saved at least 200 dollars each trip on dining and merchandise discounts from our DVC discount. (800 dollars at least), and we saved a few bucks last year on MNSSHP tickets (5 bucks off I think). I don't really count the AP savings as "savings" as getting the AP has just led to an extra trip so we don't "waste" the AP's we bought. If anything that AP discount will end up costing me about 4,000 dollars

@kniqguy makes an excellent point about getting extra/bonus points you might not get buying resale when you buy direct as well.

Thank you so much for your feedback! Yes, I agree about not buying for the perks. It stinks that they can change...

 

[zapple]

If you buy just 75 points direct and then get the rest resale, you get the best of both worlds. That's what I did!

 

[MCDUDZ]

If you buy just 75 points direct and then get the rest resale, you get the best of both worlds. That's what I did!

Thank you for your feedback! Yes, I would love to do that! Its a great suggestion. The only cons with that is if I wanted to stay at a new resort, I wouldn't be able to use the resale points. Also, taking into consideration what @Marionnette said about the 2042 deed expiration property's, I wouldn't be able to use the resale points on those properties then either. Disney is making it so hard to not purchase direct... I'm not sure if I would still own by 2042 but I would like to... I wish I had a crystal ball, it wouldn't be such a tough decision...

 

[Brett Wyman]

. Disney is making it so hard to not purchase direct..

Are they though? You can get AKV(IMO a much more enjoyable stay than OKW) resale for roughly 10k less than the OKW 2057 direct price for 170 points. If Im getting that close to 160 dollars a point Id prefer to buy retail at CCV for 188. Its all about personal preference of course though.

 

[MCDUDZ]

Are they though? You can get AKV(IMO a much more enjoyable stay than OKW) resale for roughly 10k less than the OKW 2057 direct price for 170 points. If Im getting that close to 160 dollars a point Id prefer to buy retail at CCV for 188. Its all about personal preference of course though.

Great point. Which is why I'm asking for advise. The only issues I see with AK is the dues are higher and its far from everything. We were considering purchasing there but when I did the math on OKW, it shocked me... Which made me start to think... Because you will pay more in dues over the course of your contract than the purchase price.

 

[princesslover]

I am new to DVC (about a year in), but I do think there are some grey areas. I think resale works if you don't care at all about the perks AND don't care about not having the ability to stay at future resorts. The $$ factor is still certainly there in a lot of cases, but I think that factor alone will be a less compelling reason to buy resale in the future.

I have 100 points right now at CCV. Now that we've had the contract for a year, I am wishing we had more points (at the same resort - I don't want to fight at 7 months anywhere else.) I really only want 50-75 more points. (50 is plenty) I figure 300 points every two years will give us some good options. I already have all the "perks" so there is no reason for me to buy direct again. But do I REALLY want to go through all the hassle of finding a small contract (50-75 points) with the same Dec UY? That alone seems like a unicorn. Then have to go through ROFR, and maybe have it not even pass. The cost savings for a small contract at $165 pp vs. $188 doesn't seem worth it to me. Or, I could buy direct, automatically have the same UY, and get the points immediately. And like someone else said, if I buy the points now, I'd get the points from the previoius UY. And then I will be able to use all 150 points at future resorts.

So to answer your question, resale is not always the better option. At least in my opinion. Sometimes it is, but every situation is different.

 

[chicagoshannon]

I am new to DVC (about a year in), but I do think there are some grey areas. I think resale works if you don't care at all about the perks AND don't care about not having the ability to stay at future resorts. The $$ factor is still certainly there in a lot of cases, but I think that factor alone will be a less compelling reason to buy resale in the future.

I have 100 points right now at CCV. Now that we've had the contract for a year, I am wishing we had more points (at the same resort - I don't want to fight at 7 months anywhere else.) I really only want 50-75 more points. (50 is plenty) I figure 300 points every two years will give us some good options. I already have all the "perks" so there is no reason for me to buy direct again. But do I REALLY want to go through all the hassle of finding a small contract (50-75 points) with the same Dec UY? That alone seems like a unicorn. Then have to go through ROFR, and maybe have it not even pass. The cost savings for a small contract at $165 pp vs. $188 doesn't seem worth it to me. Or, I could buy direct, automatically have the same UY, and get the points immediately. And like someone else said, if I buy the points now, I'd get the points from the previoius UY. And then I will be able to use all 150 points at future resorts.

So to answer your question, resale is not always the better option. At least in my opinion. Sometimes it is, but every situation is different.

For that situation I would buy direct also.

 

[msjprincess]

I just wanted to say that $120 seems a bit high. Most of the 2057 contracts I've seen listed are in the $98-$112 range.

 

[MCDUDZ]

I just wanted to say that $120 seems a bit high. Most of the 2057 contracts I've seen listed are in the $98-$112 range.

Yes, thats true but that’s because those contracts expire 2042. The example I used has a 2057 expiration date. I haven’t seen any OKW contracts with that pp cost with 2057 exp date.

 

[MCDUDZ]

I am new to DVC (about a year in), but I do think there are some grey areas. I think resale works if you don't care at all about the perks AND don't care about not having the ability to stay at future resorts. The $$ factor is still certainly there in a lot of cases, but I think that factor alone will be a less compelling reason to buy resale in the future.

I have 100 points right now at CCV. Now that we've had the contract for a year, I am wishing we had more points (at the same resort - I don't want to fight at 7 months anywhere else.) I really only want 50-75 more points. (50 is plenty) I figure 300 points every two years will give us some good options. I already have all the "perks" so there is no reason for me to buy direct again. But do I REALLY want to go through all the hassle of finding a small contract (50-75 points) with the same Dec UY? That alone seems like a unicorn. Then have to go through ROFR, and maybe have it not even pass. The cost savings for a small contract at $165 pp vs. $188 doesn't seem worth it to me. Or, I could buy direct, automatically have the same UY, and get the points immediately. And like someone else said, if I buy the points now, I'd get the points from the previoius UY. And then I will be able to use all 150 points at future resorts.

So to answer your question, resale is not always the better option. At least in my opinion. Sometimes it is, but every situation is different.

Thank you so much for your feedback. It’s a tough call but that’s why I wanted to ask specifically for this scenario. Obviously the numbers would be totally different with another resort. To your point, every situation should be evaluated. I just want to make the right decision.

 

[princesslover]

For that situation I would buy direct also.

Thanks. When we bought, we figured we'd add on resale, but it just isn't worth the headache to me. The price point for CCV right now is still pretty high. I saw one for $182 pp I think. At that point, why bother?

OP: Sorry to hijack.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Thanks. When we bought, we figured we'd add on resale, but it just isn't worth the headache to me. The price point for CCV right now is still pretty high. I saw one for $182 pp I think. At that point, why bother?

OP: Sorry to hijack.

If you decide to go resale your best bet would be buying BRV because those seem to be the cheapest resale points at the moment. You could do a split stay between CCV and BR. lol

 

[msjprincess]

Yes, thats true but that’s because those contracts expire 2042. The example I used has a 2057 expiration date.

I said 2057 contracts.