Does Home Resort Matter?

[OnMedic]

Good day all!

I am now staring the process of investigating our next TS ownership, DVC.

Does the origin or home resort for points matter? We really liked SSR, but I prefer the $/pt. of Vero Beach. It is my understanding that home resort books 11 months out, and 7 months if you are not booking into your home resort, correct?

A couple of questions:
1) Hoe tough is it to book at the alternative resort with the shorter booking window?
2) Is the a booking/reservation fee for booking outside your home resort?
3) When booking at your home resort utilizing the preferencial booking time, do you have to book an entire week to have the ability to book 11 months out, or can you book any season and any length of stay at the 11 month window?

Thanks!

Steve

 

[bicker]

"Always buy where you plan to stay."

1) During some times of the year, and with certain types of rooms, it is not possible to get reservations at some resorts, at the seven month point. YMMV.

2) No booking fee for booking at another DVC resort.

3) Any season; any length of stay.

 

[Dean]

IMO it does matter and will likely become increasingly important as SSR is old out and the members there have a few trips under their belt. That isn't to say that one can't be successful at the 7 month window but why complicate your life. For VB, remember that you will have fees about $1 pp higher than your lowest option. If you plan to do VB part of the time, I think it's a good idea. To buy just to get in the system I think is an extremely poor choice, but that's me. Those that want to get in but for a lower price will likely be served best by buying the cheapest thing and lowest points they can get on WDW property, usually OKW.

 

[Beca]

Personally, I don't think you would have a problem owning at VB and getting rooms at SSR. SSR is the largest DVC resort, and therefore will usually be the last DVC resort to fill up.

My concern is this. When you divide the cost per point by the number of years owned (let's just use $90 per point for SSR, and 49 years), that comes to $1.84 per point, per year. Then, add the MF of $3.82 per point...the total cost of SSR per point, per year is $5.66.

Do the same math for VB. Taking an average of the sales price of resales listed thru TTS at $68 per point. Add closing costs to that of $3.33 per point (again, an average) and you have $71.33 per point. Divide that by the number of years left in a VB contract (I will be "generous" and say 38 yrs, though at this point the reality is more like 37...which would make the contract even more expensive) and you get $1.88 per point, per year (.03 more than SSR).

Now, factor in that VB's maintenance fees are the highest at $4.82 per point. That brings your cost of VB to $6.70 per point, per year.

That makes owning VB $1.04 per point, per year more expensive than owning SSR.

You can see, via the above method that owning VB is not the "bargain" you are speaking of. The reality is, maintenance fees are more than TWICE the purchase price of your points, and while the cost of purchasing your points stays the same, maintenance fees will surely go up and up.

One more factor....meteorologists say that we are entering a 20 year period of increased hurricane activity. VB is on the coast. After last summer's devastating hurricane....DVC spoke of considering charging an "assessment" to all VB owners to help cover the increased insurance and/or rebuilding costs of VB (I am not sure where exactly the money was going as I am not an owner).

Also, think about resaleability of your timeshare...just in case you ever needed to get your money out of it. SSR has 12 more years than VB. And, just as it is a "bargain" for you to buy now, you will not get the same $$$ out of VB as you would out of SSR. Plus, it can take a while to sell VB.

Also, look at the rental market for VB points. Many DVC owners choose to rent their points when they find they will not be using them. As an SSR owner, you could rent your points early and be assured of giving someone on the dis (the best place to rent) a WDW location. Most dis'ers are not looking to rent at VB. If your points were at VB, you could not rent those points to a dis'er going to WDW until the 7 month window opened.

There are many people who own at VB and LOVE it. There are some rooms there that are VERY hard to get....like beach cottages in the summer. But, my advice would be to consider the financial aspect VERY carefully. I would be very hard-pressed to consider VB a "bargain" for someone who really wants a WDW location.

Good luck in whatever you decide,



Beca

 

[CharlesTD]

We own 3 resorts and only 1 is on property and we have never had problems booking at the other resorts even this May we only booked 6 weeks ahead of our trip and we have booked a room for friends less than 3 weeks from the trialthlon and the marathon and they were BWV rooms for one and VWL for the other.

 

[OnMedic]

Great feedback!

As you can tell, I am familiar with the Hilton system!

I will definitely take a closer look at the WDW properties with everyone's feedback.

Are there any transfer fees or closing costs, outside the closing companie's fees of around $500, when buying resale?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[vascubaguy]

Great feedback!

As you can tell, I am familiar with the Hilton system!

I will definitely take a closer look at the WDW properties with everyone's feedback.

Are there any transfer fees or closing costs, outside the closing companie's fees of around $500, when buying resale?

Thanks,

Steve

Disney charges a transfer fee, which I believe is around $200. Most resale arrangements are that the buyer pays closing and the seller pays transfer fees. You could also have to pay current years maintenance on any existing points. Those 3 things are negotiable in the contract.

 

[cruise-o-matic]

I would probably stay away from VB resales b/c of the highest maintenance fees. However, there are some VB contracts out there with subsidized fees, that I think make it the lowest fees out of all the resorts. If you can find one of these, then VB is a good deal.

We bought HH b/c the price per point was 2nd lowest on the resale market, just above VB. Plus, since we bought resale, there was a credit on the 2004 dues, so our net MF's are only $3.88 point, which puts it just a few cents higher than OKW & SSR. But also important was the fact we live in NC and can drive to HH, so we can have the 11 month window if we alternate summers at WDW and HH.

OKW has the lowest price per point and MF's of the WDW resorts. The 11 month advantage with OKW is you can get access to the cheapest Grand Villa's. Plus OKW has the largest rooms of the WDW DVC resorts.

SSR has the advantage of 12 extra years over the other DVC resorts. Since SSR is going to be so large, we didn't see a real 11 month window advantage.

The 11 month advantage really comes into play with the smaller resorts: BCV, BWV & VWL. On the resale market, they are commanding higher prices, especially BCV. As SSR grows, there will be more competition for the smaller resorts, so those who like to stay there are buying to protect their 11 month booking advantage.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[Disney Fanatic]

I would probably stay away from VB resales b/c of the highest maintenance fees. However, there are some VB contracts out there with subsidized fees, that I think make it the lowest fees out of all the resorts. If you can find one of these, then VB is a good deal.

We bought HH b/c the price per point was 2nd lowest on the resale market, just above VB. Plus, since we bought resale, there was a credit on the 2004 dues, so our net MF's are only $3.88 point, which puts it just a few cents higher than OKW & SSR. But also important was the fact we live in NC and can drive to HH, so we can have the 11 month window if we alternate summers at WDW and HH.

OKW has the lowest price per point and MF's of the WDW resorts. The 11 month advantage with OKW is you can get access to the cheapest Grand Villa's. Plus OKW has the largest rooms of the WDW DVC resorts.

SSR has the advantage of 12 extra years over the other DVC resorts. Since SSR is going to be so large, we didn't see a real 11 month window advantage.

The 11 month advantage really comes into play with the smaller resorts: BCV, BWV & VWL. On the resale market, they are commanding higher prices, especially BCV. As SSR grows, there will be more competition for the smaller resorts, so those who like to stay there are buying to protect their 11 month booking advantage.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Can you please tell me about a VB contract with subsidized mf's???

 

[JimMIA]

Here's a link to a thread I started several months ago about buying DVC. It starts out with a discussion of the home resort question. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=778634

As I'd hoped it would, that thread drew a lot of comments, representing quite a variety of issues and ideas, so it might be worth skimming through the whole thing. Like most long threads, it wanders off occasionally, but there are a lot of good questions and answers sprinkled throughout.

The one thing I would emphasize is that there are no "cookie-cutter" answers. There are a ton of options, and the best answer is the one that fits your family best.

Happy hunting!

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

Steve,
Lots of good points for you to consider. You can't go wrong following the buy where you want to go theory, especially if are really attached to a certain resort and staying there will make or break your vacation. If you are flexible and can be happy at any DVC resort, then it won't really matter. I would think twice about purchasing Vero Beach however unless that is a place that you want to go to during hard to get periods.

 

[cruise-o-matic]

Can you please tell me about a VB contract with subsidized mf's???

Here's the link to the thread that has the dues history. Scroll down the page and it has some posts about the VB dues.

Dues History

 

[HookdonWDW]

I can only give my personal perspective. What works for me, won't work for everyone. Personally, Home Resort matters quite a bit. I'm not someone who would be happy taking whatever resort happened to be available. I've stayed at all of the onsite resorts, and there are some that I wouldn't want to stay in again. So for me, it matters to know that I can book at a place that works for us.

We also like to travel during vacation periods, and times that are "DVC busy". We like BCV during the F&W Festival and summer. We like to stay at VWL during Christmas.

I don't like the waitlist. I know that it works for most, and that people say they usually get what they want, but you have to have a certain "go-with-the-flow" personality to deal with the wait list, and I don't have it! You have to know yourself. I'm too much of a planner. It would drive me nuts wondering whether or not I got into my first choice. I'd have to do it for the entire period instead of day-to-day, because I would worry that days 1-3-5 and 7 were at Resort A, and days 2,4 and 6 were at Resort B. And it doesn't matter how much people say it wouldn't happen. I'm convinced it WOULD happen to me.

I'm usually a preplanner, so I make our plans before the 7 month mark. If I add an extra trip, we live close enough that I pick and choose dates to get the resort I want. But for our long trips, I plan it out.

I know others will say that it doesn't matter. And if you have the right personality, I'm sure it doesn't. But for others, home resort is VERY important. JMHO. YMMV.

Lisa

 

[jacksmom]

There have certainly been a lot of valid points made, but when we bought (BCV before constuction was complete), we did not do any kind of comparison! We loved the idea of BCV! That was what sold us! Since, we have stayed at BCV, VWL, HHI, and VB (some multiple times). We have enjoyed them all! We even recently waitlisted for a last minute trip and are now excitedly planning a trip to BWV! But, if we were never able to stay at any other DVC resort, we would still be pleasded with our purchase of BCV! To me, that is an important reinforcement of why I purchased in the first place!

 

[JimC]

When we bought in 2002 VB was a lot less per point versus the other resorts both resale and direct from Disney. However VB has higher annual dues. When we looked at it the cost advantage was completely offset in under 20 years. From then on VB was more expensive to own.

I am another with the view that you should "buy where you want to stay". Particularly if BCV and VWL are resorts you want during peak DVC times. I agree with Dean's view that this will become increasingly important when SSR is fully sold.

 

[Beca]

I can only give my personal perspective. What works for me, won't work for everyone. Personally, Home Resort matters quite a bit. I'm not someone who would be happy taking whatever resort happened to be available. I've stayed at all of the onsite resorts, and there are some that I wouldn't want to stay in again. So for me, it matters to know that I can book at a place that works for us.

We also like to travel during vacation periods, and times that are "DVC busy". We like BCV during the F&W Festival and summer. We like to stay at VWL during Christmas.

I don't like the waitlist. I know that it works for most, and that people say they usually get what they want, but you have to have a certain "go-with-the-flow" personality to deal with the wait list, and I don't have it! You have to know yourself. I'm too much of a planner. It would drive me nuts wondering whether or not I got into my first choice. I'd have to do it for the entire period instead of day-to-day, because I would worry that days 1-3-5 and 7 were at Resort A, and days 2,4 and 6 were at Resort B. And it doesn't matter how much people say it wouldn't happen. I'm convinced it WOULD happen to me.

I'm usually a preplanner, so I make our plans before the 7 month mark. If I add an extra trip, we live close enough that I pick and choose dates to get the resort I want. But for our long trips, I plan it out.

I know others will say that it doesn't matter. And if you have the right personality, I'm sure it doesn't. But for others, home resort is VERY important. JMHO. YMMV.

Lisa

ITA!!!!

We live in Phoenix....so, for the 3 of us, it is a 5 hr flight (yuck!!) plus several hundred dollars just to get there. Add to that, the cost of a rental car, plus spending money...it adds up really quickly. Then, consider that dh's time off from work is VERY precious (I own my own business...so, as long as I am willing to forego some $$$$....I can take as much time off as I want). We have already experienced "resort envy" (i.e....we were staying at one resort, and although it was really nice (it is my SECOND choice) it was just a bummer when we toured all the resorts and found one that felt like "home" to use...and, we DIDN'T own there!!!) and it wasn't pretty.

There are some posters on this board who are pretty happy-go-lucky and are fine staying wherever there is space. Then there are others who feel that staying in a resort they are not fond of (or even just a resort that is not their first choice) is a waste of precious vacation time and $$$$ spent in other areas. Obviously....I fall in the second category of DVC'ers.

I get maybe 10-12 days per year at WDW, and go to a lot of trouble and expense to get there...I want to stay at the resort that truly feels like "home". To me....just staying at BCV "makes" my vacation (even though I have only "kind of" stayed there so far....long story). But, I have to say that out of ALL the things we have ever done at WDW, my favorite has to be sitting on the lawn chairs at BCV at 9:00PM while my dd and dh play in the "sand dunes" area (this was the first place that dd has NOT been afraid to swim...she LOVES it there...soft sand, shallow water...building sand castles in the pool) and seeing and hearing Illuminations over the tops of the beautiful architecture of Beach Club. I can DEFINITELY do that for the next 38 years!!!

With this kind of love for my "home"....I know I need to stay there in the future, and let others enjoy their home resorts as well. DH is SOOO adamant about BCV that he says we will cancel a trip before we will not stay there. He is SUCH a creature of habit (I think I woud be fine with an occasional BWV or VWL...they are beautiful as well).

Now, PLEASE don't take my comments as "resort bashing"....I am not saying BCV is better than any other....it just melts my heart....it's like that Mastercard commercial, except mine would say, "Owning DVC, $xxxxxx, using your points for a BCV stay....PRICELESS!!!"



Beca