Downsides of buyng resale from the UK?

[RobynPrincess]

My hubby and I are seriously looking into buying resale, other than the obvious down sides that apply to everyone (ie, using points elsewhere other than at DVC, which we would never do anyway), what are the other downsides or things we need to be aware of?

I have read that we need to think about banks, who to send the money with, without being charged huge fees.

Are there other things we should be aware of buying from the UK?

Also what about when it comes to selling the DVC? Obviously we wont be doing that for years but are there any downsides when it comes to selling it again years later from a UK owner?

Thanks for your help!

xxxx

 

[Samaya]

My hubby and I are seriously looking into buying resale, other than the obvious down sides that apply to everyone (ie, using points elsewhere other than at DVC, which we would never do anyway), what are the other downsides or things we need to be aware of?

I have read that we need to think about banks, who to send the money with, without being charged huge fees.

Are there other things we should be aware of buying from the UK?

Also what about when it comes to selling the DVC? Obviously we wont be doing that for years but are there any downsides when it comes to selling it again years later from a UK owner?

Thanks for your help!

xxxx

Hi,

We purchased direct from Disney but that was long before we knew about being able to buy resale; if we were buying more points then we would go the resale route as there's a big saving on the cost per point.

As you stated about selling DVC in the future, the only downside might be when you choose to sell and the future exchange rate compared to when you purchased. UK members who purchased a few years ago when the rate was $2.00 or more to the £1.00 would clearly be in a better position if selling now compared to a UK member who purchased when it was as low as $1.40 to the £1.00 and also selling now.

Yes, you do need to do some homework on the best way for you to pay for the points but also bear in mind the annual dues, especially if you buying a lot of points as it can mount up, if not then paying for annual dues by credit card is an easy option so look out for one that has a no exchange rate or withdrawal fee

Opening an American bank account in Orlando is one option which a few UK members have written about in these threads, also some UK banks offer foreign currency accounts such as CitiBank in London, one of their options for free banking is keeping a balance of over £2,000 in each of the accounts you hold with them. You might want to start another thread asking for advice on US bank accounts.

Unless you have a real preference on the resort and always want to stay there, then think about buying a lower cost resort with a low cost annual due. As long as you book your holidays at 7-months out, then you should be able to pick up a room at a different resort every year.

I added a rough price per point taken from the Timeshare Store and the current annual dues to show what I mean for the following resorts.

We've used our OKW points ($58.00-$5.21) early this year for a stay at Vero Beach ($45.00-$7.12) and at the Beach Club ($75.00-$5.51) and have booked next year at Animal Kingdom Lodge ($68.00-$5.44) and Bay Lake Towers ($90.00-$4.23).

Good luck in your decision,
Samaya.....

 

[RobynPrincess]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me. You have given us loads to think about we are thinking of buying AKL, we really love the resort (stayed on points in October when we rented off a forum member) and were completely sold!

 

[zavandor]

The AKL value rooms are a real bargain. Rooms are smaller, but points are too. Even if the MF for AKL is higher (and will stay higher to other resorts due to the animal care program), value rooms cost is so low that you end up paying the least amount of all DVC resorts.
Those need to be booked at 11 months out, they rarely are available at 7 months. I've monitored the value rooms in the last months and I've found availability at 7 months (I own SSR) only in special circumstances: in high season but without holiday. For example: February had a good availability at 7 months, because it costs more than January but there is no special holiday running.

So if you plan to book the value rooms, it's better to own AKL.

Instead, if you want to book the savannah or standard view, you'll find a LOT of availability every time of the year. AKL is a huge resort and one of the last to be filled up. If you book exactly at 7 months you'll have problems just very few days (like NYE). In this case I would suggest you to buy a lower cost resort (OKW or even better SSR) and book AKV at 7 months out.

 

[Samaya]

zavandor's reason for AKL and that the value rooms are a real bargain is an excellent point and if you're thinking that most years you'll be booking AKL then that's one very good reason to place AKL at the top of your list.

Our past stays at AKL has always be at Kidani Village but we decided at the beginning of October to try for a value studio at Jambo House in April-May 2013. Two of the 14-nights we were trying to reserve were fully book so we went on a wait-list for those 2-nights and booked the other 12-nights and within days most of those 12-nights became fully booked. But at the end of October the wait-list came through so we were very luck to get 2-weeks in a value at the 7-month window.

Just checked 7-months out for a value studio at AKL and between June 6th and the 20th there's only 3-nights available while the 1-bed value has only 5 available nights and most are spread out.

 

[Bonnie151]

I have read that we need to think about banks, who to send the money with, without being charged huge fees.

When we bought our resale DVC last year I used FairFX to wire the money to the US. My bank was going to charge a small fortune so I had a look at a few of the online wire transfer services. I got a better exchange rate using them as well. Definitely shop around!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

remember if you buy resale you can only use those points to stay at a DVC resort. So you could not the points for a cruise or to stay at any of the Disney collection resorts such as, the Poly, POR, CSR and such..

 

[zavandor]

remember if you buy resale you can only use those points to stay at a DVC resort. So you could not the points for a cruise or to stay at any of the Disney collection resorts such as, the Poly, POR, CSR and such..

But those options are a bad value anyway, so they're not worth paying double for the contract.