DVC on a tight budget: Why not buy cheap Vero Beach Points and use them at WDW???

[eaglerock]

I'm not a member. We've gone to Disney the last 2 years just before Christams.

I'd like to join but can't afford the $15k to buy into DVC thru Disney. I did not go on a DVC tour.

I am thinking of buying cheaper resale points at Vero Beach to use at WDW (75 or 100 pts). I have recently seen resales posted on the site submitted to ROFR at $58 - $60.

I'd would like to be able to stay at the Wilderness Lodge. I have looked at the point charts. I figure I could use my Vero Beach points and then rent/transfer points to make up any short falls in the points needed to book.

Maybe I'd add on more points in the future from 1 of the WDW clubs or buy direct from Disney in a small contract.

Is booking VWL hard to due at 7 months? I was at WVL in Dec (16 to 20) and booked my trip 2 weeks before arriving. WVL studios were available but too expensive. I got a standard room and loved it.

Which sites are easier or easiest to book at 7 months than others? If there is already a discussion on this please post the link.

I also need input on renting points and transferring them to my account if I buy a contract. I would like to take 1 trip in a year or 2 and rent a 2 bedroom villa and bring along the grandparents for a week. I would need a lot of points to do this (270 to 314 pts) and hope to rent them.

Is there a limit to how many points you can transfer into your account.
Example: If I have 100 points and need 270 points, can I rent/transfer 170 points into my account?


Any advice on how to join DVC on a tight budget would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Eaglerock

 

[1000th happy haunt]

Why not buy Vero Beach and use your points at WDW? Because it has the highest maintenance fee of all the DVC resorts. Over time it's the maintenance fee that adds up, not the initial purchase price.

 

[dianeschlicht]

What you propose may not actually be a savings in the long run. VB dues are the highest in the DVC system, and the reality is that the greater cost over the length of a DVC contract is in fact, the maintenance dues.

Also, depending on WHEN and WHICH resort you prefer to book at WDW, you could be at a significant disadvantage when booking at WDW. The time you say you like to travel (early December) is actually the most difficult time to book DVC resorts. The points are low and many like to go see the decor when the crowds are also low, so many DVC locations on site book up early in the 11 month booking window. If, on the other hand, you wouldn't mind always staying at OKW or SSR, then go for it. Just be aware that your VB dues for the same number of points will far exceed what you would be paying for the same number of points at SSR or OKW. Maybe you should look at an OKW or SSR resale instead.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Is there a limit to how many points you can transfer into your account.
Example: If I have 100 points and need 270 points, can I rent/transfer 170 points into my account?

Yes, you can transfer points in, but be aware that only one transfer in or out of you account is allowed in any given use year, so you would need to find someone willing to transfer all of those points at once.

A better idea is to take the number of points you are likely to need every other year, and then divide that number in half. That gives you a trip every other year in your desired accommodations. For example, at OKW, a week in a 2 bedroom the first half of December is 218 points. Half of that is 109, so if you purchased a 75 point resale and added on 34 points through Disney, you would have the correct amount of points to do what you propose much easier.

 

[CarolA]

Just a warning. I tend to book late (I am not an 11 month planner) For that reason I have NEVER made it into VWL. My understanding is that it is VERY popular at the time you are talking about. Remember that just because you could get the room through CRO does not mean that you can get it as a DVC member. It's a different inventory.

I gave a stay at BCV to a friend yesterday. When I told her she said that they had tried to book a Villa at WL in the past but "it's always been sold out" I realize that is not scientific, but.... .(They need a two bedroom and we went with BCV due to the pool in the summer!)

 

[TenThousandVolts]

I'd would like to be able to stay at the Wilderness Lodge...
...
Is booking VWL hard to due at 7 months? I was at WVL in Dec (16 to 20) and booked my trip 2 weeks before arriving. WVL studios were available but too expensive. I got a standard room and loved it.

I understand it is nearly impossible at the 7 month window during the holidays - they have few dvc units. Also- calling CRO and finding that they have studios 2 weeks prior to check-in is not really an indictator that you would be able to book that studio on points 2 weeks prior.

Seems like the easiest wdw dvc resorts to book at 7 months are ssr and okw. Why not look into vwl resale or if you want to save $$ and then try at 7 months for vwl the ssr f&f deal will definately give you the most points for the least $ over the life of the contract. They have low mfs- which is the bulk of the expense of dvc.
Good luck.

 

[DisneyKidds]

If you were very flexible as far as your travel dates.....and if you were very flexible as to which resort you wanted to stay at......and if Vero Beach dues weren't the most expensive of all the DVC resorts......well, you'd have a great plan. If you want to be able to stay in the VWL (read: smallest DVC resort with the fewest available rooms) during the December holiday season (read: most popular time at DVC resorts, at what is widely regarded to be the most Christmassy of the DVC resorts) I don't think your plan will work. While it may be very difficult to find, look for a small VWL resale contract. The buy in price won't be as cheap as Vero Beach, but in the long run you'll save on maintenance and be able to stay where you want, when you want.

 

[3DisneyKids]

I agree with the advice posted by others here.

Looks like you are new to the DIS...welcome! If you are thinking about purchasing DVC, then you are in the right place...read everything you can!

Good luck as you make your decision.

 

[marymrg]

We own at Vero Beach for two reasons:

1) We love it there and will vacation there even if we don't do the parks.

2) We usually go to VB at Easter and/or 4th of July and book either a 2 bedroom or a beach cottage. Hence, we need the 11 month booking window.

Having said that, we don't care where we stay when we are at the World so the 11 month booking window isn't as important. We bought an OKW contract for those stays.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

There have been many threads involving this subject and for the most part, they all come down to the same thing: if you are buying a membership for the sole purpose of staying onsite @ WDW...you should buy at a WDW resort. There's nothing wrong w/VB and it is cheaper to buy into than anything else, however...what appeals to you now as a buyer will be a curse as a seller. If you look at the VB listings, the majority have been available for *several* months. If you think this membership is something you would use for a few years and then possibly sell you might end up with a contract that you have been paying extremely high mf's on and can't unload right away. Also, I think the price per point you estimated in your original post is too low to pass ROFR.

One more thing, point transfers (in or out) are now being limited. You might find yourself in a situation where you will only be able to do one transaction per year and have to find the same owner to get all the points from. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but it is something to consider.

 

[Diznut84]

I would buy at OKW or VWL instead. The purchase price is less expensive at OKW, and if you decide you like the resort, the favorable point charts make it significantly less expensive as well.

 

[korbbec]

Ok this is my first attempt at DVC math, so feel free to correct me. Let's say you buy 100 points, for easier math. At $60 pp @VB it woul be $6000. At say $85 pp at a WDW resort, it would be $8500. A $2500 difference. Now- dues at VB on those points is $5.63pp or $563.00. I averaged all 5 WDW resorts to come up with WDW dues of $4.55pp or $455.00. So, at $108 dollars more per year, it will take 23 years to make up that $2500, then VB will end up costing you more for the last 12 years. I don't really have a point, just wanted to try DVC math and throw some numbers out there for ya.

 

[LisaS]

Ok this is my first attempt at DVC math, so feel free to correct me. Let's say you buy 100 points, for easier math. At $60 pp @VB it woul be $6000. At say $85 pp at a WDW resort, it would be $8500. A $2500 difference. Now- dues at VB on those points is $5.63pp or $563.00. I averaged all 5 WDW resorts to come up with WDW dues of $4.55pp or $455.00. So, at $108 dollars more per year, it will take 23 years to make up that $2500, then VB will end up costing you more for the last 12 years. I don't really have a point, just wanted to try DVC math and throw some numbers out there for ya.

I did a similar analysis a few days ago. I used actual dues rather than an average and applied the average dues increase at each particular resort.

Using your example of 100 points, here are the figures I calculated for the total dues paid for the next 5 years, 10 years and 15 years and for all remaining years on the contracts (2007-2041 inclusive). For simplicity, I'll just compare OKW and VB (VB's dues is the higher number):

After 5 years: $ 2365 $ 3077 (VB-OKW= $712)
After 10 years: $ 5188 $ 6902 (VB-OKW= $1714)
After 15 years: $ 8560 $11657 (VB-OKW= $3097)
After 35 years: $29988 $45407 (VB-OKW= $15419)

OKW's current ROFR threshold is around $78 so using your $60 price for VB, that's an $1800 initial price difference for 100 points. After 10 years, the total dues paid at VB will be $1714 more than at OKW so the break-even point is partway through 2017 (10.x years from now). This assumes that VB does not sustain any hurricane damage during that time that is serious enough to warrant a special assessment there.

 

[greenban]

[Snip]...
This assumes that VB does not sustain any hurricane damage during that time that is serious enough to warrant a special assessment there....[/snip]

Oh Great Thanks Lisa for jinxing us with the Hurricaine!

So when our VB dues get whacked this year, we all know who to thank....

Lisa S!

-Tony

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

You better be careful LisaS -- I hear when Tony gets mad a people...they get warts! Of course, that's toad-ally ridiculous, right?

 

[LisaS]

Oh Great Thanks Lisa for jinxing us with the Hurricaine!

So when our VB dues get whacked this year, we all know who to thank....

Lisa S!

-Tony

Hey, if I can scare enough people away from booking a stay there, maybe I'll be able to snag a beach cottage some day. That would be sweet!

What I really find interesting about the numbers is that someone purchasing 100 points at VB for $60 per point on Jan 1, 2007 could end up paying more in dues over just the next 10 years than they did to purchase the points! Now that's scary!