dvc purchase

[momof3girls6712]

My husband and I took the DVC tour yesterday and want to set a goal to become members in about a year. (trying to have a time table for research, savings, etc) I have a few questions.

I will start this with we have never owned a time share and this all seems like a different world to me.

* Is it better to purchase a resell vs through Disney? Seems cheaper through the resell, but I want to make sure I am not trading something for that savings.

*How important is your home resort? We do not stay in the resort room often and I am leaning towards purchasing a cheaper home resort, but we did fall in love with BLT. We also only go during the slow seasons.

 

[Sandisw]

Lots of great questions and it is a good thing to take your time to understand DVC and how it works before becoming a member.

I think that people should buy where they are happy staying. If you really feel that it doesn't matter, then I would buy resale. There is no reason to go through Disney unless you want something like BLT or VGC where the resale contracts are limited and not that much less than what Disney is selling to make the hassle and time worth it, IMO.

However, if you are okay staying just about anywhere, then resorts like SSR are a great choice. They are at about $40/ppt cheaper than BLT, go until 2054, and have pretty low MF's (2nd only to BLT).

We started out by buying a small 50 point VWL contract, even though we knew BLT was where we wanted to own. This got our foot in the door and allowed us to add on at BLT with less points (the minimum add on for members is only 25 points if you pay cash). For us, where we stay is very important and we are not interested in staying just anywhere.

Of course, after we bought, we added on at BLT within a week, and ended up realizing that we wanted everything at BLT and sold VWL 2 months later.
Even though we took a small loss on the VWL sale, we still made out better doing it this way.

Good luck!!!!

 

[hakepb]

..in regards to the cheaper resorts. Buy WDW resorts if you want WDW stays. VB may seem cheaper, but has higher dues that will cost more in the long run.

Also remember WDW cash guest slow season is often the opposite of DVC slow season. i.e. December is one of the most popular times with DVC owners because of cheaper points, more confortable weather and wonderful Christmas decorations. October is also excepionally popular with DVC because of the Food and Wine festival....

 

[disneynutz]

It's real easy.

Buy where you love to stay.

Buy a UY that best serves your favorite travel season.

Buy resale.

Bill

 

[Deb & Bill]

If a certain type, size, location is important to you - meaning it will make or break your vacation - you need to buy at that place. But if any will do, buy a cheaper resale at one of the WDW resorts. Only buy VB or HHI if you want to be able to stay at those resorts.

When you say "slow seasons", what do you mean? Many times that are slower for regular WDW guests are very popular with members. Early Dec is one of the hardest times to get a reservation unless you book at your home resort at 11 months out.

 

[ToddyLu]

I can assure you after only staying in Values, you will find yourself enjoying the deluxe DVC resort. We too were the "only sleep in the room" type...that is until last year...our first trip to AKV was terrific. We really didn't mind coming back to the resort. ASMo and Pop were always nice but we looked forward to AKV and it was a much more enjoyable vacation. Until you have that opportunity you will not realize how the resort will change your approach to Disney....trust me you need to buy where you want to stay.


And being at BLT makes the journey from Epcot and MK even more easy for you....a quick trip back to the room....take the advice grasshopper, buy where you love....the cost will work itself out over time.

 

[lugnut33]

You said you fell in love with BLT, then you should buy there. If you were buying now, I'd say purchase through DVC. However, you are waiting a year and by then you'll have a good idea of what the resale market will look like for BLT.

 

[Crystal_27]

Resale is without a doubt the cheapest way to go. Unfortunately, though, with the newer resorts (BLT most especially) the resale options are quite limited and, depending on what the current prices DVC is offering, you have to assume that Disney will ROFR any contract. Still, since you don't way to buy until next year, you might get lucky and find an ideal contract.

As to home resort, I am of the belief that home resort is very important. You said that you fell in love with BLT -- that's where you need to buy, in my opinion. Yes, you can try and get BLT at the 7 month mark but you are not *guaranteed* that you will get to stay there, and you have to keep in mind that you would be competing with every other DVC member wanting to stay during your time period when your 7 month window opened. Like you, I wanted to be at BLT and, although DH and I debated on buying in at a cheaper resort, we ended up just going with BLT because we wanted to be able to lock in our vacation at BLT at the 11 month mark and have as much of a chance as possible to get what we wanted.

As to going during "slow seasons," something to also keep in mind is that often, what Disney considers to be a slow season is actually a very popular season for DVCers, meaning less availability for rooms.

Definitely do keep researching and asking questions here on The DIS. This is a great community full of helpful people who know all the ins and outs about DVC.