DVC Resale Question

[JoeT313]

Hi, I had a couple questions regarding DVC resale and I am sure somebody here knows the answer! If I were to purchase an initial contract through resale, (likely a minimal amount of points, probably 50) would I then be able to purchase add on points direct from Disney, thus keeping the same use year and essentially the same contract? If this is possible, is there a minimum amount of add on points one has to buy direct from Disney? I thought I saw somewhere on here that it was 25 points. Lastly, is there a way, through resale exclusively, to combine contracts so that all points are available for the 11 month booking window? My guess is that they obviously have to be at the same resort and have the same use year?

Thanks so much for your help!

--Joe

 

[chalee94]

Hi, I had a couple questions regarding DVC resale and I am sure somebody here knows the answer! If I were to purchase an initial contract through resale, (likely a minimal amount of points, probably 50) would I then be able to purchase add on points direct from Disney, thus keeping the same use year and essentially the same contract?

basically, yes.

edited to add: contracts under one membership number can still be sold or willed separately, but they do operate pretty seamlessly as one contract, depending on what home resort(s) you own as discussed further below.

If this is possible, is there a minimum amount of add on points one has to buy direct from Disney? I thought I saw somewhere on here that it was 25 points.

25 pts if you pay cash. 50 pts if you have to finance.

(edited to add: your resale pts would still not be valid for trades for cruises and wdw hotels, however.)

Lastly, is there a way, through resale exclusively, to combine contracts so that all points are available for the 11 month booking window? My guess is that they obviously have to be at the same resort and have the same use year?

they have to be at the same resort to combine them at the 11 month window. there is no way to use SSR pts (for example) to jump in front of someone with BLT pts.

if you buy the same UY month (and the contracts are titled the same), then you can easily mix pts at 11 months out (if the same home resort) or 7 months out for any DVC resort...as long as the points are all be under one membership. DVC should combine them automatically but you may want to make sure they are aware of the situation.

if you have contracts with different UY months, you have separate memberships and would need to transfer pts in order to combine them as described in the previous paragraph. just a little more complicated to use (and also, you would have separate banking windows to keep track of.) you could still book individual nights with each contract and ask MS to note that the reservations are connected, but it would be a little more complicated and you might have to switch rooms or at least checkout and back in...

 

[drusba]

You can add on through Disney if you orginally purchased resale and Disney will give you same use year. Minimum is 25 points if paying cash, 50 if you want to finance purchase, and then you often need more than that to take advantage of any point price discounts Disney is offering.

Points in same use year for same resort can be mixed together to reserve 11 months out and that includes if you purchase two resales but when purchasing resale you need to inform Disney before closing that you want the resale contracts joined under one member number.

 

[JoeT313]

Awesome answers! Thank you!

 

[MSUmom]

I am in the process of purchasing 2 different resale points - One is 150 pts at SSR with the month of October and the other is 25 pts at AKV with the month of November. Is this going to be a problem? What do I need to be aware of. The SSR is in ROFR and the AKV should be sent anyday.

 

[chalee94]

I am in the process of purchasing 2 different resale points - One is 150 pts at SSR with the month of October and the other is 25 pts at AKV with the month of November.

there is no such thing as a UY month of november, so figuring that out comes first.

you will have separate banking windows for each contract, so you'll need to work a little harder keeping track of them.

at 11 months out, your SSR pts are only good at SSR and your AKV pts are only good for booking AKV. this will always be true no matter what.

here are recent discussions of multiple use year months for more information:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2848445

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=42111015

 

[disneynutz]

Also if they are not the same UY and/or Titled identical, you will have 2 separate memberships, different membership accounts, member numbers and ID cards.

Bill

 

[Sandisw]

I am in the process of purchasing 2 different resale points - One is 150 pts at SSR with the month of October and the other is 25 pts at AKV with the month of November. Is this going to be a problem? What do I need to be aware of. The SSR is in ROFR and the AKV should be sent anyday.

If your AKV contract has a different UY than the SSR one, then you will not be able to combine those points for a single night without a transfer because they will be different membership.

You would have to book whole nights with each and have the reservation linked. When you buy different resorts but keep the same UY, then, at the 7 month window, you can use all the points together. Prior to that, the AKV points can only be used at AKV and the SSR points only at SSR.

We do own two UY's, so two memberships, but both are bigger contracts which allows us to basically treat them that way--we have different uses for the points so it works.

IMO, doing it with a small contract is much harder.

 

[JoeT313]

This is kind of a follow up to my initial question. Looking at resale contracts, I see that there is a huge discrepancy in the price per point at the resorts. I understand why Bay Lake is high (later expiration, lower fees) and why Vero Beach is lower (opposite of prior). What I can’t understand is why Saratoga Springs is relatively low (I am seeing mid 60’s per point). The maintenance fees seem to be relatively low and the exp date is later. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
--Joe

 

[chalee94]

This is kind of a follow up to my initial question. Looking at resale contracts, I see that there is a huge discrepancy in the price per point at the resorts. I understand why Bay Lake is high (later expiration, lower fees) and why Vero Beach is lower (opposite of prior). What I can’t understand is why Saratoga Springs is relatively low (I am seeing mid 60’s per point). The maintenance fees seem to be relatively low and the exp date is later. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
--Joe

supply and demand.

SSR is a giant resort. so supply is working against prices there.

SSR requires buses to get to the parks. no boat to the MK and no walking to epcot...so that works against it from the demand side.

lots of folks bought in right before the recession so that may have added to the supply of resales. many SSR buyers seem(ed) to have the notion that they could buy at SSR and stay at BCV during food&wine or VWL during the holidays...and some of them have been a bit disappointed.

SSR resales are not as cheap as VB because at least it offers access to onsite stays at wdw at 11 months out, whereas VB owners risk not finding availability at wdw at 7 months out...but SSR will never be as in demand as BLT...more like OKW with pricier villas (in terms of pts per night.)

some numbers from the DVC Resource Center:

VWL - 20 Dedicated Studios - 27 Dedicated 1Bdrm - 44 Dedicated 2Bdrm - 45 Lockoffs - 0 Grand Villas = 136 Units / 181 Max. Available Rooms

BCV - 36 Dedicated Studios - 20 Dedicated 1Bdrm - 78 Dedicated 2Bdrm - 74 Lockoffs - 0 Grand Villas = 208 Units / 282 Max. Available Rooms

SSR - 0 Dedicated Studios - 0 Dedicated 1Bdrm - 360 Dedicated 2Bdrm - 432 Lockoffs - 60 THV - 36 Grand Villas = 888 Units / 1320 Max. Available Rooms

 

[zeferjen]

I think it is partly due location (not close to MK or Epcot) and supply (huge resort, so a LOT of contracts on the market). I don't mind the location, will take my chances on booking elsewhere after the 7 month window, and so I decided to buy SSR for the low price and fees.

 

[JoeT313]

Thanks! That makes sense, and also seems like SSR is a relative value then right now, if you don't mind staying there, or are flexible with where you stay.

 

[chalee94]

Thanks! That makes sense, and also seems like SSR is a relative value then right now, if you don't mind staying there, or are flexible with where you stay.

that's true.

if you are happy just to be onsite at wdw, i would buy at SSR or OKW. lower upfront cost and reasonable annual dues.

if you would feel stuck at SSR or OKW and disappointed if you were unable to get another resort at the 7 month window, then buy where you really want to stay.

 

[JoeT313]

Thanks for your response Charles.
This is probably a redundant question, but what kind of luck are DVC members having booking at the 7 month window if their travel times are flexible?

 

[chalee94]

Thanks for your response Charles.
This is probably a redundant question, but what kind of luck are DVC members having booking at the 7 month window if their travel times are flexible?

it varies widely.

if you are traveling any time from thanksgiving to new years, that is a very busy period.

if you want BCV or BWV during epcot's food&wine festival during the fall, those are tough.

are you calling right when the phones open at the 7 month window or a few days later? (i assume many will stay up till midnight to book when online reservations start up.)

you can often get what you want at 7 months out - the last few years may have been better than usual as many owners have banked pts and put off vacations due to the economy - but when there are roughly 5 times as many SSR owners as BCV owners, you'd have to be very bad at math to count on it working out every time. owners might be more or less likely to book their home resort early in the future - it's hard to know.

personally, i've only been shut out once trying to book at 7 months out. looking for a value villa (less than 20 of them total) in early november and rode the wait list from the 7 month window opening but never got it. i've had to wait list a couple of other times and they came through. but i book OKW at 10-11 months out and if nothing comes through, i'm still happy...

edited to add: some posters cheerfully claim to have gotten everything they wanted booking at 7 months out (or even less.) it can happen. but others have posted that they wanted to sell their DVC because they expected to be able to get in at other resorts at 7 months and it wasn't happening for them. hard to predict where you will end up...but if you buy a resort you like and book at 10-11 months out, your odds for being satisfied with DVC go way up IMO.

 

[JoeT313]

Thanks again for the info. What's a "value villa"?

 

[chalee94]

Thanks again for the info. What's a "value villa"?

on the AKV point chart - they are 3 feet shorter than the other AKV villas (occupancy is more limited as a result) - some have savanna and pool views. there are less than 20 of them - only at AKV-jambo house. they are a great value and can be tough to book at 7 months out.

 

[DoryDorito]

I'm not trying to highjack this thread but I'm wondering, for those of us interested in resale, are their specific companies to stay clear of?

I was talking to the Disney people about resale and they made it sound like buying resale is like buying from some guy in a dark alley. I tried to tell him that I'm not convinced that buying "full-price" is smart when the resale value is a less.

Help a girl out here.

Jenny

 

[JoeT313]

They told me the same thing! Understandably I guess. I did hear things like unscrupulous sellers may “strip” the contact before the sale is finalized and there may not be points available as promised.

 

[DisneyMotherOf2]

I'm not trying to highjack this thread but I'm wondering, for those of us interested in resale, are their specific companies to stay clear of?

I was talking to the Disney people about resale and they made it sound like buying resale is like buying from some guy in a dark alley. I tried to tell him that I'm not convinced that buying "full-price" is smart when the resale value is a less.

Help a girl out here.

Jenny

Hi Jenny. The Disney people are telling you this because they're sales people and they don't want to lose a sale to the resale market. We own 2 contracts. 1 at Beach Club Villas and 1 at Boardwalk Villas. Both were purchased on the resale market. We bought our first through the Timeshare Store and the second contract we got through Fidelity. Both were very positive experiences, especially through Fidelity because we were able to negotiate a terrific contract on BWV! There are several DVC Resale Brokers out there. You will save a tremendous amount of money buying resale. Disney recently made some changes to the resale market where you can no longer use your points towards Adventures by Disney and I believe the cruise line. We own 300 points/year total and I don't think we'd ever have enough to enjoy Adventures by Disney so that meant nothing to me when they took it away. I believe we can't use the newest points we bought towards the Disney Cruise line. Which is ok because we plan on using them mostly for park trips and perhaps Hilton head and Vero someday. Using points for cruising doesn't give you a very good return anyways. If you buy direct from Disney then you can use your points for Adventures and the Cruise Line. I believe there's one additional item that was taken away from the resale purchases but I can't remember it. I just remember it wasn't anything we were probably going to use. Good luck!!!!