First Buy In - 50 Pnt Contract - Thoughts?

[Gillyrose779]

So I have been going back and forth for some time on whether we should buy into DVC.

We have only stayed in DVC rooms through renting points and RCI and we tend to get good deals so I'm not sure how much of a savings it would be. Also, we never plan trips 11 months out - even 7 months really- so I know most will say it isn't a good option BUT here is my thoughts:

I found a Saratoga Springs contract for 50 points under a bankruptcy sale. My husband and I are going on our first adults only trip in a week for just three days. If all goes well I could see making this an annual trip- just a long weekend every Jan or Feb. in a studio. Looking at the points calculator we could stay at SS, OKW, BW (standard), and AK (Standard) for 50 or less. I could also see maybe using the points for a long weekend in late Aug since my son and I have birthdays just days apart or to maybe just come down for MNSSHP.

Having the points would also give us the DVC perks- discounts, access to the BLT lounge, etc... To me this seems like a big plus.

So what do you guys think? Is it silly to buy such a small contract or do you think it is a good way to get our feet wet?

 

[a742246]

That's what I did! Probably a January UY would be your best bet.

 

[Gillyrose779]

That's what I did! Probably a January UY would be your best bet.

Yeah!- So happy to know I'm not the only one.

 

[wdrl]

No, I don't think it is silly to buy a small deed. It appears you already know you won't be able to book long extended stays, but it sounds like you are quite happy with just short stays anyway, so that won't be an issue.

One thing that gives me pause about your travel plans is the fact that you won't book often at 7 months. DVC is beginning to fill up fairly quickly, so your choices will slowly dwindle as you get further past the 7-month window. Nevertheless, you should find something at 3-4 months for the time periods you say you might travel.

I agree that OKW, SSR, and AKV are the resorts where you'll have the greatest chance of getting something 3-4 months prior to check-in AND offer you short stays in the 50-point range. But scratch BWV Standard off your list. BWV Standard is very popular and it is rarely available at the 7-month window.

Don't count too much on DVC perks. Whatever perks are being offered today could be gone tomorrow. One of the best perks right now for DVC owners is the DVC Annual Pass, which is over $150 off the price charged to non-DVC members. But if you are going to WDW only 3-4 days a year, then an Annual Pass doesn't fit your vacation lifestyle.

One other minor point: 50-point deeds demand a premium on the resale market, so you'll probably end up paying more per point than if you bought a 150-point or larger deed. But that also means that if you decide after awhile that the 50-point deed doesn't work for you, you can probably resell it quickly and for close to what you paid for it.

Good luck in making your decision.

 

[jlovesee]

No definitely not crazy, and I will beat you... I started with a 25 point contract in 2007, back when OKW studios were 8 pts a night during the week (aka 3 nights). I did this for two reasons, 1)to "try out" DVC just like you, and 2)so we could pay cash for DVC. I now, 7 years later, have 213 points, 6 separate contracts, 4 home resorts, all paid with cash until I went to the dark side and financed a 50 point poly contract.

I love having multiple home resorts, prior to buying poly we had 3 so we would rotate between them every 3 years, and by doing so have home resort advantage at 3 different resorts. (so for example with 50 BLT points, we have 150 points every 3 years for the 11 month window, bank/borrow, works well)

I need a self help group... Be afraid be VERY afraid.

Jennifer

 

[JodyTG]

We just passed ROFR on a 50 point contact. We're just going to use it differently than you are. Odd # years DVC & even # years cruise.

 

[Gillyrose779]

Thanks for the feedback- it's very helpful!

 

[Dean]

So I have been going back and forth for some time on whether we should buy into DVC.

We have only stayed in DVC rooms through renting points and RCI and we tend to get good deals so I'm not sure how much of a savings it would be. Also, we never plan trips 11 months out - even 7 months really- so I know most will say it isn't a good option BUT here is my thoughts:

I found a Saratoga Springs contract for 50 points under a bankruptcy sale. My husband and I are going on our first adults only trip in a week for just three days. If all goes well I could see making this an annual trip- just a long weekend every Jan or Feb. in a studio. Looking at the points calculator we could stay at SS, OKW, BW (standard), and AK (Standard) for 50 or less. I could also see maybe using the points for a long weekend in late Aug since my son and I have birthdays just days apart or to maybe just come down for MNSSHP.

Having the points would also give us the DVC perks- discounts, access to the BLT lounge, etc... To me this seems like a big plus.

So what do you guys think? Is it silly to buy such a small contract or do you think it is a good way to get our feet wet?

For the right situation it makes sense but you need to do some soul searching to decide. I know of some who have done so and use it as an add on to other trips/timeshares. For some of them the perks and discounts and a couple of nights here and there as a short trip or add on to other trips is worth it. I know of a couple who stay off site and use a day at a time for pool access, Dining Plan access and a respite location during the day. But you're going to pay more per point for this type of package and your direct room savings by definition will be small. IMO it's not worth it unless the perks give you real value. OTOH, it may be that owning DVC is a good choice for you and if so, maybe you should consider more than 50 points.

 

[supersnoop]

Two things:

1. There's no such thing as a January Use Year.
2. Even bankruptcy sales must be submitted to Disney where they can exercise their Right Of First Refusal (ROFR). So, you won't be able to get a substantially better deal on a bankruptcy sale than you would on the open market.

 

[a742246]

Two things:

1. There's no such thing as a January Use Year.

Sorry, about that. Then you want to look for a Dec UY. Before you buy understand Use Year and how it would effect you!

 

[HokieGCC]

We bought 50 points a couple years ago and use them for 5 nights at the BWV in Jan each year.

You will pay a premium for a small contract but the maintenance is the dominate cost of DVC so the extra is small in the long run.

Some have indicated that you will minimize you savings by buying a small contract. That is not accurate. We get the same season pass discounts and purchasing discounts as someone with 5000 points so with a 50 point contract your breakeven period is much much shorter than a large purchase.

The only thing I would caution is if you book late (ie - don't use the 11 month booking advantage) you may have to book rooms that cost more points than you want. This can wipe out your savings.

 

[Dean]

We bought 50 points a couple years ago and use them for 5 nights at the BWV in Jan each year.

You will pay a premium for a small contract but the maintenance is the dominate cost of DVC so the extra is small in the long run.

Some have indicated that you will minimize you savings by buying a small contract. That is not accurate. We get the same season pass discounts and purchasing discounts as someone with 5000 points so with a 50 point contract your breakeven period is much much shorter than a large purchase.

The only thing I would caution is if you book late (ie - don't use the 11 month booking advantage) you may have to book rooms that cost more points than you want. This can wipe out your savings.

That is only the case if the perks offer true $$$ value, they do to some and not to others. I know of some who have bought 25-50 points really just for the perks but I think it's a very small % of people where that makes sense. Ignoring the perks, which are not guaranteed, it'll actually take longer to break even on a smaller purchase than a larger one all else equal because the pp is more. Now IF someone splurges more because they have more points that's a different ballgame and you have to move from savings discussion to a value discussion which is far more variable and subjective.

 

[okw2012]

One advantage of a small contract is that you can likely resell it more easily than a large contract (and thus get back some of the premium you paid). If you buy three small contracts at different resorts, by the magic of banking & borrowing you can get three time as much points at each resort every three years. This being said, if in the end you enjoy DVC membership you will likely end up buying more points. I find that owning less than one week worth of points in a 1BR villa during adventure season is not enough, especially when it comes to renting those points.

 

[HokieGCC]

That is only the case if the perks offer true $$$ value, they do to some and not to others.

So it looks like I need to use actual numbers. The annual pass costs $699 each. The DVC cost is $485. The difference (savings) is $214. Assuming a family of 4 that is a savings of $856 ... per year. If you buy 50 points at $100 each or $5000 the season pass discount is 17% of your initial investment and pays for your DVC investment in less than 6 years all by themselves ignoring all other savings. If you had bought 500 points at $80 each or $40,000 your yearly savings due to the season pass is only 2% of your initial investment taking 46 years to break even. So ... a small contract can really work for you financially if you utilize the season pass discount and the payback is so quick your risk of running into a rule change is minimized. On the contrary, a large DVC purchase is high risk.

Also, small contracts retain a higher value per point than do large contracts. This should tell you something all by itself; however, it also means if you eventually sell you will recoup the difference (approximately) meaning they never really actually cost you more from day one.

Conclusion - If you work a small contract well you can almost guarantee you will save money with little risk in a short time period. A large contract it is pretty iffy if you will ever save money and you have a ton of money tied up creating a fairly large financial risk.

 

[disneynutz]

So it looks like I need to use actual numbers. The annual pass costs $699 each. The DVC cost is $485. The difference (savings) is $214. Assuming a family of 4 that is a savings of $856 ... per year. If you buy 50 points at $100 each or $5000 the season pass discount is 17% of your initial investment and pays for your DVC investment in less than 6 years all by themselves ignoring all other savings. If you had bought 500 points at $80 each or $40,000 your yearly savings due to the season pass is only 2% of your initial investment taking 46 years to break even. So ... a small contract can really work for you financially if you utilize the season pass discount and the payback is so quick your risk of running into a rule change is minimized. On the contrary, a large DVC purchase is high risk.

Also, small contracts retain a higher value per point than do large contracts. This should tell you something all by itself; however, it also means if you eventually sell you will recoup the difference (approximately) meaning they never really actually cost you more from day one.

Conclusion - If you work a small contract well you can almost guarantee you will save money with little risk in a short time period. A large contract it is pretty iffy if you will ever save money and you have a ton of money tied up creating a fairly large financial risk.

What if DVC doesn't offer the AP discount or what if you don't use the AP enough to make it a good buy?

Bill

 

[HokieGCC]

What if DVC doesn't offer the AP discount or what if you don't use the AP enough to make it a good buy?

That is indeed a possibility. However, your exposure is small (at worst ~50 x $20 = $1000). If you only get one year of the discount you erase your exposure. If you get two years you are ahead.

We go to Disney twice a year and use the Season passes (and DVC discount) but only use our (50) points on one of the two trips each year entering our 3rd year of that process and we are closing in on covering the entire purchase price of DVC (our initial 50 points).

I am basically saying that it is highly likely that you can save significantly with a small contract because of the season pass discount if you line things up well.

 

[Littlelulu01]

I purchased a 25 point AKV contract and I figured with perks it paid off in one year. It was very easy and financially painless. I calculated in the annual pass savings I received and $ saved with TIW in order to get a payoff in a year.

I had to book a value studio to make it pay off in a year but that was not an issue. Was able to book at 11 months out.

The other nice thing about a small contract if you are flexible is that you can book with someone's distressed points. Its much easier to have availability tool access so you know what's available. I recently booked a BLT standard studio for $8 per point. Since my points have $6.30 per point MF I essentially rented that reservation for $1.70 per point more than it would have cost me had I used my AKV points.

If you like saving $ and find travel planning fun vs. work, a small contract can save $ without the initial big $ buy in. You have to be able to plan far ahead with your own points and last minute with inexpensive rented or transfer points though.

If you're only going to plan last minute, you very well may not get to the break even point for a long time because you'll not be taking advantage of 11 month window at your own resort. In my case with AKV, the value rooms that are such a great deal pretty much need to be booked at 11 months. That BLT standard I got for $8 per point is only a three night reservation and I think I was really lucky to pick it up. You'll also be paying a higher percentage in closing fees on the small contract.

If my husband thought time share was a good deal I would own a much larger contract or several smaller ones. He thinks they are all a bad idea so the 25 point contract was a way for me to get into DVC without spending much at all. I figured what I spent on the contract was about the cost of a couple of his basketball games. He gets joy from his games and I get joy from vacation planning and neither hobby breaks the bank or taps into savings.

 

[Dean]

So it looks like I need to use actual numbers. The annual pass costs $699 each. The DVC cost is $485. The difference (savings) is $214. Assuming a family of 4 that is a savings of $856 ... per year. If you buy 50 points at $100 each or $5000 the season pass discount is 17% of your initial investment and pays for your DVC investment in less than 6 years all by themselves ignoring all other savings. If you had bought 500 points at $80 each or $40,000 your yearly savings due to the season pass is only 2% of your initial investment taking 46 years to break even. So ... a small contract can really work for you financially if you utilize the season pass discount and the payback is so quick your risk of running into a rule change is minimized. On the contrary, a large DVC purchase is high risk.

Also, small contracts retain a higher value per point than do large contracts. This should tell you something all by itself; however, it also means if you eventually sell you will recoup the difference (approximately) meaning they never really actually cost you more from day one.

Conclusion - If you work a small contract well you can almost guarantee you will save money with little risk in a short time period. A large contract it is pretty iffy if you will ever save money and you have a ton of money tied up creating a fairly large financial risk.

As I noted, the perks offer value for some and not for others plus as Bill pointed out, the perks are not guaranteed. I do know people who have bought 25 points simply for the pass discount and those that have structured their title to get the most people a potential discount. On top of that , the AP is only applicable for a subset of WDW visitors, namely those who do an AP and who do not live in a state or otherwise have access to other Discounts. IMO one should not count on the perks or consider them as part of the long range value, only as gravy, basically found money. The only possible exception is a small contract and a lot of discounts such that even if it's discountinued after a couple of years it'd still be worth it.

 

[HokieGCC]

I purchased a 25 point AKV contract and I figured with perks it paid off in one year. It was very easy and financially painless. I calculated in the annual pass savings I received and $ saved with TIW in order to get a payoff in a year.

Nice! One year pay-off! That's the way to do it!

 

[HokieGCC]

The only possible exception is a small contract and a lot of discounts such that even if it's discountinued after a couple of years it'd still be worth it.

Right. That's why 50 points (or better yet 25 points) are the most certain types of contracts to save you money because the pay off is so quick. The MF's by far swamp out the tiny amount of extra money spent due to paying a premium for the points.