Give it to me straight...

[RoseGold]

I would get a new guide. Worst guide behavior I've heard since they reopened, worse than the one who said TOTW is open. You don't have to use this guide.

 

[kboo]

Thank you all for the good advice. I think we are leaning to going direct to buy OKW for 100 points, just to have the perks and since OKW is our favorite resort, would have the longer extension thru Disney. We wouldn't finance just pay it in full.

Then look for a good SSR resale for 100-150 points.

When I called Disney to get an idea of cost, it's 165 a point for OKW with 100 pt min. There is a $750 discount if you purchase 150 pts. The rep was encouraging me to do a Feb use year as I will then get the Feb 2020 points but not have to pay the full annual dues for 2020, just a prorated amount... I was getting confused on that piece, so does that mean if I wanted an August use year then I wouldn't get the 2020 points and/or have to pay a full year of 2020 annual dues? Trying to understand... If we prefer to go in Sept/early Dec/Jan and sometimes Feb... is the best use year for us August?

The best UY for you would be September if you are ready to close in the next 6 days, because as previous posters said, you'll basically get double the points and can bank them. If you bought 150 points (which I might suggest breaking into 2x75 or 100/50, which you can do and still get the incentive), that means that you'd have 300 points to use right away.

Also as others have said, you can try different resorts, and add on a resale contract at a later date, and still have the discount on APs (at which point, you may end up deciding to go to the parks more on each stay...). 300 points for the 2 of you, at low point cost times, will last you for a while. And you can always supplement by renting points of you decide to go at other times.

Another side point - before our kids were tied to a school schedule, we would do pretty last-minute trips by getting 35% off deluxe hotel stays, and that's another way you can also supplement your stays without committing to buying more points. Back in the pre-pandemic days, sometimes we'd use our CC points to stay at Swan/Dolphin for a long weekend - once we did that a couple of weeks in advance. If your travel dates are flexible, it's always worth looking around at the good neighbor hotels, etc. for that last minute trip.

 

[EM Lawrence]

Talking with my guide today they actually have a 12 month loan option for like 5% APR. It does require 50% down on the contract though.

This actually give me hope that there will be more/better deals for financing in the future. Fifty percent down with 12 month of zero interest, that kind of thing would get my attention. I am taking a pessimistic view on both the economy in general and DVC sales over the next 18-24 months.

 

[OKWFan88]

I spoke again to the Disney agent and they don't have any Sept OKW options. So started looking at resale again between 100-150 pts. Keep going back and forth on direct vs resale. My biggest fear is really the only reason I would go direct is the perks for the out of state AP... But who knows what Disney is going to be doing with AP's with everything that is going on... So maybe I just wait to buy direct until a later time. In regards to looking at resale, when you want to make an offer do the buyers always pay the closing costs and annual dues? Or is that something that can be negotiated? I am looking at SSR resales and if I put in an offer, how much lower do you go? I don't want to offend anyone. I'm not sure what is considered a "fair price" when it comes to resales.

 

[EM Lawrence]

I spoke again to the Disney agent and they don't have any Sept OKW options. So started looking at resale again between 100-150 pts. Keep going back and forth on direct vs resale. My biggest fear is really the only reason I would go direct is the perks for the out of state AP... But who knows what Disney is going to be doing with AP's with everything that is going on... So maybe I just wait to buy direct until a later time. In regards to looking at resale, when you want to make an offer do the buyers always pay the closing costs and annual dues? Or is that something that can be negotiated? I am looking at SSR resales and if I put in an offer, how much lower do you go? I don't want to offend anyone. I'm not sure what is considered a "fair price" when it comes to resales.

1) Don’t ever worry about offending anyone. The worst they can say is no. Just move on to the next seller. You are not in the business of making friends here.
2) All of it is negotiable in resale.
3) AP will probably come back, but there is no guarantee of that. Weight that in your decision.
4) Check out the ROFR thread to get an idea of going rates for SSR right now. Disney has been exercising ROFR on SSR lately, so it might be worth it to either wait a few months and see if they keep taking SSR contracts or get an idea of what prices they are typically letting pass. Unless you are in a huge rush, waiting a few months and watching the market is probably your friend here. Alternatively, offer a slightly higher price on SSR and cross your fingers.

 

[OKWFan88]

1) Don’t ever worry about offending anyone. The worst they can say is no. Just move on to the next seller. You are not in the business of making friends here.
2) All of it is negotiable in resale.
3) AP will probably come back, but there is no guarantee of that. Weight that in your decision.
4) Check out the ROFR thread to get an idea of going rates for SSR right now. Disney has been exercising ROFR on SSR lately, so it might be worth it to either wait a few months and see if they keep taking SSR contracts or get an idea of what prices they are typically letting pass. Unless you are in a huge rush, waiting a few months and watching the market is probably your friend here. Alternatively, offer a slightly higher price on SSR and cross your fingers.

I"m assuming if I put in an offer and the seller accepts it but Disney decides to take it, I am not out any money?

 

[TTA Rider Matt]

I"m assuming if I put in an offer and the seller accepts it but Disney decides to take it, I am not out any money?

That is correct. If Disney takes it, you don’t lose a dime.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I spoke again to the Disney agent and they don't have any Sept OKW options. So started looking at resale again between 100-150 pts. Keep going back and forth on direct vs resale. My biggest fear is really the only reason I would go direct is the perks for the out of state AP... But who knows what Disney is going to be doing with AP's with everything that is going on... So maybe I just wait to buy direct until a later time. In regards to looking at resale, when you want to make an offer do the buyers always pay the closing costs and annual dues? Or is that something that can be negotiated? I am looking at SSR resales and if I put in an offer, how much lower do you go? I don't want to offend anyone. I'm not sure what is considered a "fair price" when it comes to resales.

It's interesting that your username indicates are an OKW fan, you mentioned you love OKW, and you were going to buy it and now you're buying SSR. Is this because you're still planning to buy OKW direct when you go that route in the future?

You can find OKW contracts resale that are extended, but they may be more difficult to find.

 

[OKWFan88]

It's interesting that your username indicates are an OKW fan, you mentioned you love OKW, and you were going to buy it and now you're buying SSR. Is this because you're still planning to buy OKW direct when you go that route in the future?

You can find OKW contracts resale that are extended, but they may be more difficult to find.

OKW is our favorite resort and we would buy direct as you get the extension... but since direct doesn’t have any September options for OKW currently we are looking at a resale for SSR due to the lower cost. If I could find a OKW that was a resale with the extension And sept use year then I’d go that route. Not finding a lot options for that right now.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

OKW is our favorite resort and we would buy direct as you get the extension... but since direct doesn’t have any September options for OKW currently we are looking at a resale for SSR due to the lower cost. If I could find a OKW that was a resale with the extension And sept use year then I’d go that route. Not finding a lot options for that right now.

Ah. You can also ask your guide to put you on a waitlist for OKW Sept direct. It may or may not come available until Sept 1st (or later). Once you get into September, you won't get the 2019 points, but you'd still be getting your favorite resort and use year.

Good luck with all your decisions, resale searching, and ROFR!

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I spoke again to the Disney agent and they don't have any Sept OKW options. So started looking at resale again between 100-150 pts. Keep going back and forth on direct vs resale. My biggest fear is really the only reason I would go direct is the perks for the out of state AP... But who knows what Disney is going to be doing with AP's with everything that is going on... So maybe I just wait to buy direct until a later time. In regards to looking at resale, when you want to make an offer do the buyers always pay the closing costs and annual dues? Or is that something that can be negotiated? I am looking at SSR resales and if I put in an offer, how much lower do you go? I don't want to offend anyone. I'm not sure what is considered a "fair price" when it comes to resales.

I personally would not pay higher than $95/ point for SSR right now. I would probably bid even lower than that. My experience is that the brokers (except for fidelity) will try to push you to bid on the higher side by saying things like you might not pass ROFR etc. Yes, it is all negotiable but we paid closing as buyer on our two resale contracts. I actually think that makes Disney less likely to ROFR as well.

 

[HHISand]

I am a bit skeptical about the "don't have any Sept OKW options" statement since I have read on disboards that they can now change the use year to any use year when they resell a contract from a sold-out resort (and can also divide up contracts into different amounts of points). If that is true, then the agent may simply not want to give you double points with the 2019 points. If they don't have enough 2019 points to do that, that is a different story. You could possibly find this out by telling the agent you are thinking of buying resale if they don't have the use year you want. Of course they will say it will not have the extended expiration date but if you are firm, it is possible they will find a Sept OKW option.