Has anyone?

[TinkerBelle920]

Has anyone bought a resale contract at HH or Vero Beach because they are less expensive with the intent of using most of your points at WDW? I know everyone says to buy where you want to stay. I am just wondering if anyone has been sucessful in doing this

 

[chalee94]

i'm sure it has worked for some people. you would definitely want to book at exactly 7 months out (or at least get on the waitlist then) to minimize your chances of getting locked out of wdw.

the risks are:

1) you will pay higher annual dues at a coastal DVC resort (and over time this will offset the lower price paid upfront.)
2) you might wind up with even higher dues or a special assessment should a storm hit the resort (storm damage might also impair your ability to trade your pts for wdw resorts).
3) if you decide to sell your DVC, the coastal resorts will hold less of their value than the wdw resorts
4) you may get locked out of wdw at the 7 month window - it can happen - especially if you want to travel at peak demand periods like early december. this might happen very rarely...but if it frustrates 1 vacation out of 6, would it still be worthwhile to you?
5) there is a tiny chance that DVC might eventually decide to spin off some of their resorts - in which case, the coastal resorts would be the first to go.

but as long as you know the risks, you can decide if the upfront savings are worthwhile to you. most of the experienced DVCers here would advise you against it unless you usually intend to use the pts at HH or VB. but if you're feeling lucky, go for it.

 

[dizfan]

One thing to keep in mind is that VB and HH have very high annual dues. Making the price cheaper up front, but more expensive each year.

Link to DVCNews.com's chart of annual dues history

From what I've read, most of the people looking for the cheapest resort and willing to take the risk are buying SSR (and some people buy OKW).

By having SSR or OKW, they book at the 11 month window. Then at 7 months, they call to check on availability at other resorts. If you are flexible and willing to stay at your home resort or take whatever other resort is available (calling at exactly 7 months), it sounds like they have pretty good success.

There are certain times of year they say are more difficult, but I forget which ones they are.

 

[Crystal_27]

When we were seriously considering DVC this year, DH and I heavily debated this issue because of the "sticker shock" of BLT's prices, especially compared to the $50/point resales of the non-park properties. Buying into the non-park properties seemed ideal because they were soooo much cheaper. However, we came to the conclusion that it wasn't a good idea for us for the following reasons: (i) the MFs were much higher at these properties so any savings we were realizing on the initial buy-in wasn't going to be there in future years; (ii) we were buying into DVC because we wanted to stay at BLT for most trips and we knew that if we bought at another property, we would be fighting with other DVC members every single year at the 7-month mark to stay there; and (iii) we realized that in buying in at the non-park properties there was no way we could guarantee ourselves a vacation at Disney every single year.

That said, for some, buying into the non-park properties works well but, for us, we eventually gave in, and bought into BLT (where we wanted to be anyway)... Hope that helps.

 

[CMOORE185]

I had HHI, only, for many years and had no problem getting a WDW property at the 7 month mark. That being said I bought HHI so I could book their at 11 month mark and at the time the dues their were the lowest of the new resorts for sale. I added on at a WDW resort not for booking reasons but because of the higher dues at HHI. That to me is the #1 factor not to buy at HHI or VB unless you want the booking advantage.

 

[DebbieB]

Also keep in mind that HH & VB expire in 2042.

 

[Jason@dvcstore]

Has anyone bought a resale contract at HH or Vero Beach because they are less expensive with the intent of using most of your points at WDW? I know everyone says to buy where you want to stay. I am just wondering if anyone has been sucessful in doing this

I own points at Old Key West but typically make reservations less than 7 months in advance. I did have luck getting into Beach Club Villas, Wilderness Lodge, Boardwalk Villas, Animal Kingdom and Bay Lake Tower. I am flexible though as sometimes call looking for a certain date at a certain resort and it is not available. The more flexible you the better when making reservations less than 7 months.

If you have the luxury of being able to make a reservation more than 7 months in advance then I would suggest buying at the resort you like best as then only competing with other members at that resort so should have a great chance of getting what you want.

Jason