Help! Should we buy and where?

[dvc points]

First, we want to vacation Jan. 09 at BC. We liked Disney so much during our visit last month that we now wish to vacation there yearly. Should we rent points for this trip and stay at the BCV or just buy into DVC?

I don't know which option is best for us. We know we want to vacation at BCV each year.

1) Resale seems cheapest upfront plus Disney doesn't have 200 points to sell us at BCV ($104/pt). However w/ the 34 yr expiration and the higher annual dues, is that the way to go?
2) Buy at Contemporary (BLT). $112/pt. More $$ upfront, but dues are lower $734/yr for 200 points versus $960/yr at BCV. Over the course of 50 years, it's cheaper. However we can't use the points until Sept. 09 when the Tower will open.
3) Buy resale for another resort like Hilton Head or AK. It's cheaper, but annual dues are still higher than at BLT.
4) Buy AK through Disney. Use the bonus points for Jan 09 BCV stay and hope that each year I'll be able to book there as well w/ a 7-month window.
5) I've just read on this website about another option. Is it possible to buy fewer points at BCV and then add on? Would I pay closing costs for the add on? Would I add on from Disney or through resale?

My worry is about not being able to get a reservation at BCV though.
Right now my son is young and we vacation in the adventure season(jan. sept), but that could change.

I hope my questions make sense. I appreciate your time in reading and answering them.

 

[Blahnde]

First, we want to vacation Jan. 09 at BC.

My worry is about not being able to get a reservation at BCV though.

While I did read your entire post, I think the real underlying issue is that even if you bought today, you are only 3 months out on a fairly popular DVC owner vacationing time AND you are only interested in one of the most popular and smallest DVC resorts currently available. You could get it, but you probably won't. Owners' advantage is moot for this stay, but you would never be able to get a resale purchase through in time to go, much less make a reservation. So that would limit you to buying direct, and therefore also limit you to buying only what DVC currently has available for sale.

I think you may be a good candidate for DVC, however I cannot advise rushing into this decision for a January 2009 stay. Doing so limits your choices, and that just does not make sense for a large purchase with a 35-50 year commitment.

Blahnde

 

[jel0511]

Another issue I see with your logic.... Basing MF for BLT on what is currently projected. DVC usually under projects thost when doing a pre-sale. ie prior to opening. The fees are just projections, not reality at this point. They will probably go up to be comparable with the other "resort" DVC's (ie BW, BC, AK and WL), and eventually might be higher due to the monorail being present.

I agree with the PP, that your chances of getting BCV for Jan at this point is slim, so if that is what you're basing your decision on, not a good idea. Home resort priority means nothing with 3-4 months to go. IF you want to stay at BCV the majority of the time, I say look at that one as your home resort, that's what you should base your home resort decision on, where are you going to want to stay most.

 

[dudelydude]

Blahnde's 1000% on the mark. What you need to buy right now is some time. Again, BCV is so popular, but you may get lucky and find some rental points, which is likely to be your only option at this point.

Let me say, however, for someone who is not an owner, you already have a great understanding for how DVC works and what questions to ask. Impressive.

One more thing I wanted to mention is that you spoke of using AKV Bonus Points (Developer Points) for a stay at BCV. These points are to be used exclusively at SSR (Saratoga Springs).

Sorry to be such a come down, but good luck to you.

Joe

 

[dvc points]

THANK YOU so much for your input, everyone. It helps a lot. So, I'll look into rental points for the Jan. trip. If it works, I'll give it a "test run" before I buy. And it sounds like buying BCV as my home resort is the way to go.

Is there a difference between rental and transfer?

Also, any information about add-ons? Are there closing costs?
If you have, for example, 50 pts at BCV can you add on points from another resort, say AK? And if so, can I use all those points to book at BCV 11 months in advance or only the 50 BCV points?

Finally, are add-ons only bought through Disney?

 

[Kmango]

THANK YOU so much for your input, everyone. It helps a lot. So, I'll look into rental points for the Jan. trip. If it works, I'll give it a "test run" before I buy. And it sounds like buying BCV as my home resort is the way to go.

Is there a difference between rental and transfer?

Also, any information about add-ons? Are there closing costs?
If you have, for example, 50 pts at BCV can you add on points from another resort, say AK? And if so, can I use all those points to book at BCV 11 months in advance or only the 50 BCV points?

Finally, are add-ons only bought through Disney?

There is a difference between a rental and a transfer. A rental is when a owner makes a reservation for you and you pay the owner. You have virtually no control over this reservation, except via the member. A transfer is when points are actually moved from one member's account to another's, and they are then able to use them to book reservations over which they have control. Since you're not a member, you don't have an account and can't receive a transfer. DVC members get one transfer per year.

As for add-ons, it's my understanding that there are not closing costs if you add-on through Disney, but there are if you add-on via resale. You can add-on points as many times as you want and at a variety of resorts, but each of those points can only be used at their respective home resorts at 11 months. If you want to book a BCV stay using part BCV points and part AKV points, you'll have to do it at 7 months (or engage in banking/borrowing/switching or other advanced maneuvers).

And finally, no, you can buy add-ons via resale, and many, many people do. There are certain considerations with this, of course (one use year or several, for example) but resale is a great way to get a sold-out property at a good price.

 

[Blahnde]

Is there a difference between rental and transfer?

Yes. A rental is renting a reservation from a DVC owner which, as a non-DVC owner, is all you can do. The owner makes a reservation in your name and then rents it to you for an agreed upon price. A transfer is when one owner transfers their points into another owner's account. The receiver can then make their own reservation; however, DVC Members are only allowed one transfer (either in OR out of their account) per year.

Also, any information about add-ons? Are there closing costs?If you have, for example, 50 pts at BCV can you add on points from another resort, say AK? And if so, can I use all those points to book at BCV 11 months in advance or only the 50 BCV points? Finally, are add-ons only bought through Disney?

Add-ons are what members call additional contracts "added-on" to their existing membership. In order to be considered an add-on, the contract must be titled identically to the original/initial contract and have the same use year. The original contract may be purchased directly from Disney (100-160 point minimum depending upon resort choice) or through resale (25 points is the smallest available.) The add-on could then be any point size 25+ (some incentives have different minimum purchase requirements) and may be at any resort. Add-ons through Disney have no closing costs; those bought resale do, but who pays for them is negotiable.

The specific number of points from each resort give you the 11 month booking advantage at that resort; therefore, the 50 AKV points and the 50 BCV points may each be used at their respective resorts at 11 months, but if you need/want to combine them, the 100 may be used together at 7 months.

If you buy multiple contracts through resale with different use years, these create separate memberships. Not only can it be difficult to manage different use years, but since the memberships are separate it requires that precious once a year transfer to combine the points for a reservation. Therefore most members try to stick to one membership with one use year.

Good luck ... and keep reading the board to find more answers!

Blahnde

 

[mgilmer]

You have gotten some great advice and answers that I will not repeat, but just remember rule No. 1 of the DVC:

BUY WHERE YOU WANT TO STAY! It is getting harder and harder as DVC expands to expect reasonable availability at the 7 month mark at most non home resorts.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I would say go with the Contemporary.....

It will be a highly in demand location (the highest...most likely....until they build at Poly (DISCLAIMER: Nothing official has been released regarding Disney's Maui Villas. The Walt Disney Company - and it's affiliates are not responsible to build any structures spawned from the twisted minds of internet hacks such as me )

I think all in all the upfront price is very good....i'm still trying to figure out why....and you get the benefit of a full contract.....which is almost 20 years difference between Contemp and a Beach Club resale....

In the future....you may also be able to trade your Contemp points to a home member at Beach Club to take advantage of that benefit.....

 

[wildernessDad]

You can buy BCV through Disney, but you might have to get on a waitlist to get a specific use year.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Also keep in mind, jsut because MF are lower, there are more points required at BLT then at BCV for the same "level" of stay, so your actual cost could be more.

 

[gray52]

I was in the same spot you were about three weeks ago. We were finally in the financial situation to pay cash for a re-sale but we wanted to vacation this coming January. But because we hadn't started the process yet, we realized we probably wouldn't be able to use our points for January. We didn't want to "rent" points because we felt like we were throwing money away (the 6 trips to pay for the DVC buy in would now become 7).
So we decided to go ahead with the DVC purchase and once we get in the system, book the first available week we can at what ever resort we can.
We're waiting on ROFR for OKW (Sub 9/22, 100pts at $70). However, if ROFR begins to drag on too long (seems sometimes yes, sometimes no), we haven't ruled out renting for February.

1992 – Off Site
1995 – Dixie Landings (POR) Honeymoon
1997 – Off site
2000 – Villas at Disney Institute
2001 - Swan
2002 – CSR
2003 – Off site
2006 – POFQ (our favorite)
2007 – CBR
2008 – Disneyland (Hotel Del Coronado)

 

[CPTJAK]

First, we want to vacation Jan. 09 at BC. We liked Disney so much during our visit last month that we now wish to vacation there yearly. Should we rent points for this trip and stay at the BCV or just buy into DVC?

I don't know which option is best for us. We know we want to vacation at BCV each year.

1) Resale seems cheapest upfront plus Disney doesn't have 200 points to sell us at BCV ($104/pt). However w/ the 34 yr expiration and the higher annual dues, is that the way to go?
2) Buy at Contemporary (BLT). $112/pt. More $$ upfront, but dues are lower $734/yr for 200 points versus $960/yr at BCV. Over the course of 50 years, it's cheaper. However we can't use the points until Sept. 09 when the Tower will open.
3) Buy resale for another resort like Hilton Head or AK. It's cheaper, but annual dues are still higher than at BLT.
4) Buy AK through Disney. Use the bonus points for Jan 09 BCV stay and hope that each year I'll be able to book there as well w/ a 7-month window.
5) I've just read on this website about another option. Is it possible to buy fewer points at BCV and then add on? Would I pay closing costs for the add on? Would I add on from Disney or through resale?

My worry is about not being able to get a reservation at BCV though.
Right now my son is young and we vacation in the adventure season(jan. sept), but that could change.

I hope my questions make sense. I appreciate your time in reading and answering them.

If it were me I would buy now, I just would hate to rent points knowing I was going to purchase. I would also buy where I wanted to stay most of the time. If you really need BCV you better buy there for the home resort preference. At this late stag it is going to be difficult to get ressies for January at BCV through DVC but you may be able to use points for the hotel side once you are in the system or SSR/OKW.