Hubby finally ready to buy...direct or resale?

[HappyDisneyWife]

I agree with you, and that's how I use DVC, but that isn't OP. OP is traveling spring break, fall break, Christmas. These are all peak DVC. Inventory might not be there at 7 months. Booking priority matters for peak times.

This 100% !!!

In fact, if you’re not booking within the home priority window… you might not be able to use your points elsewhere.

 

[Sandisw]

Right now, the best pricing for direct is RIV. And, to get the SV rooms at RIV, which makes the point chart a little better, you really have to book at 11 months.

But, you already now you are not a fan of higher point charts, which will continue to be part of the newer resorts, including Poly tower and anything else after that, so being locked out might not matter.

Given all of that, and that your booking patterns are closer to the 7 month mark, it might make sense to just start with resale because home resort may not be that important at that point.

Just be aware that direct pricing is going up in around a month or so, so if that is something you still have on the table, keep that in mind.

 

[matt and beth]

Pick your favorite resort and go from there. I’d be extremely cautious of the restricted resorts like RIV. Your desires will change and you may want to sell your DVC. RIV is already in resale for $145 a point.

 

[RichVIII]

And some of the direct prices for ”sold out” resorts are insane (BC for $265). I would also say, direct prices are going up (again) at the beginning of December so you may want to factor that in. You can avoid restrictions with Grand Floridian and have decent years. Points chart is painful. If you really want to buy something sold out, I would be CCV (more of a legacy point chart), get a December Use Year so you would get 2021 points with little to no maintenance fees since they are prorated. You aren’t looking for studios so that is good and you get a 2068 expiration.

 

[bcuinohio]

If you plan on keeping your DVC for the long term, I would consider direct. In 2042, BCV, BWV, BRV, HH and VB expire. That will take a lot of rooms out of the DVC inventory. At least if you buy direct, you have the option of staying at the future resorts.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

If you plan on keeping your DVC for the long term, I would consider direct. In 2042, BCV, BWV, BRV, HH and VB expire. That will take a lot of rooms out of the DVC inventory. At least if you buy direct, you have the option of staying at the future resorts.

This is good to consider, but there's plenty of resale beyond 2042.

 

[Cfabar1]

If you have not visited the resorts in person, you must before you buy. We recently visited Riviera and GF. Going into it, my wife was Gaga about Riviera. After seeing it, she said she would only consider buying GF of the two. She said Riviera can be found anywhere, GF was truly special and very distinct and Disney, and worth buying into.

I’m not saying this to see who agrees and disagrees with her. I say this to say, you have to see the place before you make a decision.

For us, we are trying to buy a small GF resale contract, given that we are not that far from WDW, and would likely stay a night or two there each year, and only when visiting MK. The rest of the time, we are likely to stay at Swolphin or Hyatt. Grand Cypress Off Property.

 

[Ruttangel]

AKV is currently getting taken in ROFR at $135+, I would gamble that can’t continue forever and will drop back to around $120 in next couple of months.

The direct sales are poor for AKV so they shouldn’t need to keep buying as many as they are.

 

[NVDISFamily]

If you buy enough points the delta between Riviera direct and Riviera resale isn't that big (as long as you get in on one of the "better" promos). We got our points just a few months ago at 166 a point. We love Riviera and that was what we decided to go with. The point chart isn't great, but as I'm primary at Grand Cal for our first analysis of DVC to buy in, Riviera seemed like a bargain to us and this pool of points will also be our sleep around points for the years to come. I'm assuming you need a good # of points given that you want to stay in a 2BR during a busy season.

You did inquire about staying at other resorts and one you mentioned was Grand Cal. It's so hard to book there I think having some direct points to "gamble" at 7 months and go for Disneyland Tower rooms will greatly increase your odds of getting a room at Disneyland Resort DVC if you want to go from time to time.

An important factor to consider is your age and how long you might use the points. In the long run a few more $ per point isn't worth killing yourself over if it gets you better flexibility and the ability to do what you want. I'm glad I have a good bucket of direct points that will allow me to stay "anywhere" in DVC once the 2042 resorts "likely" flip to something new around that time. I'll still be "young" enough to enjoy the membership for at least another 15 to 20 years after that time (hopefully). Looking forward to our trips at Beach Club Tower in 2044.

 

[Sandisw]

This is good to consider, but there's plenty of resale beyond 2042.

True, but at least someone needs to be aware that takes 3 WDW options off the table for trades.

For someone who is more of a 7 month planner it could make a difference. And it does mean no Epcot area options will be available.

 

[sndral]

IMO if you intend to own long term it’s best to take a look at the MFs (dues) https://dvcnews.com/dvc-program/fin...022-disney-vacation-club-annual-dues-released.
I’m not sure October is the only or even best use year for you. If you buy direct right now December will give you 2021 points which they’ll bank for you (except VGF direct.) Since you plan to travel during fall break, December, & the spring break there’s not any particular use year that will work ‘best.’ Ideally you buy a use year that protects you if you have to cancel leaving lots of time to rebook w/ the points, but since your planned trips are scattered throughout the year you can’t do that anyway.
I would not pay a premium for any particular resort if you do not plan to book in the home resort priority booking (preferably 11 months out) because you are likely paying a premium for something you won’t use. If you could book closer to 11 months I’d urge you to buy whichever resort you really love most, but since you are looking to go during high demand times & cannot book until 6-8 months out, it won’t matter where you own because you are likely to end up wherever there’s openings (usually SSR is last to fill because of its’ size) & in the more expensive view categories unless you get lucky, are flexible, do split stays, etc..

 

[BeachClub2014]

Decide which is your favorite resort, and buy there. You never go wrong with buying your favorite resort.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

For someone who is more of a 7 month planner it could make a difference. And it does mean no Epcot area options will be available.

Good points! Makes me glad to have RVA

 

[MamaBear12]

How long do you intend to spend at a resort and/or what is your budget? The more detail you provide, the better info you will get from disboard vets. Congrats on your decision to buy!

Budget is probably $30K-ish. We could spend more, but I would rather buy less to start and add on if we find we need more. We travel a lot, so we don't want to feel like we have to go to Disney for all our vacations, but we do find ourselves at Disney every 18-months (give or take) so we're sure we'll use the points. We've spent anywhere from 2 nights to a week at WDW in the past, so I think 3-7 nights most trips. Thinking about 150ish points to start.

 

[MamaBear12]

An important factor to consider is your age and how long you might use the points.

DH and I are in our mid/late 30s. Our kids are 7 and 10, so hopefully 30+ years of WDW trips to look forward to. We're not set on any resort in particular. I would honestly rather go with larger units (1 or 2 bedrooms) with lower point charts so we can spread out, take parents or siblings along, etc.

 

[MamaBear12]

I’m not sure October is the only or even best use year for you. If you buy direct right now December will give you 2021 points which they’ll bank for you (except VGF direct.)

That's a great point! I think we're trying to avoid summer travel to WDW (too hot), so we'll most likely travel in October, December, January, February, or March (late May/early June would be the only time we would go in the summer). With the banking deadline, I think it would be wiser to get the October UY if we go with resale.

 

[DVChris]

I would honestly rather go with larger units (1 or 2 bedrooms) with lower point charts so we can spread out, take parents or siblings along, etc.

Have you thought about OKW Extended? Expires 2057, a low point chart especially the grand villas, and has large rooms.

 

[kilik64]

Have you thought about OKW Extended? Expires 2057, a low point chart especially the grand villas, and has large rooms.

Great idea but the thing that gets me with OKW, is what the heck happens in 2042 when over half the resort reverts to DVD? (pretty sure its over half, I know the percent of owners who took the extension was pretty low, but any new direct buyers are extended to 2057, its still a ton of points that something will happen to in 2042...?)

 

[havoc315]

I actually like purchasing direct. To me, the savings are worth it.

For a 200 point contract --
RIV is about $191 per point and VGF is $201 per point.
For over 40 years left in each.

So what's the re-sale price on other options with 40+ years left:

BLT, Poly and CCV are all $170+ per point.

The other resorts generally have much shorter contrasts (2042... a couple 2057).

So you can get a monorail resort or Epcot/skyliner resort for just $20 to $30 per point more...
With blue card benefits..
With the ability to book all current and future resorts...
With skipping the ROFR process and getting your points to use immediately..

To me, those benefits are worth paying 15-20% more than re-sale.

 

[Slippery Yak]

I actually like purchasing direct. To me, the savings are worth it.

For a 200 point contract --
RIV is about $191 per point and VGF is $201 per point.
For over 40 years left in each.

So what's the re-sale price on other options with 40+ years left:

BLT, Poly and CCV are all $170+ per point.

The other resorts generally have much shorter contrasts (2042... a couple 2057).

So you can get a monorail resort or Epcot/skyliner resort for just $20 to $30 per point more...
With blue card benefits..
With the ability to book all current and future resorts...
With skipping the ROFR process and getting your points to use immediately..

To me, those benefits are worth paying 15-20% more than re-sale.

RIV is at ~$130-140 resale. Obviously it has the intense restriction you can only book at Riviera, but $50-60 a point starts to factor in more. It gets us to Disney World, with a skyliner stop, 2070 contract, and our favorite resort for way less.

I get your math, just another equation that works if you have different priorities.