I finally have the money...should I buy new or a resale?

[kdonnel]

I have about $15000 to spend. It has taken some time to get it and I am itching to spend it.

I am leaning towards buying a resale to maximize the number of points I can get.

In the past I have stayed at both Old Key West and the Wilderness Lodge. I loved both. I have stayed at the Beach Club but not in the DVC part and really liked the Beach Club too.

Which are available directly from Disney?

I don't really have a preference for which resort is my home resort.

I have been trying to find out what the per point expenses are for each of the resorts and can't seem to find current information. Is there that big of a difference between the different resorts?

Thanks for any help deciding!

 

[CaptainMidnight]

I would recommend downloading Catskills DVC points program and poke around with it to see the point differences between OWK villas, BWV Standard points usage and then preferred points which are pretty much the same between BWV, WLV and BCV. HH and VB have different seasons and point requirements. Catskills program is great for comparisons of the types of vacation accomodations during the time of year you'll be going to figure out haw many points you'll want to purchase.

I'd consider home resort an important decision, the 11 month advantage makes a difference in high demand seasons.

You'll get more for your money going with a resale, you just need to figure out which resort is best for you as a home resort. You'll find home resort does matter down the road. Good luck with your decision.

 

[DownNeckBoy]

BCV, HH and VB are still available directly from Disney. The home resort does matter, as many will tell you. Take some time to peruse the boards and the posts on each resort to get a feel for which resort will suit you and your family. Resale will give you the best deal, especially since the point price is now @ $84.

Good luck with your purchase. DVC is a great program.

 

[kdonnel]

Originally posted by CaptainMidnight
I would recommend downloading Catskills DVC points program and poke around with it to see the point differences

Where do I download the Catskills DVC points program?

I have found the calculator on wdwinfo.com but that one can be a pain to use when you want to try several dates because you always start over from scratch picking the dates and resort again.

 

[BobH]

I got this information in a previous post:

Rounding to the nearest penny, here are the dues for 2000/2001/2002/2003 by each resort.

OKW - $3.16/$3.13/$3.22/$3.49
BWV - $4.02/$3.83/$3.92/$4.10
HHI - $3.26/$3.32/$3.49/$3.69
Vero - $4.08/$3.98/$4.17/$4.37
WVL - NA/$3.63/$3.80/$4.05
BCV -- opening at $3.77/$4.37
__________________

This gives you a history of the maintenance cost and the current dues I believe for 2003. Multiply your points by the figure above.
I firmly believe that you should pick the resort you like the most rather than go on the maintenance costs. For example 200 points
x $3.49 = $698 vs 200 points x 4.37 = $874. If dues stayed the same for the next 39 years there is a difference of $6864 between the resort with the cheapest dues and the resort with the most expensive dues. My opinion is it isn't enough to make me choose a resort I that wasn't my first choice. I happen to own at OKW but that was my preference when I bought.

I purchased through Bettie Pleasant at Disney DVC but there are plenty of people who support re-sales. Just be careful with the terms of your agreement - the points remaining in the previous owner's contract, the type of owner you are buying from (is it a divorce or a bankruptcy that may hold delays or suprises for you etc). Good luck with your decision.

 

[kdonnel]

We would normally visit the parks in September or October. Am I right in assuming I would want a use month of September or October to maximize the 11 month window?

 

[lacool]

Originally posted by DownNeckBoy
BCV, HH and VB are still available directly from Disney.

As of 12/24/02 when we did the tour VWL was also available directly from Disney. That said we chose to go through a reseller, as we could get a price of $70 per point at BWV instead of the $84 Disney was asking for BCV. We ended up buying a contract with more points than we could have afforded otherwise. Good Luck!!

 

[ClarabelleCow]

Go Resale!!! We used the Timeshare Store, Pat Spell was our agent and she was great. We paid $64.00 per point (then calculate closing costs which added about $2.00 per point) for VWL. If you don't want BCV, than I would definately to resale.

 

[POLLY ANN]

I agree with want2buydvc. Go resale if you are not interested in BCV.

We bought almost 8 years ago at $62/point, and had 5 years of free passes to boot. I can't even fathom the thought of paying $84 (or higher in the future)/point.

But, of course, it's your money.

 

[4greatboys]

We bought resale. The savings was just to much to pass up. We have points at OKW. I was at first leaning toward BCV but we saved atleast $15 per point and the maintenance is lower. We will prob stay at OKW a lot since we are a family of 6 and the point saving is great too.
They were also still selling some use years at VWL in Dec when I checked with my guide.

 

[NLK]

We bought new, but our reasoning was the following, we only bought 160 points. A resale with 160 @ $70 point +$600 in closing costs would be $11800 and most had their points stripped. So we bought on 12/31 160 points for $13440, with no dues to pay for the 1st 160 points and another 160 due in with our August use year. That being said, if a better resale deal had popped up we would have jumped on it. So call that broker and figure it out yourself =)

 

[BobH]

You would probably not want a use year where you get your points immediately after the time you plan to travel. For example if you had a use year of October and had to cancel a Sept vacation you would have no time left to try to use the points put in a holding account. That being said I never have had an issue with my use year which happens to be June.

 

[WDWguru]

Yes, if you travel September/October most often, you'll want a September use year (that's when we go and when our use year is on all three of our contracts). However, this is not to maximize your 11 month window, it just helps if you have to cancel or change plans at the last minute. There are rules in place that could cause you to be stuck in a weird situation or lose points if you change plans at the end of your use year.

The 11 month window is the same no matter what your use year. You can make a reservation at your home resort 11 months before you plan to stay there, or 7 months before your stay at any other DVC resort. It makes no difference when your use year is or what points you have when you call to make it, just what points are in your account at the time of your stay.

We purchased our original VWL contract through DVC a little over a year ago. At the same time we added on a BWV contract via resale using Jaki at atimeshare.com. About six months later, we added ANOTHER BWV contract with Jaki. Needless to say, I'd recommend her in an instant!

As others have said, decide where you'd like to stay most and purchase points there. Or, do as we did and break them up among different resorts. Keep in mind you only get the 11 month window at each home resort using the points from that resort, but with banking and borrowing you can trade off every other year.

 

[Jimbo]

Here's another vote for resale. BTW - The asking prices that you see posted for resales are generally negotiable. If you can be patient, you should be able to find a contract that suits your needs, especially at OKW. It's the largest resort, and has been around the longest, so there's generally a decent selection.

I wouldn't worry about use year too much. It <b>only</b> comes into play when you're forced to cancel a reservation. It doesn't affect when you can make reservations, because you need to have the points in your account when you stay at a DVC resort, not when you make the reservation. So use year doesn't really maximize your 11 month window.

In 6 years we've never cancelled a reservation, so it's never mattered to us. Of course, living up north as we do, we fly to Orlando. So we're less likely to cancel since we're holding plane tickets, too. If you're driving from Georgia maybe it's different for you. Still, I'd consider the use year to be a tie-breaker if you just can't decide between two resales.

 

[JimC]

Links to the two most popular points programs. I use them both as they are designed to do different things.

http://www.seidata.com/~wneth/id57.htm

http://hometown.aol.com/dmfredrick/Download.html

I vote for resale if you want to maximize the number of points. OKW is the least expensive resort (points required per stay) in the DVC. It also has the lowest maintenace fees and the largest rooms.

That said, if you are partial to a particular resort, then buy there. The 11 month reserviation window is an important consideration.

We also used Pat Spell at the Timeshare Store and she was terrific. Byron is our guide at Disney where we bought BCV. Byron was great as well.

 

[JimC]

Another thought. Everything in a resale is negotiable. Think of it as any real estate transaction. The price you pay, how closing costs are handled, tratment of current year maintenance fees -- all are negotiable. What is fair depends on the size of the contract, the property, use year and banked or borrowed points and naturally the price.

 

[kdonnel]

Thanks for all the imput.

I am looking at a few different resales.

I understand the rules for banking. What are the rules for borrowing?

Are you property taxes paid at the end of the year or the end of your use year?

Thanks again!

 

[Mooobooks]

Abolutely, POSITIVELY, buy a resale. We bought at Old Key West about 2 years ago for only $53 a point. We were able to buy a much larger contract because of the low cost per point. (Did it through The TimeShare Store--very nice.)
I have only stayed at Old Key West once. All of our other trips (and there have been many) have been to The Wilderness Lodge Villas and the Beach Club Villas.
I have NEVER booked more than 4 months in advance, and sometimes much less than that. Have always gotten what I wanted. But, I never go at the busiest time of year--who wants to be crushed?
Here's a good reason to buy the largest contract you can: if you want to stay at other (non-DVC) hotels at WDW, or at Disneyland in Anaheim, or at Disneyland Paris, you WILL need those extra points.
Never pay retail if you can avoid it!

 

[Bottlejet]

Very good points Mooobooks! We do about the same deal except that we rent our points. There are many DVC owners that are willing to rent at low prices during the slow seasons. I don't want to be crushed by either the crowds or the WDW high prices for rooms. We're going during the second week in February and got a weeks worth of points for $6.00 a point! I agree with you, never pay retail!

 

[jimmytammy]

We purchased direct from DVC but if I were in your shoes I would definitely go resale. You can typically get more pts. for less money. Dont be overanxious though. Wait for the best deal for YOU. There are good choices of resales. Also, purchase where you wuold want to stay the most. Booking at the 11 mos. window seems to be a little more important now than it used to be.