I said Yes....to the DVC

[Simba's Mom]

Good, bad or indifferent, I completely followed my DH's "jump with both feet, ask questions later" mentality and we bought into the DVC on Sunday. Our home resort is SSR.

While we couldn't afford a lot of points, we purchased what we could afford that offered us the most amount of nights possible.

I am usually the planner and researcher. I research everything to the death before any major purchase but this time, I just said, YES. In reading some threads on here today, I'm slightly worried that we may have made the wrong decision in only going with what we could afford (low points) and not waiting until we could afford a larger bank of points. We toured DVC 8 years ago on our honeymoon, when points were half of what they were now but they min to purchase was 150 I believe...and as newlyweds, we just couldn't swing it. So I guess my thought was, buy now before the points double in price again!

As far as the Home Resort goes... I actually don't mind SSR as our home resort, but we are hoping for BLT next year as we will have our 4 year old with us and just being on the Monorail will be easier with one so little.

So yay! We are DVC members now and hopefully will have at least 10 more years of vacationing with our Son before he tells us that he is "too big" for Disney.
Actually, fingers crossed that never happens!

You sound just like us-jumped in with both feet almost 13 years ago, although I always research things carefully, especially such a major purchase. Yet, after 13 years, we still have no regrets about becoming members. But for me 13 years ago it was just "something new to do" when I took the tour. DH never even toured since it wasn't even a serious thing (or so we thought). But when I came home with the info and big smile on my face, DH wisely said "Let's do it!"

 

[DisneyDahling]

SSR resale is going for $70-80 a point. So it's selling for not much more than half of what you paid TODAY, for not very much effort at all.

Even if you just bought 100 points, your savings would be $5000-6000. Agree with other posters that it is at least worth you spending some time considering.

I haven't read all the rules of this board yet, but are you allowed to point me in the direction of any resellers? You can PM if needed.

Thanks

 

[Msmithmd]

I haven't read all the rules of this board yet, but are you allowed to point me in the direction of any resellers? You can PM if needed. Thanks

One of the largest is a board sponsor, and is well regarded: the timeshare store. Others can be found with a Google search. I would encourage you to look at several and see which has the contract that best meets your needs.

At the end of the day, all the transactions go through a state licensed title/closing agency, so the transactions are very safe, and it matters more to get the contract you want than the name of the resale broker.

Become familiar with the concept of loaded and stripped contracts, this will make a big difference in the price of contracts that otherwise look similar- and this aspect isn't a component of a direct purchase, so it is a new wrinkle to consider.

Also be aware that purchasing DVC resale is analogous to buying a home. The asking prices are just that, and are open to negotiation. Look at the ROFR thread to get a good feel for where the actual resale market is trading currently.

 

[Andrew015]

As others have suggested, if you are still within the cancellation period of your purchase, I would highly recommend executing that option.

It's not because I feel you necessarily made a "bad" decision, but based on the feedback that you have given to us, I think it's safe to say that you made an "uniformed" decision. The nail in the coffin for me is the fact that you didn't even know about the resale market, which again, I feel is far and away the best avenue for purchasing DVC. We have a good mix of "direct buyers" and "resale buyers" on this forum, and certainly you will get others who may disagree, but I think you are doing yourself a disservice for buying without even exploring the indirect option.

Cancelling your purchase may seem like a big, emotional ordeal, but trust me... they'll still take your money 2-3 weeks from now once you have fully explored all options... IF you decide that a direct purchase from Disney is still the best option. I would highly recommend taking the next few weeks to do as much research on DVC and purchasing via resale as possible. Then after you totally understand the program and the various purchase options, make your final decision.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

I own at BLT and AKV, both purchased directly with Disney. But knowing what I know now about the price difference with resale - especially for properties like SSR - then I would definitely be buying through the timeshare store or other resale agent if I was in your shoes.

The price difference is too much to turn your back on, and for the great resale price for SSR, you could easily get more points for less money than you are currently paying - win, win!

 

[dankil13]

A list of the more frequently used resellers can be found on this threadL

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3039176

There is also a site which is basically a search engine tool for resale contracts that are available.

It sounds like you financed and there are companies out there that finance resales. You can find them on this board under the Purchasing DVC section.

As mentioned you could buy roughly double more points for the same price going the resale option. Of course your yearly dues will also double but one option is to rent out the points that you won't use on the years you do not go to Disney which would cover a good portion of your MF's for the two year period (points tend to rent in $12-$14 range). We go every other year as well and this is what I am planning to do when I purchase next year.

There is a ton of very valuable information on this board - I have spent the last two months reading and learning so that I can make an informed decision.

 

[thepops]

One thing with the resale side, is that you'll have to find your own financing. Not that it's tough, but Disney won't hold the mortgage like they do with direct purchases.

 

[Msmithmd]

One thing with the resale side, is that you'll have to find your own financing. Not that it's tough, but Disney won't hold the mortgage like they do with direct purchases.

Which is a good thing for most folks, because Disney's rates versus the current overall loan market could fairly be described as extortion.

Overall, I strongly advise prospective buyers against financing a timeshare purchase. Not because it is "good or bad," but because it erodes the primary reason to own at all- namely to save money in the mid to long term on accommodations, versus simply paying cash per trip.

But if you are going to do it anyway, most folks should be able to get a better rate in the private market than they do via Disney financing. If an individual's credit analysis doesn't allow this to be accurate, then IMO that person has no business whatsoever financing a timeshare.

 

[DisneyDahling]

Thanks everyone for their responses.

We have a plan and are going forward with keeping our Direct Buy. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and reasonings for why they bought into the DVC. We are excited about our decision, as it fits in with how we vacation and our plans for the future.

 

[1308Miles]

Good, bad or indifferent, I completely followed my DH's "jump with both feet, ask questions later" mentality and we bought into the DVC on Sunday. Our home resort is SSR.:

Hang on a sec...We bought into DVC this Sunday also but our salesperson told us that they were only selling VGF and Aulani since everything else was completely sold out. He said that they might have a BLT to offer us but nothing else. We were at the SSR sales office. Did we just get swindled?

 

[MountainMouse]

Hang on a sec...We bought into DVC this Sunday also but our salesperson told us that they were only selling VGF and Aulani since everything else was completely sold out. He said that they might have a BLT to offer us but nothing else. We were at the SSR sales office. Did we just get swindled?

You bought direct and I believe OP is buying resale. Any property can still be purchased. If you want SSR you can buy direct from Disney though it may take significant time to because DVD needs to acquire the inventory before they can sell it to you. They do this through ROFR buybacks and foreclosures. You can also purchase SSR and any other resort through resale. Current resale pricing for SSR is in the low to mid 80's a point. Resale transactions usually take 45-90 days. There are some benefits resale purchasers do not receive such as trading points for Disney cruises. These other uses are generally not considered to be a cost efficient use of points. Resale owners can currently book all DVC resorts with the same rules as a direct purchaser.

I wouldn't say swindled, but not given all the information by the sales agent. Good news is that you should still have time to rescind if you just purchased yesterday. After that you can do lots of research on these boards and decide what purchase is right for you.

 

[nkosiek]

Hang on a sec...We bought into DVC this Sunday also but our salesperson told us that they were only selling VGF and Aulani since everything else was completely sold out. He said that they might have a BLT to offer us but nothing else. We were at the SSR sales office. Did we just get swindled?

They may not have had other properties to sell you right now, but if you were willing to wait, they could reacquire those points via RORF and then sell you them. Problem being there is no guarantee when they would get those points, so you could be waiting awhile. You didn't get swindled so much as you got steered towards what they want to sell right now.

I'd explore what you want out of DVC as well as what DVC entails and figure out if the purchase was right for you since you have a week period to rescind the sale.

 

[Msmithmd]

While I don't believe it has been formally confirmed, conventional wisdom is that the "guides" get paid more to sell the current sales target properties, than they do to sell the other resorts.

Many people exploring DVC via the direct tour process have had this same experience, of being told they cannot buy properties which are less expensive and objectively are indeed for sale direct from DVC.

We all know the adage of how to tell when a timeshare sales person is lying....

DVC seems better than most corporations in their sales practices, but make no mistake that those salesperson's reason for employment is to sell you what Mickey wants you to buy, and to get you to commit to the purchase TODAY.

 

[dankil13]

You bought direct and I believe OP is buying resale. Any property can still be purchased. If you want SSR you can buy direct from Disney though it may take significant time to because DVD needs to acquire the inventory before they can sell it to you. They do this through ROFR buybacks and foreclosures. You can also purchase SSR and any other resort through resale. Current resale pricing for SSR is in the low to mid 80's a point. Resale transactions usually take 45-90 days. There are some benefits resale purchasers do not receive such as trading points for Disney cruises. These other uses are generally not considered to be a cost efficient use of points. Resale owners can currently book all DVC resorts with the same rules as a direct purchaser.

I wouldn't say swindled, but not given all the information by the sales agent. Good news is that you should still have time to rescind if you just purchased yesterday. After that you can do lots of research on these boards and decide what purchase is right for you.

Actually the OP bought direct as well. Now its possible SSR was not available for the UY and for the number of points they were looking to purchase.

 

[dankil13]

While I don't believe it has been formally confirmed, conventional wisdom is that the "guides" get paid more to sell the current sales target properties, than they do to sell the other resorts.

This would make sense, since I am sure there is higher margin in initial purchases vs contracts Disney needs to acquire via ROFR.

 

[MountainMouse]

Actually the OP bought direct as well. Now its possible SSR was not available for the UY and for the number of points they were looking to purchase.

I stand corrected on the OP's purchase method, it was direct. It appears that it was a small 50 point purchase which would be more difficult to find resale and more expensive.

That said, if you're having doubt rescind, research, and purchase again later.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Hang on a sec...We bought into DVC this Sunday also but our salesperson told us that they were only selling VGF and Aulani since everything else was completely sold out. He said that they might have a BLT to offer us but nothing else. We were at the SSR sales office. Did we just get swindled?

If you really want a different property then cancel your purchase and call your guide and tell them where you do want and that you only want that (assuming that is true). DVC sells every property although depending on where you want you may need to go on a waitlist. If it's SSR it's my understanding that they have been requiring points via ROFR at a good pace and I'd feel pretty confident they have points available there.

And if they need to place you on a wait list then you might want to look at resale.

Remember it's something you might have for 30 to 50 years so a couple of months wait to purchase is minimal in the whole scheme of ownership.

 

[1308Miles]

Thank you all for your helpful comments! DH and I talked about it and we think that VGF suits our needs best in the long run, so we are going to stick with what we initially purchased. We had researched DVC like crazy beforehand and had been considering purchasing points for a few years now, so this definitely wasn't an impulse purchase. I was just shocked that someone was sold SSR the same day that we were assured only VGF and Aulani were being sold. I guess I'm just too trusting of salespeople!