I want AKV!

[HGD24]

DH and I bought an SSR contract in 2004 (160 pts). We're fully paid off and since staying at AKL in 2007, I've fallen for the place and now I want to buy at AKV. Would we be crazy to sell our SSR and buy AKL?

We only bought into SSR because it's what was for sale at the time in 2004. I grew up in Upstate NY, very close to the real Saratoga and we still live in the Northeast so staying at SSR doesn't really have that "on vacation" feel to me. When we were at AKL on the other hand I felt like I had not just left the Northeast, but I felt like we had left the US. Can you tell I'm totally smitten by AKV?

 

[jco_direwolf]

Why not just buy an add-on?

johno

 

[HGD24]

We don't use all of our points as it is and usually end up renting them to friends or family so adding on just wouldn't make sense for us. Are points at AKV so high right now that it just wouldn't make sense to buy there if we sold our full 160 pt SSR contract which is already paid off?

 

[Donna M]

We own at SSR too We have used our points at AKV, VWL, OKW and VB. Wouldn't that work for you?

 

[Sandisw]

I think you have to decide on the loss you are willing to take to sell the SSR points to get AKL.

I think you have to be happy with where you want to stay. If you know that you will be booking at the 11 month mark,, and really want a guarantee of AKL, then the loss may be worth it.

However, if you don't plan that far in advance, then I would stay with SSR since the booking advantage would be the only reason to switch it out, IMHO.

 

[tjkraz]

If you bought SSR in 2004 I'm guessing you paid around $84 - 88 per point. If so you'd probably lose a few dollars selling now. Resales seem to be going in the low-80s at best. But then you've been able to enjoy your points for 4-5 years. Not a bad trade-off for losing a few dollars per point.

Since you don't use all 160 now, you could consider buying a small AKV add-on to suit your needs and THEN sell the SSR contract. DVC will sell you less than 160 since you are a current member. But there's no mandate that you keep a minimum of 160. So you could buy, say, 100 at AKV now and then sell the SSR. Of course you'll pay $107 per point for AKV so you need to decide if you want to sell for around $80 and buy for $107. Since you're reducing the number of points owned, you may not have to pay anything out of pocket, but then you'll simply own less.

Also note that the dues at AKV are higher than SSR.

Personally I'd consider it a tough decision. AKV is a pretty big resort and I don't think it will be all that difficult to get into at 7 months. Concierge and Value rooms will be the hardest to get at 7mos, but Standard and Savanna views will be frequently available IMO.

Good luck!

 

[KingdomJack]

Why not finance a re-sale AKV purchase and rent your SSR point each year. This would offset all or more of your AKV dues and you could hold on to the SSR points until the economy improves and the value increases. Or you could continue to rent the SSRs as income once your AKV is paid.

 

[WALTSAGOD]

We own at SSR too We have used our points at AKV, VWL, OKW and VB. Wouldn't that work for you?

Try booking at 7 months for a while and see how that works for you. You may not have to sell at at all depending on your vacationing habits.

 

[Mom B]

If you ever think you would want to stay in the THVs, I would definitely hang onto the SSR points and try booking at the 7 month window at AKV. If it really doesn't work for you, you can always sell later. Good luck!

 

[rubbergypsy]

We also own at ssr. We stayed at akv this past Feb. I loved it. We are going back in August and I just booked an entire week at akv, no problem at 6months out. I would wait and see how booking at the 7 month window works out.

 

[MikeyNS]

I think AKV will be large enough to get a room there during most seasons. Lots of Savanna view rooms in Kidani. The exception will be the value and conceirge level rooms. I, for one, will be booking standard view rooms to save on points.

 

[HGD24]

Thanks for the input everyone. We've tried booking BCV, OKW & BWV at the 7 month window with no luck. Once in 4 years we were able to get our friends a studio at OKW with about 2 months notice. We tend to use our points in the late Fall, Oct-Dec. We're going to try to switch our Nov 2009 ressie from SSR to AKV - wish us luck!

The monetary loss on selling SSR wouldn't be too bad for us, it's the cost of buying AKV at the higher per point price that has the frugal bargain hunter in me wavering. Having bought SSR for around $84 per point, it would be tough to buy AKV at $107 per point.

Thanks again everyone!!! You've all given me more to think about.

 

[logan115]

Thanks for the input everyone. We've tried booking BCV, OKW & BWV at the 7 month window with no luck. Once in 4 years we were able to get our friends a studio at OKW with about 2 months notice. We tend to use our points in the late Fall, Oct-Dec. We're going to try to switch our Nov 2009 ressie from SSR to AKV - wish us luck!

The monetary loss on selling SSR wouldn't be too bad for us, it's the cost of buying AKV at the higher per point price that has the frugal bargain hunter in me wavering. Having bought SSR for around $84 per point, it would be tough to buy AKV at $107 per point.

Thanks again everyone!!! You've all given me more to think about.

Why don't you buy AKV via resale ? Seems like you could buy in there for around $90/pt vs the $107 direct thru Disney ?

This thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1960185&page=40 is one of my favs here on Dis as I'm looking at resales now.

Here's the AKL listings of what has already passed ROFR

PASSED - AKV (2057):
Gary K. D.------------- 150 AKV (Feb) $92, 105 banked '07 pts, all '08 pts, buyer pays closing, seller pays '07 mf (passed 11/1)
hss------------------- 100 AKV (???) $89, 42 '08 pts
dheinle---------------- 50 AKV (Feb) $104, no '08 pts, (passed 1/24)
kato0627 (seller)------ 50 AKV (Feb) $104, no '08 pts (passed 1/24)
Beavertails Queen----- 50 AKV (Aug) $104, all '08 pts, buyer pays closing & mf (sub 2/19, passed 3/5)
luvavacation---------- 50 AKV (Apr) $100, no '08 pts (sub 3/10, passed 3/25)
BigEeyore------------- 200 AKV (Jun) $95, all '07 pts, all '08 pts (sub 4/26, passed 5/13)
lam------------------- 135 AKV (Sep) $90, all '07 pts, all '08 pts (sub about 4/27, passed 5/14) dvc by resale
disneylaurie----------- 135 AKV (Sep) $90, all '07 pts, all '08 pts, buyer pays closing and '08 mf (passed 5/22)
horselover------------ 100 AKV (Feb) $95, all '08 pts (sub 5/8, passed 5/22) TSS
Nigel8600------------- 160 AKV (Apr) $81.25, 160 banked '07 pts, seller pays closing and mf (sub 5/9, passed 5/30) GMAC
SandrainNC----------- 160 AKV (Aug) $85, buyer pays closing, buyer and seller split '08 mf (passed 8/11)
jake&samsmom-------- 150 AKV (Mar) $90, no '08 pts, all '09 pts (sub 8/16, passed 8/27)
kristenrice------------ 100 AKV (Feb) $92, all '08 pts, buyer pays closing and '08 mf (sub 8/22, passed 8/30) non-member, TTS
LauraLap-------------- 210 AKV (Aug) $88, all '08 and '09 pts, seller pays '08 mf (passed 9/11) TSS
Cinderella1122-------- 60 AKV (Aug) $98, all '08 pts, buyer pays closing and fees (passed 9/30)
michellev------------- 160 AKV (Dec) $85, 160 banked '07 pts, all '08 pts. buyer pays closing, seller pays GMAC (sub 9/30, passed 10/10) non-member, GMAC
tiffsix----------------- 100 AKV (???) $92.5, all '08 & '09 pts, seller pays closing (sub 9/15, passed 10/21) member, TTS
Giff------------------- 100 AKV (???) $88 (passed about 11/10)
thewesterberg--------- 40 AKV (Dec) $96, all '08 & '09 pts (sub 11/20, passed 12/11)
-----------------------------------------
757hokie------------ 160 AKV (Dec) $85, all '08 & '09 pts, buyer pays closing (sub 1/6/09, passed 1/19) non-member
Poopachino---------- 160 AKV (Dec) $88, 158 '08 pts, all '09 pts, buyer pays closing and '09 mf (sub 1/26, passed 2/12)
Twinsmomma-------- 160 AKV (???) $87 (passed 2/12)
Krousfive------------ 160 AKV (Mar) $91.5, all '09 & '10 pts, seller pays '09 mf (sub 2/3, passed 2/20)


Good luck,

Chris

 

[dianeschlicht]

Depending on the times of year you vacation, I think you should be able to use your SSR points for AKV. It's not going to be the same as trying to book BCV during F&W. AKV is going to be the third largest behind OKW, so I think you should be able to get it most times except holidays.

We have a small add-on at AKV (69 points), and have stayed with our OKW points easily. We have decided we are only using our AKV points to book concierge level at the 11 month window, so any other stays there will be on OKW points.

 

[HGD24]

Chris - are those listings for DIS members who are selling their contracts themselves or through the Timeshare Store?

 

[logan115]

Chris - are those listings for DIS members who are selling their contracts themselves or through the Timeshare Store?

Pretty sure that the thread is not limited to those that have or are using TSS, just people on DIS that have posted what they're doing (both buying and selling) in the resale market.

It's good to peruse to get an idea of what stuff has been bought/sold for recently.

Chris

 

[HGD24]

Got it. Thanks for the link. It is interesting to see what's out there and what's going on in the DVC timeshare market.

 

[logan115]

Got it. Thanks for the link. It is interesting to see what's out there and what's going on in the DVC timeshare market.

A few months ago I starting to google DVC to see if I could find anywhere that had some resale information, wouldn't you know that I wound up finding the best info right here DIS - should've known to look here first

Best of luck,

Chris

 

[pilferk]

DH and I bought an SSR contract in 2004 (160 pts). We're fully paid off and since staying at AKL in 2007, I've fallen for the place and now I want to buy at AKV. Would we be crazy to sell our SSR and buy AKL?

We only bought into SSR because it's what was for sale at the time in 2004. I grew up in Upstate NY, very close to the real Saratoga and we still live in the Northeast so staying at SSR doesn't really have that "on vacation" feel to me. When we were at AKL on the other hand I felt like I had not just left the Northeast, but I felt like we had left the US. Can you tell I'm totally smitten by AKV?

I would try booking at the 7 month window a couple times and see what your results are before I even thought about selling.

Unless you're looking for value rooms or Concierge rooms, or are travelling during super busy times of the year (early December, school vacation times, etc), I'd bet you can get a savanna view room pretty easily. The place is pretty big....and I've heard LOTS of anecdotal success stories about booking at 7 months out.

 

[HGD24]

I would try booking at the 7 month window a couple times and see what your results are before I even thought about selling.

Unless you're looking for value rooms or Concierge rooms, or are travelling during super busy times of the year (early December, school vacation times, etc), I'd bet you can get a savanna view room pretty easily. The place is pretty big....and I've heard LOTS of anecdotal success stories about booking at 7 months out.

We would be looking for one-bedroom standard or savannah views so maybe we'll be ok (fingers crossed).