If you bought a contract less than 35 points, why?

[808blessing]

Most people wouldn't due to added cost of closing but if you did, why did you?

 

[CarolMN]

Haven't done this myself, but I can think of two reasons:

1. As an add on to an existing contract.
2. As a local to stay just 1-3 nights -i.e., for a festival visit or to attend a Moonlight Magic event or a party.

ETA: 3. You enjoy/don't mind split stays.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

I did this in late 2017 when *any* points purchased directly = blue card (& with my 8-person family, the AP discount made it a no-contest decision!).

So, we purchased ~200 points BLT resale on the cheap & immediately added on 32 direct Poly points (I wanted enough for 2 nights). Bam. Blue card

(& I wasn’t alone in doing this. It was a known strategy at the time.)

 

[DonMacGregor]

I've done it twice: once for BRV because I needed only a few more points to ensure I could book a certain room type in any season, but it's 2042 so I only wanted to add on just what I needed, and the second time was to get 25 more direct points as a buffer in case Disney increases the minimum for direct, and doesn't grandfather.

 

[supersnoop]

A couple reasons:
1. Put it in my wife's name so she got full membership benefits (before restrictions)
2. Bought BWV for home resort advantage during food & wine with enough points for two or three days in standard studio

 

[TCRAIG]

I have 2 - both bought direct BEFORE DVC charged closing costs -

 

[CraigInPA]

I have two direct add-ons under 35 points. The first one gave me blue card benefits (back in the days where 25 points gave you blue card). The second was needed when we decided we were going to stay longer each year.

 

[BillPA]

When we added on, there wasn't any closing cost. That was back before Disney got so greedy.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

I could see someone adding on a small amount like that because the points required to stay during their preferred time has gone up so they need just a few more points. Buying 10% more than you think you need is great advice, but not everyone thinks about that as a new buyer, or has the funds to do so at the time.

 

[Stargazer65]

I tried to buy a 25 point SSR resale to add on, but it was ROFR'd. I wanted a few more points for a reservation, and we were still under the 50% borrowing rule. Removing that restriction cancelled my need for the few points, so I guess Disney nabbing it was a good thing in the end.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

I purchased during the real estate recession and there really wasn't much difference between a 50 point or 150 point contract. So I do have a few 50 points and under. In today's market I would most likely add on 50 direct before going resale due to the close price gap.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We did it twice, but before many of the changes and restrictions. Bought our first to get points at AKL to see how we liked staying - loved it, so we ended up buying many more! Did it again at VGF, and even though it's a beautiful place, it wasn't a place we wanted to stay regularly, so we sold it. So I guess our small-point contracts were to trial rooms we wanted to see - and be able to get rooms at 8-11 months out.

 

[Cfabar1]

We did for our first contact. We live locally, and wanted to see what it was like before committing further. How easy is availability when we want to go, how will we actually stay, etc. we weren’t ready for a 40k investment yet.

 

[Spivey378]

Chris Rock scene. Instead of “How much for one rib?” it’s “How much for one point?”

 

[jlovesee]

We actually bought in as a 25 point contract (now we are at 266 points), it was resale in 2007, at OKW $87 a point. We went that way to pay cash and not take out a loan. We added on another 25 points a year later direct but back then buying direct waived closing costs. I miss the $87 ppp and no closing costs!

 

[E2ME2]

Most people wouldn't due to added cost of closing but if you did, why did you?

I did it, and it was a bit of a fluke, actually!
i was looking for a few points at BWV, after staying there a couple times at the 7 Mo mark.
I saw a resale contract for 30 points, and the asking price was very reasonable at the time.
I submitted an offer that was well below the asking and it triggered a call from the sales agent.
They cautioned that my offer was a very low for BCV
It took a minute to register in my brain, but when it did I backed up the conversation with a: "BCV, did you say BCV? I thought I had bid on a BWV contract"!!
Sure enough, I had mistakenly grabbed the wrong listing. Long story short - the seller was willing to negotiate, and I got what I thought was a great price for BCV at the time. The same number of points at BWV would have gone a little further, but I have been banking/borrowing to get 5 to 7 Nights at BCV every 3 years.
I don't regret it, as I love staying there. I just keep hoping for another opportunity to pick up some more at a good price. But not too may more, because my MF budget is near it's upper limit, so I might actually entertain adding on another BCV contract with 35 points or less

 

[DIS_MERI]

My initial purchase in 2011 was 25 OKW points. It was right when restrictions were announced (my points were resale). I got them for around $60 a point, $72ish with closing costs/etc. This gave me a login and a blue card, and I would often get transfer points when I wanted to go (was a single mom in a tight economy and often banked/borrowed for a trip instead of transferring during those years). I only stayed at OKW once or twice. In 2015, I got 50 Poly points when it opened, and in 2019 I sold my OKW points for 115/point (netted 99/point with commission/estoppel). I am a control enthusiast who likes to be able to be in charge of my own reservations, so it makes more sense to me to do transfers rather than rentals, but I don't want the commitment of a large number of owned points.

 

[DebLovesPooh]

I have only small contracts because I wanted to pay for them in cash and not wait until I had it all at once. So, I was able to use my small first contract while saving up for the second, etc.

 

[cookiecar]

We own 160 at AKV so when we became empty nesters a few years back, we picked up 30 points at BWV to use specifically for standard view studios during food and wine.

 

[RapunzelRN]

30 points was our first contract and what we could afford at the time. Wanted to see what DVC was all about without having to commit to a large point contract. I also knew it would allow us 2 nights/year in a studio without having to commit a huge chunk of money. I could rationalize that I would always get the value out of traveling for 2 nights/year for the length of the contract and enjoy a weekend getaway to Disney or beaches, and we live 1 hr from HHI. Go there often.