If you could do one thing differently when purchasing DVC what would it be?

[Perelandra]

Sorry if this has been done before, I'm not very confident in my thread searching abilities, but when responding to another thread, the thought of what I would have differently came to me, and I thought it might be helpful to others who are considering purchase, so here goes:

.....If I could do one thing differently, instead of buying 325 points at SSR, I would have bought 3 100 pt contracts at 3 different resorts all with the same use year, and done a 25 point add on at my favorite for direct perks. I know that would increase closing costs and complicate booking somewhat, but I think it would be worth it for home resort booking flexibility. I also know that that would mean some split stays at busy times of year to have enough points, but I'm fine with that and at least I could book where I wanted to stay for at least a few days at the busiest times.

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

I should have done more research. My first contract was not loaded (but not stripped either). I learned the value of a loaded contract as time went on and got my second one fully loaded. That was the one mistake I made.

 

[Perelandra]

I should have done more research. My first contract was not loaded (but not stripped either). I learned the value of a loaded contract as time went on and got my second one fully loaded. That was the one mistake I made.

I made that one too. I'm starting to think I made more mistakes then I realized, lol. No real regrets though.

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

None here either. Bought where I want to stay - IMHO, the most important thing to get right.

 

[disneynutz]

We would have stayed in the resorts prior to buying and we should have understood that the DVC is a business and not a club.

Bill

 

[Disneypapa]

I purchased a loaded 200 point contract with an October use year. While this has worked out wonderfully and no real regrets, I think if I had understood use year a little better I would have gone for a June use year. I toyed with the idea of 2 100 point contracts to give to adult children, but the truth is my daughter's family could not manage the annual dues.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

I have been very happy with my purchase. The one thing I would consider if I had it to do over again would be to purchase a fixed week.

 

[lovin'fl]

We bought 7 contracts at 3 resorts for 430 points total. 4 resale and 3 direct. Had 8th contract of 100 more points at 4th resort but sold it. Only thing I really wished we did differently was have them all in one UY...we have two UY and it can be tricky to figure out what to use when. Would maybe change home resorts too but mainly just wish all were same UY. We own OKW, HHI and BWV. Would rather own VWL instead of OKW but we can deal.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I'm fine with what we've done although if I were to change anything I'd have done just what you did OP and bought the most economical - SSR. We are flexible in when we visit, prefer 1BR's and I realize would have been fine not worrying about home resort advantage. My one exception is our VGC points although I think we'd probably have been fine, but since it's the only resort there if you don't get it then you're looking at a cash room.

 

[CarolMN]

I would have purchased sooner.

 

[ziravan]

We did ok. We bought a weirdly loaded BCV contract (2015 points borrowed into 2014, very few 2015 points avail all 2016 points). But, we got a very great deal at $84/point.

Then we bought a Poly fixed week and we are very happy with that.

The mistake I almost made with research is I originally got in my head that BCV and BWV were "boutique" resorts where if you bought there the only way to maximize value would be to stay there. It's very easy to get that idea reading the boards. So. I had in my head that these resorts were only technical exchanges; you could theoretically book in and out at 7 months but not in any sort of practical way.

So. I limited my search to resorts with better tradeability at 7 months and decided that AKV was the best mix of price and contract length for us. So I started looking for an AKV contract. I was operating on the "buy where you don't mind staying" philosophy.

But. Storm-A-Long Bay. I kept coming back to that. Not only for the kids but it's one of the few pools at WDW with a true deep end area for adults.

So. I took another look and the weirdly loaded contract jumped out at me. I discussed with DW and we decided to underbid and see what would happen. They accepted our offer.

We still very much like AKV but find we can book it at 7 months enough to stay there.

As I've researched more I've become even more of a believer in "buy where you want to stay". Years ago, that wasn't as much the case. As time moved on, pressure at the near park resorts has only increased, as has pressure everywhere during Fall Frenzy.

If past is prologue, buying where you want to stay will become even more important as time moves on.

 

[ziravan]

So. After much more research and experience with DVC, I've learned that buying where you want to stay is King.

The 7 month window isn't what it used to be and as more members buy in, there's more pressure on 7 month booking. It's not just more difficult to book at 7 months now, I expect it to become even more difficult as time goes by.

SSR is the best mix of price, MF and contract length, without a doubt. But I wouldn't buy SSR unless I liked staying there if other options are more limited in the future.

 

[sndral]

My regret is that I was too cautious and didn't buy VGF direct when it was selling. But I'd just paid cash for my resale AKV contract and rather unexpectedly had to buy a car and decided to wait for my cash reserves to build up & by then VGF had sold out.
Regarding my AKV resale contract so far, 3 yrs. later, I'm happy w/ that purchase - other than I wish I'd bought in about 5 yr.s before I did

 

[DVCcurious]

Here's my one piece of advice: wait for the next recession before you buy!!!

We've gone 8 years without a recession. It's only a matter of time. During the last recession prices at BWV, VWL, SSR, OKW were in the $55 range! Beach Club for $80, Bay Lake for $90! Prices will literally drop 20% during the next recession.

 

[jo-jo]

Trying more resorts....didn't know a thing about BCV.

Would have bought in smaller units so it would have been easier to pass along to kids. We have a Dec use yr. We take most of our trips in the fall, so we could have a use them or lose them problem. Haven't had that happen yet, but it could.

 

[Bellecruiser]

This is a very interesting thread. Looking back, I would have bought way earlier, and bought VWL.

I wouldn't have bought the 250 point SSR contract, and instead would have gotten smaller point contracts at SSR (we love SSR).

I agree that buying where you want to stay is important.

I always knew Disney was a business, and don't hold that against them. The jury is still out on their ability to create a "club" vs a high-end timeshare. I think they have an amorphous idea that if they can create a club they will demonstrate value add for buying direct vs resale. The rumor of a DVC lounge in each park, similar to Epcot, along with the continuation of special events for DVC members might help with that (although we have never been able to participate in one of the events). I don't think they have been successful thus far, thus the continuing thriving of the resale market.

 

[Perelandra]

Sorry if this has been done before, I'm not very confident in my thread searching abilities, but when responding to another thread, the thought of what I would have differently came to me, and I thought it might be helpful to others who are considering purchase, so here goes:

.....If I could do one thing differently, instead of buying 325 points at SSR, I would have bought 3 100 pt contracts at 3 different resorts all with the same use year, and done a 25 point add on at my favorite for direct perks. I know that would increase closing costs and complicate booking somewhat, but I think it would be worth it for home resort booking flexibility. I also know that that would mean some split stays at busy times of year to have enough points, but I'm fine with that and at least I could book where I wanted to stay for at least a few days at the busiest times.

Im replying to myself here, lol, but I think the 3 that I would buy would be SSR for great value, dues, and expiration yr, beach club for proximity to EPCOT and Stormalong Bay, and BLT for proximity to MK, value and expiration date.

 

[Dean]

Sorry if this has been done before, I'm not very confident in my thread searching abilities, but when responding to another thread, the thought of what I would have differently came to me, and I thought it might be helpful to others who are considering purchase, so here goes:

.....If I could do one thing differently, instead of buying 325 points at SSR, I would have bought 3 100 pt contracts at 3 different resorts all with the same use year, and done a 25 point add on at my favorite for direct perks. I know that would increase closing costs and complicate booking somewhat, but I think it would be worth it for home resort booking flexibility. I also know that that would mean some split stays at busy times of year to have enough points, but I'm fine with that and at least I could book where I wanted to stay for at least a few days at the busiest times.

I'm not sure I'd have done things much differently at the times I bought and sold. It's worked out pretty well for us.

I would suggest that buying 3 times 100 raises costs far more than just the extra closing. The best balance in this situation for resale was likely 2 contracts in the 150-170 point range, maybe one SSR and one other. On that number doing the 3 contracts but all at SSR would have raised your costs around another $4-5K total. Doing them at different resorts would have given you options at a higher cost but may not have been enough to work things well. Constantly being in borrowing/banking mode has risk and potential costs that are often worse than dealing with the 7 month window. The additional costs for other resorts would have been additive, whether it'd have been worth it depends on personal factors including how/when one would ultimately use the points.

 

[WeLoveStitch42]

I would have bought in earlier.

 

[DougEMG]

The one thing I would have done differently is to also buy at BLT,mainly because of the ability to walk to MK from BLT.