In plain simple terms..

[chalee94]

50% of all sales are resales. It's you lack of knowledge that makes you nervous, once you complete your education, you will see things differently.

Bill

yep - like i said above, eventually you will have to be involved in resale unless you are one of the very few who hold their contract to expiration. the timeshare store does a great job of communicating and they have a lot of expertise in DVC contracts - i used them when i bought in.

resale points can be used at other DVC resorts at 7 months out, subject to availability. plenty of options if you plan ahead. if you are NOT planning on using DVC pts primarily at DVC resorts, you should step back and question whether DVC is a good fit for you or not.

as an owner, if you want to dabble in cruises or whatever, the buy in is a sunk cost and you might as well use the points even if there's not much value in the trade. but as a prospective buyer, you might simply be better off paying cash for cruises and skipping DVC altogether.

 

[JimMIA]

We are looking at 300 to 400 points, just depending on how things are shaking out at the time we go all in. DH and I are nervous about buying resale, but after reading here and I think that we are going to look into Resale points. But to be honest it makes me super nervous. Any suggestions on which company's are reputable, and you have had success with them?

We've used The Timeshare Store 3 times buying and twice selling and have found them to be very knowledgeable, responsive, and professional.

You should also be aware that the Florida-based resellers are all Florida-licensed real estate brokers and are subject to exactly the same laws and regulations as Disney itself. And Florida's timeshare sales regulatory system is very tight. So as long as you are buying from a licensed broker, you won't have anything to be nervous about. You will find significant differences in customer service and understanding of the product, but they all meet the basic requirements of the state.

DH and I love the Poly, we honeymooned there so special place for us, also we have a brand new Grandson so being close to monorail, would be great.

First of all, don't expect the same quality of accommodations at DVC that you get at a Disney Deluxe hotel. Some aspects of timeshare accommodations are better than hotels (more space, washer/dryers in villas, etc, etc), but you won't have the same quality of furnishings or amenities.

For a monorail resort, you should know that while BLT may not be your favorite themed resort, it IS generally available at seven months. BLT would be your primary monorail option if you owned somewhere else.

Why did you not like Animal Kingdom? and Saratoga?

Each DVC resort has it's own theming, amenities, and pros and cons. I would take any anecdotal comments (either positive or negative) about any resort with a grain of salt because what I like is probably very different from what you like. Renting, or at least visiting, a prospective home resort is a much better approach than reading someone's comments here on the DIS...especially since you live so close by. Just drive over and walk around the resort, if nothing else, and see how you like it.

The other comment I would make on your plans -- in addition to "Don't even think about buying direct!" -- is to start MUCH smaller than 300-400 points. Or, if you do eventually end up with that many points, at least buy it in smaller chunks so you can exit gracefully when the time comes.

 

[JimMIA]

And one other comment on your plans. If you are considering Poly or VGF for last-minute long weekends, I think that may be pretty unrealistic. We have had some great luck getting last minute reservations, but they were at SSR only.

For GF or Poly, I think you're going to have to book in your home resort window, and depending on what you want and when, probably early in that window -- like 10-11 months out.

 

[suebeelin]

We are looking at 300 to 400 points, just depending on how things are shaking out at the time we go all in. DH and I are nervous about buying resale, but after reading here and I think that we are going to look into Resale points. But to be honest it makes me super nervous. Any suggestions on which company's are reputable, and you have had success with them?

DH and I love the Poly, we honeymooned there so special place for us, also we have a brand new Grandson so being close to monorail, would be great.

Why did you not like Animal Kingdom? and Saratoga?

Everyone has a favorite resort for various reasons. We have two little kids who sleep poorly so we wanted to walk to the parks, and walk back easily if need be. We did not like relying on the bus system. For us, proximity to the park and ease of transportation was our priority. We also didn't like the dark theming of animal kingdom, but that's just personal aesthetic preference .

If you love Polynesian or Grand Floridian, it makes most sense to buy direct. There's no resale yet for Polynesian, and the prices on grand Floridian only saves you $20/pt. However, if these are your home resorts, you will need to plan at least 7+ months in advance to get the rooms you want. Lots of people like to trade into these resorts at the 7 mo mark... To try and because they are new and nice!

There are 3-5 broker sites most ppl use. They are legit. We used fidelity resales but the timeshare store, which sponsors this site, has more listings. You won't get your points until appx 3 months from offer/acceptance, but if you're in no rush then it won't matter. If you buy from disney direct you get all your points immediately. If you buy direct and get a June use year or later you also get 2014 points (score!).

The most economical purchase is Saratoga. If you plan on booking at the 7 mo mark or less, then you will most often find availability at Saratoga or animal kingdom.

I bought 200 points per resort, and have two resorts. We wanted the 11mo home resort advantage at these two resortsz

Everyone is different. Don't be scared of resale although I was definitely at first. if you buy from a handful of brokers who specialize in dvc (the brokers most ppl on this site use), you are fine. Some brokers have better customer service than others but you get your contract at the end of the day.

Ps-- I always negotiated $10 off the list price, and/or split the closing cost. I wasn't able to get the maintenance fees covered, but some ppl do. I didn't mind being told "no", and would just offer on another contract. Right now is a strong resale market but if you're patient you can get a decent deal. My sister in law is currently in ROFR with Saratoga resale points. She's so nervous and excited she's counting down the days!! She offered 3 weeks ago, and her price is appx $15 off list price. She was willing to make offers a few times till someone said yes. Her parents have beach club, bought direct in 2000. So she knows the dvc system, and wanted the most economical choice for last minute bookings.

good luck!

 

[JimMIA]

If you buy direct and get a June use year or later you also get 2014 points (score!).

This is one of the biggest misconceptions people have about buying direct from DVC, and a great example of why it is so important to fully educate yourself before buying a timeshare.

If you hear something like this from a DVC timeshare salesman, that is as close to an outright lie as they usually get.

You are getting absolutely nothing for free. All you are getting is the points you are buying. If DVC did anything else, someone would go to jail for fraud.

And in many cases (depending on where you are in your Use Year) you are getting a shortened period to use the points. DVC points can be used over a three year period once your account is established. You can borrow next year's points into this year to use; you can use them during the normal UY; or, you can bank them into the following UY to use then.

In the June UY example mentioned above, those points would expire on May 31, so you actually would have zero use of 2014 points unless they let you bank them into 2015. They would -- but then you'd get only one year of use, not two or three.

 

[suebeelin]

This is one of the biggest misconceptions people have about buying direct from DVC, and a great example of why it is so important to fully educate yourself before buying a timeshare.

If you hear something like this from a DVC timeshare salesman, that is as close to an outright lie as they usually get.

You are getting absolutely nothing for free. All you are getting is the points you are buying. If DVC did anything else, someone would go to jail for fraud.

And in many cases (depending on where you are in your Use Year) you are getting a shortened period to use the points. DVC points can be used over a three year period once your account is established. You can borrow next year's points into this year to use; you can use them during the normal UY; or, you can bank them into the following UY to use then.

In the June UY example mentioned above, those points would expire on May 31, so you actually would have zero use of 2014 points unless they let you bank them into 2015. They would -- but then you'd get only one year of use, not two or three.

Oh! Sorry! I have heard if you buy direct you get last years points, but you pay maintenance fees on them. I just repeated what I've seen other people say. For us, we have only bought resale. Apologies!

 

[supersnoop]

Oh! Sorry! I have heard if you buy direct you get last years points, but you pay maintenance fees on them. I just repeated what I've seen other people say. For us, we have only bought resale. Apologies!

The confusion is that, for 12 more days, we're still in the 2014 use year for June. So, if you bought today, you'd get 2014 points. Those are current year points, but, since DVD will bank them into your 2015 use year, it appears as though you received an extra year's worth of points.

 

[SomeImaginationHuh]

The confusion is that, for 12 more days, we're still in the 2014 use year for June. So, if you bought today, you'd get 2014 points. Those are current year points, but, since DVD will bank them into your 2015 use year, it appears as though you received an extra year's worth of points.

This is super confusing, and this was the pitch my guide gave to me to buy direct into the Poly for a December use year. It seems like a no brainer, but when I put it to paper, I found it was far better to pass and wait patiently for my resales to go through. I also didn't particularly care to make Poly my home resort, so the "free" points weren't that critical to me. I probably would have been all in if I could have purchased at GC. But I've long since missed that boat.

 

[JimMIA]

Oh! Sorry! I have heard if you buy direct you get last years points, but you pay maintenance fees on them. I just repeated what I've seen other people say. For us, we have only bought resale. Apologies!

It's very important for prospective buyers to REALLY research and be sure they understand anybody's timeshare before purchasing.

Part of the confusion comes because people don't understand UY, and additional confusion comes because they don't understand what MF's (which DVC calls "Annual Dues) are or what they pay for.

Annual dues have nothing to do with points, points use, or Use Year -- except that they are assessed based on the number of points you own in order to fairly apportion the costs to the owners.

What costs? The costs paid by dues cover the operation of your home resort (and the DVC system things like MS) for the CALENDAR YEAR. They are billed in December and are paid either in January or monthly. There is no connection to any specific points, or the use of any specific points.

When you buy direct, DVC pro-rates the dues based on how many months are in the calendar year. So if you closed on May 31, they would charge you 7 months of 2015 dues on your points, regardless of your UY. Why? Because you will own those points for the remaining 7 months of calendar 2015.

When you buy resale, reimbursement for dues paid or the assumption of dues paid monthly is a matter of negotiation. In a resale, everything is negotiable.