Is it worth it to buy in a lesser dues home property?

[mrsmarilyn]

I was looking at the disparity in the dues rates today. i realize some people buy multiple home bases, but lets say for arguments sake that i am considering 2 150 point contracts. Am I better buying at one of the lesser-cost-dues-resorts, and living with the 7 months out date, or should I just bite the bullet on the home resort we'd prefer to get the 12 month out date?

The disparity is as much as $1.50 or more per point. When you multiply that by 300 points times 45 years, you're talking close to $20,000.00.

 

[DizBub]

I was looking at the disparity in the dues rates today. i realize some people buy multiple home bases, but lets say for arguments sake that i am considering 2 150 point contracts. Am I better buying at one of the lesser-cost-dues-resorts, and living with the 7 months out date, or should I just bite the bullet on the home resort we'd prefer to get the 12 month out date?

The disparity is as much as $1.50 or more per point. When you multiply that by 300 points times 45 years, you're talking close to $20,000.00.

You should do what makes you happy. SSR does seem to have the best overall value with the price and Members Fees. People report lots of success booking other resorts at the 7 month window. But if you NEED to stay at an Epcot resort for F&W or want to stay at BLT or VWL at Christmas or get a Grand Villa at OKW you probably need to buy there. Yes, over time the dues add up (they also go up) but only you can decide how important this is to you versus where you actually will be happy to stay.

 

[Dean]

I was looking at the disparity in the dues rates today. i realize some people buy multiple home bases, but lets say for arguments sake that i am considering 2 150 point contracts. Am I better buying at one of the lesser-cost-dues-resorts, and living with the 7 months out date, or should I just bite the bullet on the home resort we'd prefer to get the 12 month out date?

The disparity is as much as $1.50 or more per point. When you multiply that by 300 points times 45 years, you're talking close to $20,000.00.

As a rule, NO. It's certainly not worth buying BLT at the higher price just to get the lower dues. Plus BLT dues have come back to the pack somewhat and likely will continue to edge closer though it is likely they will still remain on the lower side long term. The up front $20-30 a point difference will never be made up in dues if one finances or takes into account the time value of money. IMO, one should buy on property if that is the location of interest and I do not believe there is enough price and dues difference that it will make any real difference in the long term costs. Like almost anything else, the savings is made on the front end purchase. For WDW and looking at dollars alone, the WDW resort you can get at the "cheapest" price (taking into account the RTU expiration) is the best dollar value. That is almost always going to be SSR though it may be that one could find an OKW 057 contract cheaply enough to meet the same criteria. Clearly there are other considerations which one should take into account such as preferences and budget. At some point the 2042 resorts, esp OKW, are likely to drop off enough that they become the best value.

 

[Sandisw]

When we bought, we spent the extra money to own BLT because that is where we knew we wanted to be. I could have spent about $5000 less to own at SSR, but I decided I'd rather spend $18,000 on something I would love than $13,000 on something I might not even like....

There are a lot of people who are fine with any of the DVC resorts and if you wouldn't be disappointed with where you end up, then buying for price makes a lot of sense.

I have since added on points at BWV as we like being able to split stay and walk to 3 of the 4 parks. Owning where I want to be allows me to book at exactly 11 months without worry. It also allows me to take advantage of booking the SV rooms to conserve points when I want to.

IMO, DVC is too much money to not buy at a place you will enjoy. So, if the cheapest dues will do that, then go for it. But, I will caution, there is no guarantee they will stay the lowest. If they don't, are you still going to be happy with what sounds like not your first choice resort?

 

[ELMC]

As with anything, this is a case of identifying what is most important to you. If your biggest priority is booking (both resorts and specific rooms) at certain times of year, then you should spend the extra money to buy the home resort you love and be happy that you did. If your biggest priority is saving money, then buy the least expensive resort vis-a-vis purchase price and maintenance fees (that would be SSR). Jump for joy if you happen to luck into BLT SV or BWV during F&W. And if not, stay at SSR, be happy that you are on property and think about the money you saved. (As PPs have suggested, there are no guarantees that SSR will continue to be among the lowest MFs, but it projects out to be very likely). So I ask you, what is most important to you?

Two quick comments though. First, to clarify it is an 11 month window, not 12. Second, by buying two 150 point contracts you are quite likely missing out on the economies of scale that can be had by buying a 300 point contract. This may negate a lot of the money you could potentially save by hedging your bets by purchasing based on maintenance fee projections.

 

[MickeyFan612]

I bought a SSR contract and during my first year of ownership I have made two reservations at BLT one at the VGC one for SSR and a small one for OKW. I booked the BLT at my 7th month window w/ ease! My only issue was I had to use more points to get the lake view because the standard rooms were no longer available. To me it has been worth it to buy into SSR but in the future if I find I cannot stay where I want at my 7th month window I will upgrade

 

[disneynutz]

I was looking at the disparity in the dues rates today. i realize some people buy multiple home bases, but lets say for arguments sake that i am considering 2 150 point contracts. Am I better buying at one of the lesser-cost-dues-resorts, and living with the 7 months out date, or should I just bite the bullet on the home resort we'd prefer to get the 12 month out date?

The disparity is as much as $1.50 or more per point. When you multiply that by 300 points times 45 years, you're talking close to $20,000.00.

One of the biggest issues is that most don't really understand the DVC until you are a owner for a while, that's what happened to us and we took 2 years to buy our first contract. If I had it to do over, (we own multiple contracts at 6 resorts), I would start off by buying a smaller contract resale at a cheap resort. I would use those points to stay at the various resorts, maybe split stays, to figure out which we like the best.

Each resort has something different to offer, different resort amenities, location, view, and access to the parks and DTD. We have also found that the novelty of the parks is wearing off and we are spending more time at our resorts.

Some will post that they never have trouble getting the reservation that they want, others are getting frustrated due to lack of inventory.

My feelings are that once you decide on your favorite resort(s), buy there. To me there is nothing worse than spending thousands and thousands of dollars to hope that you can reserve the resort you want, when you want.

All in all, the resort cost will be the least expensive component of your Disney vacations and it's a fixed cost. Dues, transportation, admission, food, hard ticket events, buying Disney extras, and redecorating your house with Disney is where you will need big bucks and these cost increase each year.

Bill

 

[Sandisw]

One of the biggest issues is that most don't really understand the DVC until you are a owner for a while, that's what happened to us and we took 2 years to buy our first contract. If I had it to do over, (we own multiple contracts at 6 resorts), I would start off by buying a smaller contract resale at a cheap resort. I would use those points to stay at the various resorts, maybe split stays, to figure out which we like the best.

Each resort has something different to offer, different resort amenities, location, view, and access to the parks and DTD. We have also found that the novelty of the parks is wearing off and we are spending more time at our resorts.

Some will post that they never have trouble getting the reservation that they want, others are getting frustrated due to lack of inventory.

My feelings is that once you decide on your favorite resort(s), buy there. To me there is nothing worse than spending thousands and thousands of dollars to hope that you can reserve the resort you want, when you want.

All in all, the resort cost will be the least expensive component of your Disney vacations and it's a fixed cost. Dues, transportation, admission, food, hard ticket events, buying Disney extras, and redecorating your house with Disney is where you will need big bucks and these cost increase each year.

Bill

Gotta agree with this..and unless you are someone like I was, who knew that BLT would be our favorite because we had stayed at the CR for most of our cash trips--and it is--buying DVC is just the tip of the iceberg!!!

 

[BestDadEver]

I bought SSR cause of the lower dues . Since they are likely to go up over time I didnt want to start high .

Also I took advice from my friends , that I trust, that have been dvc members for quite a while . And told me that they never had an issue booking where they wanted at 7 months .

 

[DougEMG]

Buy where you would not mind staying. I like SSR and OKW so don't mind staying there at all, those resorts I bought for their price and MF. BWV I bought later because I want to stay there.

With my SSR points I've booked lots of different resorts at the 7 month mark, but this year one of the nights I wanted at BWV was already booked at the 11 month mark.

The longer your trip, the less flexible your dates, the more popular the time at DVC and the smaller the number of rooms in the category you want all make it harder to book at the 7 month mark. So lots of things will effect your ability to book at 7 months.

 

[staceymay00]

Will you be happy at your home resort if you end up "stuck" there because you aren't able to switch at 7 months? If the answer is no, I would buy where you want to stay. I don't think my family would have much luck relying on getting what we want at seven months because we visit WDW during holidays when our kids are out of school - Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving - and we don't want to risk a split stay, so I am unwilling to book some nights at one resort and then hope the other nights come through. I can see how people with more flexibility, who are not trying to book at the most popular DVC times, are able to book other resorts at 7 months.

 

[castleri]

There are also many who will say to split that 300 points into two contracts so that if something happens down the road and you find the costs more than you can comfortably deal with it will be easier to sell smaller points contracts than a 300 point one. I have three contracts - two with the lower maintenance fees and one with a higher one - but that is not why they were purchased as two were purchased presale as they were being built and we didn't know for sure what the mfs would be. It has really worked out for us for getting the resort we want for the dates we want. If we don't get any of the other resorts at 7 months we are completely happy staying where we booked at 11 months.

 

[Caren90]

Another possible wrinkle to consider; If DVC continues to build more resorts, and if these resorts are not on WDW grounds but are included in the DVC "club", there will be more owners attempting to book WDW property DVC resorts which will ultimately mean more people scrambling for fewer reservations at the 7 month window. Of course, this may never be a problem, but I don't see DVC slowing in their development since they really only make their money selling direct points. I have also read about possible resorts in other parts of the country although I do not know the reliability of these rumors.

Stephen

 

[abdgeek]

I was looking at the disparity in the dues rates today. i realize some people buy multiple home bases, but lets say for arguments sake that i am considering 2 150 point contracts. Am I better buying at one of the lesser-cost-dues-resorts, and living with the 7 months out date, or should I just bite the bullet on the home resort we'd prefer to get the 12 month out date?

The disparity is as much as $1.50 or more per point. When you multiply that by 300 points times 45 years, you're talking close to $20,000.00.

I have actually done both. Some of my properties I have bought because I wanted to stay there, some I have bought because they were the cheapest per point, and some I have bought because they had the lowest maintenance dues. Everytime I add on, my Disney rep asks me what I want to use the points for. This helps me think through if I want the resort for home priority or just to have more points to do other things with(DCL, ABD, etc.).

 

[DMKEDM]

A key point to consider that we don't often see discussed on this question is your "routine" ability to book more than 7 months out. If--like many of us--you find after you've purchased DVC that you can and do book "extra" trips to WDW, and that these often come up at 7 months or less than your vacation dates, then the 11-month window becomes completely irrelevant. You have to use it for it to be of benefit.

In our case, we knew when we bought that we go to WDW every T-giving, so booking our T-giving trip at 11 months out happened every year. But every other trip we take (and we take 3-5/year) gets booked later, usually well into the 7-month window, and our home resort advantage matters not in the least for those trips.

So, having enough points at your home resort of choice to book those trips you know you're going to take 11 months ahead of time makes a lot of sense if you really care about which resort you'll be staying at. But for the "extra points" for the extra trips (and most of us find we go more frequently once we get those points!), the home resort advantage doesn't matter quite so much.

Last thought: if you think you might want to try different resorts over the years, then you're dealing with the 7-month window for the years you're wanting to try a different resort.

So, to me, it makes sense to buy the most economical (buy-in cost plus dues) on-site DVC resort points for some points, and to buy enough points for the resort you really want to stay at for those trips you know you can book 11 months in advance.

Good luck w/your choices...

 

[Dean]

There are also many who will say to split that 300 points into two contracts so that if something happens down the road and you find the costs more than you can comfortably deal with it will be easier to sell smaller points contracts than a 300 point one. I have three contracts - two with the lower maintenance fees and one with a higher one - but that is not why they were purchased as two were purchased presale as they were being built and we didn't know for sure what the mfs would be. It has really worked out for us for getting the resort we want for the dates we want. If we don't get any of the other resorts at 7 months we are completely happy staying where we booked at 11 months.

Some have done that and others have recommended that. However, there is a cost to buying smaller contracts compared to larger ones. Assuming resale, besides multiple closing costs, the price per point can be higher. To me, just to have options later, it isn't worth it. I do think it can be worth it for one who want/needs to phase in ownership and at times when combining a cheaper resort as a points cow with a higher demand resort. Also for someone who puts value on multiple home resorts, buying multiple high demand home resorts can be worth the extra cost in some situations. The cost to buying two 150 point contracts compared to one 300 pt contract is likely to be around $2-3K all else being equal.

A key point to consider that we don't often see discussed on this question is your "routine" ability to book more than 7 months out. If--like many of us--you find after you've purchased DVC that you can and do book "extra" trips to WDW, and that these often come up at 7 months or less than your vacation dates, then the 11-month window becomes completely irrelevant. You have to use it for it to be of benefit..

I'd agree that it makes no sense to pay more for a home resort if you can't use that benefit. However, the first question in this type of situations is whether owning DVC makes sense at all. Often the answer is no though many go ahead and buy anyway.

 

[Disneypapa]

Very interesting topic and ideas/reasons being shared.

I bought a 200 point resale contract at OKW, 10 years ago. Primarily because of purchase price, low MFs and I like the resort, if Disney ever changed their booking policies and this was the only place I could stay.

The only thing I would do different is buy 2 100 point contracts instead of 1 200 pt, in order to deed them to my two adult children (100 pt each) at some future date.

 

[crisi]

Something to remember is that most DVC members aren't stupid.

There are hundreds of thousands of us. If it were easy to buy a contract for less money up front and lower dues and reliably stay where you wanted, why would anyone purchase a Boardwalk or Beach Club contract? The answer is, the people buying those contracts intend to primarily stay there. (Especially when buying after the initial selling period of the resort - people who bought whatever Disney was selling didn't really 'make' a choice. But everyone who bought resale did). That means that at seven months, proportionally fewer of those rooms will be available than rooms at resorts people are buying because the dues are low and they'll stay somewhere else. As the system expands, the situation will get worse - there won't be more rooms within walking distance to Epcot (there will be more DVC rooms near the MK), and those that want the Epcot resort area at seven months will get more competition for those rooms with every new on or off property resort Disney opens.

 

[DougEMG]

Something to remember is that most DVC members aren't stupid.

There are hundreds of thousands of us. If it were easy to buy a contract for less money up front and lower dues and reliably stay where you wanted, why would anyone purchase a Boardwalk or Beach Club contract? The answer is, the people buying those contracts intend to primarily stay there. (Especially when buying after the initial selling period of the resort - people who bought whatever Disney was selling didn't really 'make' a choice. But everyone who bought resale did). That means that at seven months, proportionally fewer of those rooms will be available than rooms at resorts people are buying because the dues are low and they'll stay somewhere else. As the system expands, the situation will get worse - there won't be more rooms within walking distance to Epcot (there will be more DVC rooms near the MK), and those that want the Epcot resort area at seven months will get more competition for those rooms with every new on or off property resort Disney opens.

That's a very good point and i hadn't thought of that, but i bought my BWV points because I plan to use them only at BWV.

 

[crisi]

And there are thousands of more Doug's and Crisis out there.. In twelve years, we've spent seven nights other than BWV, and six of them were over at the beach club. I bought early, but I could have purchased a cheaper OKW contract (nearly did). That doesn't mean there is no movement at all, but there is less movement within the higher cost resorts because people are paying a premium specifically for the booking window.