Need DVC Buying Education

[dfb]

I am considering purchasing a DVC membership. When purchaing direct via Disney what price or benifit incentives / price breaks should I look for, ask for or insist??? I know how to buy a car but what are the tricks to buying DVC?

Is resale a good option? The DVC guide I spoke with said there was no advantage to buying resale because any substantionally reduced priced contract would be voided and then purchased by Disney. I find this hard to believe!

Is the DVC really a good option? What are the catches; room availability, unexpected/hidden charges/fees, etc.??

Any pointers appreciated!

 

[princessvacg]

I am considering purchasing a DVC membership. When purchaing direct via Disney what price or benifit incentives / price breaks should I look for, ask for or insist??? I know how to buy a car but what are the tricks to buying DVC?

Is resale a good option? The DVC guide I spoke with said there was no advantage to buying resale because any substantionally reduced priced contract would be voided and then purchased by Disney. I find this hard to believe!

Is the DVC really a good option? What are the catches; room availability, unexpected/hidden charges/fees, etc.??

Any pointers appreciated!

Currently, there are a couple of price breaks on AKV and BLT. Also, you get a free mini vacation. Obviously, you would not get these buying resale. I went through disney with both of my contracts. It was fast easy, no hidden costs, etc. We love DVC!! And yes, Disney has the option to buy all resale property so your guide is correct. The only pointers are to make sure you buy when they are having a sale so you get the extras!

Good Luck!

 

[disneynutz]

I am considering purchasing a DVC membership. When purchaing direct via Disney what price or benifit incentives / price breaks should I look for, ask for or insist??? I know how to buy a car but what are the tricks to buying DVC?

Is resale a good option? The DVC guide I spoke with said there was no advantage to buying resale because any substantionally reduced priced contract would be voided and then purchased by Disney. I find this hard to believe!

Is the DVC really a good option? What are the catches; room availability, unexpected/hidden charges/fees, etc.??

Any pointers appreciated!

There are plenty of pointers here on the DIS.

Take some time and read the DVC boards. You will find that the same questions are repeated over and over and I am sure that you will find the answers to you questions and much more.

 

[CarolMN]

I am considering purchasing a DVC membership. When purchaing direct via Disney what price or benifit incentives / price breaks should I look for, ask for or insist??? I know how to buy a car but what are the tricks to buying DVC?

There really aren't any. The incentives are available to anyone/everyone. The guide will tell you about them. Occasionally, there are special deals for those who buy at a particular location such as the new Field of Dreams store in Illinois or at Disneyland in Ca. But they are available to anyone who makes their purchase there.

Is resale a good option? The DVC guide I spoke with said there was no advantage to buying resale because any substantionally reduced priced contract would be voided and then purchased by Disney. I find this hard to believe!
..........(Snip).......

Yes, it's true. Disney has the Right of First Refusal (ROFR) on all resale contracts, and they do buy back any that are offered below a certain level. No one really knows what that is (it seems to vary), but you can still save some $$ going this route. The resale process does take longer than buying through Disney. There are several good resale brokers, one of which sponsors our DVC DIS forums.

 

[backyardponder]

You can get an idea on resale prices by looking at
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1960185&page=21

We bought BWV resale about a year ago and were quite happy. It does take a couple months to go through the process and has a couple places in the process where things could break down, like ROFR. If you have the time it is a great way to go. We saved thousands of dollars.

 

[ohtarabell]

I have purchased both from Disney and resale in the last 2 months. Here are my thoughts and the process I used:

1.) What resort do you want? If it is BLT, then you have to go to Disney. If it is AKV, then either option is open. I found that the matching developer points made the cost difference between Direct vs resale close enough to go through Disney. I was not an owner at the time and made an immediate ressie for a 2 bedroom at SSR for the week before Christmas with developer points. This saved me the $3,500 a cash ressie would have cost me. I went with AKV at $104 per point, less $6.50 incentive plus the developer points. Effective cost around $83 per point (subtracting out the cash cost of the ressie). If you value developer points at $10 sale value, then the cost was $88 per point. This is too close to resale to go through the added process.
Finally, if you want almost any other resort and do not need points immediately, I would go resale, especially if you are buying more than 100 pts. Other resorts are $104 through Disney and 20-30% less retail. This advice could change if you are looking at one of the resorts that has extended use contracts.

2.) How much time do you have? The longer the timeframe the more I would explore resale. It is possible to not only get points at a lower cost, you can also get contracts that have banked points. This can significently increase your first year usage, lowering your overall cost.

3.) How patient are you? Disney makes it very easy to get into the system. It is almost immediate. One phone call and you are on your way. Resale can be frustrating. You must research resales, make offers, go through the ROFR process (and if Disney exercises ROFR start over again), close, wait for Disney to put you in the system and then make reservations. It takes about 5-8 weeks for the whole process. For some, the frustration may outweigh the savings.

4.) Are you financially savvy and do you need to finance the purchase? First of all, most here would say financing is not the best idea. With Disney, they will arrange everything. Resale is a little more involved. Disney financing costs are high compared to Home Equity Line etc, but the process is simple. Also, if you are not analytical, you might find comparing resale options frustrating (I am very analytical, but I also found resale frustrating because I wanted to over-analyze EVERYTHING!)

Hope this helps!

 

[NJ Mets fan]

Currently, there are a couple of price breaks on AKV and BLT. Also, you get a free mini vacation. Obviously, you would not get these buying resale. I went through disney with both of my contracts. It was fast easy, no hidden costs, etc. We love DVC!! And yes, Disney has the option to buy all resale property so your guide is correct. The only pointers are to make sure you buy when they are having a sale so you get the extras!

Good Luck!

What is noted above in bold is not necessarily correct. If you buy resale and find a contract with bancked points that the seller has paid annual maintenance fees on, it's even better than the developers points IMHO which are restricted to certain resorts. I purchased a 200 pt BWV contract with all 2007 and 2008 points banked for $80pp. Closing costs were just over $500. I only paid the 2009 maintenance fees and closing costs. It does take more time to close and if you have patience to find the right contract this could be the way to go especially if you want a resort that does not come with any incentives and would cost more to buy directly from Disney. I plan on postinfg my basic resale timeline when fully complete but I put in my offer Nov 27th and just got into the Disney system late Friday 1/2. I am now waiting for my points to show up (different department which does this) so I can book. Hopefully this will be Mon or Tues of next week. I had a very cooperative seller who got in all their documents quickly. It can be a little bit of a nightmare if the seller takes their time from what I read. I did my resale through Jaki Apetz and **********. She was very helpful and communicated well through the process.

 

[chalee94]

Is the DVC really a good option? What are the catches; room availability, unexpected/hidden charges/fees, etc.??

most of us on this forum think its a good option, yes.

room availability: depends on the resort and time of year (but it doesn't track with park capacity exactly - early dec is usually fairly low season in the parks but fills up very quickly at DVC). it's much safer to plan 10-11 months in advance and book your home resort then, and later see if you can try a different resort at the 7 month window. if the idea of getting "stuck" at your home resort makes you unhappy, you should probably consider purchasing a different home resort...

charges/fees: for booking within the DVC system, none. for trades out of the system (including at wdw resorts like the grand floridian or whatever), you should expect to get hit with a fee...