New to DVC - help

[Ivette1980]

Okay so I haven't purchased any interests anywhere yet ... I wanted to get all the info from here first. So my question is Where? By purchasing, I am hoping to use pts atleast twice a year unless I bank for a bigger trip. I much rather go into spurts rather than a 7-10 day vaca. Too much for me. I have 4 kids 13, 7, 5, 4. Is the only advantage for the selected resort booking 11mos ahead? Because I can still book at other DVC resorts choosing the ONE to buy into is hard for me to decide. I need all opinions from DVC members. Please help. Also which ones offer the most pts to purchase?

I need info from real ppl not a DVC seller first who tells me what I want to hear not need to hear. Thanx in advance.

 

[5forDiz]

11 month booking window is important for many times of year ( holidays, school breaks and even times when traditional Disney resorts tend to be slow because DVC resorts are usually busy even then ). Your Home Resort give you 4 months booking advantage over all other members who do not own there - at 7 months or less any member can book and there is that much more competition. If your plans are to stay onsite at WDW then definitely buy your points at an onsite DVC so you'll always have ability to book onsite before 7 month window opens. It's a tough decision because each resort has it's own special uniqueness but Buying the resort you'd love to stay at most is probably best OR do not buy at resort you really would not be happy to stay at. OKW offers biggest villas and lower points required per night (AKV points tend to run bit lower too ).

Annual Maintenance Fees are payable each January or can be divided by 12 and deducted monthly from checking. MFs are calculated based on home resort (or resorts) that points you purchase are 'tied' to. Cost per point is multiplied by # of points owned to determine annual MFs. Presently MFs range from low of $3.67 at BLT to over $6 at Vero Beach. Usually MFs increase each year buy approx 3% ( occasionally MFs may decrease slightly ). You many want to take MFs into consideration when deciding which resort(s) to own at.

In 2010 adjustments have been made to all DVC resort points charts - points have been raised for weekday nights Sun - Thurs and lowered for Friday & Saturday (weekend) nights. Here is link to thread that has 2010 charts:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2067216

Refer to 2010 point charts when trying to determine how many points you'd probably need to purchase based upon season(s) you'd most likely travel/size villa you'd need based on what will typically be your group's size/number of nights you'd stay & resort(s) you'd most want to stay at.

 

[dgaston]

With 4 children, you are probably looking at 2 br accommodations. One thing many people say is that they wish they knew they could break their contracts into smaller amounts. For example, if purchasing 200 points, they wish they had divided it into two contracts of 100 each.

You may also wish to purchase two contracts with different home resorts. We began with 150 points at SSR, and added 100 at AKV.

Have you discovered the resale market? You can also buy points at "sold out" DVC resorts from Disney.

HTH

 

[Ivette1980]

Well in a nut shell what I have to look at is, the amount in family, although space is great and I do love to be comfortable, its not the biggest issue. But is it a major deal on which resort I do purchase into? I mean if I join with AKV, yes the Savannah view is great, but I dont know of Im into the whole theme of it. I know that sounds silly. I am so drawn into the new Bay Lake Tower (which may be already sold out), but its the highest of points. But I much rather look at MK and fireworks and love the style of the rooms.

Its hard to decide because I can either way stay where I want as long as its available, so how do I decided my home resort. its too hard. arrhhh!!!

 

[Ivette1980]

should I rent to see how it goes before purchasing? How does renting work and is it trust worthy?

 

[tink'smom2B]

You don't need to rent points to book a room. Rooms are available on a cash basis to the public also.

 

[Sandisw]

Well in a nut shell what I have to look at is, the amount in family, although space is great and I do love to be comfortable, its not the biggest issue. But is it a major deal on which resort I do purchase into? I mean if I join with AKV, yes the Savannah view is great, but I dont know of Im into the whole theme of it. I know that sounds silly. I am so drawn into the new Bay Lake Tower (which may be already sold out), but its the highest of points. But I much rather look at MK and fireworks and love the style of the rooms.

Its hard to decide because I can either way stay where I want as long as its available, so how do I decided my home resort. its too hard. arrhhh!!!

I agree that one of the hardest decisions is choosing home resort and comparing that to the cost of getting that resort.

Right now, with the exception of a few contracts (which would cost more), BLT is only available through Disney. The MF"S for BLT are the lowest right now but the cost per point is the highest at $112 (though if you purchase a minimum of 160, they are offering $5.00 per point discount). If you really feel that you want to be there, then that is where you should buy. If you really are not sure, then you should take the time to investigate the other resorts.

If you are looking for the most value, then SSR resale contracts seem to be the best deals out there cost wise. You can get contracts that are going between $65.00 - $75.00 per point, the expiration is 2054 (compared to some of the other resorts that expire in 2042) and the MF's are not that bad (about $4.60ish). However, it is a big resort and you have to be happy with staying there if there are no rooms at other resorts available at the 7 month mark.

Of course, if you find that you would not be booking your trips during the home resort advantage (11 - 8 months), then home resort is a lot less important since you will be competing with everyone for all the resorts at that point.

I just bought in to DVC last month through both resale and direct. I knew that I really wanted BLT but did not want to commit to the 160 minimum for new members so I bought a small contract to become a member and than added on at BLT with less points. However, I have always stayed at the Contemporary and knew that spending the extra money for BLT was worth it--plus, I travel the same time every year and will always book at 11 months out.

Renting is a great idea to investigate if DVC is right for you. There is a lot of information over at the rent/transfer boards. Good luck and keep asking questions! I learned a lot before making my final decisions and am very happy that I had the knowledge I did before committing to years of DVC!!!

 

[Ivette1980]

tue ... but is it cheaper to rent or book a room? By renting someone else's pts or time, would it be cheaper booking the reg way? And at the same time it would be a trial for me before I purchase. make sense. it does in my head.

 

[Sandisw]

tue ... but is it cheaper to rent or book a room? By renting someone else's pts or time, would it be cheaper booking the reg way? And at the same time it would be a trial for me before I purchase. make sense. it does in my head.

Typically, renting points from a DVC member is cheaper than booking the room through CRO. For example, I am staying in a studio for 5 nights (two weekend nights) in August at SSR using the developer points I got when I added on at BLT. Those 5 nights will be 97 points. I have seen rentals around $10 per point, putting the cost for my ressie around $970.00,, less than $200.00 per night for a deluxe resort.

I know that others have just decided to tour the DVC resorts when visiting, whether staying at a DVC rental or on site at another WDW hotel--just to get a feel for the resort. Good luck!!

 

[redrosesix]

I just bought in to DVC last month through both resale and direct. I knew that I really wanted BLT but did not want to commit to the 160 minimum for new members so I bought a small contract to become a member and than added on at BLT with less points. However, I have always stayed at the Contemporary and knew that spending the extra money for BLT was worth it--plus, I travel the same time every year and will always book at 11 months out.

I was just trying to figure this out before I started reading this thread. We're just looking into this now, but have already decided on AKV as a home resort. We've also decided to start small and add more points later if we feel we need to -- so that means we want to start with a studio which is only (I think) 97 points for the time we would be visiting each year, way less than the minimum 160.

So, can I purchase any number of additional points if I already own some?

 

[Sandisw]

I was just trying to figure this out before I started reading this thread. We're just looking into this now, but have already decided on AKV as a home resort. We've also decided to start small and add more points later if we feel we need to -- so that means we want to start with a studio which is only (I think) 97 points for the time we would be visiting each year, way less than the minimum 160.

So, can I purchase any number of additional points if I already own some?

Yes, once you are a member, you can add on through Disney with a a minimum of 25 points. Contracts can go up from there in any increment...so if you wanted to add on 36 points, for example, you could.

However, if you want to finance, the minumum is 50 points.

 

[redrosesix]

Yes, once you are a member, you can add on through Disney with a a minimum of 25 points. Contracts can go up from there in any increment...so if you wanted to add on 36 points, for example, you could.

However, if you want to finance, the minumum is 50 points.

Perfect! Thanks so much.