new vs. resale??

[jona8484]

I've finally convinced my dh into purchasing a DVC and I've been looking at some of the resales available. It really doesn't seem to be to my advantage to buy a resale. After closing costs and reimbursment to the owner for their unused point, there is only about $500-$1000 savings. Am I not looking in the right places? Does anyone have any suggestions or insights on new vs. resale properties? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dean]

It partly depends on where you want to stay, how patient you are and how many points you need. On 150 points, you should be able to save roughly $1800 or so on OKW and BW. The savings for WL should likely be less and BC probably none at all even if you can find a resale. If you plan on staying at one resort, buy there regardless. If you plan on staying mostly at WDW but trying all of the resorts and really don't care which one you stay at most of the time, buy OKW or keep an eye for a great BW resale. Do not buy VB or HH with the main focus of staying at WDW.

Remember that on resale you will pay around $450 closing if you use a standard closing company though somtimes this is negotiable where you can ask the seller to pay it. You also may or may not have to reimburse the seller, it too is a negotiable point. Remember this is money the seller has already paid and at closing, this is just extra money in his pocket. The main things is to watch the points availability with resales and match what you're paying to that. A deal can change from a good one to a bad one based on whether or not there are current or even banked points available. If you see a deal and want to run it by this board, that is ok as many have done it. Look at the overall deal for your final decision. If you're paying more per point but less in other costs, it really doesn't matter as it's the total out of pocket that is the issue. Also unless you're going to get a home equity or something like that, you will not be able to get financing on a resale. I've heard there's only one company that will do a loan for timeshare resales.

 

[ez]

I think one advantage to buying a resale is to get a property that disney is no longer selling. Take boardwalk and beach club villas for example. They are similar properties as far as room sizes and location. Boardwalk has a standard and prefered view point chart, so when booking a standard view boardwalk room at the 11 month window, you can make your points stretch further than you could at beach club villas, whose point chart is set at the boardwalk preferred view level. I know by booking standard view rooms at the boardwalk, I have really gotten alot of milege out of my points, and I find the standard views lovely, and sometimes get bumped up to preferred anyway. So if I wanted to own at a dvc resort in the epcot area, I would consider a bw resale. The BCV does have stormalong bay, which is a great pool, but it is so rambling that as your kids get older its really hard to keep an eye on them! At the boardwalk pool you can grab a beer from the snack bar, keep an eye on whatever sport is on tv, and keep an eye on your kid going down the slide. I don't mean to make this thread a comparison of resorts in a negative way, I guess I just mean, buy where you truly think you will want to stay most for whatever your reasons, and if that resort is only available thru resales, I would go for it.

 

[crisi]

You are right, on a small contract you are probably only looking at several hundred dollars in savings.

To some people $500-1000 dollars IS a lot of money.

The reasons to buy resale in my mind:

1. You are interested in a property not being sold currently by Disney.

2. The savings involved for you are significant enough to sway you towards resale (several people would point out you can buy more points - I'll point out that $1000 will cover airfare for my family).

I actually bought resale for a third reason - non-responsivness from the DVC Sales Guide. We bought shortly before the price increase, when the Disney staff was apparently very busy and it took three weeks for the sales guide to call back. By that time, I'd gotten excellent service and found an acceptable resale through Jaki.

We also have a household $10k rule - any purchase over $10,000 is a lot of money and has to be weighed very carefully. Under $10,000 and, well it isn't like I go dropping thousands of dollars every day, but my internal justification process is a little easier. Buying resale got me in under my $10k mark.

 

[jona8484]

I wasn't trying to imply that $500-1000 isn't alot of money, but in the grand scheme of DVC purchasing it seems that for that $500-1000 extra, it eliminates alot of headaches and worry over how much your actually spending and getting for your dollar. With a new DVC at 150 points you know your spending $12,000. with resale, the seller is asking $10,500 for 150 points, your offering $9,500. If accepted, you get $500 in closing costs and maybe $500 in points reimbursment plus if you later want 50 more points you get to buy resale again but with different usage years and more closing costs. It's just a scary proposition and I'm not sure that the savings justifies the headaches. That is why I was asking for help. If I didn't think that was alot of money I wouldn't be looking at resales or asking for help. I'm agonizing over the $500-1000. My question was, is it worth the extra money to buy new???

 

[Laurabearz]

Originally posted by jona8484
plus if you later want 50 more points you get to buy resale again but with different usage years and more closing costs. It's just a scary proposition and I'm not sure that the savings justifies the headaches. That is why I was asking for help. If I didn't think that was alot of money I wouldn't be looking at resales or asking for help. I'm agonizing over the $500-1000. My question was, is it worth the extra money to buy new???

Hi! Welcome to the DIS!

First I wanted to address the above statement about adding on via resale. Once your a DVC member (by resale OR direct from DVC) You can add on thru DVC..... AND/OR a resale contract, but small resales cost you more because the closing costs stay the same.... thus raising the price per point.....

THE MOST IMPORTANT factor in deciding to buy resale vs DVD is where do you want your home to be.... IE buy where you want to stay. Yes you can use your points at all of the DVC resorts.... yes you can get ressies at the 7 month window..... BUT at some point most people discover they want and need the 11 month window (spring break, First 2 weeks in Dec, Holidays....) Buy where you want to stay..... trust me.

OUr first two contracts are for OKW (430 pts total) bought resale, the day those closed I called my guide and we added on 170 BCV points thru disney. Then 2 months later we found the perfect 270 BWV resalecontract and swooped that up.

If you do decide that some other resort other that BCV (or HH, VB) tickles your fancy, I would call a resale broker and tell them what kind of contract your looking for. Which Resort, how many points, price per point, and UY if that is important to you........ Then sit tight and let them call you when a match comes along.

We used Jaki Aptez from atimeshare.com for both our resale contacts. She was very imformative, and really took care of us. The BWV contract took about 3 weeks to come across her desk before I got the call........ it never made it to her website.

Good luck finding the perfect DVC home for you! Keep us posted and feel free to ask as many questions as needed!

 

[4greatboys]

jona8484--I had to convince my dh also to join the dvc. We are buying a resale--OKW--low points and atleast 15 pp cheaper than buying thru Disney. Shontell helped us find a good resale, even if they dont have what you are looking for now new ones come along and they can put you on their list to call when they find what you want. Also if you ever plan on selling yours it is easier to sell the smaller contracts. I figured we can start out with this one and then I can add on at BCV. We plan on staying at all the resorts to check them out.

 

[jona8484]

Does anyone have Shontel's web page address? I'd like to check it out. I've only been able to find Reid and The Timeshare store's web pages so I haven't really had a good look at what's out there. Thanks so much for everyones help. It's nice to talk to people who have been there.

 

[ncligs]

Here you go.....

Shontell Crawford
Lic. Real Estate Broker
Timeshares By Resale, Inc.
1-800-844-4099
Ph: 407-248-0804
Fax: 407-370-4716
www.timesharesbyresale.com/
info@TimesharesByResale.com

 

[crisi]

There are some other reasons you may choose to buy new over resale - in addition to the "you know exactly how much the check is going to be for."

1) You have a really tight schedule. Resales can close quickly, or it can be months between the time you make your offer and the time you make your reservations. Buying direct from DVC usually goes fast, and your Sales Guide can help you make ressies before you officially close.

2) It isn't unheard of for the seller to back out - sometimes the day of closing after you've invested a month or more into the process. Disney doesn't back out.

It sounds to me that you like the "trust" factor of buying direct from Disney. If you do - and if you like the BCVs (or want to stay at VB or HH), I think that is worth the extra money.

(jaki is at atimeshare.com)

 

[Kick it up a notch!]

I have bought both and I have to say that I saved a lot more than $500 - $1000. You have to be patient and know what you are looking for and look for the right deal. Resales and new are the exact same thing only with resales you have a much better selection. You never know what a person is willing to sell for and negotiate. If you are in a hurry and don't really care where you buy, buy new. You will be able to book right away and it will be a little easier. If you want to save a few bucks and have time, buy a resale. Even if you only save $ 500 - $1000, that is still spending money for your first trip, or if it is not enough savings send it to me, I don't mind at all!!!

 

[EROS]

We've purchased two separate resales at BWV and saved over $1,000 on each compared to DISNEY. Of course, each family's circumstances are different, but $2,000 is a LOT of money to us .......