Newbie here! I read the FAQ's and found them very helpful but I still have some ?'s

OurDogCisco

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May 30, 2002
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We are considering buying some points. I was thinking about 150 points since, we live on the West Coast and I don't think we'll make it to Orlando every year. Is that a good idea or bad idea? My understanding is you can use up to 300% of your points within one year.

I was thinking of either buying at Wilderness Lodge Villas or the Beach Boardwalk Villas. I axed OKW because it isn't close to any theme parks (is that right? none are within walking distance). When we have stayed at WDW we stay at the polynesian so, we are spoiled with the proximity to MK and Epcot. What do you all think? We love MK for the kids and Epcot for us.

Since, we live so far away. I think, we'd use the points for the Grand Californian in LA and maybe trade with II. We currently have a timeshare with II so, we are familar with trading. So, has anyone trade with II? Do you have to make a decision early on that you are going to trade with II? How does it work?

Also, is it better to buy resale or from Disney? I know that there is no difference. We are considering buying resale. Are there any hidden costs buying resale?

Thanks if you read this far!

Tina
 
you would paid closing cost with a resale - ask the resaler you are dealing with they will generally charge ($1,000 to $500 or more) - I have not heard of less than $500 although there could be.

Yes I have traded with II - for more information about timeshares in generally go to and join
www.tug2.net
they will answer your questions about exchanging your timeshare - I have traded DVC once - it was an urgent request - a friend was getting married in Las Vegas and it was at 3 months out - my other timeshare couldn't get it but DVC came though - I will not do this again - I understand trading better from tug.

DVC is generally too expensive to trade - although since DVC changed its policy - trading is much better (less point cost for a 1-bedroom most of the time - but a 2-bedroom can be higher) a studio is much higher.

I don't think with the new price of the resalers (that DVC forced by buying back any that was below their cost) that they are the deal that they were once.

You can buy from a resaler $70 - but if you use magical beginning dvc is only $74 - so you know what you are getting with DVC.

my opinion others may vary!
 
Thanks for the info spiceycat! I am already a member of tug and trade actively with II. Looks like you got an easy trade with your disney property. I was kinda hoping that with DVC I could get trades that I can't get with my Marriott since the DVC property would be more desirable.

Thanks for all the other info, too!

Tina
 
you would paid closing cost with a resale - ask the resaler you are dealing with they will generally charge ($1,000 to $500 or more) - I have not heard of less than $500 although there could be.

We are in the process of purchasing a resale through The Timeshare Store. It is a 200 point contract at BWV with closing costs to us of $475 plus half of the dues for 2003.

I don't think with the new price of the resalers (that DVC forced by buying back any that was below their cost) that they are the deal that they were once.

You can buy from a resaler $70 - but if you use magical beginning dvc is only $74 - so you know what you are getting with DVC.

I would have to disagree on this one. There are plenty of good deals to be had in the resale market. Actually we are paying $73 per point for our resale plus the closing cost of $475. This nets a cost of $75.37 per point. Not figuring in the dues, as this would have to be paid whether a resale or direct through Disney (unless you can find a seller through resale who will agree on no dues reimbursement for the year). Now heres where the "good deal" comes in. This is for a contract with a December use year. All 2002 points were available and banked into 2003 and all 2003 points are coming on Dec. 1, 2003. In order to get this same deal through Disney we would have had to pay $84 per point. We considered doing this while we were there on vacation last month as BWV points were available for Dec. use year then. Fortunately we decided to wait until we got back home and research the resale market before making a decision. Anyway the net savings for us was $8.63 per point or $1726. That is a considerable sum.

As to the other question by the OP regarding using points for vacations other than DVC resorts. There are many varying views on this subject. We too are from California and we have yet to use our points outside of WDW. We do go every year. As far as figuring what your points are worth outside of DVC resorts. Take our current contract that we are purchasing. $75.37 per point divided by 39 (total times I can use that point=39 years or times) equals $1.93 value per point. Plus the dues on that point for 2003 of $4.10 makes a grand total value of that point $6.03. If I choose to go to DL/DCA for a week and stay at the Grand Californian during value season in a standard view room that would cost me 240 points or a cost of 240 x $6.03 =$1,447.20. Divide that by the 7 nights and my cost is $206.74 per night. Now I'd check to see what the room rate plus tax would be through Travelocity or Expedia and see how that compares to paying cash for the same stay. If you only went for 5 nights (Sun-Thurs) then your cost will decrease because the points for those nights are less. 140 x $6.03 =$844.20 divided by 5 = $168.84 per night. Looking at going to Hawaii with II trading. A one bedroom in high season (all year in Hawaii) is 160 pts x $6.03 per point =$964.80 + $75 exchange fee =$1039.80 divided by 7 nights =$148.54 per night. If I could get this at Marriott in Maui or Kauai I would be pretty darn happy. Now of course the fluctuation over time is going to come into play with the cost of your dues each year. Meaning sometimes that per point cost will go down and probably most of the time will go up some. But so will the cash price for the accomodations that I am referring to. I know this long but hope this helps you in your decision. We orginally purchased 150 pts in 1999 and added 150 pts in 2000. Our new resale when finalized will give us 500 points total. We do want 2-3 weeks of premium vacations each year in a one or two bedroom accomodation. We have never regretted joining DVC.


:D
 

The closing cost on our 150 point BWV resale was $400. Like WDWfantasy's resale ours also came with banked 2002 points and all 2003 points. We paid $70 per point; factor in the closing cost and it comes to approximately $73 per point, cheaper than using Disney's Magical Beginnings plus we got the home resort that we really wanted.
 











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