Newbie looking for input

[Sarahraegraham]

I've done some light research on DVC, but originally thought it was way out of our price range, but now looking at resale contacts that would allow us 1 week per year for less than HALF the direct price, it's looking like something we might seriously consider.

Comparing rates for where we stay now (POFQ) with a military resort discount, it looks like our break even for a 100 point resale contract at OKW would be about 7 years. A 2042 end date is also reasonable, as DH is 52 years old now. His age is one of the reasons I first said no to considering DVC. It just wasn't worth the cost direct.

We don't care about DVC extras... We don't have kids... We would be (shudder) financing the upfront cost at a low interest rate over 5 years. I'm ok with 5 years financing 8-9k at a low rate.

Anything I'm not thinking about and need to consider?

 

[huskerfanatic7]

all i would say is rent points at OKW for a stay before you buy.

 

[JimC]

Consider rising annual dues of an older resort are likely to be more robust then the histories suggest. As resorts age maintenance needs expand.

Will 100 point contract be sufficient to meet your vacation patterns (villa type, location, season and number of nights)?

Will your vacation pattern hold for the length of your loan? Beyond? Point values will likely decline as the contract termination date approaches. Vacation patterns may also change as you and your husband age.

OKW has two termination dates 1/42 is original. Some contracts have been extended for a longer period with purchase of an extension. Resale contracts could be be anywhere from stripped to loaded. Stripped means that all current and next year points have been used. Loaded means that all current and past year's points are available. These variables affect value. Dues are paid annually irrespective of how the points are used.

Have you stayed at OKW? Agree with prior that a stay on rented points is wise.

 

[sndral]

Any particular reason for OKW? SSR offers a nearby location and is newer. Both are easy access to DS and in the same locale as POFQ.
Which park do you most often visit? I'm an Epcot fan & being able to walk in and out the back entrance is great. BWV & BC are great choices for Epcot & have an earlier DVC end date. A standard view studio at BWV for a Mon.-Mon. stay during the least expensive season is only 76 points (and I saw a resale 80 pt. contract for BWV in the resale listings.)
My first contract was AKV because I love the resort - their studios also have lower point costs.
David's DVC rental site has a great cost/point calculator that shows how many points you'd need to stay at the various DVC resorts.
Most will caution not to finance a DVC purchase, but many happy owners have done so. If you're going to pay to go on the vacation anyway it makes sense to pay towards your DVC ownership rather than pay Disney for a hotel room. Realize that you pay dues (MFs) every year, but buying fewer points keeps the MFs down. Basically you are locking in part of your room cost by buying DVC, thus protecting yourself from Disney's room rate increases.

 

[ArtieRyder]

You should base your comparison against what you would pay if your rented points every year. Not sure how it compares to the military discount, but it is the better comparison.

 

[Marionnette]

I've done some light research on DVC, but originally thought it was way out of our price range, but now looking at resale contacts that would allow us 1 week per year for less than HALF the direct price, it's looking like something we might seriously consider.

Comparing rates for where we stay now (POFQ) with a military resort discount, it looks like our break even for a 100 point resale contract at OKW would be about 7 years. A 2042 end date is also reasonable, as DH is 52 years old now. His age is one of the reasons I first said no to considering DVC. It just wasn't worth the cost direct.

We don't care about DVC extras... We don't have kids... We would be (shudder) financing the upfront cost at a low interest rate over 5 years. I'm ok with 5 years financing 8-9k at a low rate.

Anything I'm not thinking about and need to consider?

• If you're considering DVC ownership, ask yourself if you're willing/able to plan your vacations 11 months in advance. Being able to commit to vacations that far in advance will best enable you to take advantage of your home resort booking window.
• Are you committed to visiting Disney at least once every 3 years? Banking and borrowing restrictions pretty much force you to use your points at least that often. You can only bank your points once. If you don't use them during the following UY, you lose them.
• Have you considered other resorts, like SSR? It's contracts expire in 2054 so it will retain its resale value longer, but the cost/pt. is about the same as OKW on the resale market. Annual dues are also much lower and many on these boards consider it to be the best value for your dollar.
• Have you ever stayed in a DVC resort? Specifically, at OKW? You may want to plan a stay in one or more DVC resorts, especially the one where you want to own, prior to purchasing. Quite a few owners, including myself, will advise you to own where you don't mind staying. Every DVC resort has its pros and cons. Staying in one or more will enable you to weigh them for yourself. OKW is very spread out. It's beautiful and peaceful but not everyone likes how remote some of the villas can be in relationship to Hospitality House and the feature pool. The OKW studios have 2 real beds, which a lot of families like but when you're staying as a couple, a sofa instead of the second bed is kind of nice.
  
• Have you given thought to UY? Which would work best for your traveling style? Ideally, you don't want a UY that falls only a month or two AFTER the time that you usually travel. IOW, if you normally visit Disney in January, you don't want a February UY.
  
• Do you understand how banking, borrowing and holding works? How about OTU (one time use) points?
  
• Have you looked at the points charts for OKW and then other resorts? As an OKW owner, your chances of staying in an AKV value studio or club level room are pretty much nil, so don't count on using your OKW points for those villas. Your likelihood of getting a standard view studio at BWV is slim. You'll want to know what you can reasonably expect to get for the 100 points that you're contemplating.
• When it comes time to purchase on the resale market, familiarize yourself with terms like ROFR and estopple. Know how long it should take to pass each of those and then the additional wait for your membership to be set up by Disney. Don't expect to use your points to make a reservation for about 3 months from the day that your offer is accepted.

 

[Sarahraegraham]

You should base your comparison against what you would pay if your rented points every year. Not sure how it compares to the military discount, but it is the better comparison.

For us, the better comparison is what we would pay for trips as non-DVC members, since if we aren't, we won't stay at the DVC resorts at all. POFQ meets our needs beautifully.

 

[Sarahraegraham]

Any particular reason for OKW? SSR offers a nearby location and is newer. Both are easy access to DS and in the same locale as POFQ.
Which park do you most often visit? I'm an Epcot fan & being able to walk in and out the back entrance is great. BWV & BC are great choices for Epcot & have an earlier DVC end date. A standard view studio at BWV for a Mon.-Mon. stay during the least expensive season is only 76 points (and I saw a resale 80 pt. contract for BWV in the resale listings.)
My first contract was AKV because I love the resort - their studios also have lower point costs.
David's DVC rental site has a great cost/point calculator that shows how many points you'd need to stay at the various DVC resorts.
Most will caution not to finance a DVC purchase, but many happy owners have done so. If you're going to pay to go on the vacation anyway it makes sense to pay towards your DVC ownership rather than pay Disney for a hotel room. Realize that you pay dues (MFs) every year, but buying fewer points keeps the MFs down. Basically you are locking in part of your room cost by buying DVC, thus protecting yourself from Disney's room rate increases.

Our main deciding factors for choosing a resort would be convenience/size, how well the buses run, and all costs. This trip we will each be in an ECV, so having a reliable bus schedule and not being super far from anything is a desirable feature. I remember reading somewhere before that SSR was really spread out so that's why I haven't looked into it yet.

We aren't super picky about where we sleep, as long as it's clean and comfortable. Two beds would be a nice thing to have, but it's not a necessity. I think they all have a kitchenette. (We are looking at studios only).

 

[Sarahraegraham]

• If you're considering DVC ownership, ask yourself if you're willing/able to plan your vacations 11 months in advance. Being able to commit to vacations that far in advance will best enable you to take advantage of your home resort booking window.
• Are you committed to visiting Disney at least once every 3 years? Banking and borrowing restrictions pretty much force you to use your points at least that often. You can only bank your points once. If you don't use them during the following UY, you lose them.
• Have you considered other resorts, like SSR? It's contracts expire in 2054 so it will retain its resale value longer, but the cost/pt. is about the same as OKW on the resale market. Annual dues are also much lower and many on these boards consider it to be the best value for your dollar.
• Have you ever stayed in a DVC resort? Specifically, at OKW? You may want to plan a stay in one or more DVC resorts, especially the one where you want to own, prior to purchasing. Quite a few owners, including myself, will advise you to own where you don't mind staying. Every DVC resort has its pros and cons. Staying in one or more will enable you to weigh them for yourself. OKW is very spread out. It's beautiful and peaceful but not everyone likes how remote some of the villas can be in relationship to Hospitality House and the feature pool. The OKW studios have 2 real beds, which a lot of families like but when you're staying as a couple, a sofa instead of the second bed is kind of nice.
  
• Have you given thought to UY? Which would work best for your traveling style? Ideally, you don't want a UY that falls only a month or two AFTER the time that you usually travel. IOW, if you normally visit Disney in January, you don't want a February UY.
  
• Do you understand how banking, borrowing and holding works? How about OTU (one time use) points?
  
• Have you looked at the points charts for OKW and then other resorts? As an OKW owner, your chances of staying in an AKV value studio or club level room are pretty much nil, so don't count on using your OKW points for those villas. Your likelihood of getting a standard view studio at BWV is slim. You'll want to know what you can reasonably expect to get for the 100 points that you're contemplating.
• When it comes time to purchase on the resale market, familiarize yourself with terms like ROFR and estopple. Know how long it should take to pass each of those and then the additional wait for your membership to be set up by Disney. Don't expect to use your points to make a reservation for about 3 months from the day that your offer is accepted.

I think one week a year is the most likely vacation scenario for the foreseeable future. And we don't mind booking a year our at all. Since we don't have kids we can schedule our time off whenever, and we usually pick non-peak times.

We might do every other year and rent out or possibly bank what we don't use. I don't think we would have an issue with that.

I hadn't thought about resale value, but that is a good point! I will check into SSR also.

I work in the real estate industry, so I'm familiar with the closing terms

Thanks for your input!

 

[Dean]

I've done some light research on DVC, but originally thought it was way out of our price range, but now looking at resale contacts that would allow us 1 week per year for less than HALF the direct price, it's looking like something we might seriously consider.

Comparing rates for where we stay now (POFQ) with a military resort discount, it looks like our break even for a 100 point resale contract at OKW would be about 7 years. A 2042 end date is also reasonable, as DH is 52 years old now. His age is one of the reasons I first said no to considering DVC. It just wasn't worth the cost direct.

We don't care about DVC extras... We don't have kids... We would be (shudder) financing the upfront cost at a low interest rate over 5 years. I'm ok with 5 years financing 8-9k at a low rate.

Anything I'm not thinking about and need to consider?

Since it sounds like your still early in the process, just spend enough time so you understand what you're getting into. Usually this takes 6 months of active investigation and a certain amount of on property, and either DVC or at least other timeshare experience. Often a DVC private rental is the best way to get some of that experience.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

OKW is spread out as well, so SSR being spread out isn't a negative when compared to OKW. They're both large with multiple bus stops. Both are much more like POR than POFQ.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Our main deciding factors for choosing a resort would be convenience/size, how well the buses run, and all costs. This trip we will each be in an ECV, so having a reliable bus schedule and not being super far from anything is a desirable feature. I remember reading somewhere before that SSR was really spread out so that's why I haven't looked into it yet.

We aren't super picky about where we sleep, as long as it's clean and comfortable. Two beds would be a nice thing to have, but it's not a necessity. I think they all have a kitchenette. (We are looking at studios only).

OKW and SSR are both condo style resorts so separate buildings that are spread out across the resort. One thing about SSR is that it has elevators in each building though and OKW only has elevators in 3 of it's buildings so if you are using ECV's you'd have to be requesting those buildings or a first floor villa and hoping that the request was granted. That would not be an issue at SSR. So it's true that SSR is a large resort but OKW is also spread out although a bit smaller however also older so less accessible.

 

[Dean]

OKW is spread out as well, so SSR being spread out isn't a negative when compared to OKW. They're both large with multiple bus stops. Both are much more like POR than POFQ.

While I love OKW and in many ways it's similar to SSR, I think SSR gets the nod if one won't have a car. I also feel that SSR is the better long term options and ultimately the cheaper of the 2. Plus OKW is almost certainly going to have availability consistently at 7 months out. SSR also has a longer RTU for this situation and where it doesn't (2057 OKW), SSR will clearly be the cheaper choice over time. The split RTU also is a little scary for OKW.

 

[Dean]

For us, the better comparison is what we would pay for trips as non-DVC members, since if we aren't, we won't stay at the DVC resorts at all. POFQ meets our needs beautifully.

IMO those are the only 2 reasonable comparisons, either private DVC rental or what one would have paid. For most the private rental is the best comparison but that's partly because they are so focused on DVC, they're going to stay there regardless and have the blinders on to other options. What one would have paid otherwise is just as valid and clearly a better choice for your situation. A third option is appropriate for many but not applicable to most who post this hear, off property options esp off property timeshares and for many, that's actually the best choice because it gives FAR better non DVC trip options. Ultimately you'd likely come out ahead owning DVC resale compared to a moderate even with a discounted rate but you'd have the long term commitment, need to prepay the up front costs, need to do DVC resorts at least every 2 years and plan at least 7 but better 11 months out.

 

[ArtieRyder]

For us, the better comparison is what we would pay for trips as non-DVC members, since if we aren't, we won't stay at the DVC resorts at all. POFQ meets our needs beautifully.

You can rent the DVC points from DVC members, or point exchanges, and stay at DVC resorts.

We were considering buying. We were basing the comparison off rack rates, and it made sense. When we use the points renting rate (avg $14/pt) it didn't really make sense to lock up the funds.