Opinions of DVC purchase strategy please

[IATKOTC]

After spending the greater part of the last two weeks since our return from our Disney vacation studying the questions and answers in this forum (and asking a few myself) I felt I had come up with a DVC purchase strategy that met my family's desires. I talked to my "guide" this afternoon and he offered a few alternative suggestions and I thought I would like to solicit the opinions of those of you who understand the process better than I . I have read over and over in this forum that you should call home the place you most want to stay. For us I think that is the BCV and I believe we are willing to wait until they are available later in 2002. At the same time we want to become members of the DVC sooner than that. Therefore, I proposed we buy 150 points at HH now with the intent of obtaining another 150-200 at BCV when they are available. Additionally, since my liquid cash position is not the best at this point (college tuition happens to be due right now) I proposed using MB to limit my out of pocket capital (with 20% down) to $750. While I could not say my guide was pushy he did suggest a larger point allotment at VWL now (because of the potential for the per point cost to increase in the future) and was really resistant to MB offering instead to finance with only 10% down ($1250 out of pocket down) instead.
Unless someone can help convince me otherwise, VWL does not seem central enough for us, but I would be interested to hear other opinions. I am also very confused as the whether to used the MB program. It was so highly touted in the video and literature, but the guide does not seem to think it is a good idea and I don't understand why it would matter to him. I would appreciate any comments anyone has for me. Please be brutely honest. This is an important decision for us and I want to consider all factors when I make it. Once again, sorry for such a long question and thanks for your help. This is such a great website.

 

[Richyams]

$5 per point that the current MB program offers is really silly and a very poor deal. You would get much more value from those points by banking them or renting them for $10 a piece on this site.

The current MB program is a very poor deal, in my opinion.

In my very humble opinion, I think that any points at VWL are a poorer deal than a resale at BWV or OKW. OKW offers much, much larger units, lower points per night and lower dues per point. I believe that a point spent at OKW returns MUCH more value than a point spent at VWL.

BWV has its location to make up for what I consider shortcomings. The rooms are much smaller than OKW, you have to park your car in a lot and walk miles to your room, the points per night are higher and the dues per point are higher......but it can reasonably be argued that BWV location makes up for these extra costs and dealing with the small units.

VWL has an off the beaten path location like OKW, yet it has the tiny units of BWV, the points per night of the prefered view at BWV and higher dues than OKW. I believe that VWL has all the shortcomings of BWV and none of the advantages of OKW>

I think you would be best served by a resale at OKW and then supplement that with an add on at BCV.

Disclaimor: Of course there are some people who would spend twice the points, three times the dues and sleep in a closet because they like the atmosphere at VWL so much.

 

[chris1gill]

I'll throw MTCW in!!

First, you mentioned buying into HH... is there a reason you chose HH? Have you ever been to the Island before? Is that someplace you could see yourself vacationing yearly? If your answers to those questions is no... please, do yourself a favor & WAIT!!! HH is great, if that's where you like to vacation though!!

Since you want to buy now, have you thought about purchasing a BW or OKW resale? It's hard to strike a good deal on 150 points, but you could maybe get one at a reasonably okay deal...

As for MB, your guide really shouldn't sway you either way... If they are only giving $5.00 per point however, forget it... You pay almost that much in dues & you do have to pay dues on those points even though Disney bought them from you.... So, if it's 5.00 a point, look the other way!! Rent them out for 10/point if you so choose....

The other thing is financing, the % rates aren't all that good right now, so I don't know how that affects you, it's something to definitely consider...

Definitely ask away if you have more questions!

 

[DVCDAVE]

I agree with RICHYAMS. The MB was a bad deal at $10, and even worst at $5. The points are far more valuable used, rather than given back to Disney so they can rent the room out for $650/night. Take the points and use them.

We split our points between BWV and VWL. Why because we wanted both, a busy resort like BWV, yet we also wanted an option to stay at a quiet resort, VWL. Besides, my wife LOVES VWL.

Sorry to send you back to the drawing board. Buy the way, if you do split your purchase, make sure you get your guide to give you what ever deals are in affect today, for your second purchase. (ie: MB or financing incentives).

 

[kda]

IATKOTC --- I believe you are correct that the MB program at HH (and VB) is for $10 a point, which is certainly a better deal than the $5/point being offered for VWL. The 11 month window for booking takes on a big significance if you're trying to get a particular size unit for one of the busier times. If you truly plan to go to HH frequently, that sounds like an OK plan. If you're purchasing there just so you can get some points to book at WDW at the 7 month window, you may have some tense moments waiting to see if you get your reservation. Purchasing a resale at BWV or OKW is another option, but you're going to have to pay closing costs and find your own financing, so that doesn't sound like it would fit in well with your current financial situation.

I can't quite figure out why your guide is discouraging you from putting down 20% instead of 10%. It almost sounds like he's trying to talk you into more financing charges. Our guide congratulated us when we made decisions that meant less financing costs, and he strongly discouraged us from doing MB with only $5/point at VWL.

If you don't think you'll be staying at the VWL, it doesn't seem to make sense for you to purchase there. We waited to buy there because it's exactly what we wanted and I'm glad we didn't succumb to BWV just to say that we 'owned'. Sounds like that's what you're doing, too. Good luck!

 

[Werner Weiss]

Only buy at the HH DVC if you plan to stay there regularly.

If you buy at HH, but you really plan to book regularly at one of the WDW DVC resorts 7 months out, you may find yourself unable to get any accomodations at a WDW DVC resort at the time when you're in a position to take a vacation. If you buy at a WDW DVC resort, you can book at your home resort at 11 months. You can then book your flights to Orlando when there's a good fare available, knowing you'll be staying at one of the DVC resorts at WDW. Then, at 7 months, you can try to change your reservation to another WDW DVC resort, perhaps using the waitlist.

If you own at HH -- well, you may end up visiting HH more often that you had planned. From all I've read, Disney's HH DVC is great resort -- but only if your desired vacation destination is Hilton Head Island.

I'm not saying you won't be able to book WDW DVC resorts at 7 months. I was successful getting a BWV standard view reservation by getting on the waitlist (for just a few days) at 7 months, although our home resort is OKW. If I hadn't been successful, we would still have had a WDW vacation, but we would have stayed at OKW. If our home resort were HH, we would have been out of luck.

I disagree with Richyams' opinion of VWL (although I certainly understand the basis for his opinion). VWL is a fine location if the MK will be one of the main parks you visit, and if you like dining at and visiting resorts on Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. For families with small children, it's great having the MK just a boat ride away. Some people love the National Park atmosphere of VWL, while others think that Florida resorts should be tropical, not like a Northern forest. You have to decide how much you like or dislike VWL, and how it would serve your current and future WDW vacation plans. Resales at OKW or BWV are another option if you really want to become DVC members before BCV opens.

I agree with Richyams' opinion of a $5/point MB program. That's selling the points back to Disney at around half of what they're worth.

 

[ripleysmom]

Gotta go with the crowd on this one. Buy where you want to stay.

If you see yourself wanting to stay at HH then by all means buy in there. The 11 month window is very important at a place like HH, which is seasonal. Quite frankly though, I don't think you'll have much of a problem using those points at a WDW DVC resort if you are flexible and don't mind staying at OKW.

The DVC rule of thumb is buy where you plan on staying, especially at BWV and I'm going to give a guess BCV. If you want BCV then wait for it.

I have also been toying with the idea of adding on. If I were going to add on it would be at HH, since that is closer and we could vacation there more easily than at WDW. Also any DVC points can be used at the 11 month window for the cruise or any other non-DVC WDW property. Although this is, arguably, not the best use of points.

 

[kem330]

We couldn't wait to join either and purchased a BWV resale. Please email me if you want more info about our resale experience- it was great! Karenkem330@aol.com

 

[RobDoc]

If you really want to join DVC now- consider a resale at BWV or OKW. HH is great, but as you stated about VWL- if you don't want to stay there ....don't buy there. If you ARE interested in visiting HH regularly- then that will work well.

Waiting for BCV (if that's where you'd really like to stay) may be the best situation.

MB is $10 per point at HH and VB, but only $5 at VWL. The $5 is not cost effective- as you've already pointed out.

Don't rush into a decision here. Check out the resales and reconsider your HH thoughts. Again- buy where you will stay the most.

Good Luck!

 

[Dean]

I agree that you should only buy WLV or HH if you want to stay at those places. Sounds like you just have the fever and if that's the case you may want to reconsider. OTOH, the price will likely go up and you should make some decisions. I'd seriously consider an OKW or even BWV resale or simply saving up some money and buying BCV when available.

It also sounds like you may need to reconsider your financial situation and make sure you can afford to do this right now. However, if you're set on this, OKW will be your cheapest long term option.

 

[Lisa F]

It really seems like you seriously mistrust the advice given to you by your guide. While I think it's good to not just follow what a salesperson tells you, I don't think your guide is giving you "bad" advice.

Please correct me if i'm wrong, but the gist I got from your post is that 1) you have some concerns over money 2) you want to buy at least some dvc now 3) your intent in buying dvc is to stay at a wdw resort.

If all those three are correct (and you didn't actually say #3, I am making the assumption) then your guide was correct in encouraging you to buy at VWL because at least then you will have the 11 month window at a WDW resort. As far as why your guide should care about whether you do MB, they care because they want you to be happy. I agree that selling back the points for $5 each isn't really worth it since the points are much more valuable either used or rented.

Personally, I would wait until they had what I wanted, even though the price will go up or look for a resale. If you really don't want any of the resorts currently sold by DVC, it seems kind fo silly to spend over $10,000 on a purchase for something you're only lukewarm about.

As far as the $10/point buyback not being worth it, I would have to disagree... it was great being able to buy BWV at $55/point and it depends on your current situation (we had already taken our vacation for the year and would've had to do something to "burn points" next year anyway... we actually banked points for the first and last time since we bought into DVC the year after we bought in, too!).

As far as the units at either VWL or BWV being "tiny", remember that "tiny" studio is about the same size as the studio at OKW (just much better laid out) and that a "tiny" 1br is double the size of a regular deluxe hotel room while a "closet" sized 2 br is the equivalent of 3 deluxe hotel rooms. I know hyperbole can be an effective way of getting your point across (especially when your point isn't that strong to begin with) but let's try to not confuse someone who is trying to figure this all out even more.

Lisa

 

[CaptainMidnight]

As far as the units at either VWL or BWV being "tiny", remember that "tiny" studio is about the same size as the studio at OKW (just much better laid out) and that a "tiny" 1br is double the size of a regular deluxe hotel room while a "closet" sized 2 br is the equivalent of 3 deluxe hotel rooms. I know hyperbole can be an effective way of getting your point across (especially when your point isn't that strong to begin with) but let's try to not confuse someone who is trying to figure this all out even more.

Well said.

I personally really like the Boardwalk area. If you visit the area and look at the construction of BCV, you'll notice that the room views won't really compare to the views you can have from BW. On the other side, you'll have easy access to Storm Along Bay swimming area and won't be closed out from pool hopping during busy seasons. We like to hit the parks in the morning, and then be in close proximity of the Epcot restaraunts, Illuminations and Fantasmic for the evening. WL does have a nice advantage of having a short boat ride to the Magic Kingdom. We're going to try to stay there some time to try it out. I don't know what our luck will be at the 7 month window.

The adivice to buy where you plan to stay the most, especially when you plan to go during busy seasons like Christmas and Easter is great advice. That's when you'll have the hardest time getting in. If you plan to stay at HH remember that all the owners who bought there and want to stay there would probably prefer to stay in the summer, so the 11 month window will be important to stay there during the desired summer season. So if that's where you plan to stay the most, that's where you should buy. We bought at a beach resort initially because we didn't plan to go to WDW every year, some times we just like to head to the beach and chill out. I guess you could easily do that at WL.

You may want to visit the resorts before your purchase. I was surprised when I visited the sales center at Boardwalk had different versions of the rooms you could visit. You could visit a WL villa and see the decor and a BW villa to see how it is decorated. I would guess that they did not have OKW villas because it is sold out and only available through resales.

Good luck with your decision, I konw it can be challenging trying to determine your vacation habits without having tested all the options.

 

[fkj2]

I'd agree with the others; buy where you intend to vacation the MOST! Since you are feeling squeezed by college expenses, you might want to consider a resale. If I had known about them when I added on, I might have tried it too. Don't buy just to buy. Should financial pressures increase for whatever reason, your dream vacation spot could turn into a nightmare. And you always have the option of adding points on once you do buy. I've only done limited rent/trade activity but I am already finding other posters to be gracious about offering to trade their resort for a different one.

 

[spruce]

Here's another thought. Since you seem very interested in BCV, wait for them to begin sales. Take your 20% down payment money, rent some points and try out VWL, OKW or BWV or all 3 in the same trip. $1125 would rent 112 points at $10 per point. If you check the points calculator during the off season, you'll find that you could get quite a nice trip in studios. Kind of like a test drive. Then you'll know which resort you prefer.
One other point, DVC started at WDW and continues to grow there. Disney built 2 offsite properties but may never build another offsite. If HH is where you want to go, a Marriott resale can be bought for under 7k and can be as low as 2k. Much cheaper then HH DVC. If WDW is where you want to go most of the time then buy at a WDW DVC property......spruce

 

[mouseclick1]

Here is another thing to consider that I don't think was mentioned yet. When you initially purchase, you will most likely receive an introductory financing rate. Any purchase after 30 days, you will be paying a higher financing rate. We bought last summer with a financing rate of 10.5% (not sure about the .5, but that's at least very close). We are now looking into a HH add-on, and our rate would be 13.5%. If you buy the smaller HH package first, you are going to get the low rate on that. If you then buy a larger purchase at BCV, you are going to be paying quite a lot in interest alone. You would have to do some number crunching to see what would work the best for you.

 

[GCM13]

Personally, I think you have a pretty good strategy. We started out with 150 points knowing that we would need to add on more. We actually ended up adding on earlier than we expected and are discussing our next add on. Right now we have all our points at VWL and are considering adding on at HH due to the fact that HH is hard to get in the summer. This way we will be able to enjoy both WDW and HH vacations without really worrying about getting what we want. Your guide may have been trying to persuade you to buy at VWL for several reasons: it will sell out soon, future price increase, MB is not worth it for VWL, and 11 month window at a WDW resort. The idea about waiting to purchase and renting points to see where you want to buy is a good one, but to me, that money could be used towards your DVC purchase. From your post, it seems that you want to buy directly through Disney for the financing. If you have your heart set on BCV, then you wouldn't necessarily need to buy a resale and own BWV also since they are pretty much in the same location. OKW seems easier to get at 7 months so I don't know how necessary it would be to own there except if you want a Grand Villa. I guess what it all boils down to is if you truly don't want VWL, don't buy there and either go with HH (if that's what you want) and add on at BCV, or just wait until next year to only buy BCV. The only problem with buying next year is that you have to wait longer to start enjoying DVC! And as most everyone says, they wish they would've have bought sooner.