Please Help Me Choose a Resort

[auralia]

We are 42 and I know if I’m alive and walking I’ll always want to go to disney so we opted for 160 Rivera points…. but we also bought direct (we have owned 80 okw points got via resale in 2009). we picked rivera for tower studios once the kids move our, proximity to epcot/HS and boardwalk via sky liner, and the tower lay out. We dont really love the sprawling resort lay out and having been given a room at the farthest reaches of AKL once hated the walk to the room so much. also generally towers have lower maintenance costs over time….. I know we could have saved money buying it resale but I didn’t want the restrictions, we sold back the first year of points to Disney for 3200 and got about 5000$ in discounts. Total contract after discounts was about 28000$. I did the math and vs OKW it was about the same cost per point over the life of the contract due to all the extra years on it despite OKW being much cheaper per point… even when calculating a 2057 okw contract.

 

[CastAStone]

the fact that I would have little to no re-sale value of a 2042 resort after the next 6 years or so.

I don’t think this is a fact; those resorts don’t stand to lose more than 20-30% of their value in the next 6 years.

When there’s 10 years left it will be pretty straightforward to look at BWV contract and say “hmm, $85/10 = $8.50 /year, plus dues is $18.50, so 10 of those guys is $185 and that gets me a studio that Disney want $800 for, that math works out great!”.

Even with 2 years left, a standard room at BW will still be ~10X BWV dues, and the difference between them is the value of the contract. That’s still going to be a lot of money!

 

[DVC Deac]

We bought where we want to stay specifically for times of the year when you need home resort priority: July 4th week at HHI and Christmas at BRV. For us, the 2042 expiration is a plus. The contracts will expire before we retire and around the time our kids are (hopefully) wrapping up college. We’re looking forward to heading into retirement without annual dues and without needing to speculate about what the resale market will look like in 2042. 17-18 years is a long time from now and life is too short to stress about spreadsheets, waitlists, and stalking the DVC website.

 

[DonkeyHoTay]

This approach while true from a heart string perspective is in reality only applicable if you can plan out 7 to 11 months in advance and if not then just buy SAP and call it a day.

I’m 47 and cannot plan anything 7 months out, much less 11 months out - with the possible exception of a week in December. That’s why I focused exclusively on SAP to get as much resort location flexibility as possible given my limitations on how far in advance I can make plans. I’m 2.5 hours from WDW so that adds to my flexibility. Every use case is unique!

 

[CarolynFH]

17-18 years is a long time from now and life is too short to stress about spreadsheets, waitlists, and stalking the DVC website.

Exactly. Whenever I read threads like this, I wonder, what were your vacation habits like in 2007 (17 years ago)? What makes you think that in 2042 they’ll be the same as they are now? And why would you want to spend 17 years staying in one DVC resort while wishing you were staying in another?

 

[ShaneDJ]

Even with 2 years left, a standard room at BW will still be ~10X BWV dues, and the difference between them is the value of the contract. That’s still going to be a lot of money!

I trust this numbers guy. @CastAStone is maybe the best numbers wizard on these boards!

 

[CastAStone]

I trust this numbers guy. @CastAStone is maybe the best numbers wizard on these boards!

Is this secretly my mom?

Thanks!

 

[Patsaizan]

Your vacation desires change with time. We purchased first at age 51. At the time we were insanely happy we could go to Disney’s Vero Beach resort in an inn room in May for 5 nights in a row. We thought that was really living. It was! Then we wanted more time a WDW, so we added on. This time VGF. Standard studio for 3 nights and 5 nights at an inn room at Vero were beyond our wildest dreams. Our love for DVC just grew. Now, at age 65 we now have 700 points over 4 home resorts (Vero, VGF, OKW, and RR). We stay mostly in 1 bedrooms. Our latest add on was just in April (OKW). We are direct buyers all of the way, making sure we got great incentives each time. We’ve changed over the past 14 years. Instead of slowing down with DVC stays we totally sped up and stay more. Our Vero stays are now 2 bedrooms for a week in May and a week in September, with a 1 bedroom stay for 5 nights in October or November. We enjoy 3 or more nights in a 1 bedroom at RR or OKW during the year. Our VGF points are now SAPs. Bottom line, you have to start somewhere. You may grow insanely in love with the product, or feel you have just enough points with one contract, or you may want to sell in a few years. In the meantime, enjoy life and buy where you want stay if this is what you want to do.

 

[cusack1020]

What do you project your finances will be from now until retirement? If you continue to accumulate savings you can buy something now for 2042 and buy something later for 2042 and beyond.

Buy where you want to stay, life is too short.

This is what I'm leaning towards I think. I want a smaller contract anyway so as time goes on and I am confident I will want to continue visiting past 65 then I can always pick up another small contract with a later expiration

 

[cusack1020]

which issss *insert resort here*

I am really leaning toward Boulder Ridge!

 

[Sandisw]

I am definitely a buy where you want to be if there is a resort that meets that.

And, if a 2042 resort is it, go for it!!!

 

[Instagramhusband]

I don’t think this is a fact; those resorts don’t stand to lose more than 20-30% of their value in the next 6 years.

When there’s 10 years left it will be pretty straightforward to look at BWV contract and say “hmm, $85/10 = $8.50 /year, plus dues is $18.50, so 10 of those guys is $185 and that gets me a studio that Disney want $800 for, that math works out great!”.

Even with 2 years left, a standard room at BW will still be ~10X BWV dues, and the difference between them is the value of the contract. That’s still going to be a lot of money!

Well look at it this way.. If your potential buyer needs to finance it, they are going to pay alot more over a short period. That reduces its resale value in the sense that it reduces the buyer pool.

You can't see with complete confidence that the time share lenders or DVC lenders would even offer terms.

 

[CastAStone]

Well look at it this way.. If your potential buyer needs to finance it, they are going to pay alot more over a short period. That reduces its resale value in the sense that it reduces the buyer pool.

You can't see with complete confidence that the time share lenders or DVC lenders would even offer terms.

Hopefully no one is financing their frivolous purchases like a vacation ownership plan, but I understand that isn’t reality.

So yes, financing becomes excessively risky within say 3 years of expiration, so you would want any term to end prior to that, but also by that point, I think a short term prepaid vacation plan becomes attractive to and achievable for more people, not fewer.

 

[jodifla]

I am in my mud 60s now and just got back from Riviera.

I feel like I easily have another 20 years of WDW trips to take.