Potential buyer questions... thanks so much for help!!!

[discorsner]

I have a couple of additional questions before buying. I really want to make sure I understand the system fully before making decisions!

1. With banking/borrowing I know you have to use points within a certain time period. Is that time period when you book by or when your stay occurs?

2. When making reservations do you have to have points already available and/or borrowed or can you make a reservation and then get your points before the stay?

3. What are the pros and cons of the different use year? I realized I still don't fully understand this.

4. If purchasing small to get in and want to add on later then what can you book at 11 months? Either resort? Or do they operate as separate? If so then you couldn't make a reservation that uses all your points until the 7 month mark right? So what would be the advantage of getting from different resorts?

5. On resale are there any costs besides the price per point and closing costs? And how much approximately do the closing costs run?

6. I think I read that at 11 months you can book up to a week at your home resort so what do you do for longer stays? Wait til 7 months and/or do split stays if not available?

Thanks so much everyone! This is a huge decision for us and we are trying to do our homework.

 

[kristenrice]

I have a couple of additional questions before buying. I really want to make sure I understand the system fully before making decisions!

1. With banking/borrowing I know you have to use points within a certain time period. Is that time period when you book by or when your stay occurs?
Your points have an expiration date. They are not "used" until you complete your reservation. They would also "expire" if you cancelled your reservation on check in day because they would be forfeited. You can always book your home resort 11 months in advance of your travel date, 7 months for other resorts. The points are all in your account already. The date of travel determines what points are valid for your stay.

2. When making reservations do you have to have points already available and/or borrowed or can you make a reservation and then get your points before the stay?
Points can only be borrowed to actually make a reservation. You can't call MS and say, "move next year's points into my account". They will take whatever points you need to make a reservation at the time you make that reservation

3. What are the pros and cons of the different use year? I realized I still don't fully understand this.
The general idea is that, if you plan on travelling around the same time each year, you should get a UY just BEFORE your intended travel dates. Travelling early in your UY is beneficial in case you need to cancel. If you cancel more than 30 days out, you get all of your points back. Ideally, you'd like this to be before your banking window so that you can bank the points if needed. If you cancel less than 30 days out, your points go into holding and can only be used to book a reservation with less than 60 days notice AND they cannot be banked. It's difficult enough to book at 60 days out so it is best to have a longer period of time to find availability.

4. If purchasing small to get in and want to add on later then what can you book at 11 months? Either resort? Or do they operate as separate? If so then you couldn't make a reservation that uses all your points until the 7 month mark right? So what would be the advantage of getting from different resorts?
We have 100 points at AKV and 50 points at HHI. At 11 months out, we can use 100 points at AKV or 50 points at HHI, not 150 points at either. The advantage is that we can bank our 50 HHI points on the year we travel to WDW. Then, we can use 100 AKV points and borrow 50 from next year, using 150 AKV points. The next year, we bank the remaining 50 AKV points and use 50 banked, 50 current and 50 borrowed HHI points to travel to HHI, using 150 points. The next year, we have no HHI points, 50 banked and 100 current AKV points. So, in our scenario, we have 150 points at two resorts and we are able to use 150 points at the 11-month window at both resorts by using banking and borrowing.

5. On resale are there any costs besides the price per point and closing costs? And how much approximately do the closing costs run?
The closing costs depend on the cost of the contract and vary by broker. I believe The Timeshare Store lists the closing costs on their listing site. The only other cost could be for the maintenance fees. Maintenance fees for each year are due in January, regardless of UY. So, if a contract has a December UY with banked points, there would be 2 years worth of maintenance fees that the current owner has already paid. The payment/reimbursement of maintenance fees, as well as who pays the closing costs, is completely negotiable when dealing with a resale.

6. I think I read that at 11 months you can book up to a week at your home resort so what do you do for longer stays? Wait til 7 months and/or do split stays if not available?
At 11 months from your check in date, you can book up to 7 days. Then, you can call back 7 days later and add another 7 days on to your reservation.

Thanks so much everyone! This is a huge decision for us and we are trying to do our homework.

There is a thread somewhere here that does a great job explaining UY. Someone will post the link. You're doing a great job with your research!

 

[kristenrice]

Oh, I forgot to add in my answer to question #4...

Even though we own 50 points at HHI and 100 points at AKV, they are all the same at 7 months. We can book ANY resort at 7 months or less by combining any or all of those points. At 7 months out, all points are equal. This is why the home resort advantage is becoming more and more important. Between 11 and 7 months out, you are only competing with the other owners of your resort...maybe 50,000 other members. But, at 7 months, you are competing with EVERY SINGLE DVC MEMBER...what's that now, 450,000? So, it is important to at least buy where you wouldn't mind being stuck on every single vacation.

 

[dzorn]

There is a thread somewhere here that does a great job explaining UY. Someone will post the link. You're doing a great job with your research!

A slight correction on #6 you can call back the next day and add day 8. And continute to do this until you have the number of nights you need. If it not a busy time of year you can wait several days and add them then when you call, but for popular choices I would call asap.

Denise in MI

 

[kristenrice]

A slight correction on #6 you can call back the next day and add day 8. And continute to do this until you have the number of nights you need. If it not a busy time of year you can wait several days and add them then when you call, but for popular choices I would call asap.

Denise in MI

Thanks! We never stay more than 5 nights so I really have only read about this "more than 7 nights" phenomenon.

 

[discorsner]

Thanks so much for the thorough answers! I've already learned a lot especially where the banking and borrowing with two different resorts can work out well.

I love asking questions on the dis cuz everyone is so helpful!