pre purchase clarification

[fitz0311]

Hello all -
I am in the process of forming a decision on a reasle purchase. Thus far I have been lead to believe that a purchase at any resort is gives us rights at any and all resorts. I am obviously looking to spend as little as I can in order to get max benefit. My question is simple (although I found the answer to be complex). If I were to purchase 100 units of Hilton Head SC how dificult will it be for me to book a resort in Orlando? Shopping around I see that HH has the lowest resale value which means to me best purchase value... Am I right in my thinking? My family and I are interested in setting up a family tradtion to visit Disney during the Christmas holiday season. I am clearly green on the topic and looking for insight.
Thanks!

 

[moobar25]

HH is the cheapest to purchase but it also has the highest maintenance fees $7 as opposed to $5 in most of the others. I did a spreadsheet on all of them and the cheapest both in upfront cost and maintenance are OKW, then SSR, BWV. You must look at both because maintenance goes up every year.

As for getting a reservation in Disney - with HH you can boot at 7 months out at the earliest. If you don't care where you stay on property then you should be good. But also Christmas season is pretty busy at Disney so I don't know what the availability would be. I go during May or Sept/Oct which is the off-season - availability is easier then. If you buy into OKW or SSR you would be able to make reservations at 11 months out - which would give you an advantage for early booking over HH.

I'm sure others who travel during Christmas can give you more insight into availability.

Oops, I think VB might be the cheapest with the highest maintenance. I know it's one of them.

 

[fitz0311]

Wow that's a huge help! I sincerely appreciate your input.

 

[ELMC]

Hello all -
I am in the process of forming a decision on a reasle purchase. Thus far I have been lead to believe that a purchase at any resort is gives us rights at any and all resorts. I am obviously looking to spend as little as I can in order to get max benefit. My question is simple (although I found the answer to be complex). If I were to purchase 100 units of Hilton Head SC how dificult will it be for me to book a resort in Orlando? Shopping around I see that HH has the lowest resale value which means to me best purchase value... Am I right in my thinking? My family and I are interested in setting up a family tradtion to visit Disney during the Christmas holiday season. I am clearly green on the topic and looking for insight.
Thanks!

Initial purchase price is only a small portion of your total DVC related costs over time. Depending on the resort you purchase, maintenance fees over time can be upwards of ten times your initial purchase cost. Plus, there are risks that you may not be able to get any WDW resort at the 7 month mark, especially because you are thinking about going at one of the busiest times of the year.

As you continue to do your research I would advise you to consider two things:

First, I think you need to ask the question if DVC is right for you. You say that you are looking to start a tradition...but do you have a history of visiting WDW every year (or every other year) for a lengthy period of time? By purchasing DVC you are making a long term commitment. Specifically you are committing to vacation at WDW for the next 30+ years.

Second, if you do decide that DVC is right for you, based on what you are looking to accomplish (low buy in costs/best value) I would suggest you look at buying a SSR resale contract.

Good luck doing your research and making your decision.

HH is the cheapest to purchase but it also has the highest maintenance fees $7 as opposed to $5 in most of the others.

Oops, I think VB might be the cheapest with the highest maintenance. I know it's one of them.

You are confusing Vero Beach and Hilton Head. Hilton Head's current maintenance fees are $5.93. Still high, but not as high as VB. When quoting facts, please take the time to verify what you post before you post it.

 

[belias21]

Hello all -
If I were to purchase 100 units of Hilton Head SC how dificult will it be for me to book a resort in Orlando?
Thanks!

I had this same thought process early on in my decision-making. I didn't have a "must have" home resort because I'm not terribly picky on which resort we stay at when at WDW so this seemed like an attractive and inexpensive option. After spending a ton of time on these boards and speaking to DVC members, I ultimately decided on OKW as a home resort for 2 reasons:
#1 - it's cheap (although SSR is a little cheaper)
#2 - it's at WDW

To further on point #2... We tend to plan our trips very far in advance so I want to leverage the 11-month booking window. Our strategy allows us the ability to book OKW @ 11 months and, if we want to try somewhere different, we start shopping around at the 7 month mark. Either way, we always have OKW as a "fall back" if nothing else is available. This strategy doesn't work with HHI as your home (unless South Carolina is an acceptable "Plan B" to a WDW vacation).

Just my 2 cents.

 

[JimMIA]

Hello all -
Thus far I have been lead to believe that a purchase at any resort is gives us rights at any and all resorts.

That is currently true for all DVC resorts, no matter how you purchase the points, and it has been true since DVC opened their second resort, way back when.

However, the ability to use your points at non-home resorts is NOT guaranteed to any owner, of any resort, no matter how they purchase the points. There are circumstances where non-home booking could go away.

I personally don't think it ever will happen, but it's very important to understand the difference between what is guaranteed (very little), current practice, and what has been the practice in the past.

If I were to purchase 100 units of Hilton Head SC how dificult will it be for me to book a resort in Orlando?

Depends on when you want to go.

My family and I are interested in setting up a family tradtion to visit Disney during the Christmas holiday season.

Then buy at one of the WDW resorts, and plan on booking exactly at 11 months to have the best chance of success.

The period from Thanksgiving through New Years is the busiest time of the year for DVC, and your chances of getting in from a non-WDW home resort are very limited. You might get lucky...but not the formula for starting a family tradition.

You also need to be aware of the points costs during that period. The period after Thanksgiving to mid-December is a low points cost time. The week before Christmas and the week between Christmas and New Years are among the highest periods of the year. Around Christmas, 100 points might not go very far at all.

And as others have mentioned, dues comprise the bulk of your ownership cost over time, so a low purchase price is often NOT the least expensive route.

 

[Sandisw]

If you are planning to go to WDW, then IMO, I would buy in at one of the WDW resorts. As already mentioned, the only thing you are guaranteed is the right to book at your home resort. Owning outside of WDW prevents you from ever booking prior to 7 months out. Depending on when you go, you may have some difficulty finding what you need, for the entire time you need, for the exact dates you need.

Since the price difference between one of the WDW resorts and HH is what I would consider manageable, I'd go with that so at least you have something on property for your trips.

Good luck!

 

[belias21]

However, the ability to use your points at non-home resorts is NOT guaranteed to any owner, of any resort, no matter how they purchase the points. There are circumstances where non-home booking could go away.

This isn't the first time I've heard this speculated on. While I know nothing is guaranteed, can you imagine the uproar DVD would create if they instituted a change like that??? <I couldn't find a smiley that consisted of a bunch of DVC members with pitchforks and burning torches...>

 

[drusba]

In considering resort to buy, be aware that SSR is currently the lowest priced WDW resort in resale and it has one major advantage over HH besides lower dues: its end date is 2054 while HH is 2042; if you are under 45 you should consider that a difference of significance.

You can reserve 11 months out from date of arrival at your home resort. You will have the right to reserve at any other DVC resort at 7 months out from date of arrival. However, that right is subject to availability and you cannot assume that you will be able to get what you want at 7 months out whenever you want. If you are happy with SSR, you will most likely be able to get it at 7 months out all year long except for the treehouses which are at times booked full before the 7 month window starts. You will also usually be able to get OKW or AKV except value and concierge rooms at AKV or rooms near the Hospitality House (a booking category) at OKW, but even those two resorts can be difficult at 7 months if you want first week of December and possibly Christmas week or second week of December (those are the three highest DVC demand weeks of the year at WDW). As for the other WDW resorts, you should expect that BLT standard and BWV boardwalk and standard view can often be difficult and anything at BLT, BCV, BWV and VWL can be difficult during Oct to mid Nov and holiday times.

Also, if you are planning to buy one place and stay at others, be aware that you will need to try to reserve at exactly 7 months out many times of year to get what you want; delaying only a few days into the 7 month window to make the reservation can often mean what you wanted will be gone.

 

[drusba]

Double post.

 

[disneynutz]

If a resort has a lower price, there is a reason for it. If a resort has low dues there is also a reason for it. Some resorts are very popular, again there is a reason for it.

IMO you get what you pay for but you really need to know and fully understand what you are buying.

You have come to a great place to start your education.

Bill

 

[JimMIA]

This isn't the first time I've heard this speculated on. While I know nothing is guaranteed, can you imagine the uproar DVD would create if they instituted a change like that??? <I couldn't find a smiley that consisted of a bunch of DVC members with pitchforks and burning torches...>

True, but I can think of two scenarios where it could happen...and HHI and VB would be prime candidates for either scenario.

The first scenario is if a resort were damaged beyond the cost-effectiveness of rebuilding -- for example, by a hurricane. The other scenario is if Disney decided to sell the resort.

In either case, any insurance or sales proceeds would be distributed to the owners and they would cease to be DVC members (unless they owned other DVC resorts, of course).

To be sure, there would be an uproar -- especially if DVC just decided to sell a resort -- but there wouldn't be much anyone could do. There are times when economic realities dictate difficult decisions.

Again -- I REALLY don't think anything like this WILL happen...but it could.

 

[BestDadEver]

This isn't the first time I've heard this speculated on. While I know nothing is guaranteed, can you imagine the uproar DVD would create if they instituted a change like that??? <I couldn't find a smiley that consisted of a bunch of DVC members with pitchforks and burning torches...>

Lol exactly . It will likely never happen .

 

[disneynutz]

I didn't think that Disney would charge a $95 dollar fee for exchanges or restrict resale buyers but they did.

Bill

 

[ELMC]

Lol exactly . It will likely never happen .

Really?

 

[ELMC]

When DVC first began, owners received free park passes. That's gone. Free valet parking? Gone. A lot of people were surprised when these perks were taken away.

It's important to remember that the only thing guaranteed in your contract is the right to book your home resort. Perhaps they might not completely take away the right to book other resorts, but they could de facto remove the privilege by changing the non home resort booking window to 4 months, or 2 months. You're taking a risk by purchasing a non WDW home resort to use for home resort stays. If you're aware of that risk and are willing to take it, then more power to you.

 

[BestDadEver]

I didn't think that Disney would charge a $95 dollar fee for exchanges or restrict resale buyers but they did.

Bill

There is a big diffrence between a nominal $95 fee and impacting a major portion of thier sales pitch . You think anyone would buy BLT at $160pp if that is the only place they can go . If they dropped the option to use points to other dvc resorts . They would have to lower the price (something that is not going to happen) .

The same goes for the speculation around here that they will remove a trading option with the likes of rci . Although most here dont feel trading out is agood use of points it still makes their product look better .

Not to mention the above mentioned uproar from members.

 

[Dean]

This isn't the first time I've heard this speculated on. While I know nothing is guaranteed, can you imagine the uproar DVD would create if they instituted a change like that??? <I couldn't find a smiley that consisted of a bunch of DVC members with pitchforks and burning torches...>

While I think it's unlikely any resort will leave the system, it could happen. My view is that IF it were to happen that VB and HH are at a higher risk than the rest due to off property and ocean oriented risk of natural disaster. I think people far overestimate the resolve of various groups and the amount that timeshares care if a subset of people are upset. Marriott has dropped 9 resorts over the years, some affected members actually bought their weeks from Marriott directly related to Marriott exchange internal preferences. For DVC I'd refer to the reallocations and valet parking issues.

Hello all -
I am in the process of forming a decision on a reasle purchase. Thus far I have been lead to believe that a purchase at any resort is gives us rights at any and all resorts. I am obviously looking to spend as little as I can in order to get max benefit. My question is simple (although I found the answer to be complex). If I were to purchase 100 units of Hilton Head SC how dificult will it be for me to book a resort in Orlando? Shopping around I see that HH has the lowest resale value which means to me best purchase value... Am I right in my thinking? My family and I are interested in setting up a family tradtion to visit Disney during the Christmas holiday season. I am clearly green on the topic and looking for insight.
Thanks!

There was a recent thread on this specific subject. IMO, the bottom line is that the price difference is not enough to overcome the higher fees, risk and lack of any 11 month window for WDW IF the only intent is to use those points at WDW. Some will tell you to buy where you want to stay but IMO, a more reasonable approach is to buy the cheapest option you're happy staying at most trips. That may be one and the same say at BLT or similar but SSR and OKW will generally be the cheapest overall options on property if one is happy with one of those resorts.

 

[BestDadEver]

When DVC first began, owners received free park passes. That's gone. Free valet parking? Gone. A lot of people were surprised when these perks were taken away.

It's important to remember that the only thing guaranteed in your contract is the right to book your home resort. Perhaps they might not completely take away the right to book other resorts, but they could de facto remove the privilege by changing the non home resort booking window to 4 months, or 2 months. You're taking a risk by purchasing a non WDW home resort to use for home resort stays. If you're aware of that risk and are willing to take it, then more power to you.

Your not going to convince me till you give me an example of something that a potential new buyer will look at and then move on .

None of the above mentioned would deter new buyers . I think any of that may come into play when they stop selling new dvc resorts . Till then I dont think it will happen .

 

[moobar25]

You are confusing Vero Beach and Hilton Head. Hilton Head's current maintenance fees are $5.93. Still high, but not as high as VB. When quoting facts, please take the time to verify what you post before you post it.

Thank you for your insight and advice. The job of editor and fact checker is still open - but the pay sucks. This is not the New York Times and I'm not quoting any facts. I'm simply giving estimates with my advice about things I remember. I as opposed to you don't have the time to look up the Facts to the penny. And as you obviously noticed I did mention that my estimates may be backwards.
Peace