Puchasing DVC Cash Questions

[MrRomance]

I have posted before about this question and it may have been covered in other posts but I just want to be clear in my own mind that I make the right decision on a couple of things. So thanks in advance, for being patient with me!

My situation is as follows... I want to buy into DVC and I will be a cash buyer. I don't require any financing, so any incentives or good financing deals that might apply will not apply in my case.

I want to purchase around 230 points. The purpose of my purchase is purely for an annual stay of 2 weeks at WDW. I may, at some point in the future, feel like a one off trip to the resort in Hawaii and/or a one off trip to Disneyland, but it would be one off. We will not want to go anywhere else or use points at non-disney resorts, cruising, adventures etc. In other words, all of the "restrictions" that apply to resale are not relevant to us either.

We have no huge desire to buy into any particular resort, we really just want to be able to stay somewhere at WDW for 2 weeks once a year. It doesn't matter to us what resort we stay at.

Doing a straight comparison it seems like a complete no brainer, in terms of buying direct vs buying resale. With a $40+ price difference per point for most resorts, buying direct will cost us around $8000 more. It makes no sense for us, unless there is some huge incentive that makes the extra $8000 cost worthwhile.

So my first question is...are there any incentives for buying direct that I'm not seeing or accounting for?

Because we don't have any particular desire to buy in to any particular resort, or to stay at any particular resort, I got to thinking that perhaps we should go for the cheaper resorts (Vero Beach, Hilton Head) because again, the price per point is lower than the other resorts. The issue with that would be, there would be no guarantee of a studio at a WDW resort at the 7 month window.

I appreciate that availability at the 7 month window will depend greatly on the time of year we would want to go, i.e. busy periods (holidays etc.) would be more difficult at 7 months than slower periods (January or early September). It is likely that we would be looking for our 2 week annual trip to be in October/November.

So question 2 is... if I bought at say Vero Beach, would it be difficult to secure a studio at one of the WDW resorts at the 7 month window for October/November? Following on from that, are there any other cons to buying in at Vero Beach or Hilton Head? Shorter contracts, higher annual dues?

Basically, I need to know what if any additional incentives there are for cash buyers. If there is any added incentives from buying direct other than the restrictions that are in place for resale at the moment. Whether I could buy at VB or HH but be confident that I could get 2 weeks in a studio for the time of year we'd want to go at the 7 month window.

TIA guys!

 

[disneybeachprincess]

sounds so familiar! we had the same conversations over the past few years & are in the exact same boat! we just went to ROFR on our first DVC contract @ HHI we love it there & the price via resale was so much lower than direct (if we could buy direct - it is a sold out property - $80 per pt IF available thru Disney) So...long story short...you can buy Vero at a lower price per pt but the annual dues are higher & over 30 years it adds up. That is the only drawback on Vero. Good luck with your decision..let us know what you decide..we hope to close in March

 

[bakenatj]

So my first question is...are there any incentives for buying direct that I'm not seeing or accounting for?

Because we don't have any particular desire to buy in to any particular resort, or to stay at any particular resort, I got to thinking that perhaps we should go for the cheaper resorts (Vero Beach, Hilton Head) because again, the price per point is lower than the other resorts. The issue with that would be, there would be no guarantee of a studio at a WDW resort at the 7 month window.

I appreciate that availability at the 7 month window will depend greatly on the time of year we would want to go, i.e. busy periods (holidays etc.) would be more difficult at 7 months than slower periods (January or early September). It is likely that we would be looking for our 2 week annual trip to be in October/November.

So question 2 is... if I bought at say Vero Beach, would it be difficult to secure a studio at one of the WDW resorts at the 7 month window for October/November? Following on from that, are there any other cons to buying in at Vero Beach or Hilton Head? Shorter contracts, higher annual dues?

Basically, I need to know what if any additional incentives there are for cash buyers. If there is any added incentives from buying direct other than the restrictions that are in place for resale at the moment. Whether I could buy at VB or HH but be confident that I could get 2 weeks in a studio for the time of year we'd want to go at the 7 month window.

TIA guys!

To answer your first question....Nope, none sorry. So in your case you are far better off purchasing resale.

If I were you I would look at OKW or SSR. For one they are on WDW property, and going by the language in the contract that guarantees you to be able to use your points at your Home resort. That and your maintenance fees would be less than at VB or HH.

Unfortunately Disney doesn't care if you have cash in hand or if you finance. They probably like the finance people better than the cash customers because they make more money off financing customers, and we all know that if they can make more money then that make the Mouse happy!

 

[chalee94]

So question 2 is... if I bought at say Vero Beach, would it be difficult to secure a studio at one of the WDW resorts at the 7 month window for October/November? Following on from that, are there any other cons to buying in at Vero Beach or Hilton Head? Shorter contracts, higher annual dues?

not necessarily difficult, just a little more "iffy." most of the time you could get a studio at 7 months out...most commonly at the larger resorts like SSR and OKW. but october is food&wine at epcot and november kicks off the holiday season (with "jersey week" earlier in the month)...what happens the time or 2 that you can't get a studio at all at 7 months out?

i would recommend buying at SSR (expires 2054) or OKW (expires 2042 or 2057) if you want to save money and are just happy to be onsite. book at 10-11 months out and then try to move at 7 months out...worst case scenario is that you are still onsite at wdw at SSR or OKW...

HHI and VB both expire in 2042 and yes, both have higher than average dues. but the lack of onsite access until 7 months out is probably the biggest reason both are so cheap.

both are also on or near the coast, so the risk of storm damage resulting in extra "dues" (called a "special assessment") is much higher than the wdw resorts.

and if aulani turns into a complete debacle, DVC may decide to spin off the off-site resorts and remove them from the DVC system...it's not super likely but it is definitely possible.

i'd only buy VB or HHI if 1) i enjoyed staying at those resorts and planned to use pts to stay there part of the time, or 2) the low prices were simply too much and i was willing to roll the dice a bit on the higher risks of ownership.

 

[melodyka]

The big perk we were told about by DVC is that they include 2011 points. However, you can find a contract that is loaded with points, so that is not really unique to buying direct.

I would agree with the others to buy at WDW if that is where you plan to stay because your home resort is the only sure bet as per the contract. While they may never decide to limit you to your home resort, there is nothing legally stopping them from doing so. If you purchased HH or Vero, you would be committing yourselves to 2 weeks at the beach instead of WDW, which is where you want to be.

I have been running numbers like crazy over the past few weeks, and it seems to me SSR or OKW are the best price. The dues are only $4.74/pt & $5.21 respectively. For 230 points, I think you could get them for about $45/pt at either resort. When you calculate the price of dues with a 3-6% increase over 30-50 years, it is significant. While your initial investment is dwarfed by dues, don't forget to calculate opportunity cost (what your money might be worth if you invested it elsewhere like an IRA).

Some other things to consider are:

1. resale value- personally, we wanted to choose a resort that is in high demand. Should we need to sell or rent, hopefully it will be easy.

2. contract term- again, this is a personal preference, but my husband doesn't feel comfortable committing to Disney for 50 years, while he feels fine for 30 years, so we went with a resort with less time left on the contract.


good luck with your decision!

 

[bumbershoot]

Especially with that style of travel, there's no need to buy directly.

There's a recent post by someone who wants to sell because their yearly dues are just too high (I don't think it's an actual cash flow problem, but just a "this is too high year after year" mental sort of thing, which I totally understand!), and they bought Vero Beach in order to stay at WDW.

Given what you've said about your travel and yourself, I would buy at a DVC resort AT WDW. The beach places just get too expensive year after year, especially if you're never going to go visit the places that are using your dues money.

 

[disneynutz]

I think that it's a mistake to assume that you will be happy anywhere.

After a few years of staying at different resorts, you will have a favorite and there will be times when it may be difficult to get a reservation there at 7 months.

As others have posted, "we really wish that we had bought at XX resort because it's our favorite and booking there for the times that we want is getting more difficult".

Or this one, "we couldn't get all of our days on points so I paid cash for the missing days".

You are paying big bucks and to me it only makes sense to buy where you love to stay.

Bill

 

[Deb & Bill]

The big perk we were told about by DVC is that they include 2011 points. However, you can find a contract that is loaded with points, so that is not really unique to buying direct. ...

The direct from DVC contract only include 2011 points if you are still in the 2011 UY. For example, tomorrow, Feb 1, you will be in the 2012 UY for February. If you buy a Feb UY contract, you will get 2012 points and probably not 2011 points.

OP, buy resale. Buy a WDW DVC resort if you always want to stay at WDW. Then when you make a reservation during the home priority time frame (7 to 11 months out), you will be ensure a WDW stay and not a HHI or VB stay.

 

[Sandisw]

If your goal is to stay at WDW, then my suggestion is to buy a resort on property and not at VB or HH.

First, the upfront savings of those resorts will be eaten up by MF's and it won't take long before those resorts end up being just as expensive as a WDW resort.

Second, while not likely, but technically possible, DVC has the right to remove any resort from the "club". If they do, then owners at the resort will be restricted to staying there. Again, I don't think this is that likely to happen, but if it did, I think VB and HH would be more vulnerable.

Third, Oct/November are pretty busy DVC times so having to wait until 7 months to book your trip could leave you at risk. While I do think that you should be able to find something at one of the resorts, you may not end up with exactly what you want. Are you going to be okay with having to move resorts a few times, upgrading to a 1 bedroom because you can't find a studio for some of the nights, etc.

IMO, if WDW is your goal and at this point, you really believe that where you stay is not that crucial, then I would choose OKW or SSR. At least then, you will be on property from the start.

DVC is a lot of money and its best to choose a home resort that will get you want you want if, at any point in time, that is the only place you could stay.

We bought BLT and spent more because we want to be there each and every trip. We started with a resale at VWL because we thought it would be our 2nd favorite. Turns out its not and we now own BWV instead.

So, you just never know.

Good luck!

 

[Dean]

I have posted before about this question and it may have been covered in other posts but I just want to be clear in my own mind that I make the right decision on a couple of things. So thanks in advance, for being patient with me!

My situation is as follows... I want to buy into DVC and I will be a cash buyer. I don't require any financing, so any incentives or good financing deals that might apply will not apply in my case.

I want to purchase around 230 points. The purpose of my purchase is purely for an annual stay of 2 weeks at WDW. I may, at some point in the future, feel like a one off trip to the resort in Hawaii and/or a one off trip to Disneyland, but it would be one off. We will not want to go anywhere else or use points at non-disney resorts, cruising, adventures etc. In other words, all of the "restrictions" that apply to resale are not relevant to us either.

We have no huge desire to buy into any particular resort, we really just want to be able to stay somewhere at WDW for 2 weeks once a year. It doesn't matter to us what resort we stay at.

Doing a straight comparison it seems like a complete no brainer, in terms of buying direct vs buying resale. With a $40+ price difference per point for most resorts, buying direct will cost us around $8000 more. It makes no sense for us, unless there is some huge incentive that makes the extra $8000 cost worthwhile.

So my first question is...are there any incentives for buying direct that I'm not seeing or accounting for?

Because we don't have any particular desire to buy in to any particular resort, or to stay at any particular resort, I got to thinking that perhaps we should go for the cheaper resorts (Vero Beach, Hilton Head) because again, the price per point is lower than the other resorts. The issue with that would be, there would be no guarantee of a studio at a WDW resort at the 7 month window.

I appreciate that availability at the 7 month window will depend greatly on the time of year we would want to go, i.e. busy periods (holidays etc.) would be more difficult at 7 months than slower periods (January or early September). It is likely that we would be looking for our 2 week annual trip to be in October/November.

So question 2 is... if I bought at say Vero Beach, would it be difficult to secure a studio at one of the WDW resorts at the 7 month window for October/November? Following on from that, are there any other cons to buying in at Vero Beach or Hilton Head? Shorter contracts, higher annual dues?

Basically, I need to know what if any additional incentives there are for cash buyers. If there is any added incentives from buying direct other than the restrictions that are in place for resale at the moment. Whether I could buy at VB or HH but be confident that I could get 2 weeks in a studio for the time of year we'd want to go at the 7 month window.

TIA guys!

Assuming that you have enough knowledge and experience to know you'll be happy anywhere and also assuming that WDW is your main goal, SSR or extended OKW are generally the best values. It boils down to the cost, years remaining and dues to a degree. VB or HH add an unnecessary risk and aggravation without adding a sufficient savings, esp VB which has much higher fees. Let me qualify though that IF you can get a property cheaply enough, it may jump to the head of your list. For example, I know someone who just bought BWV at $38 a point.

 

[DisDad07]

I would perfer to buy resale at the WDW parks resorts. You have more perks at this time and who knows how long this will last. 11 months out might not seem like much now, but things change and you may need it to use it to get into some resorts at busy seasons. The resorts are different and points are higher at some, and really high at others. If you buy at any resort, you should atleast like the place, it may be the only resort you can get into sometimes. IMHO.

 

[ToddyLu]

At the time we were looking at DVC I was excited and doing my homework...I didn't care where we stayed as long as it was "on property". DH was the picky one and he chose AKV. Boy an I glad he did...yes all the resorts are lovely and had he not been interested at all I would have jumped on SSR and been happy. But now that I have stayed at AKV it is truly wonderful and the best choice for us.

So it may not seem like that it is important now...but DVC is more about the vibe, amenities and decor than what you would expect. Maybe that is just a female's perspective. But DH doesn't want to stay at the other resorts because we are so comfy at AKV. It feels like home.

Once you own DVC you have to realize that your TRIPS WILL CHANGE. You will be more inclined to return tot he resort for the afternoon lounging by the pool or a quick adult beverage. We still love the parks, but if we only go to ride two things and come back that is ok--we own DVC and we will be back.
So the actualy resort does matter more IMO.

I would take the time to really look at the decor to see what appeals to you. Do you need a nice bar, great pool for the kids or grandkids, quick walk to your favorite park or DTD. They are all great but I don't think you realize how your trips will change once you own. It may not matter to one spouse but matter a whole lot to the other....