Purchase Question

[DianeV]

HI, just a question as we are checking into purchasing resale.

If you purchase at say Vero Beach because the points to buy are cheaper are you at a disadvantage if you mainly want to stay at Disney resorts like Boardwalk or Beach Club or OKW? It seems that if you can buy the points cheaper and still be able to stay in Orlando that would be the way to go however I havent seen that mentioned.

Of course I know many want to buy where they will stay so maybe that is it?

Thanks..we are just trying to get as much info as we can!
Diane

 

[rocketriter]

General advice is: buy where you want to stay.

The reason for that is primarily that you can reserve rooms at your "home" resort 11 months in advance, but at other DVC resorts only 7 months in advance. If you buy at HH or VB planning to stay mostly on the WDW grounds, you'll always be last in line for rooms behind people who have actually bought at on-the-grounds resorts. The most in-demand rooms--the GVs, the standard rooms at BWV, almost anything at smaller resorts such as VWL or BCV--will be sold out. This will only get worse as Sarasota Springs ramps up and adds another zillion people competing for these positions. However, if you own at a resort you should never have a problem reserving space at that resort because you can use the 11-month window.

 

[DianeV]

Thanks..that makes sense

 

[kweaver]

Not to mention, the maintenance fees are higher at VB than other DVC resorts

 

[Dean]

If you have no intention of staying off site, one would be nuts to buy at VB or HH for the express purpose of staying at WDW. The savings are meager and in the case of VB, the dues much higher. The dues are almost $1 pp more at VB that OKW. If you want a specific resort, buy there, if not, OKW is usually considered the cheapest and I'd put BWV second. Most consider OKW cheapest for 3 reasons. The resale price is usually a little lower, the dues are lower and the points per week are lower. In addition, it has 3 BR Grand Villas with enough to actually hope to get one and the prices for those are a LOT less.

BWV is a little cheaper due to the fact it's owners have owned longer and bought at a lower price plus about 20% of the rooms are standard view, less points. If you don't care where you stay but want to be at WDW, OKW may be your best option. That way you can book a room at 11 months out and switch it over at 7 months to other resorts based on availability. You are then guaranteed a room, you just don't know which resort you'll actually be staying at.

 

[DianeV]

Another question..so there ARE maintenance fees as well like other timeshares? How much do those run for OKW and BWV?

 

[rocketriter]

They hover just around $4/point, varying by up to a dollar depending on the resort. Search a little and you'll find a recent posting listing them.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by DianeV
Another question..so there ARE maintenance fees as well like other timeshares? How much do those run for OKW and BWV?

The short answer is A LOT. The price varies from around $3.69 at OKW to over $4.50 at VB. Certainly far higher than other Disney area timeshares of similar quality.