Purchasing DVC membership - Aulani

[standardgirl]

We're counting down on our trip to Hawaii (though no staying at Aulani) and are seriously considering buying at Aulani. Given that we're both math/financial people, we've done some quite detailed analysis and figured that DVC would be a great choice for us. In fact, given how expensive Hawaiian hotels can be, with our (rather conservative) assumptions, you only need to beat $250 a night hotel rate (after tax) to "break even" on the DVC purchase. On the financials side, not much question for us to ask. And the "performance" of DVC contract seems to outperform Disney corporate bonds as well with the current points rental market.

At the moment, I can see us vacationing in Hawaii once every couple of years or so. However, down the road, once there are kids, we might very well consider WDW more often. It seems like there's enough demand for DVC members wanting to book Aulani at 11mo out. Can someone tell me if this means that I can quite possibly find another DVC member with a WDW property as home and we can perhaps swap/book for each other? Is this possible and allowed?

I guess, the more generic question is, would Aulani generate enough demand which makes it a good "home" property even if one might vacation in WDW more down the road?

Another question - we really only need <160 pts as I'm thinking Hawaii every other or every 3 years. But minimum purchase from DVC is 160 and there's too few resale for Aulani out there. We're fine with buying 160 pts, but then with the current buy 100 get 20 free promo from DVC, it seems to make sense financially to buy 200 and get 240pts total! I'm thinking we can then split the 240pts into 3 contracts of 80pts each and possible sell off one of those 80pts one right away in the resale market. Can someone tell me if there's any clause that prevent you from doing so? Or would we be better off just rent our "extra" points since I do'nt see 240pts being too many down the road in maybe 5 years of time.

Your thoughts/comments are much appreciated!

 

[zavandor]

And the "performance" of DVC contract seems to outperform Disney corporate bonds as well with the current points rental market.

DVC is not an investment, it's only a pre-paid vacation for the next 30-50 years. There are a lot of timeshare where owners rent their weeks for less then the Maintenance fees paid every year. DVC is far from this, but we don't know how it will evolve in the future.

Can someone tell me if this means that I can quite possibly find another DVC member with a WDW property as home and we can perhaps swap/book for each other?

I don't know how Aulani will be in demand in the future, but I think that probably you'll find someone willing to swap resorts with you in most requested periods.
But be aware that a reservation swap would require a bit of trust on both ends.
There is no way to guarantee a reservation as a renter: the owner could cancel your reservation just before you get to the resort, leaving you with nothing. And if a renter damages the unit, the owner is considered the one responsible.
Many people rent reservations and have wonderful vacations, but sometime we read about scams and someone is scared about it (I am).

Moreover, Aulani has very high maintenance fees, that will probably will go up and up. Using Aulani points to stay at WDW is not a great deal.

Another question - we really only need <160 pts as I'm thinking Hawaii every other or every 3 years. But minimum purchase from DVC is 160 and there's too few resale for Aulani out there. We're fine with buying 160 pts, but then with the current buy 100 get 20 free promo from DVC, it seems to make sense financially to buy 200 and get 240pts total! I'm thinking we can then split the 240pts into 3 contracts of 80pts each and possible sell off one of those 80pts one right away in the resale market. Can someone tell me if there's any clause that prevent you from doing so? Or would we be better off just rent our "extra" points since I do'nt see 240pts being too many down the road in maybe 5 years of time.

There is not any clause preventing you to do this, but you should be aware that the minute after you buy, you contract will loose a lot of its value, up to 50% less. And you'll also have to pay the broker fee when you sell (usually 10%).
Probably a small contract for Aulani will retain most of its value compared to other resorts, but probably not enought to make a gain buying more points than you need.

 

[chalee94]

In fact, given how expensive Hawaiian hotels can be, with our (rather conservative) assumptions, you only need to beat $250 a night hotel rate (after tax) to "break even" on the DVC purchase.

i can probably trade for the marriott timeshare next door for about $50 per night (and timeshare experts like dean and bnoble can easily beat that.) it depends on your point of comparison...

At the moment, I can see us vacationing in Hawaii once every couple of years or so. However, down the road, once there are kids, we might very well consider WDW more often. It seems like there's enough demand for DVC members wanting to book Aulani at 11mo out.

i honestly don't see it. a few east coasters might want to trade for hawaii once or twice, but for many, the long, costly flights are a bit much.

Can someone tell me if this means that I can quite possibly find another DVC member with a WDW property as home and we can perhaps swap/book for each other? Is this possible and allowed?

it's possible and allowed, but complicated enough that it almost never happens. a lot of trust involved if you allow someone to stay in hawaii on your pts and hope that your reservation is still there a few months later...

I guess, the more generic question is, would Aulani generate enough demand which makes it a good "home" property even if one might vacation in WDW more down the road?

if you love hawaii and intend to use that contract for hawaii, it's not a terrible option. hawaii has a number of timeshares, though, and for many, oahu isn't their favorite island.

I'm thinking we can then split the 240pts into 3 contracts of 80pts each and possible sell off one of those 80pts one right away in the resale market. Can someone tell me if there's any clause that prevent you from doing so?

i think it's "possible." i'm not sure it sounds like a good idea...

be aware that DVD is entitled to charge a ROFR fee of $250 on Aulani contracts. that's a bit unique among DVC properties and may add an additional cost to small aulani resales.

i'm a bit leery of aulani unless you plan to go every year or every other year yourself. i might be an exception...but take your time in doing your homework...

 

[gatorgirl02]

Another question - we really only need <160 pts as I'm thinking Hawaii every other or every 3 years. But minimum purchase from DVC is 160 and there's too few resale for Aulani out there. We're fine with buying 160 pts, but then with the current buy 100 get 20 free promo from DVC, it seems to make sense financially to buy 200 and get 240pts total! I'm thinking we can then split the 240pts into 3 contracts of 80pts each and possible sell off one of those 80pts one right away in the resale market. Can someone tell me if there's any clause that prevent you from doing so? Or would we be better off just rent our "extra" points since I do'nt see 240pts being too many down the road in maybe 5 years of time.
QUOTE]

Just so you know, although Disney technically states that you can only buy 160+ points, you can buy less. We just sit in on the presentation last week and were talking about getting 100 points at another resort. It seems like they push 100+, but you can definitely buy less than 160.

 

[standardgirl]

Thanks a lot for all the replies so far, some useful ideas!

It seems like there's generally a "trust" issue with swapping with another DVC member. However, I read somewhere that members are allowed to transfer points. So, instead of having another member booking a WDW vacation week for me, what if we swap points by actually transferring them? Would this work? Can membership service do the transfer both ways at the same time so that there won't be any trust issue? This seems not to violate the terms either as no money changes hands.

 

[standardgirl]

Just so you know, although Disney technically states that you can only buy 160+ points, you can buy less. We just sit in on the presentation last week and were talking about getting 100 points at another resort. It seems like they push 100+, but you can definitely buy less than 160.

Is this only for existing members that you can buy less than 160? We are new (not current DVC members)... and would very happily take a 100pt contract for Hawaiii which will be 120pts with their current promo.

 

[disneynutz]

I need to warn you that the DVC has problems with transfers. Sometimes the points aren't applied correctly and it can really screw up your ability to make a reservation with transferred points.

Also you should also know that transferring points for money is against the DVC rules.

Bill

 

[chalee94]

So, instead of having another member booking a WDW vacation week for me, what if we swap points by actually transferring them? Would this work? Can membership service do the transfer both ways at the same time so that there won't be any trust issue? This seems not to violate the terms either as no money changes hands.

this is possible, but you are only allowed one transfer per use year (either in or out but not both.)

so you'd have to transfer your 2011 UY pts in exchange for their 2012 UY pts, or something like that. not super complicated but still can be challenging to find someone with what you want who is looking for what you have.

it's generally easier to rent for cash and then use that cash to pay for your rental...but if you luck into a dance partner, it can be done.

 

[gatorgirl02]

Is this only for existing members that you can buy less than 160? We are new (not current DVC members)... and would very happily take a 100pt contract for Hawaiii which will be 120pts with their current promo.

We are technically not DVC owners yet, so no, you don't have to be a current owner. That being said, it may depend on your guide. If you go in there knowing your stuff and knowing what you want, then you are more inclined to walk out of there with what you want...

 

[standardgirl]

We are technically not DVC owners yet, so no, you don't have to be a current owner. That being said, it may depend on your guide. If you go in there knowing your stuff and knowing what you want, then you are more inclined to walk out of there with what you want...

thanks for the tips! Basically, we're willing to buy over the phone for 100pts given that I've already been through two presentations! fingers crossed until we get to Aulani then... hopefully they will sell us 100pts there

I guess if I still live in the US, then buying 160 or 200pts wouldn't be a problem. But given how far away we are now to Hawaii, I just don't see how that many points will work. Plus, I would prefer 100pts in Aulani and 100pts in WDW later when we have kids anyway rather than 200pts in Aulani.

 

[taaren]

As far as swapping reservations, I own at VGC and have traded it for WDW this year. First time, and won't be doing it often; we like our home resort and plan on going there most years but this year we really wanted to go to the World at a very hard-to-get time. So its do-able, but I did spend a lot of time on the phone with/emailing the people I swapped with. Turns out one of the reservations would have been available at the 7 month mark anyways, but I didn't want to run the risk.

Like other posters have mentioned, there are a lot of timeshares in Hawaii, and the MF's in Hawaii are very high because most of the resorts are so lavishly landscaped, with extravagant pools, etc. Timeshare owners are a large part of our population these days. Honestly, I think in a year or so you'll start to see Aulani contracts on the resale market, for about half of the price you'd pay by buying direct. In your situation, I would buy Aulani, enough points for every other year, but I'd wait for the resale contracts to come online ...

 

[k3chantal]

At the moment, I can see us vacationing in Hawaii once every couple of years or so. However, down the road, once there are kids, we might very well consider WDW more often. It seems like there's enough demand for DVC members wanting to book Aulani at 11mo out. Can someone tell me if this means that I can quite possibly find another DVC member with a WDW property as home and we can perhaps swap/book for each other? Is this possible and allowed?

I would first see if you can just make the reservation at the desired WDW resort at the 7 month window; so potentially there would be no need to swap with another member. The only exception is if you had a very specific date and resort you wanted.