Question about buying a DVC resale

[bangzoom6877]

DH and I would like to buy a resale with the Boardwalk as the home resort. We're trying to set this up correctly for our next Disney vacation so I need some help.

We would like to purchase 150 points at Boardwalk so that we can bank them and go every other year, staying 10 nights in a 1-bedroom. Let's say we want to go to WDW in July 2010 (2 years from now). Now, we always take our big long vacation in July or August because we are teachers and have the summer off, we drive down to Florida from NY, and we prefer a longer vacation when driving such a long distance so we are not rushed. So that would be the time of year we always go, every other year, to Disney. What is the best month to look for as far as "Use year"? I am new to all this and just beginning my research so that by the time we buy, we know all we need to know and are not going into this blindly! So, if we want to go for our first DVC vacation July 2010, what should I look for in the sale? All of the listings I have seen have notes about points currently available, banking and borrowing, and I am so confused! I know I sound ridiculous but like I said, I am new to all this DVC stuff, so I need all the information I can get!

Also, is there a particular site you recommend for buying DVC resale? I saw a few and was wondering. I know not to go to ebay, I am not that bad! I would like to go through a reputable place that I can trust for my purchase. Also, what are different ways to pay for the DVC membership? **About to sound really dumb here**...do any of these places actually take a credit card to pay for it, or do you have to finance it some other way like through your home equity line or through a home equity loan?

Help!!

 

[CarolAnnC]

I have purchased at TTS (sponsor on this board) and have also used Shontell at DVCbyresale.com as well as Jaki Apetz. I have been happy with all of them.

I don't believe any of them take credit cards, as far as I know. Disney will accept a credit card, though. Good luck!

 

[Donald is #1]

I'm not an expert on use year, but if you will be traveling in either July or August, then I would look for a contract with either a June or April UY. For those travel months stay away from contracts with an August or September UY because if you cancel your trip near the planned date, then you won't be able to bank the points or have much time to use them.

 

[Cruelladeville]

You could go directly thru Disney for your points to BW, and get on the waitlist. The benefit is that they have financing, never turn down anyone, and you will get this year's points. The negative is that you are paying $104 per point, and the financing is a high rate. Your other choice is The Timeshare Store--at the top of this page--and tell them you want a 150 pt BW contract with banked points. I believe they have financing taken out for 5 years. Ask when you call. Since you are teachers, you will probably want either a March, or June, something around that time of year. I would suggest NOT getting August, October, or December, which will be after your usual vacation time. I know that after you retire you will change when you vacation--I did when I retired from teaching--but, in the mean time, you will be able to figure out how your use year works.

 

[Mouse511]

bangzoom - buying resale has been fine so far with us. We just passed ROFR on a 150 point contract at SSR and worked with Robert & Jamie of the Timeshare store - both are very knowledgable - I would suggest you give them a call and discuss your wants and needs.

So far the only issue with resale is the wait....if you both are type A personalities - you might not be able to handle the 'hurry up to wait' process for closing, but for us the $$ savings was/is well worth the wait.

We are picking up a nice little contract for a 4k savings - its the same contract we almost bought directly from Disney back in 2006 for 16+k.

 

[bangzoom6877]

bangzoom - buying resale has been fine so far with us. We just passed ROFR on a 150 point contract at SSR and worked with Robert & Jamie of the Timeshare store - both are very knowledgable - I would suggest you give them a call and discuss your wants and needs.

So far the only issue with resale is the wait....if you both are type A personalities - you might not be able to handle the 'hurry up to wait' process for closing, but for us the $$ savings was/is well worth the wait.

We are picking up a nice little contract for a 4k savings - its the same contract we almost bought directly from Disney back in 2006 for 16+k.

Hahaha, that's funny...I am a pretty impatient person actually! The funny thing is, sometimes I feel like the only time I have patience is with children! That's why I decided to become a teacher in the first place. If there's anything I do not have patience with (or anyONE), it's ignorant adults! I look at it as this...children are still learning how to deal with everyday life, whereas adults are IN everyday life and should know better (with some of the behavior I see in adults, that is!).

Anyway, getting back to everything, I will definitely check out the timeshare store. And my patience issue should not affect us here since we are just first looking into buying into the DVC. So we have time to do this, although I will be spending my last couple of weeks of summer vacation researching this! I spent plenty of time researching the trip we took last month, and we had a great time and got to see EVERYTHING we wanted!

What we are dreaming of is...staying at the Boardwalk every other year in a beautiful 1-bedroom for 10 nights, enjoying 5 or 6 days at the parks and taking some down time in between to go to Downtown Disney, and to enjoy the boardwalk, have fun in the pool, and explore the restaurants at Boardwalk, Beach Club and Yacht Club, and walking to Epcot and DHS! Boy, this all seems too good to be true...is it?

What's the catch to this whole thing? It really does seem like a dream come true, since DH and I checked and the lowest price room at BWV if you go to the Disneyworld website for July 2009 is $4072 for 10 nights!!!! My goodness, this will pay for itself in 3 or 4 vacations!!

 

[Mouse511]

What's the catch to this whole thing? It really does seem like a dream come true, since DH and I checked and the lowest price room at BWV if you go to the Disneyworld website for July 2009 is $4072 for 10 nights!!!! My goodness, this will pay for itself in 3 or 4 vacations!!

I'm not an expert - but like you I have been researching DVC for quite some time now....just as you described there really is not a catch.

DVC is not a bargain - its more of a luxury item - if you enjoy waiting and playing the 'code' game - you can get a better deal by staying in a value resort, but if you are like us and always want to stay in a deluxe resort - then DVC makes more sense.

The only 'catch' per se is the annual dues....with the BoardWalk - you are looking at paying about $5.04 per point or $756.00 per year with a 150 point contract. So in essence - you are paying 13k up front plus a yearly fee.

When we went on the tour in 06 - we were really keying on staying at a studio every time - what made us not buy then was because a studio is very much like a regular hotel room without daily mousekeeping...its not until you look at the 1 bedrooms when your eyes open up and see the difference.

I think you will be happy going retail - as you will/can save some extra $$ which will help you get over the intial cash outlay to buy a contract.

Good luck.

 

[mgilmer]

I had the same UY questions as you and the consensus seems to be to get a UY that as closely as possible precedes your estimated vacation month. Now UY is only important if you need to cancel a reservation and bank the points. If you are pretty sure that your vacation plans will not change once made, then UY is not important. We bought BCV with a April UY even though we will vacation most of the time in September thru December. We bought April, though, because it came available at a price we liked so we jumped on it.