Question About Purchasing and Booking

[shaunaday]

So I’m going to try really hard to make sense.

After a lot of thinking and planning, we have decided to purchase DVC. We plan to go on one big trip to WDW with our teenagers and adult children every other year (with many small trips in between...4 of us have APs).

But here’s the catch: my husband does not want to finance, so he wants to wait until January to purchase when we have the money to pay for it outright. My concern is that we have a trip for March 2020 (3 months after he wants to purchase). Will we even be able to get a reservation that late for a family of 7? We will need a 3BR for the week of March 7-14.

Thoughts?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Will we even be able to get a reservation that late for a family of 7? We will need a 3BR for the week of March 7-14.

Probably not the full week without changing units, and you might still need to look at a Saratoga 2BR instead. If you're buying direct, I would not count on a welcome home booking getting you a GV on property at that notice and it might very well again be that you're offered a 2BR.

 

[bridgetbriarrose]

3 monthes out isn't really enough time to give you options, maybe not even anything outside of SSR. Plus do you need a 3 bedroom grand villa or 3 seperate beds? because a 2 bedroom sleeps 8 or 9, OKW 2 bedrooms have 3 beds plus the sleeper sofa and sleeper chair so that would work. Even now, 6 months out there's only partial to no availability for most resorts but Kidani AK, OKW, and SSR would be you best chances. So it depends. What resorts are you looking at? Are you buying direct or resale for how many points?

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

It really is a gamble...that is cutting it pretty close....

 

[shaunaday]

Probably not the full week without changing units, and you might still need to look at a Saratoga 2BR instead. If you're buying direct, I would not count on a welcome home booking getting you a GV on property at that notice and it might very well again be that you're offered a 2BR.

Thank you! I was afraid of that.

I guess we could look into financing and paying off after the first of the year.

 

[WIll C]

If you are buying direct, see if you can buy now and get them to extend your down payment before you start financing (might only work for Riviera). We did that and won't start until 2020 and intend to pay off entirely when we sell our house early next year. Also were able to lock in the Sept. incentives.

 

[CanadaDisney05]

is financing for 3 months that big of a deal? I heard something that US residents can apply for a Disney Visa and not have to pay it off for 6 months.... maybe that would work for you. This is all under the assumption that you are buying direct.

 

[shaunaday]

3 monthes out isn't really enough time to give you options, maybe not even anything outside of SSR. Plus do you need a 3 bedroom grand villa or 3 seperate beds? because a 2 bedroom sleeps 8 or 9, OKW 2 bedrooms have 3 beds plus the sleeper sofa and sleeper chair so that would work. Even now, 6 months out there's only partial to no availability for most resorts but Kidani AK, OKW, and SSR would be you best chances. So it depends. What resorts are you looking at? Are you buying direct or resale for how many points?

We are looking at buying resale if possible. A 3BR is needed...everyone needs their own space due to ages/gender/parents’ sanity.

We have been researching resorts but have decided maybe we need to enlist a specialist. It’s very overwhelming.

 

[CanadaDisney05]

We are looking at buying resale if possible

Resale takes about 2 to 3 months to close once you have an accepted offer. If you made an offer in January, it likely wouldn't even close before your trip.

 

[shaunaday]

If you are buying direct, see if you can buy now and get them to extend your down payment before you start financing (might only work for Riviera). We did that and won't start until 2020 and intend to pay off entirely when we sell our house early next year. Also were able to lock in the Sept. incentives.

Wait. Incentives? We may have to look into that. We had not really considered the benefits of buying direct because the price difference alone swayed us to focus on resale only. Maybe I’m missing important info by not considering direct.

 

[chalee94]

We are looking at buying resale if possible.

Were you typically planning to book on short notice like this?

DVC can be very limiting if you typically book 3-6 months out. Many owners book at 10-11 months out to make certain that they can get what they want.

 

[shaunaday]

Resale takes about 2 to 3 months to close once you have an accepted offer. If you made an offer in January, it likely wouldn't even close before your trip.

Oh no. That’s bad news. Thank you for sharing though!

 

[shaunaday]

Were you typically planning to book on short notice like this?

DVC can be very limiting if you typically book 3-6 months out. Many owners book at 10-11 months out to make certain that they can get what they want.

We would book 11 months out usually. Our plan was to buy into DVC in a year (Jan 2021) But our vacation rental for this March was pulled from VRBO and so now we are scrambling. It may be a blessing though. Because after looking at numbers, waiting until 2021 really doesn’t make sense.

 

[ELMC]

I would be careful. While I understand that you have this trip coming up, DVC is a 25-50 year commitment and it might not make sense to make your purchasing decision based on one vacation. Also, it sounds like price is your number one factor, in which case direct is likely not the best way to go.

 

[bridgetbriarrose]

We are looking at buying resale if possible. A 3BR is needed...everyone needs their own space due to ages/gender/parents’ sanity.

We have been researching resorts but have decided maybe we need to enlist a specialist. It’s very overwhelming.

Well the points needed it you're only considering grand villas would be much higher, ranging for your week from 477 (cheapest grand villa is at OKW which isn't fully available for your dates) up to 1174 points (Grand Flo). SSR is at 688 points. So if youre doing a trip every year, there arent that many contracts at 700-800 points range. Doing trips Every other year would require less points, so then there are more options for resale contracts for 300-400 points range. To give context for your resale timeline, my family put our first offer in on May 30, that got ROFR'd. Then next offer on different contract was given 26th & accepted on june 28th. We didnt get our points in our DVC account and club id all set up until August 15th, and that was with a comparably very quick ROFR and closing timeline. So expect at least 1.5 -2 months for the resale process, and thats if you get the first contract you try for.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I wouldn't buy Riviera direct for this one vacation unless you are mad in love with Riviera.

And, truth: I know some people have bought RIviera, but I cannot really apply "mad in love" for anyone to a resort that is not even open yet. I certainly wouldn't rush into Riviera, with its resale restrictions. It's that whole kiss, marry, kill thing writ large in real estate.

 

[chalee94]

It's that whole kiss, marry, kill thing writ large in real estate.

I'd marry OKW, kiss VGF and, um, say hurtful things about RIV...

 

[bridgetbriarrose]

As well if you're still in the researching phase about resorts, we started considering DVC in April when my family did a tour, so it takes a few months to sort out what you even want. So started serioudly considering in April, weren't members until mid August. We went OKW because biggest rooms, manageable dues, good value on the point charts and low cost for points. But at first we were set on Beach Club, Boardwalk Villas, or Polynesian so it takes time to figure out. The DVC podcast and youtube videos of resort tours can get a pretty good feel of that. I wouldn't do Riveria direct because of the restrictions, high dues per point, and not so great point chart for value. RR has their Grand Villas that cost 1030 points for your dates, and arent even fully available now 6 months out.

 

[Sandisw]

There are new rules for resale contracts. Any bought now can only be used at the original 14 resorts, So, anything bought now could not be used at RIV or any other future resorts,

In addition, if you buy resale you will not be eligible for any member perks such as the DVC APs or the merchandise/dining discounts. Depending on your own situation, these may or may not be worth buying direct,

If you did buy direct, you have access to your points right away to book. Disney does allow you to purchase with a Disney Visa and with that, you get 6 months of 0% interest, if you were looking at January, then this would give you time to pay it off as if “cash”.

Having said that, you have to weigh all that with the savings of resale,

Now, there is one more thing to consider, especially with a trip coming up, depending on how many points you want. And that is to buy the minimum direct now..100 points...and use those to help with that March 2020 trip. This gives you the option to get the benefits and time to book at least some of that trip, Depending on the UY, you could end up getting the points so you can use banking and borrowing to have 300 to use.

Then, keep looking at resale and start that process to add on more points to get to your target numbers, since, as mentioned, that process takes 2 to 3 months.

Good Luck!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

You would fit into a 2BR if needed, although it wouldn't be as nice and someone would be sleeping in the living room.