Question from potential member

[alvernon90]

I'm thinking about buying into DVC, and from what I can tell from many months of reading this board, these are the relevant facts of my situation:

1. My family would only go during times that are slow at WDW, but not necessarily slow for DVC -- think September, early December, January.

2. We have a definite preference for BCV, but wouldn't mind staying at any of the properties; in fact, we'd probably switch around from time to time for the fun of it.

3. We wouldn't use the points to trade to anywhere.

4. We would probably only go every other year at most, so we can get by on a smaller contract.

[edited to add one more factor]
5. We will probably want to stay in a 2BR most of the time, so we can bring along grandparents on each trip.

Given those facts, would you recommend:

A. Buying points at BVC

B. Buying points at VB for the lower per-point cost and lower maintenance

C. Not buying, and just renting points from existing members when we go

Any advice would be extremely helpful, especially if there is a factor I'm not considering! Thanks!

 

[Caskbill]

It looks like you've researched things well and appear to be a good candidate for DVC.

I would not recommend purchasing VB. Don't forget it has the highest dues of all the resorts and over time will surpass whatever savings you make on the initial purchase.

Instead purchase any of the WDW properties. That way you can make ressies at 11-months at your home resort, and switch at 7-months, pending availability, if you'd like. That way if the 7-months doesn't work out, at least you're still on property at your home resort.

If you like BCV best that's where you should first try to purchase. But it looks like the times you'd be traveling aren't going to be a big problem. In that case you might try OKW since it often has a lower purchase price resale than the other WDW resorts, and also has the lowest dues.

The one factor you might want to consider is the expiration difference between SSR ending in 2054 and all the other resorts ending in 2042.

 

[Beca]

Actually, VB has the highest maintenance fees of any resort (they are currently $4.67 per point, compared to BCV's $4.22).

Say you bought your BCV points at $74.00 per point. Divide that figure by 38 years, and you get $1.95 per point, per year. When you compare that cost to maintenance fees, you can see that maintenance fees are actually MUCH more expensive than the actual purchase price. At, 150 points...that appx. $.45 per year comes to over $2500 over 38 years...which is probably much greater than the initial difference between any VB and BCV contract.

In the long run, buying your own DVC is much cheaper than renting...if you know you want to stay with DVC for many years.

So, I guess I would recommend "buying where you want to stay"...which is pretty much the mantra of this board.

You can get on DVC's waitlist, or buy from a re-seller. Someone posted earlier today that vacationsonly.com has 3 BCV resales, and TUG classifieds has two listed.

Good luck in whatever you decide,





Beca

 

[Dean]

I agree, don't buy VB for this purpose. Your best choices are BCV if you can find the right contract and price. Back ups would be OKW and BWV. OKW will be the cheapest both in terms of cost and yearly fees but BWV will likely fit in better with your plans. Price and getting a WDW resort are likely the two most important factors.

 

[disneyberry]

<font face="times" size="+0">As Bill and Beca noted, VBR has the most expensive dues, so you will not be saving money that way. (Feel free to check out my Dues History Analysis if you're into that kind of stuff. ) Also, it sounds like your trips will primarily be WDW trips, so having the 11mo advantage at VBR will be useless. The bottom line: do NOT buy VBR as a way to save money. If anything, HHI might be a cheaper option, but again: 11mo advantage offsite will be pointless for WDW trips.

Since you said you'll only be going every other year, and you'll prob book a 2bdrm, then I agree that a small contract around 150pts is all that you'll need (at least to start with ).

Because you like BCV, then by all means try to find a BCV contract to purchase. They are rare though, so get on all the resale brokers' lists.

Some questions for you to consider:

- How far in advance can you commit to vacation dates? If you think there's no way you can plan more than 7mos in advance, then you should not dwell on buying only at BCV, but instead focus on getting the best value contract at any of the WDW resorts.

- How many more years will your family be vacationing in WDW for? If your kids are older, and you're not sure if they'll be interested in going to WDW with you when they get older, and you don't think you'd vacation at WDW w/o your kids, then don't bother buying DVC. Just pay cash or, if the rental market is still good, rent your DVC accommodations from other owners. If it's the opposite, and kids are young, you're very much a "Disney family" and will continue to be for a long time, then consider SSR.

BTW, Jan + Sep are empty at the parks and empty at DVC resorts too. Early Dec is different though: empty at the parks but notoriously popular at DVC resorts.

Good luck + let us know what you end up doing.</font>

 

[alvernon90]

Thanks for all the great advice. Here I thought I had done some research, but I was very wrong about VB, among other things.

I'm still not certain what I will do, but I have plenty of time to wait. My kids are so young that the first one won't be here until later this month. That gives me plenty of time to be patient and look for the right resale deal.

My wife and I have been to WDW a few times and loved it every time, but there are a couple of things that make me a little wary about committing to a lifetime of WDW vacations. First, we treated WDW like it was Vegas without blackjack -- each trip was a frenzy of food, alcohol, and various decidedly non-kid-friendly activities, so it might not be quite the same with kids. Second, we both agree that WDW is fun, but not fun enough to endure crowds and long lines, which means once the kids are old enough that missing school isn't an option, the trips may slow down or dry up. At least until we can go alone again (food, alcohol, etc!)

That may mean the paying cash/renting points option is best. Or it may be best to buy now with the intention of selling in 15 years or so -- DVC points have held their value amazingly well, so I think the risk is fairly low. If we do the latter, we will definitely buy at WDW, but I'll need to think some more about the pros and cons (including potential resale value) of BVC vs. OKW.

Thank you all for your responses and for reading my lengthy posts. If anyone cares to chime in with more advice I'd be grateful; if not, I'll still be reading and learning as much as I can -- as well as living vicariously through all of you frequent WDW visitors!