Questions before purchasing DVC

[AllThingsDisney12]

I’m totally new to DVC. I’ve done some research. But still feel like I hardly know anything! I’m thinking of purchasing a resale DVC contract. But I have so many questions and I wanted the opinions/experiences/advice from actual DVC members instead of a salesperson.
Little background (so you can understand my situation and give your advice ): I’ll probably use the DVC property at least every other year with 3 or more people (12 max) for at least 5 days. I’m willing to rent out to friends & family. Possibly thinking renting to the public if it makes sense. My preferred stays would be Rivera and grand Californian, but open to others.

Questions:
1. I know that with your home resort you can book 11 months out instead of 7 months, but is there any other reason to pick specific home resort? Should I buy a resale for Vero Beach (which is the cheapest and has the most points) or buy a resale for the hotel I want?
2. How easy is it to buy a resale in terms of everything getting transferred in your name, showing up right in the system, etc.?
3. Is it smart to go for a short contract (like 2042)?
4.Is it logical to rent out points? Also, is it easy? Should I be using a DVC rental company to rent out my points or try doing it in my own?
5. By renting out points do you break even or do you lose money? (Hopefully that makes sense)
6. how many times can you bank unused points?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

1. If you're primarily going to stay at WDW, pick a WDW resort. There are certain times of year where it's near-impossible to get anything at all on property at 7 moths.

2. Easy, but slow.

3. Only if you're older. 2042 resorts tend to be the worst value, and will lose resale value quickly. Financially, you'd be better off buying a 2054+ resort and then selling it in 2042 if you're ready to be done.

4. Buy the number of points you think you'll use. Don't buy points INTENDING to rent them out. Renting is sort of a final option to salvage some value out of your points before they expire.

5. It's better than letting points expire, but it's much worse than just using them.

6. Once. You can bank from 2022 to 2023, but you can't further bank those same points to 2024.

 

[disneyfan123]

1. If you want to stay at WDW, buy at WDW.
2. I bought resale last summer; it was a fairly easy process, but slow due to ROFR. Buying direct is much quicker, but obviously, more expensive.
3. Most people would say buy where you want to stay, so if you like staying at a 2042 hotel (ie Beach Club) buy there. Financially it's not the best choice, but this is not a strictly financial decision. I would recommend buying a longer contract (we bought SSR) as you will get a better return on your investment, but that's a personal call only you can make.
4. You will have to pay tax on your rental income, so that's something to think about. For the most $$$, rent out on the boards here. If you want a simpler option, rent out via the various rental companies. They take a cut, but do the work for you. YMMV.
5. You should come out ahead renting points. If you are losing money, you're not charging enough.
6. You can bank your points once (ie. bank 2022 points into 2023, but those banked points can't be banked again. You can bank your 2023 points into 2024 though).

 

[CaptainAmerica]

1. If you want to stay at WDW, buy at WDW.
2. I bought resale last summer; it was a fairly easy process, but slow due to ROFR. Buying direct is much quicker, but obviously, more expensive.
3. Most people would say buy where you want to stay, so if you like staying at a 2042 hotel (ie Beach Club) buy there. Financially it's not the best choice, but this is not a strictly financial decision. I would recommend buying a longer contract (we bought SSR) as you will get a better return on your investment, but that's a personal call only you can make.
4. You will have to pay tax on your rental income, so that's something to think about. For the most $$$, rent out on the boards here. If you want a simpler option, rent out via the various rental companies. They take a cut, but do the work for you. YMMV.
5. You should come out ahead renting points. If you are losing money, you're not charging enough.
6. You can bank your points once (ie. bank 2022 points into 2023, but those banked points can't be banked again. You can bank your 2023 points into 2024 though).

 

[Sandisw]

You can not use resale points at Riviera so if that is a place you want to stay, buying resale won’t work.

I don’t think it’s wise to buy an off property resort like VB for stays at WDW.

Renting occasionally can be a good plan but think carefully about it having to be part of it.

 

[RoseGold]

Grand Californian does not play well with the other points in this system. It is the smallest and most expensive hotel in the system. If you want Grand Californian, you need to buy VGC points and use them just there. This is hard to do and expensive. Mathematically, there are much cheaper DL options.

Demand at 11/7 months depends heavily on the room type and the time. Some rooms are always booked (OKW grand villa), some peak times are always booked (Christmas, spring break). Some rooms are easier to get, usually the most point heavy or least desirable locations. We have no idea when you are traveling or what you want to book.

VB points are among the most expensive you can buy. I found this chart helpful as a starting point:
https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/blog/best-economical-dvc-resorts-to-purchase-fall-2021/
I would never buy DVC to rent out the points. I'd actually make the reverse argument, it's mathematically smarter to rent someone else's points in many cases.

 

[chalee94]

Booking at VGC typically requires owning there and booking early (i.e. 10-11 months out.)

Resale at VGC can't book RIV. Resale at RIV can't book anything but RIV.

Vero is a terrible option unless you intend to stay there on a regular basis.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

Vero looks attractive because of the lower price per point but the maintenance fees which are for the length of the deed are high and like people say owning there won’t help you be sure you can get a WDW reservation.

i’m sure you know about the Disneyland Tower that’s going to open in theory next year which can give you a great option at Disneyland. Of course they are definitely some drawbacks for that resort like in theory the studios will only hold four instead of five. Many of the views will be other neighborhood and most of the units won’t have balconies

you probably also know that very soon grand Floridian has millions of points going on sale which would be another great option for buying direct somewhat reasonably and for a longer contract than some.

it is possible to score a reservation at grand Californian especially if it’s not a high season and you’re willing to do one bedroom and are on right at seven months but it’s certainly not a guarantee. We own there for that reason because we love it and want to make sure we can book. Ironically we also own at Riviera - both resort are great choices. Really all the resorts have great things about them so we look forward to staying at all of them eventually

 

[moericus]

Questions:
1. I know that with your home resort you can book 11 months out instead of 7 months, but is there any other reason to pick specific home resort? Should I buy a resale for Vero Beach (which is the cheapest and has the most points) or buy a resale for the hotel I want?
2. How easy is it to buy a resale in terms of everything getting transferred in your name, showing up right in the system, etc.?
3. Is it smart to go for a short contract (like 2042)?
4.Is it logical to rent out points? Also, is it easy? Should I be using a DVC rental company to rent out my points or try doing it in my own?
5. By renting out points do you break even or do you lose money? (Hopefully that makes sense)
6. how many times can you bank unused points?

1. Buy where you want to stay. Never assume a compromise is a good vacation. And, never assume the 7 month window will have what you want.

2. Resale is easy. That's why Disney constantly removes perks from resale buyers. The only tricky part is ROFR.

3. I like small contracts with a Borrow and Bank strategy but you'll lose perks as Disney-direct will have a minimum. The minimum used to be 150 points.

4. We've rented out a small number of points with one of the sponsors here. Worked very well.

5. That probably depends on whether you financed. It's also an assumption rental points will always be in demand for your home resort.

6. Only once to the next use year. Disney reinstated a banking point limit recently but I doubt it's permanent. I think it was for the lack of usage during 2020-21.

 

[DeeBee3]

Like stated above, only rent if points are expiring. I would never recommend renting to "make money."

Buy points where you want to stay. Everything is dependent on time of year, type of room, etc. All of those items would affect how many points you should consider buying, even if every other year.

You mentioned a wide range of possible guests - you should work out a spreadsheet with different scenarios. You room needs will vary greatly and will affect your point needs. I don't think using all your points for everyone else's vacation would be good for you personally - even if they pay you. Rooms for 12 people will require many more points than just a room for your immediate family.

 

[Wedgeout]

Researching resale and preferring Riviera don’t go well together at all with the current resale point restrictions. Better off just buying direct. These posts will definitely up your DVC knowledge.

 

[McCrae]

I own at BLT and luckily have never had a problem booking VGC at 7 months. Typically go for 2Br or 1br. Even managed to get a week at Christmas.

 

[RoseGold]

You mentioned a wide range of possible guests - you should work out a spreadsheet with different scenarios. You room needs will vary greatly and will affect your point needs. I don't think using all your points for everyone else's vacation would be good for you personally - even if they pay you. Rooms for 12 people will require many more points than just a room for your immediate family.

One of the perks of renting is that you can rent a much larger room just for this one trip, or book this resort just for this one trip instead of locking in to five figures of commitment. You can also have your relatives rent rooms in the same resort, they'll be a lot less likely to flake on you. 12 people can stay in a few Polynesian rooms just fine.

 

[DeeBee3]

One of the perks of renting is that you can rent a much larger room just for this one trip, or book this resort just for this one trip instead of locking in to five figures of commitment. You can also have your relatives rent rooms in the same resort, they'll be a lot less likely to flake on you. 12 people can stay in a few Polynesian rooms just fine.

Yes, that is what I meant. I just think the "other" guests should do their own rooms separately from the DVC contract. There's just no way to accommodate all those fluctuating guests.

Biggest thing is to make a spreadsheet and work out the math - price for points, annual dues, financing situations, etc. Compare that to paying out of pocket if you only stay at deluxe resorts.