Recommendations - family of 6

[Georgia01]

I would love input on your expertise. We were recently gifted a week in a two bedroom at OKW and are now hooked on the DVC benefits of a larger condo style unit. We have been looking at the Bowrds since October and tossing around the idea of a purchase and are about ready to pull the trigger. I have a couple of questions that I would love your input on. Here are our specs:

-family of 6 with four kids under 10 so hopefully will want to stay at WDW for a long time. We usually go twice a year-once for a whole week and then a few days here and there. We don't do parks every day so having a home resort right at MK is not a huge deal, although nice.

-we are just at the point where we have to get two rooms when staying on property so the DVC seems to also make a bit of financial sense for us.

- we have stayed at almost all WDW properties. We love Wilderness Lodge and Grand Floridian (not interested in purchasing GF only due to price)

-I would say we are ok staying anywhere. We enjoyed our stay at OKW although as an owner I would have been a bit upset at the stains etc on the furniture. Our initial thought is to buy at SSR for purely economic reasons and BC we are fine staying there or at OKW, although I would hope to be able to stay at other resorts too. We certainly like the magical feel of staying at a resort tied to a hotel, but like SSR bc of price.

- we would like to purchase in cash so the thought of buying two contacts in appealing, but I could be swayed if you all think that is a terrible idea.

- we think we understand from this board that if we buy two contacts that we should title them exactly the same and ideally buy same use year - correct?

- we love to visit WDW from October - May so if I am reading correctly I think that means I should look for an October use year.

- if we bought one contract at SSR and one at WL or another resort, how does it work for booking. I cannot get a real great grasp from reading the board. Do I have to split my stay between resorts or are people borrowing and banking. To stay at one resort every other year.

-with poly likely about to sell in the next few months, is there a recommendation for when to purchase?

- does anyone advertise sales and buy off of other members without a broker, or is that too hard and it's worth using a company for ease of transaction

Thanks so much. I know it's a ton of questions, but I am hopefully you can give me your two cents! I figure we need at least 300 points, but am open with starting with less to get our feet wet and go from there.

 

[scott1961]

We bought two 200 point contracts resale at SSR. We are very happy with that decision. In the past year or so we have stayed at BCV, WLV, BLT (stayed there for Night of Joy the past 3 years) and SSR. We love them all and are happy at any of them. At the 7 month mark we have been fortunate to book a variety of resorts. Some people want to own at their favorite so they can book at 11 months. Not a bad thing if you have the cash to buy and you have a hands down favorite. We decided to buy where we would enjoy being (SSR) and if we could book other places too, all the better. Also two smaller contracts are usually better since if you want to sell later, you will have an easier time (larger available market). Enjoy making memories!

 

[dsnydaddy]

With a family of 6 you'll be wanting to book 2 bedrooms which are pretty much in demand. So you do want to own where you want to stay. But if saving money is a major factor and not so much where you stay then SSR or AKV will be the best bets. 2 Bedrooms there will run you 240 to 265 points during July for a Sun-Sat Week. 190-220 for your favored October.

The contracts that you will be looking for will be in that 225-250 pt range for one week per year. Two contracts in that range will probably do you well.

According to a recent study (albeit done by a reseller) the cheapest time to buy (by only about two and a half dollars per point) is the first few months of the year. However the best selection seems to be during the summer months.

I agree with the previous poster about smaller contracts. It may mean some more work for you but holding two 100 pt contracts and two 150 point contracts may give you the most flexibility as well as making it easier to liquidate should your travel tastes change.

 

[Dean]

I would love input on your expertise. We were recently gifted a week in a two bedroom at OKW and are now hooked on the DVC benefits of a larger condo style unit. We have been looking at the Bowrds since October and tossing around the idea of a purchase and are about ready to pull the trigger. I have a couple of questions that I would love your input on. Here are our specs:

-family of 6 with four kids under 10 so hopefully will want to stay at WDW for a long time. We usually go twice a year-once for a whole week and then a few days here and there. We don't do parks every day so having a home resort right at MK is not a huge deal, although nice.

-we are just at the point where we have to get two rooms when staying on property so the DVC seems to also make a bit of financial sense for us.

- we have stayed at almost all WDW properties. We love Wilderness Lodge and Grand Floridian (not interested in purchasing GF only due to price)

-I would say we are ok staying anywhere. We enjoyed our stay at OKW although as an owner I would have been a bit upset at the stains etc on the furniture. Our initial thought is to buy at SSR for purely economic reasons and BC we are fine staying there or at OKW, although I would hope to be able to stay at other resorts too. We certainly like the magical feel of staying at a resort tied to a hotel, but like SSR bc of price.

- we would like to purchase in cash so the thought of buying two contacts in appealing, but I could be swayed if you all think that is a terrible idea.

- we think we understand from this board that if we buy two contacts that we should title them exactly the same and ideally buy same use year - correct?

- we love to visit WDW from October - May so if I am reading correctly I think that means I should look for an October use year.

- if we bought one contract at SSR and one at WL or another resort, how does it work for booking. I cannot get a real great grasp from reading the board. Do I have to split my stay between resorts or are people borrowing and banking. To stay at one resort every other year.

-with poly likely about to sell in the next few months, is there a recommendation for when to purchase?

- does anyone advertise sales and buy off of other members without a broker, or is that too hard and it's worth using a company for ease of transaction

Thanks so much. I know it's a ton of questions, but I am hopefully you can give me your two cents! I figure we need at least 300 points, but am open with starting with less to get our feet wet and go from there.

Two contracts will raise your total cost, whether it's worth it for two home resorts is a personal decision but for this many points it likely will be worth it, maybe even for 3 home resorts at some point. For a 2 BR for 10-11 days per year you're looking at 450-500 total pts or maybe even slightly more. My first thought reading through your post is that I'd look for a fully loaded SSR contract in the 220-300 point range. Then simply see how it goes for 1.5-2 yrs borrowing if needed. If you still need a 2 BR consistently AND continue to travel at the rate noted, you may want to add maybe 200 fro VWL, BLT, BWV or AKV depending on your choices. By then you'll have a lot more experience and knowledge to determine other home resorts and number of points needed. I mentioned those 4 specifically because you mentioned you liked WL and the rest give you options you'd need home resort priority for that are cheaper resale. I would add that AKV would be the lowest on that list for the situation you describe because standard view there will likely be available with the SSR points.

I would not look at the truly smaller contracts in this situation because one shouldn't buy intending or expecting to sell later and the extra cost for possible resale insurance is not worth it, IMO. One might get up to 3 home resorts and still stay at or above 150 pts though and that might be somewhat reasonable. One can let what they find in terms of loaded contract and price drive the final decision but that generally steers one away from the smaller contracts. Obviously there are many hybrid options in this situation. I absolutely would not try to buy two resale contracts at the same time unless they were already linked from a single seller.

There usually isn't a lot of savings on private sales but sometimes it is a good option, esp from someone you know already such as neighbors, friends, family or coworkers.

 

[MountainMouse]

I would love input on your expertise. We were recently gifted a week in a two bedroom at OKW and are now hooked on the DVC benefits of a larger condo style unit. We have been looking at the Bowrds since October and tossing around the idea of a purchase and are about ready to pull the trigger. I have a couple of questions that I would love your input on. Here are our specs: -family of 6 with four kids under 10 so hopefully will want to stay at WDW for a long time. We usually go twice a year-once for a whole week and then a few days here and there. We don't do parks every day so having a home resort right at MK is not a huge deal, although nice. -we are just at the point where we have to get two rooms when staying on property so the DVC seems to also make a bit of financial sense for us. - we have stayed at almost all WDW properties. We love Wilderness Lodge and Grand Floridian (not interested in purchasing GF only due to price) -I would say we are ok staying anywhere. We enjoyed our stay at OKW although as an owner I would have been a bit upset at the stains etc on the furniture. Our initial thought is to buy at SSR for purely economic reasons and BC we are fine staying there or at OKW, although I would hope to be able to stay at other resorts too. We certainly like the magical feel of staying at a resort tied to a hotel, but like SSR bc of price. - we would like to purchase in cash so the thought of buying two contacts in appealing, but I could be swayed if you all think that is a terrible idea. - we think we understand from this board that if we buy two contacts that we should title them exactly the same and ideally buy same use year - correct? - we love to visit WDW from October - May so if I am reading correctly I think that means I should look for an October use year. - if we bought one contract at SSR and one at WL or another resort, how does it work for booking. I cannot get a real great grasp from reading the board. Do I have to split my stay between resorts or are people borrowing and banking. To stay at one resort every other year. -with poly likely about to sell in the next few months, is there a recommendation for when to purchase? - does anyone advertise sales and buy off of other members without a broker, or is that too hard and it's worth using a company for ease of transaction Thanks so much. I know it's a ton of questions, but I am hopefully you can give me your two cents! I figure we need at least 300 points, but am open with starting with less to get our feet wet and go from there.

Can you book all of your trips 11 months out? Are the shorter trips with less notice? For whatever amount of trips you can plan at 11 months I say buy where you want to stay and all other trips buy SSR for. With 6 you're going to need that 2BR so get the point charts, make your best guess at how many nights you'll stay, and determine how many points you think you'll need. Make sure you add it all up yourself, but a PP suggested you would likely need 450-500 points and that's a good estimate. Smaller contracts get more expensive but you usually have to go below 150 points before you see the price rise much. It's nice to have multiple contracts for future flexibility if your needs change. You do want that October use year and you do want all contracts to be titled the same and have the same use year, just makes life easier. With respect to the resorts, what's your thoughts on the Contemporary. If you like it, then strongly consider BLT. I feel like BLT is the best overall value and long term financials are comparable to SSR though buy in is 20-25% higher. If you don't like CR though stay away and just get where you want to be. Good luck.

 

[crisi]

-I would say we are ok staying anywhere. We enjoyed our stay at OKW although as an owner I would have been a bit upset at the stains etc on the furniture.

One thing to recognize is that DVC is a timeshare and the rooms are not redone as often as the hotel rooms - nor are they cleaned as often. They do a soft goods refresh on the resorts about every ten years - but stains on the furniture and carpet are not at all unusual - there are lots of families coming through and the rooms are treated like home. Member dues pay for refurbs, and dues are pretty expensive as is, so its a balancing act. We've never had a dirty room ourselves, but we've had stains, rusted appliances, ripped curtains and broken drawers.

 

[Georgia01]

Thank you everyone! We decided to start out small and made an offer on 160 points, which was accepted. Once we get our feet wet, we will build from there. Excited and nervous!

 

[disneynutz]

Thank you everyone! We decided to start out small and made an offer on 160 points, which was accepted. Once we get our feet wet, we will build from there. Excited and nervous!

Sounds like a great start. Should you decide to sell later, the demand for a 160 will be greater than a 300.

Welcome Home!

Bill

 

[DizBub]

Thank you everyone! We decided to start out small and made an offer on 160 points, which was accepted. Once we get our feet wet, we will build from there. Excited and nervous!

Smart move. What resort did you choose?

Congratulations and best of luck with ROFR!

 

[sleepydog25]

"- if we bought one contract at SSR and one at WL or another resort, how does it work for booking. I cannot get a real great grasp from reading the board. Do I have to split my stay between resorts or are people borrowing and banking. To stay at one resort every other year."

First, congratulations! I've owned DVC for 10 years and have many wonderful vacations (planning many more). Second, I didn't see this question fully answered, though it's possible I just overlooked it. If so, I apologize. You seem to know that whatever resort you just purchased (let's just say it was SSR) will be your home resort, and at the 11-month point, you can book your stay there while at 7 months, you will be able to use those points at any other resort provided there is availability. You mentioned purchasing a second contract at a different resort. Let's say you then buy into VWL--that also becomes a home resort. Thus, you can book stays there at 11 months, too. However, you can't use all of your SSR and VWL points at the 11-month point--one set of points can only be used at 7 months. For example, let's say you want a highly coveted reservation during the holidays at VWL. At 11 months, you can book a room using just your VWL points, but the SSR points can't be used for another 4 months. If you don't have enough VWL points, you can certainly bank and/or borrow VWL points to ensure you have enough for that Christmas season trip, or you'll have to wait until the date is 7 months out when there may be no availability.

Similarly, you can book SSR in, say, November for an October trip, but you'll have to wait until March to bring the VWL points into play if you need them. In short, you can only use one home resort at a time for the 11-month window. If you want/need to use the other resort's points, then you'll have to bide your time. I'm a bit sleepy as I type this , so hopefully, it makes sense. If not, I'm sure someone else on here will make clearer what I was attempting to say.