Resales - 150 point minimum?

[BeatsWork]

I remember Disney required a minimum of 150 points purchased to get into the DVC programthrough them. Is this true for purchase of a resale?
(This is not an add-on. First time DVC purchase)

Thanks.

 

[Dean]

DVC is more likely to excercise their right of first refusal for less than 150 pt packages but I do know of at least 2 that have gone through to previously non members and a couple that have been sold to members that were a different use year than they had previously. Other than maybe a childless couple or a single person, I'd recommend considering the higher points amounts. One problem would be that I don't know if DVC would sell an add on to a member in this situation unless it were 150 points, if their primary membership were less than 150. Good luck.

 

[BeatsWork]

Thanks for the feedback.

I'm trying to be conscious of the total points purchased mainly because of the dues paid out over the life of ownership. (the initial price doesn't bother me as much). 100 points vs 150 yields a difference of about $15K or about $375 per year assuming dues increases of around 4%. (check my math for accuracy)

I know.. I know... this is penny pinching. But, I don't think we really need the extra 50 points. Granted this equals 5 extra nights in a studio at OKW. But do I really want to stay 15 nights per year? I mean I DO. Unfortunately I will not get that much time off from work each year. And I know I can get bigger/better rooms for the points which I might end up doing if I get the extra points.

Have any of you started off thinking like this? Do you always wish you had purchased more points? Or have you been happy sticking with a lower number of points and saving yourself some cash to spend on tickets and meals and other goodies when you're there?

 

[Dean]

I've seen many posts of those that bought and then wished they had more, even when they bought 150 or 200. Many times they add on fairly quickly. I still have trouble thinking that 100 points will be enough for anyone that truly enjoys going to WDW regularly. Unless you don't have a family and don't plan on having one, I also find it hard to believe you'll be satisfied with a studio consistenly.

I'd still encourage you to consider the 150 pt contract. You'll have so many more options and if you tried to sell, would be in a much better position. You could always rent out any extra points you might have and likely reduce your total cost rather than increase it. Remember the $75 transfer fee and the $450 or so closing will be the same (or almost so) with either size contract.

That's not to say that 100 pts per year isn't ideal for some people. For those that plan on going to WDW every 2-3 years and have other vacation interests, it might be ideal. I also think it would be a good fit for someone who has other timeshare interests.

I'd suggest you at least contact DVC about what they would do as for as an add on on someone who owned less than 150 pts as their primary membership. If they say it doesn't matter and you would have all of the options that everyone else would have, the problem is a lot less.

 

[kem330]

I thought we'd only need 150 points, but ended up with a 200 point resale at BWV. We travel to a lot of other places and maybe go to Disney once a year (but usually at high season). Now we are ready to add more points after one visit. You should take into account that your needs may change -and it really is a blast going down with family and friends. If you want to take the cruise or exchange into II, you really need more than the 300 points you can bank and borrow with a 100 point contract. If you have children, they may want to bring friends as well. The beauty of DVC is getting a 1 or 2 bedroom for 1/2 or less the cost of a deluxe room. You can always rent your unused points. If you are happy with the moderates or budget hotels, it really isn't worth it joining DVC.

 

[chaoskids]

We purchased a 230 point OKW resale last Feb. At the time we were thinking we really didn't need that many points, but the price was good so we bought it. To make a long story short, we just purchased another 150 point resale. It seems that once you begin actually using your DVC you never have enough points.

Good Luck!

 

[DLVisitor]

We bought our first contract,150 pts, then VERY quickly bought a 50 pt ad on The ad on was actually at a different % rate, so it would have been more cost efficient to purchase all at once! Also, when you look at the Concierge level, although it cost more points, we would never spend the cash to go to these BEAUTIFUL places, but we will certainly use our points for very DELUXE vacations! We plan nice trips now! (BTW, we also own 3 other timeshares also)

 

[ncligs]

We thought we only would need 230 (original puchase OKW) but once you start going down there and and seeing how eveything is "First Class" (accomodations,transportation, being on site,large rooms,etc) you want to go down more often. So we added on 70 to OKW and 50 to VB(to get the 11 month window for winter months) and now we have 350. Realiistically, if you like to go down at least twice a yr and stay in a 1Br or larger you need at least 300 pts. We have no regrets of adding on twice and giving us 350 total.

 

[Richyams]

Bought 230 in '92 then added 200 more during our first stay in '93.