Small contracts vs large

[TOM&LORIE]

My bride and I are "looking into" DVC. I prefer not to finance and have seen small contracts for sale (ie 50 pts) at non-disney stores. I seem to remember a post that indicated there were disadvantages to this mindset. My thought is that I could buy small lots and be able to work up the the 200-250 points I believe I need. Am I thinking clearly or am I going to regret multiple small contracts vs. one large contract.

 

[CarolMN]

It will cost you more (in total) to buy several resales rather than one 200-250 points contract. That's because of closing costs - you will pay them for each purchase. Assume you already know that Disney will not sell less than 150 points to a new member, so the smaller contracts are only available to new members via resale.

You may have to pay more per point to buy the smaller contracts - DVC seems to exercise its ROFR more frequently if the buyer is not already a member. Some think that it costs DVC more to administer several members who each have a smaller contract than it does to administer one member with the same number of points.

If your "several contracts" are all for the same resort and use year (and you get DVC to link them under the same membership number) you will not have any trouble at all managing multiple contracts. If you buy different resorts and/or different use years, you will have to spend more time and effort keeping track of your points - very doable, but definitely more effort required on your part to avoid losing points.

FWIW, once you have a contract - regardless of size, your perks and treatment by Disney/DVC will be exactly the same as those who purchased directly from Disney.

FWIW, I applaud your decision not to finance and also the one that is driving you to do a bit of homework/research before you buy. Good luck with the decision!

Best wishes -

 

[TOM&LORIE]

Thank you. Sigh...so much to think about.

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

We have gone the same route that you are considering. We purchased a 25 point contract to get into the system. We then added a 55 point contract direct through Disney. Our goal is to have 3 55 point contracts at a minimum.

Some advantages:
1. We will not have to finance and will pay off each add on as we do them.

2. If we need to sell some points, we can easily sell a small contract. If we owned one large contract for 165 then we would have to sell the whole contract and could not split it up.

3. We have 3 children. When it comes time to inherit, if we own one large contract, they can only inherit as co-owners of the one contract. With the 3 separate contracts we can have them each inherit their own contract.

Some disadvantages:
1. Since the minimum purchase direct through Disney is 150 points, you do need to go the resale route for at least your initial contract. Not necessarily a disadvantage, but buying resale is more timeconsuming.

2. Small contracts are popular and can be difficult to find. They are usually snapped up really quick, rarely making it to website listings. Best bet is to contact resellers and let them know what you are looking for. I also suggest to keep calling, so they don't forget about you.

3. Since the contracts are so popular, there really is no negotiations on the price. In fact, in order to make sure a contract gets past Disney's ROFR it may be a good idea to pay more than the asking price sometimes. A reputable seller should have a good idea what price should make it through ROFR, although nothing is guaranteed.

4. Disney has been ROFRing small contracts for non members like crazy, so the price per point on your first contract will be very high compared to purchasing a larger contract. The ROFR process is timeconsuming and if Disney does ROFR your contract, then you are back to the beginning having to find another small contract and so forth. It took us 2 tries to get past ROFR.

5. Points are points at the 7 month mark. However, if you want to take advantage of the 11 month booking window and have more than one contract, you need to make sure they are all at the same resort. If they are from different resorts, you can have the 11 month booking advantage at different resorts, but you can only book at 11 months up to the number of points you own at that resort. Some people do this and then take advantage of banking and borrowing to use 3 years of points for an 11 month reservation. This is not really a disadvantage, just a potential complication that you should be aware of.

Good Luck!

 

[TOM&LORIE]

Is the 11 month reservation a big issue...realistically. It seems to be. Also, Disney only offers SSR at this time and if I were forced to always stay at my home resort then I would be very discontent. Any potential of Disney ever offering BWV or VWL in the future?? Anyway, Thank you for the info.

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

Is the 11 month reservation a big issue...realistically. It seems to be. Also, Disney only offers SSR at this time and if I were forced to always stay at my home resort then I would be very discontent. Any potential of Disney ever offering BWV or VWL in the future?? Anyway, Thank you for the info.

Once you are in the system, you can purchase direct from Disney at any resort that they have points available for sale at. If they don't have points currently available then you can go on a wait list. They also have to match the use year up. I think that having the 11 month advantage at your favorite resort will help make your DVC ownership more fufilling and give you less chance of booking disappointments. We originally purchased at Vero Beach and then did our add on at Hilton Head. When we added on we were offered SSR, OKW, Wilderness Lodge and Boardwalk. If we had wanted Beach Club we would have had to go on a waitlist.

I do think that it is very important that the use year of the contract you first purchase is a use year that you want. Some people say that use year does not really matter, but it did matter to me. You can do your research and decide if the use year will matter to you. The only way to change your use year is to either purchase another resale contract with a different use year or to purchase 150 points from Disney.

Good Luck!

 

[TOM&LORIE]

Soooooooooo...once you are in the "system" and a DVC member you can then "add-on" additional points, correct???? I am assuming your add on points can be at another resort, even thought they are not available to new members to purchase...correct??? Soooo...if I bought SSR then I could eventually purchase BWV or VWL as they came available?

 

[keishashadow]

We rent the small resale route for 3 reasons:

1) Wanted to pay cash

2) Wanted the 11 month ressie window @ different resorts

3) Wanted to be able to gift each of our sons with a membership in the future.

We were able to add on @ BWV the same day of our request , otherwise you can have success on the waiting list.

good luck.

 

[DiznEeyore]

Soooooooooo...once you are in the "system" and a DVC member you can then "add-on" additional points, correct???? I am assuming your add on points can be at another resort, even thought they are not available to new members to purchase...correct??? Soooo...if I bought SSR then I could eventually purchase BWV or VWL as they came available?

Correct.

And FWIW, if you wanted to buy through Disney (with the 150 point minimum), they have been selling the "sold-out" resorts to new buyers once those buyers make it clear that they are not interested in SSR.

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

Soooooooooo...once you are in the "system" and a DVC member you can then "add-on" additional points, correct???? I am assuming your add on points can be at another resort, even thought they are not available to new members to purchase...correct??? Soooo...if I bought SSR then I could eventually purchase BWV or VWL as they came available?

I am not 100% sure, but I think that the other resorts are also available to new members to purchase as long as they are purchasing a minimum of 150 points. I know there is another thread on this. I think some sales people will not allow it and will stand firm that it is SSR or nothing, but I do think that other sales people will do it.

Otherwise everything you said is correct. This is another reason why Disney will exercise ROFR, if they have a list of people waiting for a particular use year, that gives them a reason to ROFR a resale contract to provide a current member or members with points.

 

[CPTJAK]

Soooooooooo...once you are in the "system" and a DVC member you can then "add-on" additional points, correct???? I am assuming your add on points can be at another resort, even thought they are not available to new members to purchase...correct??? Soooo...if I bought SSR then I could eventually purchase BWV or VWL as they came available?

If you BWV you could buy direct from Disney now probably. In the past they have had OKW, BWV available immediately or with a short wait. But you have to buy 150 points and the price is $95 plus $200 closing costs for new members.

No closing costs for members/add ons.