Small Points? Where do I find 'em?

[ArnyVee]

On another post someone mentioned how they kinda 'broke in' their DH into DVC by buying 60 points and going on one trip. With the way that my DW is ('magically'-impaired) I think that this might work for me as well.

Anyone have suggestions on where I can find the smaller amounts of points? I know that folks do add-ons all the time, but I wanted to see if there was a listing of them somewhere.

Thanks for the help!

 

[JOC]

Hi Arny,
I just replied to your question in Tiberius' thread. Anyway, you need to call the resale brokers and tell them what you're interested in and get on their list. I know that Shontell has a waiting list of people looking for those smaller contracts (100 points and below), and she added me to her list. Most of those smaller contracts don't make it onto the resale websites because of the people on the waiting lists.

 

[ArnyVee]

Originally posted by JOC
Hi Arny,
I just replied to your question in Tiberius' thread. Anyway, you need to call the resale brokers and tell them what you're interested in and get on their list. I know that Shontell has a waiting list of people looking for those smaller contracts (100 points and below), and she added me to her list. Most of those smaller contracts don't make it onto the resale websites because of the people on the waiting lists.

Thanks Joc!

Yeah, I just read your post.

Are the waiting lists usually long? What is the normal timeframe that I should expect to hear back from the resellers?

 

[JOC]

Arny,
I'm not sure how long each broker's waiting list is. Shontell sends out an e-mail to people on her "list" prior to posting contracts on her website. She then calls the people on her list and asks if they're interested in that particular resale (this is for the smaller contracts, not the regular ones). If not, she goes down the list to the next person. I know that by the time I read the e-mail about an 80-point BWV resale, Shontell had already had a taker from her list (I was too far down on her list so someone would have snagged it before me anyway). Get on her e-mail list, both at work and at home if possible, because she puts out the info at all times of the day. By the time you get home and check your e-mail in the evening, that listing could already be sold. I lucked out on finding the contract I bought through Jaki Apetz...she had just put it on her website about 10 minutes before I found it and she held it for me until the next day so I could contact my bank and get my loan. I'm sure Jaki will also work with you in finding something to your liking!

 

[Lesley]

You could also rent points for a trip......we had done that for just one night at OKW added on to a trip we already had planned. As it turned out, we joined before we stayed that night....but it would have convinced us!

 

[betslinc]

We called the Timeshare Store directly and got a 50 point OKW contract before it was listed. It has worked out really well for us. There were some banked points. With banking and borrowing we're able to get a decent vacation length. It allowed us to get our feet wet without the big up-front charge, so we didn't have to finance. Now we can do add-ons if we want, either resale or through Disney. Buying the small package to start out with meant we could pay cash and avoid finance charges.

 

[tiberius]

ArnyVee,

It seems the small resales move very quickly and mine was no exception. I had resales get bought back by Disney. When talking with Jerry at The Timeshare Store I indicated a willingness to purchase a smaller contract if available as long as it still had current year points available. It so happened that he told me about a small contract that had just come in to them not much earlier. Having been burned by Disney exercising their Right of First Refusal under the $70/point level, I went ahead and told Jerry I would pay the $72/point asking price and he took it off the market for me right away. I would recommend letting a resale dealer or two know what you are looking to buy and how flexible you might be in terms of location, points wanted, etc... Then keep in touch with them every few weeks to remind them of your interest.

I hope it works out for you.

 

[Emolly]

I just sent you a PM.

Amy

 

[ArnyVee]

Originally posted by Emolly
I just sent you a PM.

Amy

Sent one back Amy.

 

[4greatboys]

I got lucky and got my small point resales when they had already been "taken". I saw 2 small contracts on Tineshare Store site one was 50 and the other 65 but they said sale pending. Same with our next 100 point contract. In both cases the first people that were going to buy them ended up not taking them so I got them since I had called and expressed interest in them. The nice thing about our 50 & 65 point contracts is they had the same seller so we only paid 1 closing fee for the 115 points.
So even if you see sale pending next to one you are interested in then call anyway you may just get lucky.

 

[rae519]

4greatboys -

If I may ask, what did you pay in closing costs for the 115 points?

Thanks,
Rae

 

[4greatboys]

I paid $400 for the 115 point contracts and I paid $379 for my 100 point contract.

 

[rae519]

Thanks!!!!

Just hoping to look for a few more points (isn't that our never ending quest as DVC members?)

Rae

 

[chrispoponak]

I am really thinking about doing a small resale. My wife and I are very young (I'm only 23, DW = 21) and we could (1) really do without the hefty finance charges that would come with the 150-point minumum. Also (2), we really prefer BWV or VWL to the current offerings from Disney. So, I figure that a small 60-70 point contract at either resort would allow us to do a 5-day 4-night vacation in a studio at any time durng the year. We generally don't travel on the weekends, so most of the time we would do a SUN-THU vacation week. (3) It is unlikely that we'd be there during the major holidays, because we both come from divorced and remarried parents and the bigger holiday commitments that result. We also have no kids, and we are not planning on having any for at least 3 years. So, (4) when we go to WDW, we spend relatively little time in our hotel/accomodations and as much time as possible going to the parks, playing golf, shopping in DTD, going to other parks like Sea World or Cape Canaveral, and enjoying the "night life." (Big reason for BWV preference.) Therefore, at this time (5), we don't really need much more than a studio. Should the need for more points arise, we could (6) always do an add-on. Furthermore, we like to go to many places besides Disney/Central Florida. Now, I know that a big selling point for DVC is that it can be used practically anywhere through member getaways, but I currently feel (7) that the member getaways, to include the "Disney Collection" are a poor deal. If you shop around and are flexible, you can get a much better deal by paying cash to do much of what is offered through member getaways. The big "thing" is that we love Disney and the best way to do Disney is DVC. However, the best way to do DVC for "us" can only be done through a resale. For now, we'll just rent. I was able to get my boss to let me use 120 of his banked 2001 points that he could not use and would therefore lose (his DW recently got a new job w/ little vacation time) for only $500. So by looking around and talking to people, we were able to make a steal.

So, I just came up with seven reasons why a small resale is the way to go for us. Would anyone chime in with their opinion?

 

[CarolA]

For those of you doing add ons. Be careful. I just did the math on a 60 point OKW add on. If I have to pay 72 a point plus the 400 closing cost it comes out to $4720 or about 78 a point. For that I get no points until 12/03.

Now a 50 point add on at BCV comes to 4,200. And I get points now. I actually may call Monday and just do the BCV addon.

 

[chrispoponak]

I understand your point, but I am not doing an add on. I am doing an initial purchase. If I buy through Disney, then I have to buy 150 points, I do not have the $12600 ($11100 after MB) to buy 150 points at BCV, so I would have to finance. I would probably do the 10-year option, b/c those payments would best fit my budget. Upon contemplation, I feel that putting a down payment and a year's worth of monthly payments towards a small contract at the resort I want is a better and much more financially practicable option for me. I would save a lot of money in the long run b/c the monthly payments over time add up to about $21000 for something that cost me $12600 (or $11100 with MB).

You are right about doing add ons through Disney. You end up paying the same or even less in some cases as a resale, and it is much easier to go through Disney than through a realtor.

 

[CarolA]

chrispoponak,
I know you were doing an initial sale, but someone did post on resales. I will say that I have been looking for a SMALL add-on with a March use year at OKW for a while and have not found one. You might have it easier since your use year is not an issue.

 

[ArnyVee]

Originally posted by CarolA
For those of you doing add ons. Be careful. I just did the math on a 60 point OKW add on. If I have to pay 72 a point plus the 400 closing cost it comes out to $4720 or about 78 a point. For that I get no points until 12/03.

Now a 50 point add on at BCV comes to 4,200. And I get points now. I actually may call Monday and just do the BCV addon.

Point well taken Carol. But, for those of us that are trying to buy into DVC at a lower point total (for different reasons), it's our only way to go since Disney has their 150 minimum point clause.

This is good advice if you are lookin' into an add-on and are already a DVC member.

Quick question though, if I buy into DVC with a 50-point contract with OKW, could I then go to Disney directly and do an add-on with BCV or BWV?

 

[betslinc]

ArnyVee:
I did exactly that, my initial contract was a 50 point OKW package I bought in Dec. I haven't done an add-on, but they've solicited me by mail to do your exact scenario.

 

[ArnyVee]

Betslinc:

That's good to know. I want to buy-in at BVC or BWV once I get my initial purchase. Or, go with an add-on at OKW if I get one of the others.