Thinking about investing at Saratoga-- advice?

[CNMooner]

My husband and I are thinking about purchasing 250 points at Saratoga Springs-- we just returned from our Disneymoon (married 10.30.05) and I hope to return often with our future family. This seems like a great investment in future vacations, but I wanted to get the good, the bad and the ugly from all of you.

Any advice? Saratoga isn't my first choice (they are small and the location isn't the best) but it doesn't look like we'll have trouble getting reservations at Old Key West or the Beach Club Villas if we want to stay there. Should we go on a waiting list for those properties or just buy at Saratoga? What do you think about the program? Rants? Raves? It will be a financial sacrifice for us, so I want to make sure I know all the good, the bad and the ugly.

TIA!

 

[aDVCwannabe]

but do not strap yourselves financially!!!! if you think you'll be economically burdened now - just wait! - you ain't seen nuthin' yet! and i mean that in a sincere way. financing is the easy part - paying for maintenance can be tougher as those costs will increase over the life of your ownership and the costs of being married with children!

buying into ssr rather than an older resort will give you the extra years to enjoy the gift to yourselves and that future family. and i can't think of a nicer environment to stroll with a carriage than the pathways of ssr - and such a short walk to downtown disney!

a basic contract now and smaller add-ons later will get you to the goal you're looking for - and that will make it easier for you to cope with the add-onitis that so many dcv'ers catch every so often!

if you need a referral for the discount incentive, pm me and my dh and i will be glad to help.

 

[PKS44]

Be careful in thinking about DVC as an investment-per se--....do not think of a timeshare as a financial investment--while DVC owners in the past may have done okay or even better financially -this is not a good way to think about DVC or any timeshare...If you are committed to going to Disney on at least an every other year basis for the next 48 years...AND you would spend to stay in moderates or better anyway--you should come out even or ahead financially...what we did was we committed ourselves to nicer and better vacations in nicer accomodations than I would have been willing to pay for if I was doing the old way of shopping around for the best deal...

we love DVC but not as a financial investment...sure it is investing in future vacations...but the dividends are memories not money!

 

[lovinthemouse]

I agree with PKS44 it is not an investment in property. It is an investment in future vacations. We just bought into SSR. We loved it from the walk through. It is a more pricey timeshare but if you love Disney then it is the way to go. We go frequently so it is good for us. We will be making our first trip home since we bought in July 06. But owning has given us reasons to take more than one vacation per year. It also allows us to stay at the more upscale resorts. Maybe if financial is an issue buy fewer points to start off. You can always add more. Of course the incentive going right now may not be around. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Pluto 2]

if you go with ssr get a referal from someone than you will get it for 83.30 a point. ssr has 12 more years than the other dvc resorts and has the lowest maintenance fees currently 3.83 a point. you are thinking about going with 250 points . 250 might be a little hard to sell if you ever wanted to sell it. maybe you will want to go with 270, buy your 150 minimum, than to get the rest at the 83.30 price you have to go with 120 points. break it down into 2 contracts. or just go with the 150 and see how you like it. dont be like most of us where you are thinking about it for a couple of years than you lose those years. my vacations have change since getting dvc. i used to go 8 or 9 nights a year in the all stars or off property. i always wanted to stay in a better resort just couldnt afford it. now im staying 12 nights a year at a dvc resort. 83.30 a point i do not think you will get any cheaper so now is the time to buy. congrats on your marriage.

 

[disney-super-mom]

Let's say you get a DVC owner referal from someone here. You'll get a 15% off discount, which would come out to $83.30 per point

The best thing about buying into SSR is that the contract is good until 2054. All the other DVC resort contracts expire in 2042.

Since it's just you and your DH, and you won't require anything larger than a studio or 1 bedroom, you could buy 250 points at SSR and visit WDW once a year staying at OKW (it costs the least in points) in a studio or one bedroom, or in a studio at any of the other DVC resorts, and then rent the remaining points for your use year. At the going rate of $10 per point, it could help you pay your annual dues and fees. For example, if you used all but 80 points, and rented those 80 points, that's $800 you just made.

Or, just start with a smaller contract of maybe 170 points at SSR, which would save you $6,664 for the intial investment, and then it would save you over $300 per year in annual dues. This maybe a better way to start for you. You don't want to be financially strapped because you bought a DVC contract that's too large for you to handle financially, especially if you're going to start a family down the road - then you'll REALLY be financially strapped. After having babies, if you need more points for larger accomodations, and if you can at that time handle the extra $$, you can always add-on more points.

Good luck with everything and Congratulations on your marriage!

 

[TheBeast]

First, definately agree with others that it's not an "investment" which is what spurred me to read the post.

That said, for us it's worked out financially and psychologically - I could never bring myself to pay for deluxe accomodations but I could bring myself to pay for dvc then stay at the deluxe accomodations on points.

I wouldn't recommend buying more points than you think you'll use. Yes you can always rent the extras, but that assumes this is an "investment" and worth doing that. If you end up with extra points, or can't use them for some reason, it's nice to know you probably can rent them, but I would plan on that.

As for "there'll never be a better deal" - that may be true, but in my experience, there usually always is another deal at least as good in the future. (e.g. car rebates, then cars sold with discounts plus rebates, then "employee cost" deals, etc.) If you can afford it now and want to do it, great, go for it. If not, don't over-commit financially to get a great deal (like people that pay 20% a year on credit cards they used to buy stuff on sale...)

Ok, that's my soapbox for the day

 

[Ergens2]

(like people that pay 20% a year on credit cards they used to buy stuff on sale...)

Ok, that's my soapbox for the day

That is the truth!!! I never understood that. I guess that is my mothers voice in the back of my head "If you don't have the money for it don't buy it" She is a banker and loves the idea of DVC. My parents are looking into buying as well. Maybe we can be their referal? do you get any goodies for that? Just wondering. Always have to work the system!!

 

[DrTomorrow]

[...]Saratoga isn't my first choice (they are small and the location isn't the best) [...]

Um, this has to be the first time my SSR home has been called 'small' . The rooms are roughly the same size as BCV, BWV & VWL, and the resort itself is so large that it has it's own zip code!

We own at SSR and love it. And DVC is a great way to purchase prepaid (except annual dues) Disney vacations for decades to come.

IMHO - YMMV

 

[Rozzie]

I have to chime in here. If you really don't like SSR, I wouldn't buy there. And yes, you may have problems getting into BCV, or even OKW.

On a personal note, we love SSR, and don't ever want to stay anywhere else. I actually think the location is perfect for what we like. But if you really don't want to stay there, I wouldn't buy there. None of us have a crystal ball and can predict the future of DVC, and with more members being added everyday, it will get more tricky to get into the smaller resorts.

Good luck in your decision, and hope we can welcome you home soon!

 

[PKS44]

Sorry that I did not mention this before --but it seems most posts are missing this part of your post..I certainly got sidetracked by the "investment" aspect....but I agree that given your statement you should NOT buy at SSR with the idea of staying elsewhere...buy a RESALE...there are a few brokers including the sponsor of this website forum- who specialize in resales....you can save money if you do not have to finance and my philosophy is that you should NOT finance vacations future or otherwise...(but that obviously is not everyone's philosophy--thankfully there is no law mandating it one way or the other yet...) You can get the property you want--and the difference between 49 or 37 years might not mean much....

So definitely look at RESALES

you may want to check out this thread

 

[Disney Doll]

Be careful in thinking about DVC as an investment-per se--....do not think of a timeshare as a financial investment--while DVC owners in the past may have done okay or even better financially -this is not a good way to think about DVC or any timeshare...If you are committed to going to Disney on at least an every other year basis for the next 48 years...AND you would spend to stay in moderates or better anyway--you should come out even or ahead financially...what we did was we committed ourselves to nicer and better vacations in nicer accomodations than I would have been willing to pay for if I was doing the old way of shopping around for the best deal...

we love DVC but not as a financial investment...sure it is investing in future vacations...but the dividends are memories not money!

This is very sound advice, as is the advice about not buying more than oyu can comfortably afford right now.

DH & I went on a "Disneymoon" too. We were married in October 1991 though!They were just building OKW when we were there on our Honeymoon, and I wanted to buy right then. DH, practical fella that he is, thought we should wait until we had purchased our primary residece, before we invested in some vacation residence. So that's what we did. We scrimped & saved & bought a house in 1994. Thenwe scrimped & saved some more & bought DVC in 1997. We financed through Disney, and we took a 10 year loan out. OUr rationale was that the 10 year loan had the lowest monthly payment. We were determined to pay it off in less than 10 years, but if we had a month where money might be a little "tight", all we had to pay was the low monthly payment. It was, BTW, a 200 point contract at OKW. We chose OKW because we liked it and it had the cheaper per point purchase price and cheaper dues. The only 2 DVCs available at the time were OKW & BWV. Anyhow, we paid off our 1st DVC contract in about 3-4 years. My in-laws passed away in 2001, and we used some of the money we inherited and bought another DVC contract.

That's how we got to a total of 430 points.

My recommendation to oyu would be don't strap yourselves financially. Buy smaller contracts...maybe 50-100 points...every couple of years till you get to the amount you want. You don't want to break the bank, but it is a nice way to vacation.