Thinking of buying a small resale contract -

[bizeemom4]

Is buying into OKW a dumb move if I can't get the 15 year extension? I can't afford to go through Disney right now and buy the 160 minimum required to get the 15 year extension being offered.

I have the cash to buy 50 points thru resale. Is there a better resort to buy into with a small contract? I looked at the points chart and 50 points would give me 5 nights in a studio in early June each year which would be perfect to start.

Any advice is welcome.

 

[JimMIA]

I certainly would NOT let the extension hold you back. Many of us would say that buying the 15-year extension would be a dumb move, but truthfully, I think it depends on your situation. Personally, I'd rather have a small add-on of points I can use NOW, rather than the extension.

Another option -- and one where you are more likely to find small contracts -- is SSR. SSR would give you the extra years as well.

If you are interested in a small contract, I'd strongly suggest you call The Timeshare Store (the sponsor of this site, links above) and tell them what you're looking for. They'll give you lots of good advice, and they'll put you on their "call list." If they get a contract that meets your needs, they'll call you before the contract becomes available to the general public. Small contracts are hard to find, so the call list is a big plus.

Many of us have purchased through TTS, and they are a great company to do business with.

 

[wheelcap]

Some will tell you to "buy where you want to stay" or "buy where you won't mind staying" -- because getting a room at your "home resort" at the 11-month window is a pretty sure thing; while waiting until the 7-month window for a "non-home resort" gives you no guarantee.

On the other hand - some will tell you to buy wherever is least expensive, because you usually have a decent shot at getting a room wherever you want.

Some will give you a "book" on the pros and cons of every option, and when you're done reading it all you'll even be confused about your own name. Simply said - once you're a member you can stay wherever you want - your not locked in to staying at your home resort.

I say - if OKW is comfortable for you, and the price is right, grab it!

 

[ldo]

we didn't want the $ or time commitment of a larger contract. 5 nights in a studio was perfect for us (for now). We also did not need to finance 50 points. We might not go every year--and 50 points lets us bank/borrow to get 150 points, enough for large villas, when we need it. We will probably add on another 50 points via DVC directly in the next year or two.
We picked a home resort that we would want to be at around the holidays, b/c we knew that was a hard booking time. I doubt we will stay there much in the summer and plan to try out different resorts.

 

[nunzia]

I'm starting with 25 points at OKW..the extra time in the contract doesn't bother me since I'm old already.. I chose OKW because it really seems like an all around great place, bigger rooms, low points, beautiful grounds. The little 25 points can get me almost a week every 3 years in a studio. I plan on adding quite a few more when DGC comes out, and maybe a little more at OKW one day. I will say, although re-sale is a good way to get your foot in the door, from here on out I will buy direct from Disney since once I'm 'in' there is no 160 minimum, and they have no closing costs.. on my contract, since it's so small, the closing costs are huge in comparision with points received.
Good luck!

 

[disneynutz]

Is buying into OKW a dumb move if I can't get the 15 year extension? I can't afford to go through Disney right now and buy the 160 minimum required to get the 15 year extension being offered.

I have the cash to buy 50 points thru resale. Is there a better resort to buy into with a small contract? I looked at the points chart and 50 points would give me 5 nights in a studio in early June each year which would be perfect to start.

Any advice is welcome.

Rent where you want to buy and buy where you love to rent. Are studios available in early June at OKW?

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

We have a 100 pt contract at BWV.

We love having 100 points.
It works very well for us.

There are a few issues that come up for small contract owners.
1) You have little margin of error with banking and borrowing
2) You can't make multiple reservations to cover different scenarios.

Examples:
We had decided to take a big trip with extended family and had to borrow about 30 points to do it. Well, my niece and nephews didn't get a Fall break as expected. We had to move our trip to Spring Break. That would have been great except we had borrowed about 30 points.

It worked out. We took a quick Fall trip to HHI on the 30 borrowed points, banked our '06 points, spent our '07 points, and borrowed 30 '08 points. Our April 2bdrm Bdwk view for 5 days was 200 points.

For the same trip, we were concerned that my sister would back out leaving DH and I with a 2 bedroom for only 2 people. DISers suggested that we make 2 reservations and cancel the one we didn't need. Of course, we didn't have the points to do something like that. We had a Feb UY for an April trip. We figured if they cancelled, we could rebook later in the year, and let them know a cancellation within 60 days was unacceptable.

Lessons learned:

1. Be very sure that you will use the points borrowed during that use year no matter what. It doesn't hurt to have a back up plan.

2. Make plans for big family vacations early in your use year. If anything goes wrong, you have time to rebook before the resorts fill up.

 

[JimMIA]

Some will tell you to "buy where you want to stay" or "buy where you won't mind staying" -- because getting a room at your "home resort" at the 11-month window is a pretty sure thing; while waiting until the 7-month window for a "non-home resort" gives you no guarantee.

On the other hand - some will tell you to buy wherever is least expensive, because you usually have a decent shot at getting a room wherever you want.

Some will give you a "book" on the pros and cons of every option, and when you're done reading it all you'll even be confused about your own name. Simply said - once you're a member you can stay wherever you want - your not locked in to staying at your home resort.

I say - if OKW is comfortable for you, and the price is right, grab it!

The key factor that gets lost with all these cliches is that in order for home resort to matter at all, you have to be able to book your vacations more than seven months out.

If you can book in that "11-month window" (7-11 months out), home resort matters. If you can book during that window, and you care where you stay, "buy where you want to stay (or wouldn't be disappointed to stay)" makes a lot of sense.

If you can't plan and book more than seven months out, home resort means nothing because all DVC owners have the same booking rights at seven months.

 

[carlbarry]

I'm starting with 25 points at OKW..the extra time in the contract doesn't bother me since I'm old already.. I chose OKW because it really seems like an all around great place, bigger rooms, low points, beautiful grounds. The little 25 points can get me almost a week every 3 years in a studio. I plan on adding quite a few more when DGC comes out, and maybe a little more at OKW one day. I will say, although re-sale is a good way to get your foot in the door, from here on out I will buy direct from Disney since once I'm 'in' there is no 160 minimum, and they have no closing costs.. on my contract, since it's so small, the closing costs are huge in comparision with points received.
Good luck!

Thanks! Your post confirms to me that I'm on the right track. I'm 54, single, but have hopes of getting married and having children (please, nobody call me crazy!). I would like to get 75 points at resale, as 160 points seems like way more than I need. And then, if I need more points in the future, I can buy directly from Disney. With the 75, I can stay for 5 nights a year (all I want, and my job lets me go whenever I want, i.e. low points times), and borrow and bank if I want a 2 bedroom, etc. With 160 points, I'd have way too many points at this time, I feel.