Thinking of buying BLT - does this make sense?

[Antonia]

DH likes the proximity of BLT to the MK and Bay Lake. He does not like the thought of being out in the boonies at AKV - thinks it is too far from where we want to be (MK area).

Would consider a resale at VWL. However, would it not make more sense in the long term to buy a contract that has 50 years on it rather than one that expires in 2042? Of course, I might not even be alive in 2042, but my son or grandkids will and if we buy at BLT the contract will still be going until 2060 at BLT, right?

I have not checked prices for a VWL resale. Just thinking about the length of the contract. I have not really seen that mentioned in any of the posts here.

 

[chalee94]

Would consider a resale at VWL. However, would it not make more sense in the long term to buy a contract that has 50 years on it rather than one that expires in 2042? Of course, I might not even be alive in 2042, but my son or grandkids will and if we buy at BLT the contract will still be going until 2060 at BLT, right?

it's all up to you. your son and grandkids might love DVC or they may prefer non-disney vacations and may not want the obligations of paying the maintenance fees every year - if they love wdw, then BLT is a better choice. if you are planning to sell the contract after 10-15 years, you will probably get a better percentage back from a BLT contract (with 35+ years remaining) rather than a VWL contract with only 20-25 years left.

VWL resales seem to be priced in the upper 70s to low 80s per pt (plus closing costs). so you just have to weigh whether that is low enough to be worth the tradeoffs...

 

[Kris517]

I saw your post and wanted to add as this was a decision my husband and I dealt with years ago and paid a price for it.

If you love Wilderness and want to stay there...buy it.

My husband and I had the choice of buying SSR when it first opened years ago , with a nice brand new contract of 50 years or some left over BCV that had contracts expiring sooner. We thought "why would we buy something that expires sooner?" so we bought SSR.

Well, I do like SSR but I LOVED BCV and we could never seem to make our Oct reservation there these last few years and got fed up.

We just bought Beach Club resale and sold SSR....paid the differnce too. How many times have we said......"if we had just bought where we really wanted to stay the most in the first place...."

Obviously, BLT has a new contract expiration to offer so at least you have one DVC resort to choose from in the area you want.

But if your heart is set on Wilderness...buy there so you can make your ressie 11 months out and know you will get what you want.

Good luck

 

[Antonia]

Thanks for that perspective. That is just the kind of reply I want to get - the voice of experience!

 

[abner1776]

I have never thought of the difference in years to be that much of a big deal...who knows what will happen 20 -30 years from now. As far as the resorts themselves, they are very different resorts. VWL (our home) is homey, rustic and why we bought into DVC. BLT is contemporary, glitzy, bright and not why we bought into DVC. I would certainly like to stay at BLT...some day...but it certainly is not where I want to spend my days at WDW.

If you like VWL but buy into BLT simply for the extra years, I think you will be disappointed for the next 30 years.

 

[Antonia]

I am a LOOOOONG term thinker I guess. I have lived in the same house for 24 years, I have had the same man for 31 years, the same best friend for 35 years, lived in the same town 47 years and my parents have had the same phone number for almost 50 years!!!! That's crazy, isn't it?

So to me, I say well I'll just have the VWL for 30 something years. I could have BLT for 50.

It is something to consider - BLT or VWL resale???

 

[XGrumpy1]

Buy where you want to stay! I would say buy a small VWL contract and then add on with DVC as you can afford it.

 

[Antonia]

What if I buy a small VWL contract and need more points for my stay. How do I get more? Do I pay the remainder for that stay in cash until I add on?

 

[5forDiz]

If your initial purchase is direct through Disney you will need to buy 160 pt contract at BLT. There was a recent promotion at AKV for an initial buy-in of 100 pt but I do not know if that is still being offered .

If you buy resale you may buy a contract with less points than the 160 pt minimum buy-in required by Disney. Your membership is not treated any differently when you purchase via resale - you become a DVC member upon purchase.

In either scenario you can then do add-on contracts through Disney as you if you find you need more points and/or want to own contracts at other DVC resorts as well. The minimum purchase for an-add on contract is 25 points; 50 points if you wanted Disney's financing.

If you're uncertain it may be worthwhile to start with a small resale contract and then do add-on contract(s) when you determine if you want to stick with a particular DVC resort or own points at more than one DVC resort.

In answer to your question on what to do for more points before an add-on if you purchased a small resale to start off with :

you may bank points from current Use Year into upcoming Use Year to have a double allotment of points to use OR

you may bank points from current Use Year into upcoming Use Year and also borrow from the next Use Year to have three years worth of points to use ( example - bank Oct 2008 Use Year into
October 2009 Use Year AND borrow Oct 2010 Use Year into October 2009 Use Year) OR

you can have points transferred into your account from another DVC member who is not planning to use their points during the current Use Year or do a point rental with another DVC member where they'd reserve additional night(s) you didn't have enough points to cover with your contract
(rent / trade board is an important read to become familiar with these two scenarios )

Good luck on your planning !!

 

[chalee94]

What if I buy a small VWL contract and need more points for my stay. How do I get more? Do I pay the remainder for that stay in cash until I add on?

you can

*borrow pts from the next year

*use your once-per-year transfer to get more pts from another DVC owner (needs to be VWL pts if you want to book at 11 months) - these pts can be pooled with yours to book a single night

*rent pts from another DVC owner for the last few nights (but like any other rental agreement, the reservation is owned by that DVC owner and you won't be able to call and ask about it or add DDP or DME yourself).

*add the last few nights on cash (sometimes a 25% discount is available).

you cannot buy individual points to complete your reservation, though. (so you can't pay for part of a night in cash - but you can book individual nights as a cash reservation - if there is availability - and try to link it to your points reservation).

but if you find yourself running short and have borrowed completely against the next year's points, you may be a good candidate for an add-on.

 

[Dodie]

What's more important to YOU? That's what matters.

I only say that because you've started several threads and on each of those threads people have repeatedly said "if you really want to stay at VWL you need to buy at VWL." But, you keep coming back to the extra years at BLT as important to you.

If you feel strongly about a particular resort, then you need to buy where you want to stay, in case that's where you end up being able to stay most of the time over those years (however many there are) of your contract.

If you feel more strongly about the length of the contract, then you need to buy at one of the newer offerings.

 

[culli]

Will you make your vacation plans between 7-11 months out? If not it doesn't mater what home resort you have except the maint fees and years on the contract.

 

[1LuckyMom]

If there is one thing I learned from everyone's input it is to buy where you want to stay. You will be able to make your reservations there earlier than if you don't want your "home". Picture yourself staying there year after year and make sure you love your home.

 

[delmar411]

My opinion is that BLT is cheaper in the long run and will have better resale value in the long run over VWL.

 

[Mtnman44]

"Better Resale Value" is relative to what was paid. If both resorts cost the same, then yes BLT is a better "value" in terms of resale. However, since VWL is ~ $20 per point less to buy, then it is hard to make direct comparisons of value. Paying more today so I can sell for about the same amount more tomorrow doesn't really make much sense, right?

This decision really comes down to where one wants to stay, costs, and the reasonable expectations of availability. I believe that as the years go on, VWL will still be harder to get than BLT at 7 months. Just a guess of course.

My opinion is that BLT is cheaper in the long run and will have better resale value in the long run over VWL.