This a bad way of buying in?

[HHSTigerFan]

We really want to buy into DVC, but don't have the cash and if we did it now would have to finance. What we are thinking of doing is buying a small contract at HHI or VB of 25-50 pts which we could use for occasional stays after WDW... And then we would do add ons at AKV in 25 pts increments as we save up the cash..

We have always done a few nights at the beach after WDW, always thought about buying AKV and VB, with VB resales being fairly cheap, thought we could just get that one out of the way first and then move onto AKV...

Is there a flaw in this idea? Is having a bunch of 25 pt contracts going to cause problems?

 

[nunzia]

It's very workable..however, if you want to buy at AKV, why don't you look for small resales at AKV to start you off? Then you won't have to worry about dealing with the HHI or VB.
This is the same way I got in. I wanted VGC but it wasn't built yet, and I wanted to be an existing member when it came available for the early buying ability and also to have my contracts be in the small increments I wanted. So I bought 25 OKW, and have since bought 175 VGC in 3 contracts. Then I sold my OKW. It all worked very well.

 

[meandmyprincesses]

I'm actually considering the exact same thing, although I"m thinking about a small contract at SSR or OKW because I wouldn't mind staying there if I can't book anywhere else. I've heard on this board that if you book exactly at 7 months or soon afterwards, aren't traveling at peak times, and are flexible on where you stay there's no problem getting a reservation.

My thinking is to purchase a small contract and then borrow points from the future if needed. Yes, I'll start in a deficit but I can always add on another small contract later. And yes, I think borrowing "points" is a LOT different than borrowing cash

 

[HHSTigerFan]

Sorry I edited my post while you were posting...

We do want VB to go along with what we buy at WDW, its something we always thought about buying after AKV, but since its cheaper it "gets us in the door" sooner..

Also gives us the ability to finance 50 pts rather than 160 if we needed to for a specific trip.. Borrowing $3K (if we had saved $3K) for a trip instead of $13K is much more appealing..

 

[disneynutz]

I'm actually considering the exact same thing, although I"m thinking about a small contract at SSR or OKW because I wouldn't mind staying there if I can't book anywhere else. I've heard on this board that if you book exactly at 7 months or soon afterwards, aren't traveling at peak times, and are flexible on where you stay there's no problem getting a reservation.

It seems like everyone is doing the same thing. A word of caution, what has been true in the past, may not be true in the future.

As more new members are added, fighting for a reservation at 7 months will be a real challenge.

Bill

 

[chalee94]

What we are thinking of doing is buying a small contract at HHI or VB of 25-50 pts which we could use for occasional stays after WDW... Is there a flaw in this idea? Is having a bunch of 25 pt contracts going to cause problems?

VB dues are much higher than the onsite resorts - not a huge deal for a small contract but it offsets the savings...and what if you can't get into wdw at 7 months out and your pts completely go to waste?

unless you really want to stay at VB/HHI, just find a contract at OKW or SSR (longer end date) to get onsite...or be patient and save up for a small 30-50 pt contract at AKV if that's where you'd really like to be...and then book 10-11 months in advance.

you can usually get in at 7 months if you call exactly at 7 months and are flexible enough to work with the waitlists but it's hardly guaranteed...and the downside if you can't get in at wdw sounds like it would be a dealbreaker. roll the dice if you want - it has worked for some - but i don't like the idea.

just remember that all those posters who said that they never have to stay at their home resort won't be around when you start posting threads like this:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2492215

 

[Granny]

We have always done a few nights at the beach after WDW, always thought about buying AKV and VB, with VB resales being fairly cheap, thought we could just get that one out of the way first and then move onto AKV...

Is there a flaw in this idea? Is having a bunch of 25 pt contracts going to cause problems?

I agree with others who say that if you primarily want to book at WDW you should own a resort there. VB does have high dues which will offset some of the savings from buying your points there.

If you are planning on using the resale market, it is highly unlikely that you will find a stream of 25-50 point contracts at the resort you want in the same UY as your original resale contract. So you'll end up with a number of different UY's which may be challenging to manage and book with.

Rather than finance, maybe put the money aside and continue to add to it as you are able? Then buy a larger contract when it's financially a little easier. Just my two cents but you don't want to get into a bind financing something that's supposed to make your life more relaxing.

 

[Crystal_27]

We really want to buy into DVC, but don't have the cash and if we did it now would have to finance. What we are thinking of doing is buying a small contract at HHI or VB of 25-50 pts which we could use for occasional stays after WDW... And then we would do add ons at AKV in 25 pts increments as we save up the cash..

Just keep in mind that ownership at one of the beach properties will not guarantee you a on-WDW resort, whereas owning at one of the on-WDW resorts will (plus, the maintenance fees at those properties are the highest, which would certainly eat into any savings you realized on the front end). Why not look into SSR or OKW?

 

[HHSTigerFan]

Just to clarify, the points we buy at VB will be used at Vero Beach ...


Our goal down the road is to have enough points to do a stay at AKV and then a few nights at VB (either every year or every other year).. Probably something like 300 pts at AKV and 50 pts at VB..


What I was thinking was to buy 25-50 VB pts now, then buy the AKV pts from Disney directly in 25 pt contracts...

 

[thepops]

Sounds like a workable way to do it. (since you want to end up there anyway). Be sure to contact the re-sellers (timeshare store or whomever) to make sure you get on thier lists since the small contracts go quickly.

 

[nunzia]

Just to clarify, the points we buy at VB will be used at Vero Beach ...


Our goal down the road is to have enough points to do a stay at AKV and then a few nights at VB (either every year or every other year).. Probably something like 300 pts at AKV and 50 pts at VB..


What I was thinking was to buy 25-50 VB pts now, then buy the AKV pts from Disney directly in 25 pt contracts...

Yes..absolutely the best way to do it..add on from Disney to get the use year you already have and save closing costs. Of course, on sold out resorts you'll have to be on a list for the proper use year, but patience wins.

 

[antnyh]

I am glad to see you have been informed about the higher MF's. That was a big reason we thought buying in at BLT was a no brainer. Any small savings up front would quickly get washed out by years of higher MF's. Of course this is only my opinion, but would also suggest buying into one of the resort homes. Get a small contract of 50 or so points, there are a ton of those in resale right now, and add on as you can. if you think about it, you can either buy all points up front and have payments for 5-10 years or you can save for 5 years and then buy all at once. Maybe the later option is the most sensible approach?

 

[chalee94]

Just to clarify, the points we buy at VB will be used at Vero Beach...

if you are happy to book at VB at 10-11 months and stay there, then VB might be a good place to start. trying to change your reservation at 7 months is a lot less stressful if you are happy whether you can change or not.

other smaller risks with VB:

1) if a storm hits the resort, you might be on the hook for additional fees - called a special assessment (this is true of any resort but more likely for the coastal resorts).

2) if DVC were to decide to sell or otherwise divest one or more of the DVC resorts, VB and HHI are more at risk than the park-based timeshares.

just FYI...

 

[kim_d]

I know most on this board are not in favoring of financing thier DVC purchase and I completely understand why and the rationale.

However, FOR ME PERSONALLY, the time both in locating contracts on resale sites and the actual time that it would take to purchase enough 25 point contracts from VB and AKL with the correct use year to be able to use the points to stay at either resort would be enough for me to research financing so I could begin to use my points now and not years later. JMHO.

ETA: I just re-read thereponses, I wasn't aware that once you owed DVC points you can then purchase all subsequent points from WDW directly. I thought you had to have 160 points (I guess that is just initial buy-in). If you can, buy 25-50 pt contracts directly from Disney, then I think it could work I just wouldn't want to have to wait for re-sale contracts to become available.

 

[aceys_h0ney]

ETA: I just re-read thereponses, I wasn't aware that once you owed DVC points you can then purchase all subsequent points from WDW directly. I thought you had to have 160 points (I guess that is just initial buy-in). If you can, buy 25-50 pt contracts directly from Disney, then I think it could work I just wouldn't want to have to wait for re-sale contracts to become available.

The initial buy in is no longer 160 you can buy 100pt contracts from WDW now. We are buying one to kind of get our feet wet at SSR.

 

[kim_d]

The initial buy in is no longer 160 you can buy 100pt contracts from WDW now. We are buying one to kind of get our feet wet at SSR.

Thanks for the info. We did an add on 2 years ago, but we bought more than 100 points and already had more than 160 so I wasn't sure.

 

[Greysword]

This sounds like a good plan, TigerFan. Once you have a contract, you should be able to add on in any increment (at least the minimum) at any resort.

One advantage of your plan is buying into the smaller contract at VB will allow you to try DVC without a large capital outlay, so you can then decide if you like it enough to continue with AKV. As mentioned, the biggest downfall you have is trying to get small contracts with matching Use years. If they are the same and the title is drawn with the same member number, all of your points will be in one basic bucket and easier to manage.

One disadvantage would be paying Disney for a hotel room, when those proceeds could have gone toward AKV points. Due to this, I would like to recommend you watch your lodging expenses closely. If your lodging costs for one year is around $2000-$3000, then you may consider using these funds to buy a small contract for AKV instead of booking that reservation with CRO.

Otherwise, buying smaller increments net the same result as buying one large contract, and is a more financially stable way to go. In addition if you decide to shed points later, it is easier to sell smaller contracts than larger ones.

Good luck!

 

[Sandisw]

Since you know that you would be using VB points for VB as part of your vacations, then I think it is a great way to get your foot in the door as a DVC member.

Once you do that, you can, as you said, add AKV in increments through Disney as you see fit.

We started out with a small resale contract and then added on at BLT. It worked very well for us!

 

[ToddyLu]

DH and I both have very stable careers.....we threw caution to the wind and financed our purchase. The whole purchase, 210 points at AKV. So with interest we spent around $23,000. We got the preferred rate for 10 years. Can we pay it off early , sure, will we? We will make an effort to try. If we cannot then we can live with our monthly note and MFs....all the while knowing our luxury vacation home is waiting for us.

Some folks say that financing this purchase is not smart....that is what they told us about flood insurance, too. Thank goodness we didn't listen and had the flood insurance. Home owners insurance didn't give us a dime after Katrina and we lost ALL of the contents of our home. It changed our perspective on what was important. So it is very wise to consider all the financial responsibility involved with owning any large item, whether it is boat, car or timeshare. We are responsible and this worked for us.

I am glad you are doing it the right way for you and your family.

AKV IS AWESOME!!!

 

[nunzia]

I know most on this board are not in favoring of financing thier DVC purchase and I completely understand why and the rationale.

However, FOR ME PERSONALLY, the time both in locating contracts on resale sites and the actual time that it would take to purchase enough 25 point contracts from VB and AKL with the correct use year to be able to use the points to stay at either resort would be enough for me to research financing so I could begin to use my points now and not years later. JMHO.

ETA: I just re-read thereponses, I wasn't aware that once you owed DVC points you can then purchase all subsequent points from WDW directly. I thought you had to have 160 points (I guess that is just initial buy-in). If you can, buy 25-50 pt contracts directly from Disney, then I think it could work I just wouldn't want to have to wait for re-sale contracts to become available.

Right..that was the real beauty of the plan for me. I originally thought I didn't want 160 at VGC and the thought of that huge chunk of money all at once was daunting. Plus, I wanted my contracts split into small units for easier resale or inheritance purposes. Once you own any points with DVC, no matter how small, you are a full member and can do add ons through Disney for as small as 25 points a pop (for cash) or 50 points (to finance). You are also a full member in regard to perks, etc. You don't ever have to own a full contract with Disney (be it 160 or 100). I understand not financing, but it has worked for us. I paid cash for my OKW, then put a large down on my first 2 VGC. Then I decided I needed more points (naturally) and got a third VGC. I've sold OKW (broke even pretty much) and have paid off the first VGC contract with the other 2 going to be paid off by next month.