To buy or not to buy?

[adrian0302]

We are considering buying a 160 points at BLT for $17,920. We Live in the UK - any opinions?

 

[adrian0302]

Considering buying the minimum amount of points at Bay Lake Towers. Should we take the plunge? We hear a good deal of the advantages, but what are the disadvantages?

Adrian

 

[Elise79]

We are just going through the process and have decided to buy but haven't quite got the finances in place yet!

First of all learn as much about DVC as you can to decide if it is right for you. Good places to start are the DVC forums on here and DVC's own website.

Have you taken a tour in WDW and met a guide? If not they do an online tour you can arrange via the website.

Also don't forget it is not just the initial purchase price you have annual dues too. Annual dues for 2009 for BLT are $3.67 per point. These have to paid in one go (usually January) unless you hold a US based checking account when they can be paid monthly by direct debit.

For 160 at BLT you will get a maximum of 11 nights per year (that is in a standard view studio in the cheapest season) so you need to look at the point charts to decide if it will be enough points for you. The point charts have changed slightly in 2010 too.

We will be probably getting 200 points initally but know we will want/need to add more in a couple of years but decided that was a good start

 

[Wedgeh]

One comment that I would make is that the pound is some way below a historical average against the dollar, so that could affect your decision on timing at least. Of course if you're planning to go fairly soon money you would 'save' staying on points instead of a cash reservation may offset this.

 

[Clarissa]

Consider the exchange rate for your annual dues,more pricey at moment with weak pound. Also consider buying a resale since much better prices than direct from Disney, despite the sweeteners offered. You can still book at the new resorts so long as you do so quickly once the window opens,especially if at peak times.

 

[junior27]

We will be probably getting 200 points initally but know we will want/need to add more in a couple of years but decided that was a good start

Elise seems to have covered the main points. We bought 270 points - enough for two summer weeks in a SV studio every year if we wanted - and made our first trip at Christmas.

One thing that I would change if I had known at the time would have been to purchase 160, 50 and 60 points as the smaller contracts can be sold more easily should the need arise. IIRC, if buying add-ons direct from Disney, DVC take care of the closing costs so it would probably not change the overall cost. Just something worth thinking about if you are buying more than the minimum requirement.

 

[RDP]

We bought DVC because we like staying on site so much and loved the AKV development. We also bought last year when the exchange rate was 2 - 1 . Dont be drawn in by the promise it will pay for itself in so many years. The reality for UK buyers is that it takes a lot longer to brake even when you add in year on year flights and annual dues. We have no regrets yet, we have used developer points to have a holiday in the UK and plan to take grandparents out to AKV in Nov for a family holiday. We were going to Disney long before we had children and will be going for the foreseable future with our children.

 

[Elise79]

Dont be drawn in by the promise it will pay for itself in so many years. The reality for UK buyers is that it takes a lot longer to brake even when you add in year on year flights and annual dues.

This isn't true really - because I have worked out our breakeven point at 5 years based on todays exchange rate of £1:$1.40. I have excluded flights and just matched it up against just our accomodation costs for the resorts we are planning on staying at (only flaw is I have just used rack rates and not taken into account any possible discounts). I have taken into account the annual dues too.

If we are going we have to pay for our flights so it is not fair to include them in the calulation but if before you bought you used to buy a package I can see why you would.

 

[Hilary]

I really shouldn't read these threads - they definitely make my 'add-on-itis' flare up!

 

[Shooby doo]

Firstly Adrian there are no real disadvantages if you plan on visiting WDW for the forseeable future.OK as a UK buyer having to pay your dues right after Xmas is a major blow & generally we need more points than our US counterparts.I'm sure that you are aware that your purchase has a limited lifespan,50 years from opening of the resort,whereas other timeshares you own for life.
If you are set on BLT then at the moment I would buy direct (IMO) to catch the incentives but I would seriously consider Resale if you are happy to buy elsewhere,we paid $13000 for 175 at SSR (this was the total including closing)now 175 is enough for us because we are happy to go every 2-3 years so we can bank-borrow-use.
We have only stayed on-site once,& to be honest it wasn't great but we loved the look of the Deluxe's & this way we can afford them.
Personally unless you are in a rush I would wait till the £/$ stabilize,we probably ended up paying nearly £1200 more between sending our deposit & finalising!
SD

 

[juliebrooks35]

We bought in 2007 and will be making our first trip home this summer. We bought 160 at AKV and as we only plan on visiting Florida every 2 years & don't like to spend the whole time in Disney this amount works well for us. We'd only stayed in value's previously but being a family of 5 we loved the extra space that DVC offers not to mention the deluxe accomodations which we wouldn't have otherwise been able to afford.
I'm yet to find any disadvantages other than the timing of the annual dues.

We bought back when we got 2$ to the £ so it really was excellent value and our 160 points cost thousands less than they would now so I'd advise waiting until the £ is stronger again if you can.

 

[Pootle]

I think this old thread could be very useful for someone considering purchasing DVC.

 

[Cinderella]

Hi Adrian - I sold my two DVC contracts last year, for many personal reasons - too many to explain. And there's lots of issues you need to consider - especially if you're buying from the UK.

First off - you don't know if your personal circumstances will change. Folk will tell you it is easy to sell and not make a loss if you do - and it is sort of. I sold without making a loss - on my own. Had I had to pay brokers fees to sell, it would have been a different story. But - exchange rate fluctuations meant I would still make a loss.

Also, if you need to sell and you're not from the US - Disney will remove 10% tax from the total amount of the sale and you will have to reclaim it. Disney don't bother giving you the forms to do that - so you've got to work it all out for yourself. I read on here about someone who sold so she could buy points at another resort - Disney didn't mention to her about being able to reclaim the tax and she didn't even bother looking into it.

I love DVC accommodation - it really is wonderful. But since I bought - the needs of my family changed. When they were small - a studio, or one bedroom was fine. As they grew - we needed a two bedroom, so they could have seperate beds (they are opposite sex). Next trip, they will be teenagers, so they don't really want to share a room anymore - so a two bedroom isn't big enough anymore. These things might sound obvious now - but I didn't consider them when the kids were small.

I was speaking to another DVC member a couple of weeks ago. She was in a similar boat to me - her family had grown up and her needs had changed. Last year she stayed in an offsite villa with pool and she said she liked it a whole lot better than DVC.

Also - how much of a planner are you? This matters a lot. I don't plan vacations well ahead, so I was finding that I wasn't booking early enough to get the resort we wanted. And one time - I had to rent out my points cheap at the last minute - thank god for the DIS boards, or I don't think that would have been possible.

And finally, even though we really love Disney - our lives changed, so we weren't doing a trip each year.

All these things are worth considering - DVC isn't a cheap option. And with this recession - or whatever they're calling it, there's so many cheap rooms available.

Did you see the offer this year for 42% discount plus free dining at OKW or Saratoga? You can get a two-bedroom villa for £200 a night including dining - and that's including dining for up to 8 people.

I'm not trying to put a dampner on DVC - the resorts are awesome - my favourite is SSR. But I know you'll get a lot of positive reviews on here, so I thought it was worth showing you the downsides too.

 

[Wedgeh]

Also - how much of a planner are you? This matters a lot. I don't plan vacations well ahead, so I was finding that I wasn't booking early enough to get the resort we wanted. And one time - I had to rent out my points cheap at the last minute - thank god for the DIS boards, or I don't think that would have been possible.

I'd like to echo this point, DVC is categorically not for people who don't usually plan their holidays well in advance. Whilst there is occasionally availability just before departure, it's going to be at the less popular resorts/room types at the less popular times. If you're going for competitive times/resorts/room types you want to be booking as close to the 11 or 7 month windows as possible.