Too late to buy for a trip this year??

[penguins1]

All,

I need your opinions. I have a 5 night trip planned for December at CSR. My wife and I have finally decided that we are going to buy into DVC resale at BWV (50-75 points at somewhere around $85 each I hope). I am just trying to figure out if it is worth buying now and still trying to book at BW.

From what I have seen on the reservation availability board, it looks like BW is pretty much booked up for Studios. I suppose I would be able to get into SSR in December or perhaps some others??

I know no one can predict the future but I am wondering if it is best to try and buy now to use this year vs. waiting and hoping prices go down. If I wait I will be spending ~$500 at CSR.

I am hoping you guys have some thoughts! Thanks!!!

 

[kelly4me]

We put in a bid at the end of February (27th) and I was able to make reservations on 4/2. Everything went incredibly smoothly with our resale transaction. I was still within the priority window for my home resort for my December reservation. The 7-month window for December will open in May. It's unlikely if you bid on a contract now that you'd be able to close and book before mid-May, so BW is likely to have very limited availability by the time that you go to book. You can always waitlist for a room if you want. I booked for one room type for December, but waitlisted for what I really want.

 

[wdwnut]

december is pretty popular-lower points. You may be able to get a studio at one of the larger DVC resorts. I wouldn't count on it 100% though. There have been a few threads stating the cancellation rate is higher than usual this year, so it might work out for you. Good luck!

 

[Buckeye Fan]

We spent about $1800 and bought in on that trip. Still makes me sick that I didn't know more about DVC, and didn't put that $1800 on a purchase. If you know you're buying, I'd buy in and stay where I could get a reservation and wait list BWV if that's really where you want to stay.

We made the decision to try every DVC, and I'm so glad we did. I read comments all of the time about people not liking this or that about any given resort, and most have never there! I don't think you really know what you like and don't like until you try it. What we've been pleasantly surprised with is that we've liked them all for different reasons. So, with that said, I say go for it if you have the cash to do it now!!!

Best of luck!!!

 

[penguins1]

Thanks for the replies! We are leaning towards buying this year. I realize we will miss our priority booking and will likely not get into BWV.

What about AKV? The reservation availability board doesn't have much info about December. It would be fun to stay there!

Also, when making my offer, I am thinking about asking the seller to pay for closing. Is that unheard of??

 

[Sandisw]

Thanks for the replies! We are leaning towards buying this year. I realize we will miss our priority booking and will likely not get into BWV.

What about AKV? The reservation availability board doesn't have much info about December. It would be fun to stay there!

Also, when making my offer, I am thinking about asking the seller to pay for closing. Is that unheard of??

Having a seller pay closing is not unheard of. Everything is negotiable. I think that availability in December will be hit or miss and that you should be able to get something.

I bought resale and it only took 28 days from offer to closing. I was able to make a reservation within 5 days after that, so if you put in an offer this week, you have the chance to be able to book by mid May.

Good luck!!!

 

[Buckeye Fan]

The 7 month window for December opens up in May. If you make an offer on a contract now, you may close in enough time to take advantage of your points this year. You may not get standard view at BWV, or concierge at AKV, but you can still probably book a studio at one of the DVCs of your choice.

 

[arthur06]

I would just add, make sure if you are wanting to use points this year, you know that the contract is not stripped of its points!

 

[work2play]

I would just add, make sure if you are wanting to use points this year, you know that the contract is not stripped of its points!

I agree! When looking at resales, if the resale does not have current year points then I add $8 a point onto the price when comparing it to what Disney is selling points for to get a reasonable comparison. You can usually rent points in the $8 range.

 

[fers31]

Don't give up on BWV yet. I purchased my DVC in June and booked BWV for December right away. It was a split stay at BWV and BCV and eventually my waitlist came through for the whole stay at BWV. Best of luck. Get in now!

 

[penguins1]

Thanks all. We have decided to buy this year for sure. Now I need to find a contract with the amount of points I want. There are a few out there with 50, but with the point chart changes I am trying to get 65 to ensure I can always book a studio for 5 nights (Preferred = 13 per night next year).

I suppose that with the home resort privleges I should always be able to get a Studio Standard View fairly easily???

Maybe I should go for 50 and then just add on later which it sounds like lots of people love to do!!

 

[5forDiz]

The reservation availability board just gives you an idea of what the situation is at the time the poster called MS. Availability changes all the time - my phone call for particular dates at noon can be no availability but your call even a short while later for same dates & villa size can come through.

Once you purchase a contract you can add-on additional points directly through Disney if you wish at minimum of 25 pts on a cash purchase or minimum of 50 pts if you want Disney's financing and there aren't any closing costs/fees. ( and with cash purchase you can buy at any number above mimimum 25 pts as well ( 27, 34, 49, 97 etc ) and same goes if financing - any number at 50 pts or more.

Also, if you find that you may come up short some points for a reservation you'd like to make you can arrange to transfer points that you need from another DVC member. Each member is allowed one transfer of points either into their account or out each calendar year.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Thanks all. We have decided to buy this year for sure. Now I need to find a contract with the amount of points I want. There are a few out there with 50, but with the point chart changes I am trying to get 65 to ensure I can always book a studio for 5 nights (Preferred = 13 per night next year).

I suppose that with the home resort privleges I should always be able to get a Studio Standard View fairly easily???

Maybe I should go for 50 and then just add on later which it sounds like lots of people love to do!!

We own at BWV and find that SV studios are harder to get than BW view studios. If you want to consistently book SV in the future, you need to plan to book when your 11 month window opens. I tried to book a SV studio for Dec 3, 2009 at exactly 11 months in advance but was not successful (I didn't call until about 4 hours after MS opened that day). I was, however, able to book Dec 4 by calling first thing the next morning. Of coruse, early Dec is one of the toughest times to book in general. There are other times of the year when SV studios are much easier to book. Best of luck -- Suzanne

 

[penguins1]

I suppose I just now need to be patient and wait for the right contract. Their are two pretty nice 50 points ones available with March Use Years. We usually travel in Sept/Dec so that would probably be the worst Use Year I could get.

I am an impatient person sometimes though!!!!!

ETA: Also, since lots of people have experience with re-sale, how often do new listings pop up? That may help me decide to go for one of the 50 point contracts or not!!!

 

[Buckeye Fan]

I suppose I just now need to be patient and wait for the right contract. Their are two pretty nice 50 points ones available with March Use Years. We usually travel in Sept/Dec so that would probably be the worst Use Year I could get.

That depends. Will you be traveling down once a year, or multiple times? Have you needed, or will you need, to cancel vacations on short notice? The answers to these questions would impact what UY I would buy.

Banked points can be tricky, especially if you only travel once per year. I found that out the hard way. For example, say you buy a 100 point contract, Dec UY, right now and bank 2008 points. Let's say you book a vacation from Dec 1, 2009 - Dec 7, 2009 for 75 points. If you don't use the remaining 25 by November 30, 2010, they will expire.

There are definite pros/cons to different UYs, but they are much less significant if you travel more than once per year. Because most people do make multiple trips, UY is generally just a day their points are deposited.

I am an impatient person sometimes though!!!!!

Ummmm...what is patience? I feel your pain. A GREAT contract will pop up, though! Let the 3 or 4 major brokers know what you're looking for, and they can call you as soon as something becomes available.

ETA: Also, since lots of people have experience with re-sale, how often do new listings pop up? That may help me decide to go for one of the 50 point contracts or not!!!

They pop up often, but those lower point contracts go quickly. When one does pop up, you have very little to no time to think about it. Think about what you want, what UY, and be ready to purchase when you get the call!

Wishing you the best!

 

[Golden Rose]

We paid a little more than we probably should have for a BWV contract last October because it was the same UY we already had (Dec) and it was fully loaded with all points for the current year and it all points from the previous year banked. We'd seen enough contracts stripped that we waited for one that wasn't, and were willing to pay a little more to get it.

Our resale timeline was such that we made the offer at the end of August and closed fairly early in October. We would have loved to do a fall trip, but there was too little availability at the last minute. Instead, we did 6 nights in a two bedroom villa at SSR in January using a combination of our developer points (from buying AKV from Disney) and the banked points on our BWV contract. We also have a BWV stay booked for October this year, finishing off the banked points and using a few of this year's points.

You will probably be able to find something for the time of year you're hoping to go if you start the paperwork soonish, but you may not get your preferred room type or resort, and you may have to move in the middle of your trip.

 

[penguins1]

The plan right now is to wait for the use year we want. We travel Sept - Dec so I think the right use year would be in the July / August timeframe. Is that right?

We figure if we are able to get something in the next few months hopefully we will still be able to get in somewhere in December. I know we wont get BWV but I am hoping AKL would still be available.

 

[Sandisw]

The plan right now is to wait for the use year we want. We travel Sept - Dec so I think the right use year would be in the July / August timeframe. Is that right?

We figure if we are able to get something in the next few months hopefully we will still be able to get in somewhere in December. I know we wont get BWV but I am hoping AKL would still be available.

If you travel from Sept to Dec, then a June or Aug UY (they don't sell July) would be great for you! It really is important to get a UY that will fit your travel as you don't want to be in a borrowing situation.

I did just read on another thread that ROFR is taking the full 30 days right now (moving offices) so just keep that in mind as the time frame to go through through the resale process.

I think adding on is a great idea--this way, as soon as you find a contract with the right UY and about the # of points you want, you can buy and always add on with 25 through Disney.

Good luck!

 

[5forDiz]

The plan right now is to wait for the use year we want. We travel Sept - Dec so I think the right use year would be in the July / August timeframe. Is that right?

We figure if we are able to get something in the next few months hopefully we will still be able to get in somewhere in December. I know we wont get BWV but I am hoping AKL would still be available.

'Ideally' ( if it's possible for there to be such a situation ) when picking UY you want to allow the most time possible from when you travel to when you'd reach end of banking window & end of UY in case you needed to cancel trip. Only CURRENT Use Year points may be banked ( this is what's important to know regarding banking window ) so if your reservation had utilized banked &/or borrowed points as well then those banked &/or borrowed pts couldn't be banked anyway in the event of trip cancellation but would need to be re-used by you before the end of that UY that the trip would have occurred in ( this is what's important re last date of UY ). Also, any trip that is cancelled at less than 31 days to check-in will mean that even current UY points utilized to book that trip are unbankable ( ie the current UY points would then need to be re-used for ressied that is before the end of UY just like any banked &/or borrowed points that may have been utilized in the cancelled ressie ).

June UY banking deadline is January 31 ( not ideal for December travel; doesn't give you much time to decide if in fact you'll re-use current UY points in event you cancelled a December trip 31days+ or if you'd prefer to bank them )

August UY banking deadline is March 31 ( better than June UY when making a re-use or bank decision after a Dec cancellation )

September UY banking deadline is April 30 ( probably best for September through December travel; gives you greatest amount of time to bank the current UY points used in ressie if you cancelled a Sept - Dec trip at least 31 days before check-in & gives you until Aug 31 to re-use if not and until Aug 31 to re-use any banked or borrowed points that may be part of ressie )

 

[penguins1]

Found a listing this morning for 50 points with Aug UY but no points available until next year. I would really like to try and use it this year. Perhaps I am being too picky though. I don't want to buy something too quick but I also don't want to wait forever! I guess if I am going to buy something that I can't use until next year I should be in no rush though...

Thanks so much for all of your help!!