What do you wish you would have known?

[wdwcoltsfan]

HI! We are in the slow process of trying to decide if we should purchase DVC. We would most likely buy into AKV. My question for the owners is what do you wish you would have known prior to purchasing? Is there anything about booking, banking, borrowing, difficulty of getting the room you want, etc. that you wish you would have been aware of before you made your decision.

I don't intend for this to be a negative thread, just an informative one. I like to have my bases covered and the best information comes from people who already own and have firsthand knowledge.

Thanks!


Rachel

 

[wilma-bride]

I wish I had known that I would want more points and just bought more in the first place

 

[CheshireCat]

Great question....I'll be checking back here to see the responses.

 

[WolfpackFan]

I wish we had thought more carefully about our home resort. We bought VWL, but we had our choice of BCV, BWV or VWL. We chose VWL because we were staying there for that visit and really thought it was a neat resort. But we've only stayed at VWL once. We much prefer BWV and it's easy access to Epcot and MGM. I wish we had made BWV our home resort.

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

I wish I had known that I would want more points and just bought more in the first place

This is something that we are really debating. We can't decide if we want to buy one large contract at AKV or say 160-200 pts. and then cross our fingers for CRV and then add on there.

This is exactly the info I'm looking for! Thanks!


Rachel

 

[SCDizneyDawn]

I wish we had thought to purchase our first contract as two.

We got 375 points (getting more than we thought we would ever need, what a joke that was! ) and I wish we had split them into 200 and 175 point contracts. I would love to be able to sell only a portion of the BWV points if they ever actually build a CRV.

Good luck with your decision! We LOVE our DVC.

 

[bwvBound]

Related threads:

• The "I-wish-I-would-have-known-before-I-bought-DVC" thread, Jan-06 (4 pages of posts)
• Now I know why you should buy where you want to stay?
• "Knowing what you know now" what would you do?, Mar-07
• DVC - If I could do it again..., Oct-06
• Considering taking the plunge..., Oct-02 - question #3
• About to Buy, but what's the catch?, Apr-04

 

[Youarehere]

The advice I see most often:

1. Buy where you want to stay most.

I think it depends on how picky you are. I don't care that much as long as I'm in WDW so I picked a WDW resort but it really doesn't matter which to me- I hope to try them all at some point.

2. Buy smaller contracts for flexibility.
You can buy your initial buyin thru Disney for 160 points or resale for any number of points that suits your needs/budget. Then you can add on any # of points over 25 thru Disney at any resort, though you may have to waitlist some resorts to get the useyear/points you want. You can also add on resale. There are no extra closing costs to do add ons thru Disney, but there are if you do resale add ons. You just have to compare.

This gives you better options for resale later if you need or want to- small contracts tend to sell quick. It also gives you the option of having 11month booking priority at more than one home resort.

 

[ebenmax]

I wish we would have known that you could split your large contracts into two. It would have been much easier for dividing among children when the time comes or selling if needed.

I wish I would have read more threads on the Dis boards before we purchsed.
You can gain SO many insights from reading, reading, reading! At least you are doing that!!

Good Luck with your decision

Ellen

 

[disney junky]

I wish I had thought more carefully about the number of points we initially purchased....started with 170. Added 30.

I listened to our guide and purchased June UY. I am happy that we did. She offered a logical reason why we should choose that month.

We have remained flexible with our requests and have always been able to get a place somewhere. Have stayed at OKW, SSR, BC and BWV (home).

I think you need to know that guides are sales people and nothing more and that though they are always honest in what they say, you need to "listen" to the fine print, that what you "can do" and what you may be able to do at a particular time could be different. They obviously aren't going to tell you every negative thing that could possibly happen. You need to inject your own healthy dose of skepticism as you would upon listening to any sales presentation.

I haven't done any exchanges, and others can speak to this, but it does seem a bit less simple than is presented in the presentation.

I haven't been at all disappointed in our purchase. I wish you well in your decision.

 

[DISNEY FIX]

Related threads:

• The "I-wish-I-would-have-known-before-I-bought-DVC" thread, Jan-06 (4 pages of posts)
• Now I know why you should buy where you want to stay?
• "Knowing what you know now" what would you do?, Mar-07
• DVC - If I could do it again..., Oct-06
• Considering taking the plunge..., Oct-02 - question #3
• About to Buy, but what's the catch?, Apr-04

These threads cover a ton of great info. Thank you bwvBound for linking them together.
Happy reading,
Chris

 

[dianeschlicht]

I wish we would have heeded our inner voice and purchased the number of points we "WANTED" right away instead of the number of points we thought we could afford. As it turned out, we COULD afford more, and we ended up almost doubling our points after a year. Of course, that little action did inadvertently help us by getting us two medium sized contracts instead of one big one (which is how we would have likely done it).

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

Thanks for the great insight! I agree that the guides will give you information, but certain things are glossed over. It was a real eye opener when I first came to these boards and started reading what the owners had to say.

I think the information here is invaluable! It really gives a true picture of what ownership will be like.


Rachel

 

[FamilyGuy]

I agree that the guides will give you information, but certain things are glossed over.

Quite normal in any sales related industry today. In my experience DVC tends to be on the very very 'clean cut and upfront' side of the spectrum, but in the end remember, they are just selling.

We bought DVC after our first trip to Disney, and no regrets at all - other than the cost(s) of course. It's not just the DVC points and dues costs, but even more so the additional monies spent on everything else for the visits, including annual passes and/or tickets, transportation and travel, etc. And of course your frequency of visits increases also!

 

[disneynutz]

We would pay cash or rent points and stay at the resorts that we are interested in. No matter what you read, trying the horse before you buy may help you decide. Each resort has a different feel. What we like, you may hate. This is a substantial expense. Best to have all the information.

 

[Dean]

I think the most important is making sure DVC is truly right for you, it is not for everyone. Some people can't plan far enough ahead to make DVC a reasonable choice. Some buy with the idea of using the trade options, a poor choice as a reason to purchase. Some buy after one trip to disney with no track record. Some make choices that are not realistic such as those that live far away and should know up front they can't visit very often. After that:

• Consider home resort
• Buy a small cushion in terms of # of points but not too many.
• Buy contracts in smaller chunks when possible.
• Consider home resort choices.
• Consider use year.
• Consider multiple home resorts in some situations.
• Dont finance. Skip a year or two and save up if need be.

 

[Y-ASK]

#1. Buy a 50 Pt. resale and add-on 50 Pt contracts as you go. It may cost a little more but if you ever need to get rid of it quick it will go quick.

#.2 Buy where you want to stay the most in order to get that booking advantage.

Y-ASK

 

[DVC Grandpa]

I wish we would have known that you could split your large contracts into two. It would have been much easier for dividing among children when the time comes or selling if needed.
Ellen

This is my only misunderstanding; I wish I would have had four equal contracts so that we could pass them on equally to each of our kids.

We did do one thing right, we waited for a location we knew would be something special rather than taking what was being promoted at the time. Meanwhile we stayed at Dixie Landings, now known as POR.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Wish we had known to purchase 2 smaller contracts instead of 1 large.

 

[DebbieB]

I also wish I would have split my contract. I bought 250 in one contract. At the time, I planned for my mom and I to go twice a year in a 1 bedroom. Right after I bought in late 1999, she had a reoccurrence of breast cancer and died in 2005. I wish I would have bought 150 and 100, I would sell the 100 now since I am now staying in studios.