What to do 🤔

[melissa70]

Does anyone feel like outlining to me the advantages of buying direct or resale? Also, is there anyone here that doesn’t think buying at all is worth it and to just rent?

 

[pzw90]

https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-dvc-resource-center-updated-december-2021.3655476/

Has a lot of info. Post #2 has a few links answering your exact questions.
I'm sure others would be happy to answer any more directed questions instead of spoon-feeding broad ideas.

 

[Brian Noble]

There are dozens and dozens of threads that compare resale to developer, and a fair few that compare those to renting. The short version:

• There is no way to justify a developer purchase in dollars-and-cents terms. The spread between developer and resale is too high, and the monetary value of the perks is insignificant.
• A developer purchase might still be what you want if (a) you do not want to be told "sorry, you don't get to do that" or (b) you want a restricted resort to be your Home Resort, but don't want to always stay there.
• Renting and owning each have non-tangible benefits. Renting makes financial sense if you see yourself going for a relatively short number of years. Owning makes financial sense if you see yourself going over a longer period of time.

 

[melissa70]

There are dozens and dozens of threads that compare resale to developer, and a fair few that compare those to renting. The short version:

• There is no way to justify a developer purchase in dollars-and-cents terms. The spread between developer and resale is too high, and the monetary value of the perks is insignificant.
• A developer purchase might still be what you want if (a) you do not want to be told "sorry, you don't get to do that" or (b) you want a restricted resort to be your Home Resort, but don't want to always stay there.
• Renting and owning each have non-tangible benefits. Renting makes financial sense if you see yourself going for a relatively short number of years. Owning makes financial sense if you see yourself going over a longer period of time.

What is a longer time in your mind? I’m 54 LOL

 

[Brian Noble]

My personal breakpoint is about ten years.

 

[Disney Spaz]

I agree with Brian a minimum of a 10 year commitment makes the most sense for buying versus renting.

As for purchasing direct versus resale that is dependent soley on where you and your family put the most value. If it is overall cost then resale is for you. If it is having little to no restrictions and all perks then direct may be a better option. Also where you want to own impacts direct versus resale.

Do you know what resort you are interested in?

What time of the year do you primarily want to travel?

What size room is a priority for you?

 

[kgou]

I'd advise any potential buyer to spend a lot of time on these boards reading up on the product, both resale and direct, and spend a lot of time in the research phase. There is invaluable advice here, and I lurked here for several months before I pulled the trigger on purchasing. This helped me go into the purchase feeling confident about where I was buying, the price I was paying, and what I was getting.

Have you rented before?
How often do you plan to visit?
Do you want to try all of the resorts, or do you have one in particular that is a favorite?
Who will you typically be traveling with?

 

[McCrae]

I'd advise any potential buyer to spend a lot of time on these boards reading up on the product, both resale and direct, and spend a lot of time in the research phase. There is invaluable advice here, and I lurked here for several months before I pulled the trigger on purchasing. This helped me go into the purchase feeling confident about where I was buying, the price I was paying, and what I was getting.

Have you rented before?
How often do you plan to visit?
Do you want to try all of the resorts, or do you have one in particular that is a favorite?
Who will you typically be traveling with?

If you have any doubts I wouldn’t buy.

 

[VandVsmama]

Does anyone feel like outlining to me the advantages of buying direct or resale? Also, is there anyone here that doesn’t think buying at all is worth it and to just rent?

Went through this very same process after we got home from a trip to Aulani this past July. Here's a long summary of everything that DH & I thought through in our decision-making on this topic:

Buying direct:

• more expensive than we wanted to spend. We'd have to buy it w/a loan & didn't want to do a loan.
• wanted to dip our toe into DVC, but weren't sure yet that we wanted to do 150 pt right off the bat.
• in owning direct, you get access to all of the 'member extras,' which is great, but DH stated, "If I'm going to own DVC, I only want to use my points at Aulani and I don't care about the member extras there." DH doesn't realize yet that we'll be using our points at WDW, too. Are the 'member extras' worth it enough for you? That's more of a non-monetary/emotional decision. However, with that $99/yr member extra buy-up thing (I can't remember the official name of it), IF you're primarily going to WDW w/your points, then owning direct might make sense, especially if you'd go for >10 days/yr and it would make sense financially to have an AP (which you could then purchase at the FL resident price). However...
• In our case, my DH would lose his mind if we went to WDW for >10 days/yr, so the odds are slim to none that we'd ever purchase APs.
• In owning direct, you'd be able to use your points to also stay at VDH & Riviera. DH loves Riviera because of Primo Piatto and Skyliner access to HS & Epcot. I asked DH if this was enough to put him over the edge of buying direct and he said, "Heck no."
• In owning direct, you'd be able to use your points at the upcoming/under construction Lakeside Lodge DVC resort.
• Takes longer for us to reach our 'break even' point.

Buying resale:

• Way cheaper than buying direct.
• So for same $$ amount, you can buy more points.
• $$ savings per trip for us going to Aulani on resale points is almost $6500 compared to staying there on a cash stay (i.e., no points). The $$ savings per trip calculation took into account the expiration year of the contract, annual dues, purchase price of the contract, # of points purchased, etc.
• # of trips to break even at Aulani for us is 1.49, compared to almost 5 if buying direct points.
• We'd be able to go on relaxing vacations in Hawaii more often rather than once every 10-15 years.
• DH would also be able to actually relax on vacation & he'd stop griping & whining about how much everything costs at DL/WDW/Aulani. side note: DH has a really hard time going on vacation. His inclination is to still check emails, sometimes even gets on conference calls when we're on vacation...he does this ALL THE TIME when we're on road trips. The ONLY time he doesn't do this is when we're at a Disney park OR this past summer when we went to Aulani. So even though Disney food prices aren't ideal and even though my DH gripes about spending money on vacation, him going on vacation is necessary for his stress levels. Our Aulani trip this past July was the first time in a LONG time that I saw him really unplug and be able to chill out.
• We can STILL use resale points at almost all the other resorts.
• and yeah, some of them will be expiring in 2042, but that's 17 yr away and we're not worried about that. Plus, we're not interested in staying at some of the 2042 resorts: OKW because it's too spread out; BCV because it's impossible to get studios there if you don't own there; Boardwalk because I don't like the vibe or the food options there; HHI & Vero Beach because we're in AZ and if I'm going to do a beach vacation I'd rather go to Hawaii.
• We can 'get by' with a studio for now, but by buying resale, we could afford later on to buy more points AND pretty soon, we'll need a 1 BR or 2 BR for the times when we go w/our kids & 1 or both of the kids are married/have partners OR we want to go w/friends & don't want to share the same bedroom with the entire crew.

Pretty much ALL of our other Disney trips (prior to our July 2024 trip to Aulani) were staying at Value resorts at WDW. OR on the many DL trips we made, we'd either stay w/friends for free an hour's drive away or we stay in a motel along Harbor Blvd & have a 5-10 min walk to the DL main gates. DH has complained loudly at the prices we've paid to, as he put it, "stay in a glorified Motel 6 at WDW."

Also, for our July 2024 Aulani trip, I first tried to rent points, but that went nowhere because after several days of trying through a DVC points rental company, no rooms were available.

Closed on our Aulani resale contract in December! Happy shopping! I'm interested to find out what you decide to do and where you end up buying.

 

[kgou]

If you have any doubts I wouldn’t buy.

100% agree.

 

[melissa70]

I believe if I purchase, I will definitely do resale. What do you think is the best deal per point? I’m not seeing anything much less than $90 per point

 

[melissa70]

If you have any doubts I wouldn’t buy.

Do you own and have regrets? I have doubts about paying the maintenance fees more than the initial purchase!

 

[tarheellovesdisney]

We are mid 50s and just bought our first contracts, all resale. We chose BWV because we love BW! It is higher per point since it ends in 2042 but we absolutely love it!! It makes us so happy to stay there. We bought CCV for the better per point price. I use those points for all other resorts. We figured if we get tired of going our grown children still love disney and would take our contracts.

 

[Flash_Sloth]

Lots of pros & cons and trains of thought. What's right for one family may be different than what's right for another or for you due to various things like vacation time, vacations at Disney vs. elsewhere, financial situation, booking/canceling on short notice, etc.

If you are consistently renting DVC points, and you're planning many more trips for the future, then yes, you should probably buy. But know that it is a multi-year commitment until your break-even point vs renting.

Do a lot of research for which resorts you like, what their expiration date is, what the annual dues are (this is where the main long term expense lives!), points cost for the room types & views that you want, etc. Don't assume that you can always get the cheapest rooms & views at the times you need if you're scheduling around school breaks or holidays. Have a plan "B" just in case.

One of my pet peeves is that we call some of them the "2042" resorts because of their expiration year, but it is too easy to forget that 2041 is the last year you get points at those resorts, and those points have to be used by Jan 31, 2042. And similar for other resorts with later expiration dates.

And if looking at resale contracts, pay attention to whether they're "loaded" with current year points and maybe even banked points from the previous year, vs. "stripped" without current year points or next year's points. I would expect to pay a little more for a loaded contract, or a lot less for a stripped contract. Personally, I have zero interest in a stripped contract.

And Use Years; that's a long discussion too.

 

[melissa70]

How easy is it to book something 7 months out as opposed to 11 months at your home resort? Like say I purchase in OKW but want to go to BRV or Polynesian?

 

[melissa70]

We are mid 50s and just bought our first contracts, all resale. We chose BWV because we love BW! It is higher per point since it ends in 2042 but we absolutely love it!! It makes us so happy to stay there. We bought CCV for the better per point price. I use those points for all other resorts. We figured if we get tired of going our grown children still love disney and would take our contracts.

So you bought more than one contract? One at BW and one at CCV?

 

[melissa70]

I wonder how important it is to buy at the resort you prefer..so many questions lol

 

[MyDogTink]

Hi Melissa from a Melissa of similar age (51).

Here are my rough thoughts and some of my personal experiences:
I bought in 1998 along with my dad who thought it was a good investment if planning for a future family. I didn't visit much between 2001 and 2023 (my husband and I preferred cruises and other vacations). We now have a 5 yo daughter (no rolling eyes of becoming a mother at 46 lol). We ventured back to WDW in 2023 and realized that this is where we will be vacationing for the foreseeable future.

My 175 direct points from 1998 weren't going far considering we decided we always want 1 bedrooms and want to be near a park so those resorts require more points. Also, we will be stuck with the dreaded school schedule so, again, point-heavy times.

We purchased an additional 300 direct points at VGF during the great sale and 370 resale points at BLT because that is the resort that works for us. I thought about renting but ultimately, I like to be in control of my reservation.

Regarding direct vs. resale:

Direct is good for the discounts on merchandise and dining (we save a significant amount each trip) and annual passes. Our trips haven't really coincided with the other direct offers such as Moonlight Magic.

Resale is great savings and I would probably do resale over direct if I were purchasing for the first time. However, I believe in 'buy where you want to stay' especially if it is during peak times where you need that 11 month booking window.

I agree that the maintenance fees/dues are hard to swallow. Funny thing is I have no problem dropping thousands on a contact but for some reason, it's the dues that get me.

 

[tarheellovesdisney]

So you bought more than one contract? One at BW and one at CCV?

We bought 109 pts at BW, but also wanted more points and some diversity. So a few weeks later we bought CCV. And now we've bought 50 pt more at BW. We aren't bothered by the 2042 expiration.
I have now booked 2 separate trips at the 11 mo mark, for popular times (Sept & Dec). It was pretty hard getting a standard studio at BW but I managed piecemeal for a 6 day trip. I was able to get 4 days at CCV in Dec after some angst.
I have booked 5 other trips from 7 mo out to a few weeks ahead. We are flexible when we go because we drive and although we have favorite resorts, we are flexible where I can find rooms and don't mind moving. I do spend a lot of time looking at availability for the shorter notice trips. Availability will depend on what type of room you want and the resort. I always consider it a bonus, for example, when I can find a BW- boardwalk view room for a trip I just booked yesterday for 3 weeks from now. It was just for one night but I took it. I would've been happy anywhere though.
Lots to think about. I found the people here to be super helpful

 

[tx911]

I wonder how important it is to buy at the resort you prefer..so many questions lol

I think buying where you want to stay is hugely important.
That is where you will have 11 month booking priority, and the wonderful feeling of being part owner. It only make sense for that to be your favorite resort, IMO.

How easy is it to book something 7 months out as opposed to 11 months at your home resort? Like say I purchase in OKW but want to go to BRV or Polynesian?

Depends on the resort and the time of year. The inventory of rooms is a large factor (eg SSR has a ton of rooms so has excellent availability).
At 7 months, your best bet is to be very flexible on where you stay and/or have enough points to be able to afford more point-heavy rooms like 1BR, as those will maintain availability longer.