What would you do?

[mousefansmom]

DH and I are so worried, yet excited about our upcoming DVC purchase. We are considering around 300 points. Our thoughts are this: We will likely rent the first two years worth to help us with financing. After that, we will probably use half of the points to rent out so that our maintenance fees are covered each year. Given that, how would others do this and why? We could do SSR through Disney for the total, or buy part there and part resale. DH really likes SSR, I REALLY like BWV. We would try to get the same use year if we split. We do not visit Disney every year. Are we thinking logically at all?? After our contract is paid off, we can pay our own maintenance fees and use all of the points. Your thoughts?

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

My main thought is that you should only start by buying 150 points and forget the rental part to pay for your dues. What will you do if there is a big down turn in the economy or God forbid, another 9/11 disaster? Or what if this board doesn't allow rentals anymore? You never know what will happen tomorrow so plan accordingly. Buy so that you can vacation in styleand not worry about renting. If you are worried, don't do it.

As to where you want to buy if you decide to do so, does the 50 year contract VS. the 38 years left at the BWV make a difference? Also consider that financing is easy through Disney for SSR. For the BWV, you would have to set up your own fianancing, which could be difficult.

Good luck to you and your decision.

HBC

 

[floridafam]

I don't think you should do what you are considering. There are too many "what ifs".

If you aren't going to use 300 points then don't buy 300.

There is no guarantee you will always be successful in renting them out.

I would start with 150 at SSR and possibly look for a small NWV resale.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Dean]

It is unlikely one could rent for enough to justify buying extra points. If you will only use around 150 per year or so, just buy that. You can always add on later or buy anyother contract if you want. If you are worried about the finances now, just save your money and buy in a couple of years. One could also save some money buying resale if that is an issue.

The real question is can you afford DVC. If you can't currently easily pay the fees on what you buy, you should not purchase at this time.

 

[mousefansmom]

I appreciate all of your thoughts. We can afford the 300 points, I am just trying to maximize the value. I think I need to re-adjust my thought process on this purchase and look at it not as an investment, but as a prepaid vacation. I was just thinking that renting some of the points for the first five years until the initial cost was paid off would offset the price for us. I am a major worrywart (if you can't tell already), and this is a large purchase (like buying a new car) and I always am overly cautious. I am also a big bargain hunter, and want to make sure I am getting the best deal for me.
Thanks again for your thoughts!!

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Originally posted by mousefansmom
I appreciate all of your thoughts. We can afford the 300 points, I am just trying to maximize the value.

So if you still want the 300 points and decide to purchase at SSR I would suggest buying two 150 point contracts because if you ever needed to sell, that is an easy size contract to sell and through Disney, you don't pay the closing costs so it doesn't add to the price.

HBC

 

[Caskbill]

Keep in mind that if you buy two contracts from Disney with the same use year (they won't sell you a different use year), they are combined into a single contract (Initial contract and add-on contract) and the points are combined in regards to banking and borrowing rules, making reservations, etc. This is true even if they are different resorts.

However if you buy one Disney (say SSR) and another resale (perhaps BWV), they remain as two <b>separate</b> contracts and each has it's own banking/borrowing/reservations rules. This will be true whether they have the same use year or not.

I believe someone once said Disney 'might' combine resale contracts with the same use year but I don't think this is guaranteed.

 

[WDWguru]

Originally posted by Caskbill
However if you buy one Disney (say SSR) and another resale (perhaps BWV), they remain as two <b>separate</b> contracts and each has it's own banking/borrowing/reservations rules. This will be true whether they have the same use year or not.

This isn't true in our case. We have four contracts, two BWV and two VWL, all Sept use year. Two were purchased from Disney and two resale (and mixed at that, iirc... meaning we bought one of each resort directly and the other resale). They are all under the same number and the points from the same resorts are pooled for banking/borrowing/reservations. We didn't have to ask them to do this, it just happened when they were added. They key seems to be the use year... as long as that's the same, everything falls under the same number no matter which resort or whether they are resale or direct.

 

[Poorman]

I have only been a member about a year. When I bought in I bought way too many points. I am already thinking of selling some of them. I agree with everyone that is saying buy what you can use now and add on if you decide you really need more. If you can afford 300 points now,take the extra money you would use for the extra 150 points and invest it. You will be paying approx. $600.00 for dues on the renting points, you will never come out ahead that way. But if you think you will use all 300 points now, buy them.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Caskbill
Keep in mind that if you buy two contracts from Disney with the same use year (they won't sell you a different use year), they are combined into a single contract (Initial contract and add-on contract) and the points are combined in regards to banking and borrowing rules, making reservations, etc. This is true even if they are different resorts.

However if you buy one Disney (say SSR) and another resale (perhaps BWV), they remain as two <b>separate</b> contracts and each has it's own banking/borrowing/reservations rules. This will be true whether they have the same use year or not.

I believe someone once said Disney 'might' combine resale contracts with the same use year but I don't think this is guaranteed.

This isn't quite accurate. If you buy from DVC and then do an add on size contract, DVC will not sell you a separate use year. They will however sell you a different use year if it's for at least 150 points. If they all come from Disney or are linked contracts, they are still separate contracts legally and can be sold separately. DVC will however treat them as one under for most transactions including banking. They will not treat them as one from a reservation standpoint if they are different home resorts meaning you only get the 11 month window for points from THAT home resort and not all your points.

If you buy resale and it's the same use year, DVC intends to link those contracts as well. Sometimes they don't know to so it doesn't happen. So if you buy resale, make sure you include the info in your contract and let them know directly you want them linked. Also, the registration info needs to be exactly the same for them to be linked. So if a spouse is not on one and you want them on the otehr, you cannot have them linked without changing the registration which will cost dollars a contract already recorded.

 

[Lexxiefern]

If you like BWV and DH likes SSR and you really want the 300 points, then I would buy half at each. Everyone on these boards says "buy where you want to stay" and I wholeheartedly agree.

And if you think you will use all 300 now and can afford it, I would buy them now. We bought what we could initially afford and now I do small add-ons of 25 when we have enough cash to pay for them.