Why Is SSR So "Un-Poplular" with Resales?

[gray52]

My wife and I are preparing to buy a DVC on resale. Like most others, our only dissappointment is that we weren't in the financial position to buy in earlier. We recently flew to WDW to check out all the DVC's (OKW, BW, BC & SSR are the only ones that interest us) and I think we've settled on OKW. It seems to be more relaxed and tranquil than the others. My biggest question is... why does it seem that SSR is so un-popular? In the resales, there seems to be as many SSR's as all the other DVC's combined. It's a lovely resort but we are staying away, in part, because of the number of un-sold resales. Resale is NOT a factor in our choice, but there must be a reason(s) so many people are unhappy with SSR. Price? Size of resort? Proximity to parks?
Is OKW still popular based mostly on price & points per night? We did not factor this in when considering a DVC because we wanted to pick our home based on the resort, not price... we mostly liked how OKW "Felt" and room size... and we talked to as many people as we could at each resort, and the people we met while at OKW all seemed like "regular folks" like us. Everyone at OKW/SSR seemed to be more on a relaxing vacation, while those at BC/BW was always in a hurry.
For now it's just me, DW, DS4 and DD1 so we're planning on holding onto the DVC for the foreseeable future... we're just wondering if there's something we're not seeing in either SSR or OKW that might help us change our mind.
Thank you all in advance for your input.

1992 – Off Site
1995 – Dixie Landings (POR) Honeymoon
1997 – Off site
2000 – Villas at Disney Institute
2001 - Swan
2002 – CSR
2003 – Off site
2006 – POFQ (our Favorite)
2007 – CBR (disliked)
2008 – Disneyland (Hotel Del Coronado)

 

[MarkLyndaJakeChloe]

There is possibly a number of reasons for the high resales, namely:

- SSR is very large and although I do not know the exact number of villas it probably has as many as BCV, BWV and VWL put together.

- It's also one the newest and I'm thinking that possibly people having only just bought into it, have found it a struggle to repay the loan (if applicable), what with the economy etc. As for the other (older) resorts, the members have possibly paid off their initial loans by now and only have their annual dues to pay.

I would also like to make the point that we made our first visit to SSR in March, and just loved it. Can't see why anyone would want to sell their points in SSR, other than for financial/personal reasons.

SSR also has the advantage of being fresher, handy to Downtown Disney, having a longer contract and lower annuals dues.


Mark

 

[crisi]

I concur with Mark -

Its a big resort - big resort means that if the proportion of resales is the same, there are more SSR resales.

Its a newer resort - timeshares have cycles - some people will own for years, other people will buy, own for a few years, decide that timeshares aren't for them, and resell. Sometimes its the economy, sometimes life changes, sometimes "we don't use this like we thought we would." SSR is at that point in the cycle where some of people who bought are now revisiting their decision to own. People are always doing that at all the resorts - someone who has owned OKW for fifteen years might be deciding to sell now - but the first three years or so sees a lot more of it.

I think OKW is a great value, and if you like the laid back nature of the resort (we own BWV and like that hussle and bustle) its a great choice.

 

[WolfpackFan]

I guess you must have missed this thread, which was started a couple of days ago - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1966113

 

[Chic]

It's simple. Saratoga Springs is, by far, the largest DVC resort of all so it has more resales. We own at Saratoga Springs because of length of contract and low maintenance fees. Due to the massive size of the property, I never have to worry about availability. We like to stay at the resorts located at the parks like BWV, BCV, and WLV. Out of the past 8 DVC trips, we have yet to stay at Saratoga Springs.

 

[5forDiz]

There is also a percentage of members who may want to move on to the next "new thing" - presently that is DVC's Bay Lake Tower at Contemporary Resort and will sell off other DVC contract to do so.

Expect SSR to become even more sought after, however, with soon to be Tree House Villas especially if THVs are about same number of points as a 2 bedroom villa at SSR.

But as pps have said, it is best to buy where you & your family really want to stay most.

 

[msteddom]

I just passed ROFR on a BWV contract, so I'll offer my thoughts as well. For me it wasn't about NOT liking SSR, it was about liking BWV better. I am from Los Angeles, and we don't have anything that even comes close to Epcot out here, and it quite possibly may be my favorite place on Earth. We do, however, have our very own Downtown Disney. So the SSR location just isn't that exciting for me. On the other hand, I love just about everything about BWV, so I chose to own there. I have been to SSR and toured the models though, and I think they are beautiful. I would not be at all disappointed to stay there, but the 11 month BWV window is very important to me!

Melissa

 

[K9pal]

We own at SSR, love SSR, and if we had the funds right now, we'd buy resale SSR points in a heartbeat!

 

[TwingleMum]

We bought at BCV because of many factors ~ we love the proximity to both EPCOT and DHS, Stormalong bay and we just plan love the resort. Also with 4 young children (all under 7) we felt that in the future the parks they would go to most would be EPCOT & DHS (MK not so much as they are teens although they love the mountains). We felt the bulk of our time would be in those two parks so we bought the DVC most convenient to those parks. My kids love SAB so much alot of times they just want to hang out at SAB and eat at B&C and skip the parks (which is fine with us). The advise to buy where you want to stay is the best you could get. Enjoy your DVC and hopefully soon you'll hear those magic words HOME!!!

 

[kristenrice]

I'd noticed that a lot of the SSR resales are fairly stripped. I think I read here (somewhere) that when they were actively pushing SSR, there were great incentives, particularly the DOUBLE developer's points. Someone hypothesized that perhaps people had bought SSR, used all those DP's, borrowed to "strip" the contract and are now trying to sell since they've had a few NICE vacations.

**I AM NOT A NUMBERS PERSON** so this is oversimplified (and the numbers are probably wrong....but it's the idea behind it that I am trying to point out)

If one bought SSR 150 points in 2006 for $98/point AND received Double Developer's points, they've spent about $17,400. ( I don't have the exact MF's in front of me so I averaged $4.50...probably high) If they have used all of their available points, including borrowing from 2009, they have used 900 vacation points. If they sell their contract for $80/point ($12,000), they have essentially used up those 900 vacation points at a cost of about $5400. That is a bargain at $6/point! You couldn't RENT for that!

Please, don't bash me for the numbers....someone correct them if they're way off! I'm just exploring another theory for why there are so many SSR resales. Were there any other resorts that offered all those double DP's? I also suspect that we may see a batch of 100 point AKV resales pop up in a few years with the recent incentives offered there. You won't see mine, though!

 

[gray52]

Thanks... that really does explain a lot (yes... i missed the previous post on the same subject... sorry).
First i want to say that I have no major gripes on SSR... we really liked the resort and the newness (maybe felt a little too new for us, actually). I think you guys are right on about the Timeshare Cycle and the theories that go along with that.. i.e. not for them, struggling to pay off loan. I also think Kristin has a pretty good theory too on stipping the points, then selling off. Not that everyone is doing it intentionally, but when you're looking at a monthly payment for the loan and then maintenance fees on top, and you can't use it until 2010, i can see why people would make a decision to sell off.

Thanks everyone for your input.


Peace

 

[Mtnman44]

Old Key West is an excellent choice by the way. For the longest time, I've been wishing we had bought there instead of SSR. (never been to SSR yet). However, with the recent announcement of the Tree House villas at SSR, I'm back to being pretty happy to own there. I am still worried about bus issues at SSR (DTD traffic) but I'll withold final judgement till I see for myself.

 

[MEK]

I do think some people bought to get the developer points, do the big vacation at the beginning of the contract, and then sell. When I bought my contract I actually thought, if I really end up not liking this DVC thing, I can put it up for sale. I'm sure some people did that. I think SSR was probably the most marketed DVC resort because the shear size of it made it a major marketing venue. I may be wrong, but there are DVC kiosks everywhere and they certainly make it very easy to purchase a contract. I can definately see someone in the middle of a carefree vacation purchasing on a whim and then deciding - No - not my thing. In today's economic climate it would be easy to get overextended. In that case, the time share has to go.

My first impression of SSR was that it would be a resort I would want to stay at over the years. It's Disney, but it's not "over the top" Disney and I could see myself staying there for a non-disney vacation. That was the appeal to me. I want to try the other resorts, but I will always be happy to stay at SSR. I made the decision to purchase almost 1 1/2 years after my first stay there, so I knew it wasn't an impulse buy. I think it's the type of property you either like or don't like. There don't seem to be a lot of neutral opinions.

 

[Moparlar]

I am sitting in my room at SSR right now and I couldn't be happier with our decision.

Larry

 

[janni518]

Shouldn't this be a "sticky" topic by now?

 

[thesupersmartguy]

My wife and I are preparing to buy a DVC on resale. Like most others, our only dissappointment is that we weren't in the financial position to buy in earlier. We recently flew to WDW to check out all the DVC's (OKW, BW, BC & SSR are the only ones that interest us) and I think we've settled on OKW. It seems to be more relaxed and tranquil than the others. My biggest question is... why does it seem that SSR is so un-popular? In the resales, there seems to be as many SSR's as all the other DVC's combined. It's a lovely resort but we are staying away, in part, because of the number of un-sold resales. Resale is NOT a factor in our choice, but there must be a reason(s) so many people are unhappy with SSR. Price? Size of resort? Proximity to parks?
Is OKW still popular based mostly on price & points per night? We did not factor this in when considering a DVC because we wanted to pick our home based on the resort, not price... we mostly liked how OKW "Felt" and room size... and we talked to as many people as we could at each resort, and the people we met while at OKW all seemed like "regular folks" like us. Everyone at OKW/SSR seemed to be more on a relaxing vacation, while those at BC/BW was always in a hurry.
For now it's just me, DW, DS4 and DD1 so we're planning on holding onto the DVC for the foreseeable future... we're just wondering if there's something we're not seeing in either SSR or OKW that might help us change our mind.
Thank you all in advance for your input.

1992 – Off Site
1995 – Dixie Landings (POR) Honeymoon
1997 – Off site
2000 – Villas at Disney Institute
2001 - Swan
2002 – CSR
2003 – Off site
2006 – POFQ (our Favorite)
2007 – CBR (disliked)
2008 – Disneyland (Hotel Del Coronado)

I will tell you the reason I did not buy SSR, and the sole reason is there were NO points untill 2010. We bought into OKW yesterday

 

[lockedoutlogic]

saratoga has the highest amount of resales for all the reasons listed above....


and the one i'm going to say:

Saratoga is the least desirable home resort on the WDW property......and that is not even a stretch....

it's the largest.....it's the most generic in terms of thought and effort put into it......it has the least "disney feel" of any of the properties.....

now comes the part where all the defenders tell me i'm wrong....

well i'm not....as evidenced in the fact that saratoga is always the last location to get booked up.....

Even the size does not provide the excuse for this.....as if it held any appeal....then it would book and old key west or animal kingdom or boardwalk would be the last to fill.....

they never are.....saratoga is

 

[DVCSAMNH]

saratoga has the highest amount of resales for all the reasons listed above....


and the one i'm going to say:

Saratoga is the least desirable home resort on the WDW property......and that is not even a stretch....

it's the largest.....it's the most generic in terms of thought and effort put into it......it has the least "disney feel" of any of the properties.....

now comes the part where all the defenders tell me i'm wrong....

well i'm not....as evidenced in the fact that saratoga is always the last location to get booked up.....

Even the size does not provide the excuse for this.....as if it held any appeal....then it would book and old key west or animal kingdom or boardwalk would be the last to fill.....

they never are.....saratoga is

Oh, for pity's sake! Don't you get bored posting the same thing over and over and over again?

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

different strokes for different folks....

Each DVC has it's own identity. We love SSR. Stayed away for the first few years because of all the negative posts on these boards. When we finally stayed we loved it and continue to return. But....we still enjoy stays in all the other resorts and love sampling them all.

Choose based on what strikes you and where you feel most comfortable.

It's your choice. Keep in mind you are not 'stuck' there. You can reserve at other resorts. Just make sure that the resort you pick is one you would be ok staying at as the availability of the others at 7 months is not guaranteed.

 

[Pennyguy23]

Can't we close these threads and direct them to one larger one. There seems to be a new one every other day asking the samething???