Will my offer be too low?

[queenbeaz]

We are finally (after almost 13 years) ready to jump into DVC! Based solely on overall price we wanted to buy OKW, but have found 150 points at VB with asking price of $45 per point. I've read here on the boards that offering $15-20 less per point is reasonable, but $30 seems like it would be a red flag for ROFR. Suggestions?
On a side note, it has a UY of October, and we plan on vacationing in Dec/Jan most of the time. This is a good UY, right?
TIA!

 

[Homemom]

If you're looking solely at price OKW or SSR maybe a better choice than VB. Don't forget to take in to account that VB has the highest maintenance fees at over $7. Over time those higher prices will negate the savings from the low buy in. Are you comparing it to an OKW extended contract? If you are, the OKW will have an extra 15 years over VB. You want your UY before you travel, so Oct should be good for Dec/Jan, but depending on when you go in Dec/Jan it could be busy with holidays and the marathon, etc. so only having a 7 month booking window with VB points you may not get to stay at your first choice resort, that's why a lot comments here will be to buy where you want to stay.

 

[chalee94]

We are finally (after almost 13 years) ready to jump into DVC! Based solely on overall price we wanted to buy OKW, but have found 150 points at VB with asking price of $45 per point. I've read here on the boards that offering $15-20 less per point is reasonable, but $30 seems like it would be a red flag for ROFR.

on the ROFR thread, DVC hasn't ROFRed a VB contract since 2009. if you got ROFRed, that would be something.

buy VB at your own risk.

*VB has the highest annual dues.

*VB has the highest risk of storm damage as a coastal property (equals highest risk of a "special assessment" which means more $$$ in addition to annual dues.)

*VB probably has the highest risk of being spun off out of the DVC system.

*while you can typically get "something" at 7 months out, there is the risk that at some point, you might be locked out of wdw if everything else is booked up - how good would the deal look then?

if it's worth the risk, then roll the dice. but if you can book at 10-11 months out and would be happy to just be on property at wdw, buying SSR or OKW is a much safer play.

there's a reason why VB resales are really cheap...

 

[queenbeaz]

After I posted, I ran a bazillion more numbers through my spreadsheets. I know that for overall lifetime cost OKW with 2042 exp. is just the best price option. My husband really wants to just buy now so we have it for our trip this year, but I want to only pay what we can afford OOP and still have $ for the rest of the vacation. The VB offer looked tempting, but after all the info you gave me chalee94 (ty) it doesn't sound like VB is right for us. We aren't concerned about a specific home resort because we want to stay at all of them at some point. So, I'm not really sure we can afford enough points OOP right now & still take our Dec. vacation.

 

[permavac]

You could buy fewer points at one of the Disney area DVCs with banked 2011 points and then get a transfer (from another DVC member) for the remaining points you need for your December trip. We also considered Vero Beach recently but decided against it for the same reasons listed by chalee94. If there is even a 1% chance that Disney will decide that VB owners can no longer get into the Disney area DVCs then that makes it completely not worth it for us. That said, we did buy HHI as our first contract (but only 25 points) a few years ago. We've been able to do a few transfers until we were ready to buy again (cash) which is this year . We recently sent back contracts to buy a resale at BWV - our favorite! Good luck with getting DVC!

Terri

 

[Kidanifan08]

If you are thinking about a trip to using DVC THIS December, be advised that this may be a problem. Although December is a low time for WDW, it is a very high and in demand time for DVC. Even if you made an offer tomorrow, you may not close until mid to late May, which is already in the 7 month window for December.

We think DVC is great, and I don't want to discourage you from buying (except for VB), if it works for you. But you need to know that Dec is very popular and difficult to get at short notice. Not that it is a problem, but if you purchase a contract that has points that need to be used before the end of 2012, you may need to have a alternate plan, if those points cannot be banked by the time you buy.

Good luck in your hunt for the "home" and contract that you are looking for!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

We are finally (after almost 13 years) ready to jump into DVC! Based solely on overall price we wanted to buy OKW, but have found 150 points at VB with asking price of $45 per point. I've read here on the boards that offering $15-20 less per point is reasonable, but $30 seems like it would be a red flag for ROFR. Suggestions?
On a side note, it has a UY of October, and we plan on vacationing in Dec/Jan most of the time. This is a good UY, right?
TIA!

I think offering 15 to 20 dollars below asking price is too low, and $30 is extreme. I may be reading your post incorrectly but it looks like you want to offer $15 per point for a VB contract??
Yes, October would be a good use year for you.

MG

 

[Maistre Gracey]

*VB has the highest risk of storm damage as a coastal property (equals highest risk of a "special assessment" which means more $$$ in addition to annual dues.

We own points at VB, and in 2004 the resort closed from hurricane damage twice. The second time was almost immediately after it reopened from the first storm. Cast Members told me the pool and restaurant were filled with sand. Luckily there wasn't really any major structural damage, but lots of cosmetic stuff.
There were no special assessments for either storm.

*VB probably has the highest risk of being spun off out of the DVC system.

What is the foundation for this statement? I think the resort works perfectly as a WDW primer and unwinder.
I don't think there is really any evidence to support this statement other than it's one of the off site properties.

there's a reason why VB resales are really cheap...

Yes there is...
Many Members only look at WDW and don't take the time to visit this gem of a resort.

MG

 

[queenbeaz]

Thank you everyone for your replies. I never thought about transferring points before, so that's something to consider. I was actually planning on offering $30 per point instead of the listed $45 per point, not $30 less than that. I really don't want to buy at Vero Beach, though, because I have no inclination to ever visit.
I've run so many numbers that they're all starting to run together. For us, DVC doesn't really make sense financially. It would be purely based on comfort & perks. I'm a number cruncher, so I'm willing to book 2 rooms at the value resorts, or a suite off site. But I'm also about the experience so I want to stay on site & do it up right. So, we're torn.

 

[permavac]

...I'm a number cruncher, so I'm willing to book 2 rooms at the value resorts, or a suite off site. But I'm also about the experience so I want to stay on site & do it up right...

Economically speaking, buying DVC provides more of a "savings" if you always tend to stay in Deluxe accommodations on Disney property. It sounds like in your case (as it was in mine) that DVC gives you the upgrade to Deluxe without having to pay Deluxe pricing (it was always something we could "afford" btw, just something I was too "cheap" to pay), but you're definitely spending more money than you would if you just kept staying at values and off-site. So, the question is, do you want to spend the money for the upgrade? DVC is not cheap. Are you going to feel like you're "missing out" when free dining or other incentives come along? We decided on the best of both worlds. We started with a small contract and used that to make one of our 2 to 3 annual WDW trips a DVC trip. We added on this year and will still only do one annual DVC trip, but now we will own all of our own points instead of having to get transfers. It is a tough decision and not one to take lightly. Only you know how you vacation. It's a good idea to try renting points from a member if you haven't done that yet. There are many good reasons for buying (and reading old posts of why people bought DVC might help you out), but remember, it's like any luxury purchase out there - it's a luxury purchase Good luck with your decision.

Terri

 

[queenbeaz]

Thanks again for your advice everyone! We've decided that once again, we will pass on DVC. I'm sure we'll continue to consider it, especially as our 4 kids keep growing and will eventually need more space. One day the 11yo will NOT be willing to share a bed with the 4yo!

 

[AllieV]

Hilton Head is about 0.20 cents higher in maintenance fees than boardwalk (and much lower than the $7 at VB) and it sells almost as low as Vero Beach per point. Plus lots of people consider south carolina to be a gem of a vacation, so you could easily offload it down the road. I don't think you can get a small contract for $30 pp, but you could easily get one for $40.

 

[fmer55]

Thanks again for your advice everyone! We've decided that once again, we will pass on DVC. I'm sure we'll continue to consider it, especially as our 4 kids keep growing and will eventually need more space. One day the 11yo will NOT be willing to share a bed with the 4yo!

have you thought about renting pts for your next vacation, could probaly rent for similar to what you will pay for a mod or value and you can try out the experience

 

[bigtony777]

have you thought about renting pts for your next vacation, could probaly rent for similar to what you will pay for a mod or value and you can try out the experience

I agree with this. Depending on the time of year and what DVC resort you stay at, you can rent for about the same price as 2 value rooms. For a 7 night stay in early June, 2 rooms at Pop will run you $2225 and a 2 BR at AKV is 236 points for a value and 277 for standard. So if you can get points for $10 to $11 per point you are pretty close in price if you could get a standard.

I will warn you though that this is how we started out. We rented twice and after seeing the cost being the same or less for us (1 BR with 3 kids), I decided to stop sending my money to someone via renting and bought resale in December of last year.