WWYD? Need advice on when to buy... a complicated scenario

[discorsner]

Ok so here is our deal. We are not members yet.

We are complicated buying in to DVC on a resale for BCV for around 200 points if we can find a good contract.

At the same time we have a future trip planned in Thanksgiving 2012 with my fam of 4 and then with my parents. We were planning on just booking regular rooms but since we have started looking into the DVC now we would really like a 2 bedroom BCV if we could get it. I used one of the calculators to see how many points it would be for the stay we were considering and it was 397. If we got a 200 point contract we could borrow from the next year to cover that right?

We don't have the full money to buy DVC right now and we do not want to finance it. We would have the money to possibly purchase by December time frame and we have heard it takes about 7 or 8 weeks to close.

So... if we do that we probably won't get our 2 bedroom villa that we want right? (based on hearing that we have to book at the 11 month mark to get a 2bdr BCV).

We could rent points which for our stay in November 2012 but at 13 a point that is over 5k which would push our DVC purchase back considerably plus I feel like if we are going to buy DVC that would be such as waste!

Ugh.... What would you do????

Also, what use year should I want? In the future we are likely to travel in May through August of Thanksgiving week most likely.

Thanks for any guidance!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

If you know for certain that you want to buy then I'd go ahead with buying in December when you have the funds. By the time you close you'll most likely still be within the home resort booking period and might get the BCV 2BR. Even if you can't then at 7 months you should be able to get a 2BR at another resort. At that time you can book the non-home resort and waitlist for BCV - actually, you could waitlist for BCV whenever you close if it's not available when you call.

You'll have many years to enjoy DVC and will have many opportunities to stay at your home resort. That might not happen on your first visit b/c of the time you are going to visit but I believe it would be better to place the funds you would spend on the hotel rooms or renting towards your purchase.

For UY I think you said traveling May thru August and also at Thanksgiving? April would be a good UY but March would also work. The best UY still allows you to bank if you should ever cancel a trip. A March UY's banking is Oct 31st but anything later than that and your Thanksgiving trip points would end up in holding anyway so it would still work almost as well as April.

 

[castleri]

Another vote for purchasing instead of paying out all that money for a one time trip and then starting the saving for purchasing all over again. If you get on a waitlist as soon after closing as possible after closing you may indeed get your 2 BR. If not you should be able to get a 2 bedroom somewhere for your trip at the 7 month mark. It will give you the chance to try out the other DVC resorts - my choice would be OKW for a first visit if you couldn't get BCV - the points are lower and the rooms are bigger. We have owned BCV since it opened and have only stayed there 3 times. Will be there in Dec for the 4th at my son's request since we are taking DGD age 4 and he thinks she will love the pool area.
It is nice to know we are able to make those 11 month reservations if we chose and I am not sorry we bought there.

 

[Dean]

I would concur with April but any UY Jan forward should work OK for you. Given your other restrictions, I wouldn't put too much emphasis on April and lose a great contract otherwise. Are you that set on BCV? If not, BWV can be had for around $20 a point less AND has the advantages of the Standard View options. In your situation it would let you buy sooner as well as giving you a lot more contracts to chose from in search of the right one for you. SSR would also be similarly cheaper and have a later expiration date.

I'm not a big fan of financing and you'll likely see posts from me saying never to do it for a luxury purchase. However, IF (big IF) you are planning to go to Disney and stay on property and are prepared to do it on cash if you don't buy in time, you might consider short term financing options if you have most of the purchase saved already and have little other financial risks. Even if you have to buy less points AND a different home resort, you still might be better off than waiting for more points at BCV with that trip planned.

Unfortunately, as you've laid it out, you are not likely to get a 2 queen 2 BR unit at BCV next Thanksgiving by buying in Dec. You might or might not get a 2 BR at all there and you'd have a chance at the 7 mo window if bought a different resort also but I think the chances would be fairly slim overall if you're no on board at 11 months out.

WWID, I'd evaluate the reasons I wanted BCV. If I wanted almost all stays there and BWV wasn't acceptable, I'd work overtime, moonlight, do yard sales, not eat out and save up enough money to buy and close in time to be comfortable with the 11 mo window for BCV. If I decided BCV wasn't that important and I was mainly looking at this upcoming trip, I'd look at either SSR or BWV for around $50-55 a point plus closing and start looking for the right loaded contract. I'd then book at 11 months out at my home resort and wait list BCV at 7.

 

[discorsner]

Wow thanks for all the replies! I think everyone is right about buying making much more sense. I think I was so caught up on this special thanksgiving trip because it probably will be the last time we go with my parents. At least with most mobility. It will be a special trip but that doesn't mean I shouldn't see the forest for the trees! : )

Also thanks for help with the use year. That makes sense. I will have to talk to DH about whether he is set on BCV. It's all we have talked about for so long. Lol.

 

[arthur06]

I would agree with Dean on BWV's.

BCV is awesome, but for us, BWV's is every bit as good. Plus if buying resale it is considerably cheaper, and has the different point options, which can really stretch your points.

We own at BWV's and love having different booking/point options.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Some problems for us with BWV - parking is awful. Nothing really close and at some times of the year, you might wind up parking across the street, if even finding any space. I think the BW has the worst parking of all the resorts. Even worst than WL/VWL and AKL/AKV.

No dedicated two bedroom villas - they are all lockoffs. One set of elevator banks, centrally located. BCV has two sets of elevators, so you aren't so far from an elevator. With BWV, you could have a long hike down a narrow corridor to get to the elevator.

Both BWV and BCV - lack of counter service dining. You do have the Marketplace at BC and the Bakery at the BW and counter service in Epcot - but you'll need a ticket to go to Epcot to eat.

You might even look at an OKW resale. OKW has the largest villas of all the DVC resorts. The price per point resale is not that high. And you might find an extended contract (to 2057).

 

[discorsner]

Some problems for us with BWV - parking is awful. Nothing really close and at some times of the year, you might wind up parking across the street, if even finding any space. I think the BW has the worst parking of all the resorts. Even worst than WL/VWL and AKL/AKV.

No dedicated two bedroom villas - they are all lockoffs. One set of elevator banks, centrally located. BCV has two sets of elevators, so you aren't so far from an elevator. With BWV, you could have a long hike down a narrow corridor to get to the elevator.

Both BWV and BCV - lack of counter service dining. You do have the Marketplace at BC and the Bakery at the BW and counter service in Epcot - but you'll need a ticket to go to Epcot to eat.

You might even look at an OKW resale. OKW has the largest villas of all the DVC resorts. The price per point resale is not that high. And you might find an extended contract (to 2057).

I just also came across this extended contract info for OKW and it made it sound more attractive. I like that if you have a car at OKW you can pretty much drive right to the units right?

My big concern would be buying OKW and be excited to be in DVC but then getting disappointed any time I wanted to try to get another resort booked at 7 months.

I understand the buy where you would be ok staying situation but I just wonder how often does it happen that people can't find a different resort to try (if they want to).

I've walked around the grounds of OKW before and liked it but have never stayed there. I guess I need to do more info searching on OKW.

The BWV parking situarion and long walks down corridors scare me. I know those are two things that are not attractive to me. The lack of counter service can be annoying as well. I like the food courts at mods or values for this reason. So easy to grab quick food at those places.

We just stayed at BC and DH and two DSs are in love with SAB so I know they would never be disappointed staying there. We wouldnt have to stay there every time or even most times but the only thing that bugs me about about going anywhere besides BCV is I am afraid that I will never get a reservation there at 7 months even every once in awhile.