Questions re DVC Purchase

We are seriously considering purchasing DVC. However, we are clueless. We LOVE visiting WDW and we have stayed in every DVC property with the exception of Hilton Head.

Is it better to purchase from Disney or a resale?

Is it better to purchase a "big chunk" of points or chip away and get a few points at a time when a "good deal" becomes available?

How is the use year determined? Is one time of the year better than another?

If you purchase at two different resorts, i.e., 100 points at OKW and 100 points at ALK, are they both home resorts?

Is there an advantage to purchasing at two different resorts?

I understand the discounts that come with becoming a DVC owner, but I don't understand the discounts or advantages that are available with DCL.

How do you spot a good deal?

I guess, in a nutshell, I don't really know what I'm doing, so any help you all can give me would be appreciated. I would appreciate any and all advice and thoughts you may have.

Leslye

I don't have any answers, but I know that a lot of this has been discussed before, if you use the search function and search "Disney DVC" or somethign along those lines I bet you'll find a bunch. I always followed the threads just to have an understanding of what it's all about.

This is my mom and I told her to come here you are all a wealth of information. Thank you for all of your help in advance.

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Originally Posted by kimkatmom

We are seriously considering purchasing DVC. However, we are clueless. We LOVE visiting WDW and we have stayed in every DVC property with the exception of Hilton Head.

Is it better to purchase from Disney or a resale?

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There are a couple different sides to this question. If you purchase from Disney the points are in your account immediately and you can begin making reservations immediately.

If you purchase via a resale agent you will need to go through the ROFR (Right Of First Refusal) process with Disney. Disney may decide that the price being offered is too low and will buy the points from the seller instead of allowing the would-be purchaser get them.

If you purchase from Disney your first purchase must be 160 points (although they currently do have an option for 100 points at the Animal Kingdom Villas.) If your first purchase is from a reseller, you are able to get any number of points from 25 to whatever. If you feel that 160 points is too much and you don't visit WDW often enough to use these points, the 75 points (example only) that you did purchase from the reseller can be banked from one year, borrowed from the next year and allow you a 225 point availability every 3 years for a trip.

We purchased four of our contracts directly from Disney (one main contract and 3 add-ons) and the other 2 via resale; one of those resales was a private-party situation where we drew up the contract ourselves, got it to a closing company and they walked it through the ROFR process. The other resale was from the sponsor on another board.

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Is it better to purchase a "big chunk" of points or chip away and get a few points at a time when a "good deal" becomes available?

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I'd go with smaller amounts. If at some point you wish to sell some of the points, it will be much easier to sell a 60-point contract than a 500-point contract. Even if you decide that 300 points is what you want and you buy from Disney, break that 300 into 160 and 140. The 160 is what is needed for a one-bedroom transfer into the Interval International timeshare system. If you tire of DVC or WDW at some point get rid of the 140 and use the 160 to travel into some of the II places

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How is the use year determined? Is one time of the year better than another?

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The use year is determined by Disney when they are selling the original contract. If that contract gets sold by a reseller, the use year stays the same.

I'll defer to someone else to offer an opinion about if one time of year is better than another because it really doesn't matter to us. (Well, I guess I gave my opinion anyway, huh?)

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If you purchase at two different resorts, i.e., 100 points at OKW and 100 points at ALK, are they both home resorts?

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Yes, they will both be a home resort

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Is there an advantage to purchasing at two different resorts?

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If a resort is difficult to get into because of size (Boardwalk Villas or Villas at Wilderness Lodge for example) then having them as a home resort gives you the opportunity to reserve a room at 11 months out. Non-owners will have to wait until they are 7 months out from a reservation to be able to request those resorts. If you go to Food and Wine in the fall or want to be at Wilderness Lodge for Christmas time, it definitely helps having those as your home resort.

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I understand the discounts that come with becoming a DVC owner, but I don't understand the discounts or advantages that are available with DCL.

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Do not go in expecting that the discounts will always be there. They come and they go. There was a large drop in meal discounts this past year. At times having an AP is better for discounts.

Also, it is widely held that buying points to use on cruises is not a good value for your points. The best value comes from staying at DVC properties

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How do you spot a good deal?

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Right now there are some great deals over on the DIS. You need to look and see if the contracts being offered have all their points, no points until 2009 or 2010, banked points, points in holding status or reservation points.

Also, the purchase price is just the start of the outflow of your capital. The annual maintenance fees are what you will be paying for the next umpteen years.

We love timeshares. They work for us (we have four separate "homes" with DVC). They don't work for all people. It really does depend on how one vacations.

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I guess, in a nutshell, I don't really know what I'm doing, so any help you all can give me would be appreciated. I would appreciate any and all advice and thoughts you may have.

Leslye

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Have fun! There are others I'm sure who will chime in with their experiences, too! Ask lots of questions before you jump into it.

Dude -Thank you so much for your post. WOW -- so much to learn - so little time. :)

I looked on the DIS -- I must be looking in the wrong place. Can you point me in the right direction for the "good deals."

Continued thanks for your help,

Leslye

If you go to the DVC portion of that board, at the top of the page is the sponsor. The very last link is for DVC resale listings. All of the resorts are listed and I believe they start them off ordered by $/point within each specific resort.

I sometimes just go in and dream.......... I think I was supposed to be a permanent vacation taker in my real life. This pretend life makes me work too much.

Dude, you are a better DVCer than I am. It would have taken me forever to type that all out...I am much better with TALKING about the DVC!!

My advice is buy now because if you buy later at a higher price you will regret it!! It is the best thing I ever bought!

[QUOTE=ligrumpygirl;186208]I am much better with TALKING about the DVC!!QUOTE]

Me too!!

My only advice, buy where you want to stay. Sounds to me that you may be the grandparent planning extended family trips. Remember, VWL and BCV do not have 3 bedroom grand villas. OKW is the best point usage for larger accommodations. Great resales out there for OKW too.

Laura

re UY, for us there has been an "issue":(

we bought 1st contract (WL) resale, specifically looking for a UY that would allow us to take 'summer' trips, yet be able to bank points jik something went awry...so when an October contract came on the market, we pounced;)

to my dismay, they tinkered with the rules, & now they have the "rule of 4" in place (part of which is u must bank points 4 months prior to end of UY...there goes my safety net:headache:)

another recent change is the ability to book a ressie @ ur home resort @ 11 months plus 7 days (intent to allow folks to just call once the 1st day they'd be able to book instead of calling day by day until ressie is complete). Many think this gives those with bigger contracts the ability to "walk" a ressie (starting to book a trip far in advance, then keep canceling in order to finally obtain desired dates...hasn't really been tested yet for major holiday/should be interesting). I can state i've booked 2 ressies @ 11 month mark since this has started & have been able to get the resort i want, so maybe it's much ado about nothing:)

i started a waitlist thread for October (F&W & MNSSHP) on the DISboards, sortof interesting to see that many have gotten their waitlists, know we've been lucky in that regard too!

bottom line, imo; a small resale (preferrably for cash) is a great way to test the waters...easy to dispose of if u decide it's not right for u & the ability to add on thru DVC or purchase another resale is always an option.

if anybody has any questions feel free to PM me:sunshine:

Where did everyone purchase their resales from?

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Originally Posted by kimntrent

Where did everyone purchase their resales from?

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I used The Timeshare Store who is a sponsor on the DIS for my 60 point OKW. I was pleased with the service.

I used the Time Share Store too and had great service. My purchase had a few complicating factors but they were great at helping to navigate the system and communicating with me.

The Timeshare Store here too.

Very pleased with them and the gift baskets they have for clients to pick up when in Orlando are so very nice.

Laura

TSS:clap:
we had a clerical issue @ closing that delayed our ability to book @ 11 month window...yet understood, it happens in real estate...everything else very professional

& we stopped in office to say "hi" after closing & got a lovely gift basket:sunshine2:

Just made an offer at the Boardwalk! We are so excited. :banana::banana::banana: We followed your advice and went through the Timeshare Store. You're right, they are very nice, helpful, and professional.

Now all the junky paperwork. But that's ok, we are so excited.

Now I need to get a handle on the UY.

Also, can anyone tell me the difference between "Standard" and "Preferred" at Boardwalk?

Any hints would be appreciated. Your advice is and has been very helpful. I'm a firm believer in not "reinventing" the wheel.

Leslye :cooldance:

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Originally Posted by kimkatmom

Also, can anyone tell me the difference between "Standard" and "Preferred" at Boardwalk?
Leslye :cooldance:

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Congrats on jumping in and best of luck with ROFR!

Nearest I can tell (I've NEVER said that before!) the Standard rooms are a handful of rooms that overlook the entrance/drive area. You do get a bit of a break on points for those rooms BUT I also think they are some of the first to go in the booking process. I would LOVE to stay in a boardwalk view (same number of points for a preferred view but a different booking category) but we don't have enough points at Boardwalk to be able to secure those for an extended trip.....though with banking and borrowing..........

I truly hope all works out for you!!

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Originally Posted by kimkatmom

Just made an offer at the Boardwalk! We are so excited. :banana::banana::banana: We followed your advice and went through the Timeshare Store. You're right, they are very nice, helpful, and professional.

Now all the junky paperwork. But that's ok, we are so excited.

Now I need to get a handle on the UY.

Also, can anyone tell me the difference between "Standard" and "Preferred" at Boardwalk?

Any hints would be appreciated. Your advice is and has been very helpful. I'm a firm believer in not "reinventing" the wheel.

Leslye :cooldance:

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Thanks for starting this post, I really want to buy into DVC too, but I am thinking of going the resale way too. We stayed in a standard room at BW. Our room faced valet parking, but we could see Epcot and Hollywood Studios. At nite when Epcot had 2 illumunations and MGM had 2 Fantasmic's, it was fireworks from 9:00 p.m. to almost midnight. My dh thought their were thunderstorms all nite. If you ever save up a ton of points, go for the gardenview rooms at the Boardwalk. Those rooms are like a little village with their own private pool. The ground floor rooms have their own little garden entrances. We stumbled upon those rooms, when the "clown pool" was so packed and we went to the quiet pool area. Amazing area.

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Originally Posted by OhMari

Those rooms are like a little village with their own private pool. The ground floor rooms have their own little garden entrances. We stumbled upon those rooms, when the "clown pool" was so packed and we went to the quiet pool area. Amazing area.

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SSSHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Don't let that little secret out. I love that quiet pool and even though it is quite a hike from the villas, I use it every time we use our BWV points.

Laura

We traded into there last time. It was really cool.

Yes we did! It was a great room overlooking the garden and the river. But like Dude, we have always wanted to stay overlooking the Boardwalk. We're all going to have to work on the secret of procuring those rooms!

We went into the ROFR process today. I don't think we'll have any problem -- we offered the asking price.

Leslye

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Originally Posted by kimkatmom

Yes we did! It was a great room overlooking the garden and the river. But like Dude, we have always wanted to stay overlooking the Boardwalk. We're all going to have to work on the secret of procuring those rooms!

We went into the ROFR process today. I don't think we'll have any problem -- we offered the asking price.

Leslye

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:cool:book @ 9 am @ the 11 month window:p

we luv our 'home' @ the BW (yet prefer our 1st one WL even better:))

we always book the standard rooms; in addition to being cheap;)and needing to stretch our points...im a light sleeper & the BW & pool areas can get boisterous:D

good luck!

I own 150 points at SSR UY Dec. Now I LOVE the resort... the ambiance the location by DTD. :love:

Dec. UY is great for Christmas stays and I also like to go in January after the holidays when everything is quiet. But having said that, there were a couple of times I had to cancel a booking :cry: With a Dec. UY I had plenty of time to either rebook or bank the points. So if you are planning on going at that time of year, it's a super UY to have.

I'm looking to do an add-on at Boardwalk to take advantage of the 11 month booking window for Food and Wine in the Fall. A December UY would be a disaster for this since if I had to cancel, I would be beyond my banking window... so I'd have to struggle to use them before Nov. 30 or lose them :eek:

You can do an add-on even at a sold out resort through Disney, however, your UY will be whatever you original contract is... and I know I don't want a Dec UY for the Boardwalk. So I have been in contact with Jason at TSS and he is going to let me know when a smaller Boardwalk contract comes up with a UY appropriate to F & W stay in the fall... August would be ideal, but as long as I will be in my banking window, it would be OK.:cooldance:

Don't know whether this helps or is just more confusing, but UY is definitely something to consider!