Considering DVC; Input and Advice Needed

[anita30@telus.net]

We are a family of 7 (4 of our kids still in schoool and 1 in college) and are seriously looking into the DVC. We are owners with Shell Vacations which is affiliated with RCI so the exchange opportunities are excellent but their not DISNEY. However, the initial buy directly from Disney is 160 points which is financially alittle out of reach. Remember we have 5 kids. Anyway, my understanding is that if we buy a smaller contract through resales then we can add on directly through Disney (as we can afford to) until we get the number of points we desire. I am assuming that all of a members points do not need to be at the same resort or on the same contract as I have read articles from members who seem to have different amounts of points at different resorts. Is this the best way to do things or should we try to purchase all our points at the same resort? What really are the benefits of having more than one contract at more than one resort? Any and all input is greatly appreciated. I love all the feedback from members on this site and have taken all (well most) into serious consideration. Glad I found you guys. Thanks again. :woohoodan

[kapeman]

... However, the initial buy directly from Disney is 160 points which is financially a little out of reach. ... Is this the best way to do things or should we try to purchase all our points at the same resort? What really are the benefits of having more than one contract at more than one resort? Any and all input is greatly appreciated. ...

If 160 points seems like too much, I would highly recommend resale. You can get the amount of points that you want, where you want.

Be careful of "stripped" contracts, ones that have all their points used up for the next two years (i.e. all points used for this year and borrowed from next year).

There are several good resale agents out there. If you want my personal recommendation, I can PM it, as I don't know the policy on this board about referrals.


The main advantage to the home resort is the 11-month booking window. I would start with a smaller contract at one resort and go from there. That's what we are doing. You should be able to book an off-time vacation at 7 months just about anywhere to try another resort.

For example, BCV is one of the smaller DVC resorts, but people can usually book there at 7 months for times like September or January.


Hope this helps...

[administrator]

as I don't know the policy on this board about referrals.



We don't have one. We are completely sponsor-free and ad-free, beholden to no one (as long as we don't enter the realms of libel).

This means that we can actually have opinions that sometimes differ from one another, as long as we express them respectfully. (You can do a search on resales and see that people have, in fact, done just that. Actually, there was a thread here just a couple of days ago about suggested resale agencies, etc.)

So, feel free to post your opinions about resales, agencies, etc.

[TrvlPrincess]

We bought resale and are planning in adding gradually. Two Reasons:

#1 Cheaper
#2 We do not want debts (specially with the Economy as is going)

We wanted to go cautiously, (see the resorts, figure out where we want to buy more points at, try them out, etc) but we did not want to rent out points. We wanted to be "In the club" buy litle, loose little....

We did not want regrets. ("I wish I would of have purchased at"..."I like this resort better than this one" "Now we have to sell"...then being stuck with having to sale for less money than we bought" and all the paperwork and waiting etc.
We are getting 25 points which is the minimun but, we were able to do it cash, no debts, no financial obligation that can make our ownership not being enjoyable. Good night sleep without worries.

We are members AND have the thrill of adding more after doing a thorough investigation and research first hand by going to the resorts etc. We do know we want AKV so that is going to be our first add on. We also needed time to figure out exacly how many points will be enough for our family.

We are in the club right now, if we need more points but do not want to get in debt and add on right now, we are planning in transfering from another member. or Banking and Borrowing for the following years etc.

In your case since you already have one time share, I think you can do DVC slowly without being a financial burden. Wish you the best. I am just sharing what works for us. :dancingba

[DVC Mike]

However, the initial buy directly from Disney is 160 points which is financially alittle out of reach. Remember we have 5 kids. Anyway, my understanding is that if we buy a smaller contract through resales then we can add on directly through Disney (as we can afford to) until we get the number of points we desire.


That is a good approach to gradually build up points without having to purchase 160 up front. If you buy BCV via resale, be aware that many UYs for BCV have waitlists for adding on more points through DVC.


I am assuming that all of a members points do not need to be at the same resort or on the same contract as I have read articles from members who seem to have different amounts of points at different resorts. Is this the best way to do things or should we try to purchase all our points at the same resort? What really are the benefits of having more than one contract at more than one resort?

You should accumulate at least enough points at one resort to book one vacation at the 11 month window every one, two, or three years before adding on another resort. If you have multiple very small contracts, you're either pooling them all at the 7-mo window and trying to book one resort, or you're booking a couple nights here, then a couple nights there, at the 11-mo window.

If you're not able to take advantage of the 11-mo booking window, then it doesn't matter.

[kapeman]

We don't have one. We are completely sponsor-free and ad-free, beholden to no one (as long as we don't enter the realms of libel).

This means that we can actually have opinions that sometimes differ from one another, as long as we express them respectfully. (You can do a search on resales and see that people have, in fact, done just that. Actually, there was a thread here just a couple of days ago about suggested resale agencies, etc.)

So, feel free to post your opinions about resales, agencies, etc.

Thanks!

That is good to know. I didn't feel like checking mid-post.

[dianeschlicht]

Even though you might be buying in small increments, I would reccomend you buy all your points at the same resort and with the same use year. Since you are looking at something even smaller than 160 points, I assume you aren't planning on an every year vacation to Disney. With your family size, you will need at least a 2 bedroom, so my advice would be to buy at OKW or AKV to accommodate your large group better. OKW has more space, very low point costs/reservation, and low dues as well as one more queen sized bed than the other resorts. AKV has extra bedding as well, which would serve your group well, but the dues and point values are more there.

I would suggest you study both point charts and dues charts from the past to help in making your decision.