Buy now or wait?

[R W B]

My fiancé and I were strolling on the boardwalk last week on our trip they had a DVC open house so we decided to go see what it was about. The guy gave us a 10min tour and we scheduled a full tour for the following day. We met with our guide the next day and he was great, lots of info, broke it down and wasn't pushy at all.

Biggest reason we didn't buy is because they are only selling Poly and Hawaii right now at $168/point plus the Poly doesn't have 1bd rooms. Now we would only buy 125/150pts to start and go from there so we could pay it off pretty quick just to get it out the way but we're not sure we want either of those as our "home". We both really like WL and I know their adding DVC rooms now so should we wait for that? Our guide said we could buy into the Poly now and then since its a monorail resort we should be able to sell it easily in a few years and then buy into WL. Is that realistic, how easy do you think the poly would be to sell in a few years? Do we just wait until WL goes on sale? Do new DVC units tend to have a pre-sale, an introductory price maybe? Also, he said we could get a full years worth of pts now plus when they renew this fall so since we wouldn't be going back until next year we would already have a years worth of pts banked. Does that offer happen often or no?

(I know the only difference is 11-7 months booking)

 

[lostpro9het]

Our guide said we could buy into the Poly now and then since its a monorail resort we should be able to sell it easily in a few years and then buy into WL.

Wow, that is about as great as the sales pitch they gave on the Dream last fall: "Hey, buy in to Aulani, you never actually have to stay there!"

Do we just wait until WL goes on sale?

Resale is not an option for you because?

Does that offer happen often or no?

From what I've read, it does.

IMO, buy where you want to stay. Decide if direct or resale is what you need.
DON'T SETTLE!!!

 

[GoofGoof]

My fiancé and I were strolling on the boardwalk last week on our trip they had a DVC open house so we decided to go see what it was about. The guy gave us a 10min tour and we scheduled a full tour for the following day. We met with our guide the next day and he was great, lots of info, broke it down and wasn't pushy at all.

Biggest reason we didn't buy is because they are only selling Poly and Hawaii right now at $168/point plus the Poly doesn't have 1bd rooms. Now we would only buy 125/150pts to start and go from there so we could pay it off pretty quick just to get it out the way but we're not sure we want either of those as our "home". We both really like WL and I know their adding DVC rooms now so should we wait for that? Our guide said we could buy into the Poly now and then since its a monorail resort we should be able to sell it easily in a few years and then buy into WL. Is that realistic, how easy do you think the poly would be to sell in a few years? Do we just wait until WL goes on sale? Do new DVC units tend to have a pre-sale, an introductory price maybe? Also, he said we could get a full years worth of pts now plus when they renew this fall so since we wouldn't be going back until next year we would already have a years worth of pts banked. Does that offer happen often or no?

(I know the only difference is 11-7 months booking)

Look into buying resale. You can get whatever resort you want and get it for much cheaper. The only real drawback is that you can't trade in for stays at non-DVC Disney hotel rooms or Disney cruises. Outside of those restrictions you get all of the same benefits as buying direct from Disney.

 

[mouse_luv]

I wouldn't buy direct right now, esp if Aulani and the Poly are all they are selling. Try resale, I have a feeling it would work out better for you and I believe you can always add-on in the future.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Definitely consider resale. You could get VWL for about $90/pt. Maybe less. We bought a 150-pt resale in May at $80/pt. Cost-per-point has gone up a bit since the refurb was announced, though.

 

[DVC Mike]

Another recommended item to read:

Should I buy direct from DVC or buy Resale?

 

[dreamfinder]

Keep in mind that they will sell you any property direct. They won't tell you this up front, but if you want to buy at WL, they will put you on a waitlist, and then use their ROFR to purchase a similar deed on the resale market, which they will then sell to you. As several PPs have mentioned already, figure out if you should be buying direct or via resale and then go from there.

Do they offer a "pre-sale" price? In a manner of speaking, yes. Current owners will frequently get a slight discount when they first announce a new property, or possibly some other perk if they add on at a new listed property. The general public also may get a discount in that the prices have only gone up. I don't think there is any time where the price per point for DVC direct has gone down, it only keeps going up.

Will you be able to resell the Poly in a few years? Most likely. However just like a new car, it will lose some value as soon as you buy it. For example, Poly currently lists at $168/point I believe. One of the resellers has a handful of Poly deeds, anywhere from $145-165 per point. (The $165 is fully loaded, with 2 years worth of points, not sure if they are banked or freebie points DVD gave them on purchase) So even without taking into account commission to the agent, you would be losing any where from $300-2,300 if you flipped a 100 point deed right now. Or you can buy WLV points direct at $155 per, or resale for $80-100 per.

They do often offer a extra year points when first selling a property. Basically since they didn't do anything with the points from the last year, they don't really lose anything by giving them to you on purchase. Essentially DVD banked them for you, and they paid the dues on them. It's not unheard of, but you can usually find a loaded contract on resale for just a few dollars more and get the same extra points at the resort you really want.

 

[EOD K9]

As @dreamfinder said, if you do want to buy direct, they will sell you any property that you want. They would rather buy it cheap on the resale market, then turn around and sell to you at a profit. You just need to decide if you want resale or direct and what works best for you.

 

[R W B]

Look into buying resale. You can get whatever resort you want and get it for much cheaper. The only real drawback is that you can't trade in for stays at non-DVC Disney hotel rooms or Disney cruises. Outside of those restrictions you get all of the same benefits as buying direct from Disney.

Definitely consider resale. You could get VWL for about $90/pt. Maybe less. We bought a 150-pt resale in May at $80/pt. Cost-per-point has gone up a bit since the refurb was announced, though.

Another recommended item to read:

Should I buy direct from DVC or buy Resale?

I've actualy been to that site and read that link, really great info. The fact of not being able to convert to non DVC rooms when buying resale is an issue for us because we really like Fort Wilderness. Also, the 11mon vs 7mon window I feel would be an issue if we bought direct at a resort thats not on the top of our list (ie: Poly).

I get that we could get WL resale for $80-$100/pt which is a fantastic price but I still think direct would be best.

Keep in mind that they will sell you any property direct. They won't tell you this up front, but if you want to buy at WL, they will put you on a waitlist, and then use their ROFR to purchase a similar deed on the resale market, which they will then sell to you. As several PPs have mentioned already, figure out if you should be buying direct or via resale and then go from there.

Do they offer a "pre-sale" price? In a manner of speaking, yes. Current owners will frequently get a slight discount when they first announce a new property, or possibly some other perk if they add on at a new listed property. The general public also may get a discount in that the prices have only gone up. I don't think there is any time where the price per point for DVC direct has gone down, it only keeps going up.

Will you be able to resell the Poly in a few years? Most likely. However just like a new car, it will lose some value as soon as you buy it. For example, Poly currently lists at $168/point I believe. One of the resellers has a handful of Poly deeds, anywhere from $145-165 per point. (The $165 is fully loaded, with 2 years worth of points, not sure if they are banked or freebie points DVD gave them on purchase) So even without taking into account commission to the agent, you would be losing any where from $300-2,300 if you flipped a 100 point deed right now. Or you can buy WLV points direct at $155 per, or resale for $80-100 per.

They do often offer a extra year points when first selling a property. Basically since they didn't do anything with the points from the last year, they don't really lose anything by giving them to you on purchase. Essentially DVD banked them for you, and they paid the dues on them. It's not unheard of, but you can usually find a loaded contract on resale for just a few dollars more and get the same extra points at the resort you really want.

Thank you for the great information! Definitely mention a few things I didn't know. Being able to buy direct at WL right now would be an option that I'll look into more.

 

[R W B]

What's the conversion rate when using DVC points to stay at non DVC resorts on property?

 

[dreamfinder]

Thank you for the great information! Definitely mention a few things I didn't know. Being able to buy direct at WL right now would be an option that I'll look into more.

If you are insistent on buying direct, DVD just announced a price increase for all "sold out" resorts, I think its $5-10 per point, not sure when it goes into affect, but something to keep in mind.

What's the conversion rate when using DVC points to stay at non DVC resorts on property?

Pretty bad. The cheapest a standard room at POFQ/POR is 19 points a midweek night during slow season. Same time period at GF 56 points per night for Garden view, while a standard view 2BRV is only 46 points per night. There is also a fee of $95 to do the conversion (excludes DLR).

 

[EOD K9]

So Disney is going to charge you a service fee or convenience or premium fee to give you what they can easily acquire?

 

[dreamfinder]

So they have the nerve to charge you more money to get what they can easily acquire?

If the demand is there for people who are insisting on buying direct, then why not? They need to pay for the extra "perks" to those who buy direct somehow.

 

[R W B]

If you are insistent on buying direct, DVD just announced a price increase for all "sold out" resorts, I think its $5-10 per point, not sure when it goes into affect, but something to keep in mind.



Pretty bad. The cheapest a standard room at POFQ/POR is 19 points a midweek night during slow season. Same time period at GF 56 points per night for Garden view, while a standard view 2BRV is only 46 points per night. There is also a fee of $95 to do the conversion (excludes DLR).

Wow, I was expecting it to be kind of decent. Is their a chart somewhere I can look at the conversion rates at? I'm really wondering about FW.

 

[GoofGoof]

Wow, I was expecting it to be kind of decent. Is their a chart somewhere I can look at the conversion rates at? I'm really wondering about FW.

There is a chart on the member website. It varies between 34 and 64 points per night for the cabins. If you have some dates I could look them up for you.

Trading in for non-DVC rooms is generally not a very good deal. The reason I say this is that the cash rack rate at fort wilderness starts at $309 per night. The equivalent room would cost 34 DVC points. You can rent your DVC points through a reputable site for $13 per point or $442. You are paying the equivalent of $133 more trading in DVC points than paying the rack rate from Disney. To make the math even worse a lot of times you can get a discount to rack so you are actually paying less than that $309. You would be better off renting your DVC points out for $442 and then booking the room for cash from Disney. The same math applies to trading in for cruises.

 

[dreamfinder]

Wow, I was expecting it to be kind of decent. Is their a chart somewhere I can look at the conversion rates at? I'm really wondering about FW.

You can view them here -> http://dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-program-85142/points-charts-29677/non-dvc-destinations-9332 (or most any other DVC focused fan site) You need to remember that DVD (Disney Vacation Development, who actually runs/managed DVC) is a separate entity from the actual resorts and DCL. So when you trade points in to stay at a non DVC property or take a cruise, DVD essentially takes your points back, and then they pay cash for the room. So they will basically pay rack rate for the room, and then need to "rent" your points to a cash guest, so there is going to be a premium in the off chance they can't rent the points.