Should we buy in

[Badger12]

I am looking to in to DVC we travel from the uk to Orlando for two weeks every two years in October. We are a family of six so would need a suite or villa to fit us in

Can anyone help on what would be the best number of points to buy and what would be the best resort to have as home

Thanks

 

[TheGuyThatMakesSwords]

I CAN say that going every other year would allow you to BANK all points for an "off" year, doubling the number of points available for an "on" year. Also, if you always travel in OCT? I'm guessing that an OCT "use year" would be a good thing....

By way of example.... Data for Copper Creek DVC....

https://disneyvacationclub.disney.g.../copper-creek-villas-and-cabins/points-rooms/

2 bed Villa (sleeps UP TO 8).... about 556 Points for a two week period in OCT.

Now, if you were doing this EVERY YEAR? Yes, you would want about 556 points. BUT - if you bought in at 556/2 = 278 points, BANKED all of your year 1 points to year 2? Year 2, you would have 556 points to work with.

I like having a few "extra points" - just in case. Were it me? I would buy 300 points.

Now - DO talk this over with DVC themselves. Currently, you'll need 75 points direct from Disney to get an honest "DVC BLUE" card, and all perks. You may not CARE about the perks, and may be able to buy on the resale market (some, or all, points).

300 points Direct from Disney at CCV would incur a cost of about $55,000 US... and the VERY worst thing that one can do is to FINANCE that up front cost . Generally, it will take a good 5-8 years to hit "break even", vs discounted rooms. My family has hit this.

https://dvcinfo.com/dvc-direct-price-increases-january-17/

Yearly DUES on 300 points at CCV would be about $2,180 US. Expect these to rise about 3-5% per year.

EDIT: One more thing? You are working with POUNDS... DVC works with US DOLLARS. A GREAT time to pay that DVC up front cost is when the POUND is strong against the US DOLLAR .


Hoping others will chime in.... I don't work for Disney, not an agent, just a happy DVC owner .

 

[correcaminos]

I honestly need more information. How much do you usually pay on average each time? What rooms do you stay in now? Do you want to stay all over? How long do you hope to own? Points per resort vary greatly for even the same room type. For example OKW for 13 nights is 432 for a 2 bedroom where VGF is 699. Copper Creek is 518. So if you are good with OKW you would only need 220 or so points. Also different resorts cosy different amounts both direct and resale.

 

[dreamfinder]

Lots of threads about buy or not. Strongly suggest digging through some of those. As @helenabear said, there needs to be alot more information to help evaluate. A large contract to support a 2BR villa will be pretty pricey. Direct breakeven could easily be a decade or longer, especially if you get a bad exchange rate and have to finance. Financing can easily add another 5-10 years. Resale may not get you the perks, but at $50+ savings per point (Just saw a 400 point Boulder Ridge for $108, direct would be $170ish per point w/o a promotion) those perks take a long time to recoup the extra costs.

 

[slappy magoo]

What @TheGuyThatMakesSwords wrote is good advice - if you traditionally go to WDW once every two years, it would make sense to figure out how many points you need to get the sort of accommodations you prefer, and buy half that amount. DVC members are allowed to both bank a year's worth of points AND borrow from next year's points when necessary.

I'd add that if you only go every other year, you might want to look into buying resale as opposed to buying direct from DVC. This is an assumption on my part, but I'm guessing you go elsewhere those alternate years. Buying resale will place some restrictions on the non-Disney places you can use the points...but you're only buying half of the points you need and you'll only need them at WDW (and I believe resale points can at least still be transferred to be used through the RCI timeshare company, but not for the Concierge Collection, Disney Cruises, Adventures By Disney; someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Now if you still need to figure out how many points you'd need for the resort you'd like to buy into, various websites have points charts but I find this the most convenient...
https://www.dvcrequest.com/cost-calculator.asp

Put in the dates you'd be likely to go (for this year anyway), and click the button that says "Show Point Amount" and it'll give you (wait for it) the point amount for every DVC resort, every room type, every view category. Example:

Those point values might vary a little year by year (if October becomes more popular, the values might go up), but those changes have to be offset elsewhere (example, the point values for another time of year or another type of room will have to go down), to maintain a balance as to how many points the entire DVC resort is "worth;" in other words, legally, they can't just decide "wow, this place is popular let's raise the point values 10% across the board." Because technically your points represent a teeny tiny percentage of the resort you own (until the deed expires and it all goes back to Disney). For them to rise point values across the board is the same as saying "yeah we told you you owned this much but now you own less than that," and that's not legal.

But for now, if you think you'd like to own at Bay Lake Tower with a theme park view in a studio, that would require 218 points, so if you bought 109 points and banked or borrowed, you'd have what you need. You might want to get yourself some flexibility by buying more than the bare minimum you need at this time...125?...in case there's a change in the points structure. Then the question (or ONE of the many questions I'm sure you still have) becomes if you go through DVC and see if they have points for Bay Lake available (or if they have to put you on a waitlist), or if you want to buy resale.

Hope that helps.

 

[Victaman]

Are you coming this October? If so, I am showing everything is booked. I ran a search for two weeks in October (7-20) and there isn't anything available at Copper Creek, or really anywhere during that time period. I checked for a 2 bedroom villa.

Also, buying direct from Disney is a much faster process, if that matters to you. Buying resale can take some time. I've never purchased on the resale market but was told by one of the resellers that it could take 8 weeks or longer to close on the contract. So, if you're thinking October 2019 and want to buy resale, I would start looking now and get the process started so you would be ready to book at the 11 month window. *Especially with Star Wars land scheduled for a "late fall 2019" opening.

 

[MMDVC]

I have purchased direct twice and just recently resale. The paperwork was easiest buying direct.
I can't imagine what a pain buying overseas would be with paperwork, etc.
Also a new purchaser sometimes can get some Disney Magic with their DVC guide (buying direct) finding their first stay using points for a hard to get date.
If you can get past the prices already quoted for DVC let us know. It is a huge investment.
Unfortunately the popularity has made it almost necessary to buy where you want to stay for the 11 month home resort booking advantage. The 7 month window opens for the non-"home" resorts and obviously the newer resorts tend to be popular and dates get hard to find also.
Have you researched other options? It seems European market frequently has some great discount offers from Disney with dining plans, etc. Maybe plan a family trip so you can take tours. I think the Fort Wilderness Cabins could accommodate a family for your needs. Also some of the resorts do have cash reservations at the DVC locations to compare.
You definitely need to do a lot of research because DVC is an expensive investment and also has yearly maintenance fees!!!

 

[James White]

So, here is my plan: I have been planning on buying into DVC for roughly the last ten years. I have been slowly tucking away cash and profits from my secondary day trading activities and I am close to being able to make the purchase. Looking at resale for 160 points at OKW resort. I plan on week long trips every other year in the fall and the occasional 2 or 3 days at the DVC in CA. My family is tired of hearing about the "villa" and since I have talked about it for so long, they laugh when I bring it up. So, for you hardcore DVC clients-Is there anything I should consider that I did not mention?

 

[nickys]

So, here is my plan: I have been planning on buying into DVC for roughly the last ten years. I have been slowly tucking away cash and profits from my secondary day trading activities and I am close to being able to make the purchase. Looking at resale for 160 points at OKW resort. I plan on week long trips every other year in the fall and the occasional 2 or 3 days at the DVC in CA. My family is tired of hearing about the "villa" and since I have talked about it for so long, they laugh when I bring it up. So, for you hardcore DVC clients-Is there anything I should consider that I did not mention?

The Grand Californian is hard to book at 7 months, but not impossible. So you'd need to be travelling off-peak for California.

Other than that, are you happy staying at OKW? Have you factored in the annual dues? Can you book at least 7 months ahead? If the answers are yes, and you're not going into this in order to recoup your money after x years (i.e.: this is not a short term idea or "investment"), then go for it.

Make sure you are happy with the end date of the contract, you will "inherit" the existing end date if you buy resale.

I bet your family will be begging to come with you if you do. Good luck!

 

[correcaminos]

So, here is my plan: I have been planning on buying into DVC for roughly the last ten years. I have been slowly tucking away cash and profits from my secondary day trading activities and I am close to being able to make the purchase. Looking at resale for 160 points at OKW resort. I plan on week long trips every other year in the fall and the occasional 2 or 3 days at the DVC in CA. My family is tired of hearing about the "villa" and since I have talked about it for so long, they laugh when I bring it up. So, for you hardcore DVC clients-Is there anything I should consider that I did not mention?

Yes, if you want to stay at VGC, you need to buy there. It is much harder to book there than you think. Many do okay but the number of rooms are limited. Otherwise I like your idea. OKW is a great resort and part of where we own. Keep in mind most of the contracts for resale are end dates of 2042 for OKW (due to signing a quitclaim deed ending it in 2042, the rest end 15 years later including all direct purchases).

 

[slappy magoo]

So, here is my plan: I have been planning on buying into DVC for roughly the last ten years. I have been slowly tucking away cash and profits from my secondary day trading activities and I am close to being able to make the purchase. Looking at resale for 160 points at OKW resort. I plan on week long trips every other year in the fall and the occasional 2 or 3 days at the DVC in CA. My family is tired of hearing about the "villa" and since I have talked about it for so long, they laugh when I bring it up. So, for you hardcore DVC clients-Is there anything I should consider that I did not mention?

You should buy where you'd like to own, where you'd prefer to stay. If OKW is where you'd like to stay, great. And a couple of years down the road, maybe you can find a small contract of GC points to cover your occasional trips to DL.