main things I should know about buying resale?

[boardwalkbride729]

Me again... We just submitted our cancel info to rescind from our poly contract we bought on the cruise. I'm now beginning my research for buying resale instead. What are the main things I should know or research?

Also a question for choosing home resort. I know buy where you want to stay but if I don't know exactly where I want to stay are there any threads or websites you would suggest I read to compare the different dvc villas/ pros and cons/etc

It's just my husband and I at this point. We are 25 and 26. We want kids in the future but currently it's just us. We got married at the boardwalk and that's really the only place my family ever stayed when I was younger (at least that I can remember) and dh family had a timeshare that wasn't dvc so he grew up staying off property. any suggestions are appreciated!

Last question that I'm staring to look into at the point is financing resale. How does that work? Do I find my own company? Is one provided like there was when we bought direct? Any info on this will be great as well.

Thank you again everyone for all of your help so far in helping us realize the option of resale before it was too late for us to switch and for being so helpful with my million questions

 

[suebeelin]

When do you plan on traveling to DW? How often? What is your fave park? What is important to you (theming of resort, proximity to park, cost efficiency?).

My brother just bought SSR bc money is his main concern and he doesn't care where he stays so long as it's on property. He's also willing to adjust his vacay plans accordingly so he can get another resort at the 7 mo mark.

Me? We travel between October and January. We only want to stay at certain resorts and would be unhappy if we were stuck at other resorts (SSR or AKL are our least favorites). We felt the premium of owning where we don't mind staying was worth it, so we bought both bwv and BLT. We also like being able to walk to a park.

My older sister bought BLT direct in 2009 but soon realized she prefers the boardwalk area. She either pays cash at yatch club or uses her points for bwv pool/garden view. She told me to buy bwv only two years after she purchased BLT-- her preference hasn't changed- she says she still prefers the Boardwalk area.

We almost bought akl for the longer expiry date. So glad we backed out of that offer and purchased bwv instead. We hated akl the one time we stayed there on points.

Ps I think most brokers can recommend companies for financing.

Personally, I would recommend buying where you don't mind staying. That being said, looks like you may prefer bwv. It's going to be a vied for resort post 2019 (IMO) bc of toy story land and Star Wars land. It isn't cheap, though, given its earlier expiry date.
Good luck!

 

[com_op_2000]

You are doing the right thing by doing your research up-front.
Read these threads on the DIS and understand the following terms:
UY
MF
HR
11 month and 7 month booking windows
Concierge Collection
RCI
CM
MS
Direct vs resale
Rule of 4
Once you have a full understanding of these terms.
Then read some more.

 

[Boardwalkbrats]

Me again... We just submitted our cancel info to rescind from our poly contract we bought on the cruise. I'm now beginning my research for buying resale instead. What are the main things I should know or research?

Also a question for choosing home resort. I know buy where you want to stay but if I don't know exactly where I want to stay are there any threads or websites you would suggest I read to compare the different dvc villas/ pros and cons/etc

It's just my husband and I at this point. We are 25 and 26. We want kids in the future but currently it's just us. We got married at the boardwalk and that's really the only place my family ever stayed when I was younger (at least that I can remember) and dh family had a timeshare that wasn't dvc so he grew up staying off property. any suggestions are appreciated!

Last question that I'm staring to look into at the point is financing resale. How does that work? Do I find my own company? Is one provided like there was when we bought direct? Any info on this will be great as well.

Thank you again everyone for all of your help so far in helping us realize the option of resale before it was too late for us to switch and for being so helpful with my million questions

 

[Boardwalkbrats]

We have only bought resale DVC memberships. All of the points I own are selling for more than I paid with the exception of Vero points. Booking windows make booking easier during high demand times of the year but we rarely have a problem using our others resort points else where. For example we own our largest amount of points at OKW but always stay at either the BW or BC. We go spring break summer and sometimes over New Years. The only time of year that has been an issue is New Years.

So I look at the length of the contract with lower point cost and maintance costs. Right now SSR and AK look to be the best buys using those criteria. I am looking to add more points so I have been watching and those are the resorts I'm thinking of buying this time.

 

[ktmo]

I think that you made a good decision to learn more about DVC before making a big commitment. If Poly had more room options, I don't think people would push so much to look at resale (well they probably still would, because of price). We just bought resale, and our big reason for not buying PVB was their lack of 1 and 2 bedrooms. We have two DDs and it just wouldn't work for our family. One of the reasons we bought into DVC is to have more space when we travel.

I know that people will tell you not to finance the purchase, but we did finance it. I used Timeshare Lending, but there are others out there. Most resale companies have companies that they use to finance. Check out the brokers website, usually there is a page on financing. It was an easy process, I filled out the application on their website and received approval and then they worked with the closing company for final payment.

One thing that isn't mentioned a lot, is that rooms at different resort vary. So, a 1 bedroom at VGF cost more points than a 1 bedroom at BCV. AKV has "value" rooms, but they can be difficult to book, even at 11 months. So, don't buy only a enough points for the lowest point room. Give yourself a little cushion.

We have stayed at BCV before and loved it, so that is where we bought. I wanted to be at an Epcot resort. And I know that we will enjoy it there. We won't be disappointed if we can't get anything else at 7 months.

Resale does take longer. But, it is worth the wait. We ended up saving thousands by buying resale.

 

[VillainFavs]

If you're having to finance, do even more research and crunch a LOT of numbers. Financing is usually high and makes it not such a great deal.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Does it matter to you where you stay, given that you don't really know any of the DVC resorts?

So long as you're flexible, that's often cited as a textbook case to buy a cheap contract at SSR and try a few resorts in a 7-month booking window. You may need to do a few split stays along the way. Then, you'll have a feel for the resorts, and can either flip that contract and buy where you've fallen in love, or you can add points and keep the initial contract.

I say SSR, because those contracts have an attractive balance of contract length, maintenance fee, and price per point for experimenting. AKL is also nice on a per-point cost, but has higher maintenance fees because of the nature of that resort.

DVC high season is roughly September through January marathon, so that may also impact what you buy. Right now, without kids, you're very flexible. School schedules with kids start to limit you in many districts. In the mean time, if you dream of Food & Wine from Boardwalk or another Epcot resort, those studios book at 11 months to home owners, which may dictate contract needs to reach your dreams.

 

[msjprincess]

We decided on SSR for the above reasons. We rented points and stayed at SSR before buying and don't mind staying there. We actually like the close proximity to DTD. We're hoping to occasionally switch resorts at 7 months, but if it doesn't happen it won't be a big deal to us.

 

[supersnoop]

My advice: buy a small contract at SSR that you don't have to finance. Use it to get to know the system and how everything works. Stay at a variety of resorts to see which you like the best.

Then, in a few years, you will either:
1. sell the SSR contract and buy what you want
2. sell the SSR contract because DVC doesn't work for your travel style
3. Keep the SSR contract and buy more points to meet your needs.

 

[clarkgriswold]

Save yourself a lot of time and energy. Resale is a better value and the way to go!