"I wish I knew that before I joined DVC"
I am thrilled with my DVC membership and only regret we did not bite the bullit and make the purchase years ago. If you avoid Friday and Saturday nights and peak seasons you will be able to get more milage out of your points. Since you know you will need at least a 1 bedroom then it is important to factor that into your point purchase decision. However if you can only start with a certain amount of points go for it and make it work. That may mean shorter vacations until you are able to add on.
I would also think seriously about where you decide to purchase. Our home resort is SSR and we Love it there! It was the right place for us. We love the resort itself and love being so close to DD. It works for us and the ages of our grown children.
We stayed at BC in January and DH really likes it there as well. What we are finding is that it is getting harder to stay at your non-home resort when trying at the 7 month window. Not impossible but if your heart is set on staying at a particular plave I woudl ourchase there rather than counting on being able to get that 1st choice at the 7 month window.
Sounds as if you understand the needs of your family and know what you want. That is the best way to approach where you will purchase and the number of points you will need. :mickey: