Buying points at a second resort

[Horizon93]

To those who have already added points at various resorts, I have a question: I am planning on adding points down the road. Probably in a year or so. Buying through DVC seems to be the easiest. (same use year, etc.) When you buy points at one of the older resorts, such as BWV. does DVC sell them close to the resale market price, or higher?

Thanks!

[mprewitt]

DVC sells them for more than they pay when they pickup the points when they exercise ROFR on resales.

Last time I checked, the prices from DVC were:

AKV = $104 - $8 incentive = $96
SSR = $104 - $10 incentive = $94
BCV = $101
BWV = $98
VWL = $98
OKW = $92
HH = $92
VB = $92

I have added on 8 times since my initial purchase. In all but one instance, the points were immediately available and were listed on dvcmember.com the very next day for me to use. The one other time, the points were not available and I went on a waitlist (for BCV). However, the points came in three weeks later.

[Horizon93]

So I guess the advantages of buying additional points from DVC are:

• Keeping the same use year
• Ease of completing the deal
• quick access to points if available
• being able to buy as few as 25 or whatever quantity upi have in mind rather than the full amount availabe with a resale

The down side is paying more than you would with a resale.

Do I have that right?

[mprewitt]

Add-on from DVC

• There are no closing costs
• You can get the exact number of points that you want
• Faster than resale (you will be in the system and have your points and be able to make reservations much faster than resale -- DAYS not Weeks!)
• No worries about the purchase if Disney executes ROFR, since that only applies to resale purchases
• More expensive cost per point than the resale market
• You can finance through DVC, and Disney doesn’t report the loan to credit reporting agencies
• The full set of points you buy will be available immediately, versus a resale contract which may be “stripped” of points.
• You will get your same Use Year, and the add-on will be a sub-contract of your initial contract

Adding on via Resale

• You will have to pay closing costs
• You may not get the exact number of points you want
• It will take much longer to get the added-on points into the DVC system and have your points (resales typically take 6-8 weeks)
• Disney may exercise ROFR and you may loose the resale and have to start all over (When buying resale, one of the potential pitfalls to try to avoid is making an offer that will cause Disney to exercise it’s Right of First Refusal)
• Resale is typically less expensive then buying from DVC
• You can’t finance through DVC, although most resale brokers will recommend a finance company
• A resale contract may be “stripped” of points where the user has used many of the current year’s points, and may have borrowed some or all of next year’s points. Be wary of “stripped” contracts on the resale market.
• It may be difficult to get your existing Use Year and combine the new resale into your existing contract

[Horizon93]

Thanks for all of that. I jad most of it, but you added some key information.

The no closing costs and avoiding ROFF could make a big difference.

Thanks

[Becky'sMom]

I agree.
I am thinking about buying a DVC, but I think I will buy the intial interest via resale. I like the look and feel of Old Key West and like it even more when I consider that I can buy it for about 68% of what SSR would cost from DVC direct - even though it has 75% of it's shelf life remaining. I may pocket the savings, or just buy an interest that has more points so that my vacations are more flexible and spacious.
However, if I find down the line that I need additional points, I think I would go directly to Disney so that I can avoid the delay, closing costs and difficulty of having my use year be in alignment - especially if I am adding a small amount. Who wants to pay $300 or so in closing costs for 25 pts?
Lauren