Have i missed the boat?

[Hidden mickey]

We bought direct at the beginning of our 40”s and haven’t regretted it!

[dvc]

We were 45 and 54 with a 4 year old. We weighed up,the pros and cons against buying and maintaining a static caravan in Cornwall. DVC won ands down even with the annual dues and flights. we bought enough points at BCV to have a month one holiday every two years in a studio. not a lot of points but great for us. Weve also,used the points at SSR (loved its proximity to Disney Springs) and this year we're staying at the Poly for our wedding! We've never regretted it.

[Mr Tom Morrow]

OP. I was 48 and my Wife 42 when we bought out first contract back in 2003.
I would love to have bought before then but with young children and a mortgage etc it just wasn't possible. Back then we visited Florida once a year for a 3 week holiday.

It was only as I repeatedly got promoted that we could buy more Points and go more often.

How do we see the future panning out? No idea!
I would like to say we will continue to go 3 or 4 times a year but so many things influence that from medical through to financial.

As things stand today I could sell the contracts we have and make a very good profit, but that's not happening.

I am blown away by the cost of WDW Hotels paying cash. A 3 week stay in POR Resort mid Aug 19 on is £4818!
We stay for 10 weeks a year in SSR for £500 less than that in dues.

[Shooby doo]

We were 40, the catalyst tbh was that we knew DS would no longer be coming with us & space was no longer going to be an issue. At that stage we bought enough points for 3 weeks every other, as it's turned out we have been most years through a combination of constantly borrowing & moving off-site for a few days. We first looked in 2001,at BWV, & just weren't impressed, more so the lack of space & our guide never really pushed extra points for bigger accommodations. Then totally out of the blue, we got talking to a Rep in AK & went & done the tour again, only this time we were also very aware of the Resale market.
Have you missed the boat ? Well you have in that it's no longer 2:1 & I got my SSR points for $67.50. I think it depends, if you are staying at Pop every holiday then it's debatable whether you will come out "quids in", I think when I projected we about broke even at 2054 but that was on every other year. We actually need to top up by approx. 100 so that when can do 3 weeks every year. I know that they say that most owners keep their contracts for 10-15 years but we'd much rather go to our DVC than lie around a pool in Greece etc & we can just as easily lie around SSR pools
SD

[scouser]

thanks everyone for the great responses and time taken to reply its a great help reading all your advice, iam going to keep an eye on the resale market for the right contract, will let you all know if anything happens.

[YorkshireT]

There are some good deals still, another poster reported picking up Animal Kingdom at 85 a point I think only a few weeks ago.
Also its only the past couple of years that resale has shot up. Whilst I got a good deal, I managed to get my last SSR resale 18 months ago for 75 a point but with a full allocation of that year's points and year before points banked (with dues paid on them).
I couldn't use the banked so rented them out, reducing net buy in to only $62 a point and I still had 2017s points left! I banked them, and that contract is getting me a nice stay in a 2 bed Boardwalk and 1 bed Animal Kingdom next month. The contract cost me £10k. That Boardwalk 2 bed is $750 a night roughly cash. So just this first holiday will eat significantly into that contract's outlay, albeit I've paid another £1500 in dues on top so £11500 paid to date.
If I wanted I could take the holiday, go again later in the year and borrow 2019s points in, then wait until Feb 19 and go again borrowing 2020s points in (so 3 holidays in the next 8 months) and then sell it stripped, probably for $85 - $90 a point. So I could make a nice profit - all this on a contract bought Jan 2017!
I obviously wouldn't have had such a windfall buying direct at $180 a point. I do own some direct contracts, not as profitable but still not bad as bought before price hikes.
But at present I don't intend to sell and whilst there is a very healthy return on renting like there is now, I'll just rent my contracts out of not going.
Savings are relative though- a very good point above, if you're happy with basic accommodations, DVC will not pay. It's only for those who really would like deluxe, and possibly moderate.

[dizneemad]

I would not look at it as missed the boat, just caught a later sailing.

We first looked in 2000 and played with the figures and thought what we would buy would give us a trip every other year, so not worth it.
3 years later and 5 trips sat thinking what I have spent would more than have paid for enough points to go each year. I was 39 and wife 35 2 teenage kids but rung them from UK and bought in. 6 years later added on and now 15 years later still going every year sometimes the 2 of us other times the whole gang of eight.
Like stated earlier could sell for a nice profit but not on the radar just the planning for the next couple of trips. You will not regret it.

[scouser]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

There are some good deals still, another poster reported picking up Animal Kingdom at 85 a point I think only a few weeks ago.
Also its only the past couple of years that resale has shot up. Whilst I got a good deal, I managed to get my last SSR resale 18 months ago for 75 a point but with a full allocation of that year's points and year before points banked (with dues paid on them).
I couldn't use the banked so rented them out, reducing net buy in to only $62 a point and I still had 2017s points left! I banked them, and that contract is getting me a nice stay in a 2 bed Boardwalk and 1 bed Animal Kingdom next month. The contract cost me £10k. That Boardwalk 2 bed is $750 a night roughly cash. So just this first holiday will eat significantly into that contract's outlay, albeit I've paid another £1500 in dues on top so £11500 paid to date.
If I wanted I could take the holiday, go again later in the year and borrow 2019s points in, then wait until Feb 19 and go again borrowing 2020s points in (so 3 holidays in the next 8 months) and then sell it stripped, probably for $85 - $90 a point. So I could make a nice profit - all this on a contract bought Jan 2017!
I obviously wouldn't have had such a windfall buying direct at $180 a point. I do own some direct contracts, not as profitable but still not bad as bought before price hikes.
But at present I don't intend to sell and whilst there is a very healthy return on renting like there is now, I'll just rent my contracts out of not going.
Savings are relative though- a very good point above, if you're happy with basic accommodations, DVC will not pay. It's only for those who really would like deluxe, and possibly moderate.

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Wow a great deal you got, and a great way to make the best of your investment, as for the category of accommodation we have only stayed in deluxe when staying at on site hotels and that's our plan for the future going forward.

[scouser]

Can i ask Yorkshire t when your looking at contracts were is your first port of call when it comes to resale companies

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by scouser

Can i ask Yorkshire t when your looking at contracts were is your first port of call when it comes to resale companies

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The cheapest/ best deal.
Fidelity traditionally has good deals, as it often had distressed sellers.
You need to sign up to all the main agents emails, and as soon as a good one hits your inbox, make a decent offer.
As stated, to get a good idea of what is reasonable consult disboards ROFR thread in the DVC forum. It's the only place I know where you can get a contemporaneous list of offer acceptances.
Edit- and as I highlighted do consider the value of loaded contracts and banked points. Work on any points you can't use, you can get $13 minimum for via Dave's to offset against purchase price.