What would be the best DVC resort to buy right now?

[Emily90]

Hi, my husband and I are looking seriously at DVC, after having heard the cost of £10s of thousands of pounds years ago and immediately brushing it off. However since then we have been 5 times in 5 years staying deluxe each time. Despite saying we should save and go value we have accepted that we will probably always go deluxe from now on!

My question is, what would be the best resort to go for right now, and how many points would be best?

Our favourite resorts are Grand Floridian, Beach Club and Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Where is the best place to buy resale?

Thanks in advance for anyone who can help

[sprocket]

AK has some great resale prices and still has 37 years left on them.
BC only has 22 years left, so prices will start plummeting in the next few years, so not a great investment at the moment.
GF is quiet new, but prices reflect this and your paying a good premium there.

Points wise it can range from 100-150 a week depending on when Easter falls in the month.

Remember to include maintenance fees in your calculations.

[Dr.JumbaJookiba]

You should buy where you would most like to stay as this is where you will have home resort priority. Calculate the number of points you need based on your preferred unit size at this resort at your favourite time of year. Some people buy less points and bank/borrow to cover the shortfall budgeting on missing every other year or 1 year in 3 etc.

[YorkshireT]

There’s no single or simple answer to this as DVC is a very complex product and first piece of advice is spend a good few months researching- there is a ton of resource. Different people have different objectives.

There are people who buy where they want to stay as the Dr says above- that is the fail safe option which can be excellent advice. There’s people who buy for value, where they wouldn’t mind staying (are there any deluxe where most wouldn’t mind staying?).

Some like me buy DVC solely for the flexibility to stay in different resorts so buying a particular resort didn’t influence me too much. Ability to do this depends on time of year you usually go, and more important, room type as 1 beds go much, much slower at 7 months usually than studios. So I stay all over, and our favourite is Boardwalk, and I’ve yet to see it not available at 7 months in a 1 bed for example. So should I have bought there where it’s more expensive for a much shorter contract over my SSR? I don’t think so really as I’ve always been able to stay there no problem anyway. Would be different though if I always wanted a studio there every November.

VGF is not only expensive to buy in but very, very points intensive. For that reason I’ve never chosen to stay there as I’d rather have more nights. Something to consider.

You may have answered your own question in a way as AKL if that is a preferred resort is a very good buy. It’s toward the bottom of the expense scale for buy in, dues are a bit high, but long contract.

And of course consider resale- you won’t be able to stay in Riviera and any new ones after, but savings are huge.

[vhm672]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

There’s no single or simple answer to this as DVC is a very complex product and first piece of advice is spend a good few months researching- there is a ton of resource. Different people have different objectives.

There are people who buy where they want to stay as the Dr says above- that is the fail safe option which can be excellent advice. There’s people who buy for value, where they wouldn’t mind staying (are there any deluxe where most wouldn’t mind staying?).

Some like me buy DVC solely for the flexibility to stay in different resorts so buying a particular resort didn’t influence me too much. Ability to do this depends on time of year you usually go, and more important, room type as 1 beds go much, much slower at 7 months usually than studios. So I stay all over, and our favourite is Boardwalk, and I’ve yet to see it not available at 7 months in a 1 bed for example. So should I have bought there where it’s more expensive for a much shorter contract over my SSR? I don’t think so really as I’ve always been able to stay there no problem anyway. Would be different though if I always wanted a studio there every November.

VGF is not only expensive to buy in but very, very points intensive. For that reason I’ve never chosen to stay there as I’d rather have more nights. Something to consider.

You may have answered your own question in a way as AKL if that is a preferred resort is a very good buy. It’s toward the bottom of the expense scale for buy in, dues are a bit high, but long contract.

And of course consider resale- you won’t be able to stay in Riviera and any new ones after, but savings are huge.

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As always all good advice from Yorkshire T. The only caveat I would make as an owner at BWV is that during food and wine festival I have had to walk reservations at 11 months to get availability, so a lot does decide on when you want to stay.

Personally I have favourite resorts so I am more in the camp of buying where I want to stay but that is based on extensive thought and research on the product.

Also remember busy DVC times differ from non DVC.

[Emily90]

Thank you for your replies.

Can I ask - how difficult are Grand Floridian studios and Beach Club studios to get at 7 months in relatively low periods such as early May, and in late august? Thank you

[Dr.JumbaJookiba]

I've no idea about May or August but I've just checked 4th-8th Jan and there are no VGF or BC studios available.

[JasonErpelding]

Originally Posted by Emily90

Our favourite resorts are Grand Floridian, Beach Club and Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Where is the best place to buy resale?

Thanks in advance for anyone who can help

See more...

I would recommend signing up for the email updates with Buy and Sell DVC, Inc.® I am the Broker for Buy and Sell DVC, Inc.® We send out emails on Mondays and Thursdays. You can watch the new listings and get an idea on pricing for them. Right now Grand Floridian is selling for around $165 per point, Beach Club around $142 per point and Animal Kingdom around $108 per point.

buyandselldvc/index... listing-alerts

Of course, we don't get all the listings for DVC. I would also recommend you sign up for their emails as well.

dvcresalemarket

I am sure there are others people might recommend but I have been doing this since 2004 and they are former DVC guides. It will come down to who ends up getting the listing you have an interest in. Also be advised you can make offers. Some buyers sit and sit and sit waiting for a certain price to come across for a new listing. If you see a listing you like I would always recommend making an offer. The seller might not accept but it doesn't hurt to offer. Offers are simply. You can make the offer online. I would then respond to confirm I have all the correct information. You then respond confirming. I then present the offer and typically the seller will respond in a few hours. It is super easy.

Enjoy your research and I hope you get the points before your next stay.

Jason Erpelding
Lic. Real Estate Broker
Buy and Sell DVC, inc.®

[KarenG]

Originally Posted by Dr.JumbaJookiba

I've no idea about May or August but I've just checked 4th-8th Jan and there are no VGF or BC studios available.

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That may possibly straddle Marathon weekend when reservations are notorious difficult to secure? Though this year they have sold a lot less tickets to enter so it may be less bad. Usually all studios have gone (except SSR and OKW) soon after 11 months, and SSR and OKW not far behind.

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by Emily90

Thank you for your replies.

Can I ask - how difficult are Grand Floridian studios and Beach Club studios to get at 7 months in relatively low periods such as early May, and in late august? Thank you

See more...

Both times, save for any marathons etc are low DVC times. Bang on 7 months at both times you stand a chance, but far from guaranteed in studios.

Not sure about a marathon weekend, but other than that or a public holiday, 1 beds at both resorts are usually no problem at these times at 7 months but VGF is sometimes a bit tricky and with these being some of the most popular resorts, neither are guaranteed. But from personal experience I have not had a problem when I go, including Beach Club last year over Xmas and this year it was available 17-26 December when I’m there (I chose a Boardwalk standard instead). But not guaranteed as I say.

Trying to get studios at 7 months is a lot more of a gamble than 1 beds- significantly more.

You need flexibility with getting studios at 7 months- you’ll almost always have choices other than your home resort, but need to be prepared for potential disappointment for one of the most popular. But, for example, I booked Copper Creek this summer in a studio.

If you want VGF or BCV (which is harder to get than BWV) in studios and have to stop there, I’d buy there. VGF can be a toughie to get even in 1 beds at certain times, but not in summer.

1 beds are totally different to studios generally though, you will usually have a very good choice. As above I’ve booked Boardwalk just before Xmas this year (a low points very high demand time), could have had Beach Club, last Xmas I stayed in BLT and Beach Club 1 beds, booked Grand Californian for summer - all 1 beds of course and all supposed difficult to book places.

But it looks like you are considering studios, and if I was always booking studios this requires a differing mindset for those wanting the most popular resorts.

Another tactic some do is rather than buying enough points for a studio at say VGF, they’ll buy twice the points at a cheaper resort for ‘sleep around’ points booking 1 beds. More dues to pay of course, but if you do score that studio you can rent out the rest of the points that would cover virtually all your dues for the year. Otherwise these people like me, stay mainly where they want in 1 beds.

Study ‘skier petes’ 7 month availability charts on the ‘other board’. Be aware where he says ‘patchy’ availability at 7 months, it is generally available and he told me his charts in that regard are on the pessimistic side as he wasn’t checking it as soon as the booking window opened. I always checking 7 month availability out of interest and have often seen patchy is really available.