Advice For First time Buyer (resale)

[MsChristy12]

AKL is great during Christmas as well with the giant Christmas tree. Honestly I’ll likely end up adding CCV eventually too. I still can’t recommend SSR in good conscience because you straight up said you don’t want to stay there. Then add in the fact that you want to go in early December which is peak DVC booking. CCV or AK is the way to go here.

Oh hey hey maybe future next door neighbor!! haha

I love AKV too. I mean, that resort is so unique that it is in its own category. Honestly, if my husband loves AKV as much as I do, we would have bought there instead. But I want both of us to love our home resort, and BRV did that for us!

 

[dave_shoo]

I won't even mention how many times I will book/cancel/rebook a rental car from Costco...It does make us sound psycho in some ways, but it's kinda my pastime?

For flights, I'm a Delta loyalist and I do this crazy thing that, if the flight I want on my travel date isn't the cheapest one, I will buy the cheaper flight that also works. Then I stalk Delta app daily...sometimes multiple times a day to see if the flight I want will drop. When I see it drop, I will switch my flight so I'll get the schedule I want but not paying extra! It's always gamble but so far, it has worked in my favor 9/10 times! It's not even always about the money we save, but it's the thrill and excitement that we feel when we scored the deal! Am I right?

All makes sense to me! I was booking award flights on American. Was 18k miles pp one way. After 4 rebookings I got them down to 10k pp one way which is the lowest they offer. Feels great! 16k miles saved one way isn't nothing!

 

[lilsonicfan]

Def on the same page. I enjoy the stalking.

I think that makes me sound like a sick person. Maybe I am! But I cancelled and rebooked flights for Sept 4 different times as I stalked the website for a better deal. I didn't mind and it feels great! I feel like I can do something similar with DVC but I don't know.

I have booked and rebooked sooooo many different reservations since getting access to my points less than a month ago. The stalking is fun!

 

[intamin]

I do like to go between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Like staying at the Epcot resorts, MK resorts or AKV. Plus spring, but not spring break.

Btw I know you said you weren't sure which use year works for you, for these time periods I'd recommend a September or October UY. It would cover fall through spring. If you planned to travel during the summer these would not be a good UY to own but otherwise they work just fine.

 

[dave_shoo]

Btw I know you said you weren't sure which use year works for you, for these time periods I'd recommend a September or October UY. It would cover fall through spring. If you planned to travel during the summer these would not be a good UY to own but otherwise they work just fine.

Very helpful. Thank you!

 

[Genie+]

You've all been extremely helpful thank you. I've sort of begun to lean way from SSR given I don't actually want to stay there. However cost is still important to me and given small contract size I'm targeting (100) I have been leaning to AKV. However I love Wilderness lodge and there are good prices on BRV, and the dues aren't too different between BRV and AKV.

I'm 41. My partner is 10 years younger but we have no kids and won't. I had been looking at only longer contracts for obvious value reasons. BRV will expire when I'm 60, while AKV 20 years or so later. I'd guess I'd still like to go into my 60s but probably less often. Maybe she'd go with family after I'm dead, but really I've been thinking of longer contracts to sell on the backend and recoup some small value.

What are your thoughts on shorter contracts vs longer ones? It's very difficult to project this out. All the older resorts contracts ending might make it impossible to stay anywhere but your home resort home the 2040s too. Thanks!

I think 100 points is a good idea in your situation. The experience you get will really help narrow down which resorts and point charts you like best, and availability specific to your needs. You’ll be in a much better position to decide if you should add-on and where.

 

[Mrs.LauraSmith]

I don’t have much experience but we just signed our first resale contract yesterday so I thought our process that we went through on making these decisions might be helpful.

We decided on our budget first. Then we decided on a range of points that would get us either a week in a studio yearly or a 1 bedroom every other year.

We had already known we wanted to purchase a resort that was more economical but with our upfront budget being a factor, this narrowed down the options to AKL and SSR. We have only visited 3 DVC resorts but we liked both of these so it worked for us. Due to the proximity to DS, amazing rooms, and the ability to walk / explore around the resort we decided on SSR. We’d be perfectly happy if we always end up there but like you I don’t mind stalking the system and doing split stays, so do hope to get to try other resorts too.

From there I went searching for contracts in this range, specifically targeting ones with stacked points. I thought it might take weeks to get a yes since I didn’t want to go over Fidelity’s average sales price per point for May. I was shocked to get a yes on my 5th offer with 200 bonus points on a 100 point contract.

Overall, I suggest looking at listings to become educated and then have a range of options that are acceptable so you stay within what you really want.

Where did you find Fidelity’s average sales price per point? Is that resort specific?

 

[jess2022]

Where did you find Fidelity’s average sales price per point? Is that resort specific?

Yes it’s by resort. If you google Fidelity May 2023 average sales price dvc” you’ll see it. I haven’t seen one for June yet. I believe DVC resale market has one too.

 

[dave_shoo]

Big thanks to everyone for their advice here. I've decided 100 points at CCV is the best option for us. Maybe in the future I'll feel comfortable adding SAP points at SSR, but once I decided at least AKV was right, the jump to where I really want to stay at CCV seemed a no brainer. Lower dues and longest contract. Wish me luck!

 

[intamin]

Big thanks to everyone for their advice here. I've decided 100 points at CCV is the best option for us. Maybe in the future I'll feel comfortable adding SAP points at SSR, but once I decided at least AKV was right, the jump to where I really want to stay at CCV seemed a no brainer. Lower dues and longest contract. Wish me luck!

I think you’re definitely making the right decision here. As much as we focus on the financials, DVC is just as much of an emotional purchase because after all it’s a vacation and it’s kind of weird to say but these resorts become a part of you and you want to be proud of where you own. Anyways best of luck finding the right contract for you!

 

[DanCali]

Big thanks to everyone for their advice here. I've decided 100 points at CCV is the best option for us. Maybe in the future I'll feel comfortable adding SAP points at SSR, but once I decided at least AKV was right, the jump to where I really want to stay at CCV seemed a no brainer. Lower dues and longest contract. Wish me luck!

Congrats on your decision! Great resort.

Not trying to sway you either way - it's a very individual decision. I will point out that the longer contract life and lower dues do cost you in the form of higher upfront cost (~25% higher resale prices vs AKV) on the resale market. But if you sell in 10-15 years, you'll probably also get back more, since the subsequent buyer will also get a longer contract and (likely) lower dues.

Also, the AKV (non-Value) 1BRs sleep 5 vs the 1BRs and studios at CCV which sleep only 4. If you plan on holding for the longer term, make sure to consider if or how that might impact you over the years. For example, our 2 kids (girl and boy) are fine sharing a sleeper sofa as kids, but perhaps it gets more awkward as they age. Also, for those with 3 kids AKV 1BR would still be doable while CCV would require a 2BR. But this may be a non-issue for many, depending on individual circumstances.

Either way - good luck moving forward and closing!

 

[dave_shoo]

Congrats on your decision! Great resort.

Not trying to sway you either way - it's a very individual decision. I will point out that the longer contract life and lower dues do cost you in the form of higher upfront cost (~25% higher resale prices vs AKV) on the resale market. But if you sell in 10-15 years, you'll probably also get back more, since the subsequent buyer will also get a longer contract and (likely) lower dues.

Also, the AKV (non-Value) 1BRs sleep 5 vs the 1BRs and studios at CCV which sleep only 4. If you plan on holding for the longer term, make sure to consider if or how that might impact you over the years. For example, our 2 kids (girl and boy) are fine sharing a sleeper sofa as kids, but perhaps it gets more awkward as they age. Also, for those with 3 kids AKV 1BR would still be doable while CCV would require a 2BR. But this may be a non-issue for many, depending on individual circumstances.

Either way - good luck moving forward and closing!

Yep thanks. We have no kids. As of now we are studios only. It's just us! And those were my thoughts about CCV vs AKL in the future as well. A bit more upfront. Less dues. Likely better resale.