Considering purchasing

[kerrbear]

My husband and I have been back and forth about purchasing for years. We almost purchased back in 1998, and though part of me wishes we did, I think we chose wisely for our situation. We’ve been looking into it again now. Our kids are now adults and I’m not sure we’ll ever have grandkids, so the earlier expirations don’t bother me much, but I will say that Wilderness Lodge is “home”. I’m contemplating the CFW opportunity coming soon, but I’m scared off by the rumored yearly point fee.

Anyway, I’ve also thought about buying Boulder Ridge or Copper Creek at resale.

My main concern with buying either direct or resale is the future prospect of resale. I don’t want to buy in and then leave the responsibility for yearly payments to my kids with no escape plan. If they won’t be able to resell, I don’t want to burden them with the membership if they don’t want to keep it. I’m concerned that Disney will squash resale and my kids will be stuck with the yearly dues.

Am I being paranoid or do any of you think this might be a possibility in the future?

 

[AstroBlasters]

My husband and I have been back and forth about purchasing for years. We almost purchased back in 1998, and though part of me wishes we did, I think we chose wisely for our situation. We’ve been looking into it again now. Our kids are now adults and I’m not sure we’ll ever have grandkids, so the earlier expirations don’t bother me much, but I will say that Wilderness Lodge is “home”. I’m contemplating the CFW opportunity coming soon, but I’m scared off by the rumored yearly point fee.

Anyway, I’ve also thought about buying Boulder Ridge or Copper Creek at resale.

My main concern with buying either direct or resale is the future prospect of resale. I don’t want to buy in and then leave the responsibility for yearly payments to my kids with no escape plan. If they won’t be able to resell, I don’t want to burden them with the membership if they don’t want to keep it. I’m concerned that Disney will squash resale and my kids will be stuck with the yearly dues.

Am I being paranoid or do any of you think this might be a possibility in the future?

To my knowledge, no one can force your kids to take over the contracts if you both pass and they do not want it. Think of it like a credit card or car loan, it can be discharged at death.

 

[mort1331]

And Disney is ok with it as they get a contract back for free

 

[MikeOhio]

This is exactly right. Once you pass away, your kids have no legal obligation to take over the contract.

Of course, if they don't want it and the contract still has resale value, their best bet would be to take it over and sell it quickly but they would not have to do so.

 

[kerrbear]

This helps, thank you all for your thoughts. I think I’ll start looking into resale and also see what the terms are for the Cabins.

One more question, do I remember correctly that if you don’t buy direct you miss out on using your points elsewhere, like Europe for example?

 

[AstroBlasters]

This helps, thank you all for your thoughts. I think I’ll start looking into resale and also see what the terms are for the Cabins.

One more question, do I remember correctly that if you don’t buy direct you miss out on using your points elsewhere, like Europe for example?

Yes, but the conversion rate is awful…. so it’s really not a loss.

IMO, the benefits are: access to restricted resorts, discounted WDW passes, savings on food and merch, access to lounges, access to Moonlight Magic, feeling like a “full member” based on above.

I’m #TeamHybrid. 80% resale, 20% direct

 

[Matty B13]

If "Wilderness Lodge is Home" then I would suggest buying either Boulder Ridge if you don't want to pass it on to your kids, or Copper Creek if you think you might want to pass it on to them. If you plan on staying there over 70% of the time then always "Buy Where You Want To Stay", you won't worry about the initial buy in cost and dues after a few years.

We have VGF points that we use to always stay at VGF, and AKV points (which we bought pretty cheap) as sleep around points.

 

[kerrbear]

Yes, but the conversion rate is awful…. so it’s really not a loss.

IMO, the benefits are: access to restricted resorts, discounted WDW passes, savings on food and merch, access to lounges, access to Moonlight Magic, feeling like a “full member” based on above.

I’m #TeamHybrid. 80% resale, 20% direct

Do you need 150 points direct buy to receive the “full member” benefits?

 

[Sandisw]

Do you need 150 points direct buy to receive the “full member” benefits?

Yes. And the resale points you purchase won’t be good at RIV, VDH, and CFW. Most likely all future resorts as well.

But, if you know the Wilderness Lodge is home, then not having those options might not matter.

I think owning where you want to be, if you have a specific resort, is most important.

 

[kerrbear]

Yes. And the resale points you purchase won’t be good at RIV, VDH, and CFW. Most likely all future resorts as well.

But, if you know the Wilderness Lodge is home, then not having those options might not matter.

I think owning where you want to be, if you have a specific resort, is most important.

Great points about the future resorts. I do have CFW and a possible revisit to constructing Reflections in the back of my mind.

We’re heading down next week and staying at Wilderness Lodge. We were already planning to head over to Fort Wilderness to take a look at the resort, but I may inquire about seeing. Boulder Ridge room or Copper Creek (if they have any open to see).

 

[eandt]

Yes, but the conversion rate is awful…. so it’s really not a loss.

IMO, the benefits are: access to restricted resorts, discounted WDW passes, savings on food and merch, access to lounges, access to Moonlight Magic, feeling like a “full member” based on above.

I’m #TeamHybrid. 80% resale, 20% direct

Another big benefit of direct contract purchase is the points are in your account AND can work with MS on Welcome Home trip within an hour or two …. No searching for the right contract, making offers, counter offers, having declined offers ROFR, arranging for title search etc … 30 minute phone call with your guide and you are a full card carrying member … to us that was worth it

 

[intamin]

My husband and I have been back and forth about purchasing for years. We almost purchased back in 1998, and though part of me wishes we did, I think we chose wisely for our situation. We’ve been looking into it again now. Our kids are now adults and I’m not sure we’ll ever have grandkids, so the earlier expirations don’t bother me much, but I will say that Wilderness Lodge is “home”. I’m contemplating the CFW opportunity coming soon, but I’m scared off by the rumored yearly point fee.

Anyway, I’ve also thought about buying Boulder Ridge or Copper Creek at resale.

My main concern with buying either direct or resale is the future prospect of resale. I don’t want to buy in and then leave the responsibility for yearly payments to my kids with no escape plan. If they won’t be able to resell, I don’t want to burden them with the membership if they don’t want to keep it. I’m concerned that Disney will squash resale and my kids will be stuck with the yearly dues.

Am I being paranoid or do any of you think this might be a possibility in the future?

It's a reasonable thought to have given the horror stories about other timeshares. DVC having an expiration date is kind of like a double edged sword but in general I'd say it's mostly a good thing for us as owners. Derek says it all the time on the DVC Fan show, do you really care what your vacations will look like in the year 3000? As long as there is demand to go to Disney World and the dues don't exceed the cost of the rooms for cash which is unlikely, it'll hold value and you'll be able to get rid of it without issue.

If your kids really wanted to have nothing to do with they will likely be able to sell it off if priced appropriately. If you're unsure about the product, it's still not a bad idea to try renting points and see how you like it and maybe even try out Riviera, CFW and see if those other resorts are worth buying direct for.

 

[eandt]

It's a reasonable thought to have given the horror stories about other timeshares. DVC having an expiration date is kind of like a double edged sword but in general I'd say it's mostly a good thing for us as owners. Derek says it all the time on the DVC Fan show, do you really care what your vacations will look like in the year 3000? As long as there is demand to go to Disney World and the dues don't exceed the cost of the rooms for cash which is unlikely, it'll hold value and you'll be able to get rid of it without issue.

If your kids really wanted to have nothing to do with it will likely be able to sell it off if priced appropriately. If you're unsure about the product, it's still not a bad idea to try renting points and see how you like it and maybe even try out Riviera, CFW and see if those other resorts are worth buying direct for.

Good advice on renting … we did 2x’s before we were convinced this was right for us … easy to find a trustworthy renter here

 

[Lorana]

My husband and I have been back and forth about purchasing for years. We almost purchased back in 1998, and though part of me wishes we did, I think we chose wisely for our situation. We’ve been looking into it again now. Our kids are now adults and I’m not sure we’ll ever have grandkids, so the earlier expirations don’t bother me much, but I will say that Wilderness Lodge is “home”. I’m contemplating the CFW opportunity coming soon, but I’m scared off by the rumored yearly point fee.

Anyway, I’ve also thought about buying Boulder Ridge or Copper Creek at resale.

My main concern with buying either direct or resale is the future prospect of resale. I don’t want to buy in and then leave the responsibility for yearly payments to my kids with no escape plan. If they won’t be able to resell, I don’t want to burden them with the membership if they don’t want to keep it. I’m concerned that Disney will squash resale and my kids will be stuck with the yearly dues.

Am I being paranoid or do any of you think this might be a possibility in the future?

We had similar concerns, and one reason we chose to buy into DVC is the fact that Disney will allow you to just sign the deeds back to them. So our kids could do just that and be done with it -- but if the resale market is still viable, they can also just sell the contracts for a profit, and Disney is one of the only timeshares where the resale market IS viable (at least at present).

While we own both BRV and CCV, and while the advice to buy BRV if you want to not pass it along (as it will end in 2042), the argument I would make for CCV is that if you do want an option for your kids to sell at a profit (or you want the option to resell later in profit), the longer life of CCV likely means you will be able to sell them. As you get closer and closer to 2042, it is likely those properties will drastically drop in resale value (though I'm admittedly surprised at the prices they still command on the market with only 18 years left!).

 

[kilik64]

Yea as pointed out, you wanting to be at the Lodge gives you some options. Id personally not do the cabins route if the initial dues number (12.15/pt) is accurate. Your options are then either BRV or CCV, with the main difference there being rooms (brv studios and 1 br for instance can sleep 5 where CCV you're capped at 4 with both of those) and the length of contract.

So really you are basing it on which room and which length of contract better suit your personal situation. The points charts for the two are basically the same (theres some minor differences where some like for like times and room cats are slightly different by a few points but they match a lot of the time too) and close enough to not be a big factor between the two.

I wouldnt worry about your contact outliving you if you went with CCV, like already noted they can either just surrender to DVC or most likely sell it off if they dont want it. On the flip side, would you be upset if you outlived the BRV 2042 end date?

 

[kerrbear]

We had similar concerns, and one reason we chose to buy into DVC is the fact that Disney will allow you to just sign the deeds back to them. So our kids could do just that and be done with it -- but if the resale market is still viable, they can also just sell the contracts for a profit, and Disney is one of the only timeshares where the resale market IS viable (at least at present).

While we own both BRV and CCV, and while the advice to buy BRV if you want to not pass it along (as it will end in 2042), the argument I would make for CCV is that if you do want an option for your kids to sell at a profit (or you want the option to resell later in profit), the longer life of CCV likely means you will be able to sell them. As you get closer and closer to 2042, it is likely those properties will drastically drop in resale value (though I'm admittedly surprised at the prices they still command on the market with only 18 years left!).

Thank you for this perspective. Knowing Disney will just take it back easily is a relief. Given that info, and your point about Copper Creek selling higher later (if we or our kids choose), makes me lean towards CCV. I know that there are still direct buy points available (as of a couple months ago) so now we just need to decide if full membership means that much to us. The WDW ticket discount is a big perk for us though. . .

 

[kerrbear]

I wouldnt worry about your contact outliving you if you went with CCV, like already noted they can either just surrender to DVC or most likely sell it off if they dont want it. On the flip side, would you be upset if you outlived the BRV 2042 end date?

True! We won’t be too far into retirement age at that point (unless we figure out a way to retire sooner) so we might be disappointed if the contract runs out.

 

[kilik64]

The WDW ticket discount is a big perk for us though. . .

Will need to look real hard at price delta for direct and resale. Its currently a $450 discount basically since otherwise you have to buy the top tier pass (which also doesnt have any blackout dates, unlike the dvc tier which does, and that might be an issue for you too)

Lets round it off, say its a $1,000 per year discount, if there is a huge delta between direct and resale it'll take a decade plus of you getting an AP every single year before that becomes a saving.

Ive no clue what the current delta is for CCV between direct and resale, but since its a sold out resort you will pay through the nose to get direct points there so wouldnt be shocked if it was like a 20k difference so you're talking 20 years before that AP discount "pays for itself"

ETA: And also even being able to buy an AP is not a guarantee either, so what if they stop selling them for whatever reason like they have before?

 

[intamin]

Thank you for this perspective. Knowing Disney will just take it back easily is a relief. Given that info, and your point about Copper Creek selling higher later (if we or our kids choose), makes me lean towards CCV. I know that there are still direct buy points available (as of a couple months ago) so now we just need to decide if full membership means that much to us. The WDW ticket discount is a big perk for us though. . .

Going resale or direct is a pretty big decision. Personally if I were you I'd consider buying resale CCV and then adding on direct at maybe another resort that you like down the line and enjoy the current deals on the resale market. Not that long ago CCV was going for the mid to high 160s on the resale market and currently you can get a contract in the 130s-140s. Just remember that no direct perks are guaranteed to last forever. At one point booking a stay through DVC points came with free tickets for the duration of your stay which obviously that perk is long gone. Sold out resorts occasionally do have decent deals when buying direct but they are infrequent and still is not always worth it when compared to resale.

That being said my partner and I have a strong attachment to Riviera so we don't see ourselves buying more resale points down the line but this obviously is not the case for most people and how much the newer resorts matter to each person is subjective.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

We structured a few of our contracts for the kids IF they want them. If they don’t we’ll sell them or they can sell them when the time comes. We didn’t want to burden them with a 400 point contract if they wanted to keep one, so we have some that are specifically smaller for them.