[wdw&tk]

Hi everybody - I am a new member to the club, I am the oldest in our family but when it comes to disney they say I am the youngest. We have a week of timeshare with Sheraton, I wanted to get some Disney points to allow us to extend our week holidays in Florida. I contacted Disney and spoke with one of their Cast members, unfortunately, the minimum point purchase is 150 points at Saratoga Springs. We were down in Florida this past March for the children's March Break, we went to visit Saratoga Springs. It's a nice resort in the early stages of development, I am sure it will be a nice place when it will be finished, looks like it will be similar to OKW in size and layout.

I want to buy, but 150 points is more than I can afford and need at this time. I want to buy around 100 points to top off our other week, the maintenance fee of our other timeshare plus the maintenance fee for Disney points would than be manageable. I have looked at various internet sites and have found prices to be all over the planet. On your site some members have indicated resale price points in the $60.00 to $70.00 range. Is this realistic for OKW, VWL or SSR, I know this would be possible for HH and definitely for VB, however these resorts are outside the Orlando area and the maintenance fee for Vero Beach is highest at $5.27 per point.

If anybody has any information, I would greatly appreciated it. Best regards from one Disney lover to another.

[llama]

Originally Posted by #1disneylover

I want to buy, but 150 points is more than I can afford and need at this time. I want to buy around 100 points to top off our other week, the maintenance fee of our other timeshare plus the maintenance fee for Disney points would than be manageable. I have looked at various internet sites and have found prices to be all over the planet. On your site some members have indicated resale price points in the $60.00 to $70.00 range. Is this realistic for OKW, VWL or SSR, I know this would be possible for HH and definitely for VB, however these resorts are outside the Orlando area and the maintenance fee for Vero Beach is highest at $5.27 per point.

If anybody has any information, I would greatly appreciated it. Best regards from one Disney lover to another.

Hi and welcome to DC! Hope you enjoy it here. Just yesterday we purchased 60 additional points at SSR. As we were simply adding to our original purchase we were able to buy through Disney. As for buying through resale stores - $60.00 to $70.00 would be quite a bargain. Disney is now selling SSR points at $90. per point. What you have to keep in mind is that Disney has the right of first refusal of any resales. And they do seem to exercise that right (as we found to our detrement when we attempted a purchase of VB points at $70.00 last year). So - the answer is - there really is no answer. If you are lucky and Disney choose not to exercise their right of first refusal - you can get yourself quite a deal. But remember that you are also responsible for closing costs when purchasing resale points. If you purchase from Disney, they absorb the closing costs. So, buying 100 points from a resale store at $70. a point might end up not being too much cheaper than buying 150 points from Disney. And Disney does have several financing options. There are many here who are much more knowledgeable about DVC costs and purchases than I, so hopefully someone can give you more info.

[wdw&tk]

Thank you for the reply, I will be patient and see what other feedback I get. By the way, I think your many are called, few are chosen quote is cute.

Best regards,

[llama]

Originally Posted by #1disneylover

Thank you for the reply, I will be patient and see what other feedback I get. By the way, I think your many are called, few are chosen quote is cute.

Best regards,

Why thank you. And I made it up all by myself - but you know us crazy cat people.

[mickey]

Welcome to DC. I thought the price for SS just went up to $105 or something crazy like that. Have you looked at the Timeshare Store? We purchased our points there for OKW a couple of years ago, it worked out really well. They have a couple of options that may work for you. Buying only about 100 points, you will pay more per point than buying a larger number of points, and also remember there are closing and escrow costs, so figure that in as well. Looks like SS is going for about $85 per point right now. Keep checking back on their site every couple of days, they post new sale all the time.

One thing is they really do not have many financing options like Disney does, and if you are looking to finance, I might suggest going directly through Disney and just going with 150 points. You can always sell off extra points if needed.

[llama]

Originally Posted by mickey

Welcome to DC. I thought the price for SS just went up to $105 or something crazy like that. Have you looked at the Timeshare Store? We purchased our points there for OKW a couple of years ago, it worked out really well. They have a couple of options that may work for you. Buying only about 100 points, you will pay more per point than buying a larger number of points, and also remember there are closing and escrow costs, so figure that in as well. Looks like SS is going for about $85 per point right now. Keep checking back on their site every couple of days, they post new sale all the time.

One thing is they really do not have many financing options like Disney does, and if you are looking to finance, I might suggest going directly through Disney and just going with 150 points. You can always sell off extra points if needed.

We purchased additional points at SSR yesterday for $90.00, from Disney. That was $8.00 off the regular price of $98.00. $98.00 is also what Allearsnet is posting as the current price. The cost per point will go up to $101.00 on July 1st, according to our DVC representative.

If buying points is just a "nice" option for you and you really, really, really aren't going to be too disappointed if Disney uses their Right of First Refusal, then definitely check into The Timeshare Store. But if your heart is set on buying your points that way - be prepared for disappointment. Our DVC rep. also told us that Disney is using their option more and more to buy up resale points.

[wdwjeff]

[quote=mickey]Welcome to DC.Have you looked at the Timeshare Store?QUOTE]

I have purchased resale twice within the last 2 and a half years. The first time was through a realtor that I don't think exists now. The second time was through The Timeshare Store, also. It was very smooth both times. If you're patient, you can eventually save significant money over buying through Disney. What I mean by patient is, once you find a deal you're comfortable with, there's a real chance Disney will exercise their ROFR and take it from you. That happened to me a couple times. Then, you just start over again. The people at The Timeshare Store are very nice about it all, and will help you a lot if you call or e-mail them. I will say that, even resale, the prices are rising quickly. The other advantage to resale is you don't have a point minimum. I bought 60 points each time, and now own a total of 120. Including closing costs, I paid a total of $9,000. Even at $90 pp, that would get me 20 points less through Disney, and I couldn't even do that since it's less than 150 pts. Good luck in whatever you decide. Either way, DVC is great!

[llama]

[quote=wdwjeff]

Originally Posted by mickey

Welcome to DC.Have you looked at the Timeshare Store?QUOTE]

I have purchased resale twice within the last 2 and a half years. The first time was through a realtor that I don't think exists now. The second time was through The Timeshare Store, also. It was very smooth both times. If you're patient, you can eventually save significant money over buying through Disney. What I mean by patient is, once you find a deal you're comfortable with, there's a real chance Disney will exercise their ROFR and take it from you. That happened to me a couple times. Then, you just start over again. The people at The Timeshare Store are very nice about it all, and will help you a lot if you call or e-mail them. I will say that, even resale, the prices are rising quickly. The other advantage to resale is you don't have a point minimum. I bought 60 points each time, and now own a total of 120. Including closing costs, I paid a total of $9,000. Even at $90 pp, that would get me 20 points less through Disney, and I couldn't even do that since it's less than 150 pts. Good luck in whatever you decide. Either way, DVC is great!

Yes - I agree with you. Now that we have enough points to keep us going for awhile, we're considering browsing The Timeshare Store for good bargains. That way, if we make an offer, and Disney exercises its ROFR, we won't be too upset - and if they don't - we'll accumulate somemore points at a good price. I agree that The Timeshare Store was great about promptly refunding our down payment, when Disney did buy the points we wanted. This time I'll be going into it with my eyes wide open. Either way - you're right - DVC IS great!

[wdw&tk]

Hi - Thank you for the reply. What you did, is what I am thinking of doing, buy about 100 points and then see how we enjoy the experience. I have been looking at several sites, my dilemma is whether to buy at SSR which has an expiry date of 2054 or one of the other resorts which have an expiry date of 2042. The SSR purchase would allow me to enjoy 12 more years of Disney visits. The maintenance fee is the lowest at $3.98/point, however, the purchase price would be over $85.00 point. HH and VB are the lowest priced points, however, the maintenance fees are higher at 4.34 and 5.27 respectively. These other resorts have a 75% remaining enjoyment period and as such the price should be about 75% of the SSR resale purchase price.

It sounds like you got two great deals, Where did you buy? I hear Disney excercises their ROFR on the Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge. Out of the older resorts, I think OKW is the most family friendly resort.

What do you think?

[llama]

Originally Posted by #1disneylover

It sounds like you got two great deals, Where did you buy? I hear Disney excercises their ROFR on the Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge. Out of the older resorts, I think OKW is the most family friendly resort.

What do you think?

We went through The Timeshare Store. The points we were trying to buy were at Vero Beach and Disney exercised their ROFR on those. The thing you have to understand about Disney is that they make up their own rules - and they change them on a whim - so there is no guarantee on what they'll do. I think I'd go with SSR. Our original home resort is VB and we've had two maintenance fee hikes since we joined. Darn beach erosion.

All the DVC properties are beautiful and unique, but we consider OKW home. The suites are - by far - the best of all the properties.

[skwak]

I would try to go with SSR for the 12 extra years. If you go with VB or HH then you cannot make a reservation in the Orlando area until 7 months out which could be an issue depending when you want to go.

We too think about browsing for more points. We would love to own at VWL but the 12 year difference and the fact that we already own so many points (420) keeps my desires at bay! Well, almost at bay!!