# DVC point questions



## bshmerlie (Jul 18, 2012)

Just looking into different packages for my timeshare portfolio and have a few questions about DVC points contracts.  

1.  Does it matter which DVC resort you own or are points just points?
2.  Do you get a better reservation window for your home resort?
3.  If you book just a couple of nights is there booking fee or housekeeping fee or some other fee that I am unaware of?
4.  Ideally I would want 50-75 points with Grand Californian...Do they even have contracts that small for that resort?  
5.  Are contracts that small impossible to get?
6.  Can I get a SSR contract for 50-75 points and then trade into the CA resort and is there a fee for doing that?

I live in So Cal so I would only be doing two night stays once or twice a year. I would always stay on Sun-Mon and never do hollidays or weekends. Studios are fine with me as it would only be me and my ten year old.  I also only go to Disneyland in the off seasons as I don't like the crowds.
I've already been to Orlando so I don't see returning anytime soon and I just can't see spending that much for a Hawaii trip so basically it would only be for Grand Californian.  

What do you guys think is the best way to do this?

I have booked a RCi exchange to the resort but its for a whole week and that is not something we usually do for Disneyland.  If I had a 75 point TS there I could do a couple of two day trips for about $325 MF. But are there other fees I'm not considering?


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## presley (Jul 18, 2012)

1.) and 2.)  Your home resort has an 11 month booking window.  The other resorts have a 7 month booking window.  VGC fills before the 7 month booking window most of the time.

3.)  No fees at all to book your home resort or a different DVC resort.

4.) and 5.) There are contracts that small, but it is very difficult to find them for VGC.  If you are patient and not in any hurry (don't mind waiting a year or longer), a good broker will probably find it for you.  

6.)  Yes, you can buy SSR or any other resort and you will have a 7 month booking window for VGC.  If you never go during holidays or on weekends or during the summer.  If you plan on traveling during high demand times, it will be extremely difficult to ever get a reservation.  No fees if you are lucky enough to get a reservation.

Best way to do it is to buy there for home resort advantage.  Other than that, renting from an owner is the way to go.  Have you looked at the point charts for VGC?  It is much higher than the WDW resorts.  So, 75 points at VGC won't give you nearly the time the same 75 points will give you at a WDW resort.


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## tomandrobin (Jul 18, 2012)

presley said:


> 1.) and 2.)  Your home resort has an 11 month booking window.  The other resorts have a 7 month booking window.  VGC fills before the 7 month booking window most of the time.
> 
> 3.)  No fees at all to book your home resort or a different DVC resort.
> 
> ...



It is time grasshopper.........

Good advice!


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## bshmerlie (Jul 18, 2012)

Yes, I looked at the chart for that resort. It is 17 points for a studio Sun-Thurs per night.  That would be 68 points for two trips of two nights.  Again the MFs would be $325 for those 75 points.  Not too bad considering I spend roughly $250+ a night to stay at the resort when I go down there anyway. I usually do season passes and I hate driving back home after a long day at the park.  I'm live about an hour and 15 min away.   But the question is what is the likely hood that I'm going to be able to get my Sun-Mon studio during the off season?  Do they come up often?  If I can't get the studio and have to get a one bedroom then it's not going to be worth it.  I am completly flexible when I go so that is not an issue but they woud have to pop up occasionally enough for me to do it a couple of times a year.


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## presley (Jul 18, 2012)

bshmerlie said:


> But the question is what is the likely hood that I'm going to be able to get my Sun-Mon studio during the off season?  Do they come up often?  If I can't get the studio and have to get a one bedroom then it's not going to be worth it.  I am completly flexible when I go so that is not an issue but they woud have to pop up occasionally enough for me to do it a couple of times a year.



At the 7 month mark, it would be pretty easy to get that at this point.  If you ever wanted to book just a few months out, it will be a roll of the dice.  You can waitlist, though.


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## chalee94 (Jul 18, 2012)

bshmerlie said:


> Yes, I looked at the chart for that resort. It is 17 points for a studio Sun-Thurs per night.  That would be 68 points for two trips of two nights.



if you can plan and book 10-11 months out and own at VGC, this should work well.

if you can book at exactly 7 months out (the morning the window opens, eastern time), this might work most of the time.

if you are thinking about booking VGC a few months out, i suspect you will wind up enormously frustrated.


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## vacationdoc (Jul 18, 2012)

I am a VGC owner and can book 11 months out.  Any DVC points can book up to 2/18/13 today.  Checking your request for a low season studio on sunday/monday I can see 2/3/13 and 2/4/13 and 2/10 and 2/11/13 for 17 points/night.  Sunday and Monday in January are all booked.  All Sunday and Monday dates are available in March but for 26 points with Easter 30 points/ night.  April is also available but for 20 points/ night.  

If you can plan 7 months ahead and check for what you want when the booking window is first available, you should be able to book in the off season with points from any DVC resort. I have seen lots of VGC points available for rent on mouseowners.com for $12 to $14/point if you wanted to rent before you buy. There would be no problem booking your dates at 11 months as an owner or renting from an owner.


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## bshmerlie (Jul 20, 2012)

Quick question about DVC resales.  Some people list a price per point and then they add up the points for the next 4 years.  Am I missing something?  Can you borrow points that far in advance? A few listings had points listed all the way up into 2016.   If you can't borrow those points now...heck why stop there?  I'm trying to compare apples to apples with differnt contracts but they all seem to figure out the price differently.


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## got4boys (Jul 20, 2012)

With DVC you can bank this year to next (for example 2012 points to 2013) and you can borrow (your 2014 points into 2013). So technically, it is 3 years of points you can use in 1 year.

With this method you do not need a large point contract if you want to go to Disney once every three years. The minumum contract that Disney sells is 100 points.  You can of course find smaller contracts on the resale market.

For example let say I want to go to Disney in June of 2013 - from June 21 to 28 and needed a 1 bedroom. It will take 222 dvc points. If you want a 2 bedroom - it is 296 points. That is for Old Key West. 

Each DVC resort has their own point chart.


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## bshmerlie (Jul 20, 2012)

I understand that....its just that some resales are adding up all the points up until 2016 to calculate a price.  

for example:
2013 - 50 points
2014 - 50 points
2015 - 50 points
2016 - 50 points

200 points at a low cost of $46 a point = $9,200.00

And it's not just one person doing that.


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## slum808 (Jul 20, 2012)

What site are you looking at? Normally you'll only see the next UY listed to show that there are or are not borrowed points.


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## SOS8260456 (Jul 20, 2012)

I haven't looked at DVC resales in a while, but I don't remember them being listed like that.  I have seen it like the previous poster mentioned.  Watch out for "stripped" contracts where the points have been used up and none are available until future years.  Nothing wrong with them if you don't need to use the points, just make sure that the price is adjusted to reflect this and that the agreement is clear on who pays the maintenance fees on the used points.  "Loaded" contracts are those where points have been banked from last year into the current year and these come with the sale.  These are always nice to get.

I know with DVC that points are points at the 7 month mark.  However, Disney does have a clause that they may at some point limit trading to home resorts only.  While I think and have been told that this is highly unlikely, I think it is information that one should know about or look into if it will make a difference to them.  Since we like where we own, it would not make a difference to us, but if it would make a difference, then I suggest you find out more about it.

Good Luck!


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## presley (Jul 20, 2012)

Where are you seeing that?   I haven't seen any of the resale sites do that.  Normally, they will tell how many points in the current use year and the next.  If the current use year has zero, they may show what is in the contract for the following year.

Example:
Let's pretend I am selling a contract with 100 points and I have a use year of July (no such thing) and I used all my points and already borrowed/used next year's points.  The listing may look like this-

100 points, July UY, $50./per point.  $5K
0 for 2012
0 for 2013
100 for 2014


Even if all 3 years had all the points, you would be buying a contract for 100 points and you would only pay for the 100 points in the contract.  Wherever you are looking, if they want to charge you per point for several years worth of points, you need to blacklist them.  That is as crooked as they come.


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## chriskre (Jul 20, 2012)

bshmerlie said:


> I understand that....its just that some resales are adding up all the points up until 2016 to calculate a price.
> 
> for example:
> 2013 - 50 points
> ...



$9200 / 50 = $184 per point.   
I'm not sure how these sights are marketing this but it's definitely Mickey math. :annoyed:  Check out mouseowners if you are serious about buying into DVC.  They keep a ROFR thread going and you will know what you should pay for points at each resort.  There are also some brokers that consistently work with DVC points and can help you get the perfect contract if you are patient.


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## Flyguy1950 (Jul 20, 2012)

chriskre said:


> $9200 / 50 = $184 per point.
> I'm not sure how these sights are marketing this but it's definitely Mickey math. :annoyed:  Check out mouseowners if you are serious about buying into DVC.  They keep a ROFR thread going and you will know what you should pay for points at each resort.  There are also some brokers that consistently work with DVC points and can help you get the perfect contract if you are patient.



Yes several of the resalers send out newsletters every week showing what is available for sale. Check out The TimeShare Store and Fidelity Timeshare for DVC listings. Either one will help you find what you are looking for and they make it very easy to become a DVC member starting with your offer and ending with a close. Its nice to hear Welcome Home as a greeting when you call or arrive at your resort.

Bruce


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