Add-on or buy a lot of points right from the start??

[Terry S]

I hear a lot of posts regarding add-ons. Are there advantages or dis-advantages to adding on or is it best just to buy a large amount of points right from the start??? Besides the obvious of a possible point increase.

 

[BillM]

I don't think there is one right answer for your question. I would look first for a resale that fits. And even that depends on whether you need DVC financing. I started with 250 points and then added on 3 seperate 50 point packages. If I had it to do over I would add on in 100 point increments, since if you need to sell in the future it would easier to do so.
Your first purchase should be dictated by your vacationing plans, the time of year(season) you will be going, the type of accomodations desired and the DVC home resort. Eg. ...it takes less points to stay at OKW than the other resorts.
Yes the points will continue to go up in price but if you can get a resale that fits it makes sense.

 

[ron7654]

Buying smaller blocks is the way to go. As you check resale sites (www.atimeshare.com or www.timesharestore.com) you will notice that the larger blocks of points have been there longer and eventually come down in price just to sell. Blocks of 100 and 150 go very quickly (i just bought an extra 150 this week myself) This is a means of protecting your investment is case you need to sell for any reason to get money quickly. Also, as years pass and children move out of the house, and you don't feel like vacationing EVERY year, you point needs may change. Buying smaller blocks enables you the flexibility of selling only a portion of your points , and not the whole thing. Just some thought to consider. Ron7654@yahoo.com

 

[Terry S]

I read something about when you purchase an add-on through DVC financing the percentage rate is much higher than when you purchased to begin with. Is this true? If so can you buy orginally in say blocks of 150 and get the lower interest rate for both? I also should have mentioned that I plan on purchasing at BCV since we love BC, and plan to stay there most of the time so a re-sale is out of the question.

 

[mouseclick1]

Yes, your interest rate will increase after 30 days. We purchased 200 points last August while at WDW, and financed at 10.5%. About 1 week after we returned home, we felt we should have purchased more and did a 100 point add-on. Since it was still within 30 days of our tour, we were still able to get the lower financing rate even though it was an add-on. Here it is, 1 year later, and we want to do a 100 point add-on at HH. We were presented with a 13.5% financing rate by our guide, as well as the $6 more per point. I did read on the boards that the interest rate has been lowered to 11.5%, but we have not been able to speak with him since that posting appeared, so I have not had the official word from our guide. I hope this has helped...

 

[DebbieB]

I bought 250 points at BWV in Sept 99 (direct from DVC). If I had to do it all over again, I would have bought 150 and a separate 100. The reason is that if in the future I wanted to sell my DVC (for financial reasons or vacation patterns changing), if I had 2 contracts I could sell the 100 and keep the 150.

 

[deerh]

Yes, It is 11.5% for 5,7,10 years at 20% down, direct debit. I am thinking of an add on at HHI, and that is the rate quoted by my guide on this past Sunday. I don't know of the other rates, but call and find out, they will help. Your guide does not need to be there, they can answer your questions on interest rates, hang up, discuss it with the family, and then call your guide back when you make the decision!! Good luck in your decision!
deerh

 

[drusba]

With our add-ons in the past we were able to get same rate as Disney was offering to the new purchases. Saw the same reference you did as to higher add-on percentage rate and then later that person reported that they could get it for the lower rate. However, I just don't know the current status. Nevertheless, I believe it likely you will get Disney's best rate if buying 150 points or more because that is the same as buying a new contract.

My view is to buy as many points as you possibly can off the bat. You can set up any new purchase as the purchase of more than one contract, e.g., two 200 point contracts, as that will potentially make later resale (if ever needed) more likely as lower point rather than higher point contracts sell faster in the resale market (although you really don't need to make it 150 point increments--most contracts in the 200 to 300 point range have sold in resale fairly quickly).

The reason (other than future price hikes) to buy as much as you can is that eventually, and probably sooner than later, the resort you are buying is going to sell out and if that is the resort you want to stay at most of the time you will want home resort reservation advantage with as many points as you ever want to use. We own at BWV and have the number of points we want for the forseeable future. It took over 4 years for BWV to sell out and thus we had no problem with add-ons. I believe there are many who wished they had purchased more at BWV because it is difficult to get ressies there many times of the year with only the 7 month window. VWL is going to sell out later this or early next year. If that is your desired resort you may later regret not buying now the total points you believe you may need for the long term future.

 

[Mickbee]

I have also confirmed the add-on rate is 11.5% with 20% down as of Sunday. We just returned from our first stay at VWL and fell in love with the resort. Our thought was to add on before it sells out to avoid struggling to make ressies when there are not any more points for sale.