Why not Vero Beach or Hilton Head?

princessophiali

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 16, 2013
I have been looking and comparing and my goodness, it just seems like it would make more sense to buy at VB or HH...you get more points for you $$! I understand that the dues are higher and my home resort will not be anywhere near DW. Is it really that hard to get a reservation 7 months out at a DW DVC?

Side note...we live in NC, so not too far from HH. Considering this one more than VB. I saw a listing just now, 80$ a point for HH....that messes me up...I want a good deal...but I don't want to make a huge mistake, either. The whole reason we are buying is to go to DW! With that said, though, if we were to purchase enough points (which is possible at $80 a point), we could do a weekend getaway to HH.
 
I have been looking and comparing and my goodness, it just seems like it would make more sense to buy at VB or HH...you get more points for you $$! I understand that the dues are higher and my home resort will not be anywhere near DW. Is it really that hard to get a reservation 7 months out at a DW DVC?

Side note...we live in NC, so not too far from HH. Considering this one more than VB. I saw a listing just now, 80$ a point for HH....that messes me up...I want a good deal...but I don't want to make a huge mistake, either. The whole reason we are buying is to go to DW! With that said, though, if we were to purchase enough points (which is possible at $80 a point), we could do a weekend getaway to HH.
If your intent is to stay at WDW when using your DVC points then purchase at a WDW resort. Booking 7 months out or less is becoming more and more difficult, especially if you’re looking for studios. If you own at a WDW resort, you can at least book your home resort during the 11-7 month home resort priority period, thus ensuring that you will have someplace at WDW for your planned trip.

One thing to keep in mind is that while the initial purchase may be a bargain, the cost of annual dues is by far the more expensive part of ownership over time.
 
HH and VB are fabulous resorts. People love them which is why it’s hard to get into them at the 7 month window most seasons. If you want to stay there...buy there. If you don’t want to stay there then buy where you want to stay, especially if you want to stay in a studio.
 
HH and VB are fabulous resorts. People love them which is why it’s hard to get into them at the 7 month window most seasons. If you want to stay there...buy there. If you don’t want to stay there then buy where you want to stay, especially if you want to stay in a studio.

I keep getting mixed info on VB. Is it really hard to book there in the summer? Our "intention" is to generally go down to WDW for 7 days and followup with a 3 day stay at VB. This is just a thought though, and in practice we may end up finding it more of a hassle travelling for 3 days down to VB. We have also never been to Vero so may not end up liking it. I'd always feel safer having all of our points at WDW and trading in at 7 months. However, I don't want to end up in a position where we cannot get into VB. We travel 90% of the time in summer. We book studios fwiw.
 


If the whole purpose is WDW, then I would not buy at VB or HH for that purpose. As said, that prevents you from securing anythIng until 7 months. You could end up having to book at different resorts or not get anything at all. SSR is only about $25 to $30 more a point on average but about $3 to $4 or so less in MFs. So in less than 10 years, that SSR contract becomes less expensive and it expires in 2054 vs 2042.

Now if you see having some points at HH or VB makes sense to use there, I’d add on a smaller contract later on for that. But for WDW, stick with one of those resorts.
 
When you do the math, VB and SSR points are basically priced the same - and dues are much lower at SSR. Say you buy 1 point at VB for 69$. You get that point for 23 years (deed expires in 2042). So that's 3$/year. At SSR you might pay 105$ for the same point but you get it for 35 years since the deed expires in 2054! So once again about 3$ per point. So unless you want to stay at VB buy SSR if you are looking to same money! This being said, VB is lovely (I own there).
 
I keep getting mixed info on VB. Is it really hard to book there in the summer? Our "intention" is to generally go down to WDW for 7 days and followup with a 3 day stay at VB. This is just a thought though, and in practice we may end up finding it more of a hassle travelling for 3 days down to VB. We have also never been to Vero so may not end up liking it. I'd always feel safer having all of our points at WDW and trading in at 7 months. However, I don't want to end up in a position where we cannot get into VB. We travel 90% of the time in summer. We book studios fwiw.
VB is not super-hard to book, especially if you can book a 1BR.

Is it really that hard to get a reservation 7 months out at a DW DVC?

This thread was updated in June 2018, which means it uses 2017/2018 data: https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...-studios-1-bedrooms-june-2018-update.3689931/

It is only getting harder to get studios, and in some time periods even the "reliables" at AKV-Kidani and saratoga are getting hard to get for 3-5 day stretches without using waitlists.
 


If OP is asking "Why don't more people buy HH or VB on the cheap?" to get into DVC ownership...

1. Some people definitely do.
2. High yearly dues is one negative.
3. Short contract life is another.
4. Stuck with 7 month window for WDW resorts is a negative as well.
 
To be honest, it depends on how long you want to use the contract and how you book and what time of year you travel. It is VERY true that it can be hard to get studios at 7 months out. So being able to book at your home resort at 11 months is very important.
I took two similar contracts currently listed on a resale site. One for each resort, here's the math. I ignored closing costs etc. as both will be similar on each contract.
VB 100 points (23 years left on contract) 2300 points total that you are buying.
Listed at $75 per point (seems like a steal). Price to buy $7500
$7500 / 2300 = $3.26
NOW add in your yearly without fail MF and you get $3.26 + $9.48 = $12.74 (this is the actual current price per point for this contract)

SSR 100 points (35 years left on contract) 3500 points total that you are buying
Listed at $126 (actually pretty high... you could probably negotiated lower). Price to buy is $12600
$12 600 / 3500 = $3.60
NOW add in your yearly without fail MF and you get $3.60 + $6.40 = $10.00 (this is the actual price per point for this contract)

So you can see, you can rationalize an argument for both resorts here. If you think you will only use it for 23 years and want to go to VB as well as WDW, then maybe the lower upfront cost might be more appealing.
If you want to use the contract for more than 23 years, and want the lower yearly investment of MF and the 11 month booking priority at WDW, then I say buy at SSR.
 
To be honest, it depends on how long you want to use the contract and how you book and what time of year you travel. It is VERY true that it can be hard to get studios at 7 months out. So being able to book at your home resort at 11 months is very important.
I took two similar contracts currently listed on a resale site. One for each resort, here's the math. I ignored closing costs etc. as both will be similar on each contract.
VB 100 points (23 years left on contract) 2300 points total that you are buying.
Listed at $75 per point (seems like a steal). Price to buy $7500
$7500 / 2300 = $3.26
NOW add in your yearly without fail MF and you get $3.26 + $9.48 = $12.74 (this is the actual current price per point for this contract)

SSR 100 points (35 years left on contract) 3500 points total that you are buying
Listed at $126 (actually pretty high... you could probably negotiated lower). Price to buy is $12600
$12 600 / 3500 = $3.60
NOW add in your yearly without fail MF and you get $3.60 + $6.40 = $10.00 (this is the actual price per point for this contract)

So you can see, you can rationalize an argument for both resorts here. If you think you will only use it for 23 years and want to go to VB as well as WDW, then maybe the lower upfront cost might be more appealing.
If you want to use the contract for more than 23 years, and want the lower yearly investment of MF and the 11 month booking priority at WDW, then I say buy at SSR.
This makes perfect sense to me! Thank you!
 
While the 7 month window is the biggest issue, don't forget that ownership means participating in the risks of potential pitfalls as well as the fun times.

https://dvcnews.com/index.php/resor...ead-owners-hit-with-bill-for-hurricane-damage
https://www.disboards.com/threads/hurricane-irma-vb-hhi.3632421/
HHI owners have already felt some minor pain in higher dues from storm damage. One poster in the Irma thread noted that VB was directly in the projected path of Irma until it changed direction.

SSR is a better choice for WDW focused ownership if you are just happy to be onsite.
 
I don't think the delta between the purchase prices of HHI and SSR is enough to justify this move. I definitely think the delta between VB and SSR is. VB can easily be had for about $65 per point. At today's maintenance fees, it is a positive cost savings for the first ten years of ownership. But that doesn't tell the whole story. First, MFs at SSR are going up significantly faster than VB, so that will likely extend the break even point out to 12-14 years. Second, (according to the podcast) most DVC owners own for FEWER than ten years, which means that you will likely not own long enough in order to realize the savings. Third, although I won't bore you with the details, you have to account for time value of money on the $30-35 difference in purchase price. That in and of itself can mitigate much fo the difference in annual maintenance fees. Finally, while I completely agree that booking is getting more difficult at 7 months, the one resort that is available a majority of the time is SSR, so the home booking advantage is not necessary. I can get a studio at SSR for this weekend if I wanted to.

Point is, I'm being a little contrary to the general sentiment of this board by strongly advocating the VB strategy. I didn't used to, but the steep climb in prices at other resorts changed my thinking. I think it's well worth the look.
 
If you have no real intention of booking VB or HHI, don't buy there. You've lost out the first four months of booking. And from mid-Sept through mid-Jan you need that home resort advantage. Especially with studios.
 
Don't forget that the resale values and ability to sell in the future for VB and HHI will never match SSR or BLT (my opinions is these two best buy).
 
Don't forget that the resale values and ability to sell in the future for VB and HHI will never match SSR or BLT (my opinions is these two best buy).
I am with you, as I see the value in owning on WDW property, BUT... remember the resale market although, so far has been strong, it can't be counted on as a sure thing forever. I would never buy in, thinking about it's value in the future. If it has a resale value.... bonus. If not, then it's just like any other typical timeshare.
 
I am with you, as I see the value in owning on WDW property, BUT... remember the resale market although, so far has been strong, it can't be counted on as a sure thing forever. I would never buy in, thinking about it's value in the future. If it has a resale value.... bonus. If not, then it's just like any other typical timeshare.

Of course, it will never be a "sure thing", but I think one of the attractive qualities of DVC over other timeshares is that the resale market has historically been good, which makes the ability to "get out" much easier. I don't believe you should go in trying to predict what the cost will be if you factor in resale at a later date. However, if your evaluating a purchase assuming that the money is a true sunk cost, your valuation process will highly undervalue DVC.
 
I personally don't think it is worth the sleepless nights from 11 to 7 months worrying if you can get ANY resort on property for the time and size you require... At 7 months you might not even be able to get VBR for the time/size you want. Peace of mind does come with a price IMHO and you are the only one who can decide the level of risk you can tolerate vs the amount you are willing to spend.
 
Don't forget that the resale values and ability to sell in the future for VB and HHI will never match SSR or BLT (my opinions is these two best buy).

Agreed! I think my wife and I are done with buying more DVC points until our son is out of the house (he's only 5 now), but if I had to buy again, I'd pick up Bay Lake Tower in a heartbeat! Followed a close second by Boardwalk (due to proximity to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios) and the Grand Californian (because we're in California and given how few DVC rooms there are at the Grand Californian, resale prices there may never go down).
 
Don't forget that the resale values and ability to sell in the future for VB and HHI will never match SSR or BLT (my opinions is these two best buy).

I am with you, as I see the value in owning on WDW property, BUT... remember the resale market although, so far has been strong, it can't be counted on as a sure thing forever. I would never buy in, thinking about it's value in the future. If it has a resale value.... bonus. If not, then it's just like any other typical timeshare.

What I was referring to is that SSR and BLT will always be more desirable and have more resale value than HHI or VB as they have a longer RTU, thus they will have an additional 13+ years of life left when HHI and VB expire.
 

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