Buying at Riviera

[jennywren5]

Thanks everyone for your responses! This is definitely helping. So to clear up a little bit, her is some background. I am not in the dark to how DVC works, we have been interested for a few years now, but I haven’t used it before so that is what is making me apprehensive. My husband is in sales and works with contracts so he is going over everything with a fine tooth comb so I know we aren’t signing our life away. It would be a cash purchase and we have no problem covering HOA fees so not over extending ourselves.

That being said, I am appreciative to the“been there, done that, this is what we did” answers you all have been giving. So what I am gathering is maybe we should split our points purchase between CCV and RIV. We don’t intend on selling but I am prepared to take a hit on resale if it comes to it. What about this scenario... what if we buy 200 at RIV and 150 at CCV?

Also, what do you mean by “walking a reservation”? Thanks in advance everyone, you all are being so helpful! Also, we are Canadian so this whole purchase is already costing me a billion dollars with exchange rate at this point i’m not too worried if splitting the purchase between 2 resorts will cost a bit more

 

[jerseyduke]

Thanks everyone for your responses! This is definitely helping. So to clear up a little bit, her is some background. I am not in the dark to how DVC works, we have been interested for a few years now, but I haven’t used it before so that is what is making me apprehensive. My husband is in sales and works with contracts so he is going over everything with a fine tooth comb so I know we aren’t signing our life away. It would be a cash purchase and we have no problem covering HOA fees so not over extending ourselves.

That being said, I am appreciative to the“been there, done that, this is what we did” answers you all have been giving. So what I am gathering is maybe we should split our points purchase between CCV and RIV. We don’t intend on selling but I am prepared to take a hit on resale if it comes to it. What about this scenario... what if we buy 200 at RIV and 150 at CCV?

Also, what do you mean by “walking a reservation”? Thanks in advance everyone, you all are being so helpful! Also, we are Canadian so this whole purchase is already costing me a billion dollars with exchange rate at this point i’m not too worried if splitting the purchase between 2 resorts will cost a bit more

I think the notion made was to break up contracts into smaller ones (a good idea)
for example, do not buy 1 200 point contract at DRR, buy 2 75 pointers and 1 50 pointer. This will up your costs a tad, however, it gives you options. If you decide 200 points is too many, you can sell the 50 pointer, and still have 150 points. Otherwise you have to sell all 200 in one shot.
Also, should you ever sell all, you will make a good chunk more selling 2 75 points and one 50 pointer than you will 1 200 pointer. They will sell faster, and for more money.

Walking a reservation means booking a room a few weeks before you want to stay in it, then changing its dates every few days until you get it to the actual dates you want. Doing this at 11 months "blocks" a room for you.

It will take a long time for enough DVC contracts to be resold at DRR for this to become an issue based on this factor alone, but it is a possibility.

 

[DougEMG]

With the Riviera, DVC has changed the rules around how your ownership works and allowed themselves to make even more changes if they want. This means that there is an unknown risk involved in buying there and that you can't use the past performance of other DVC resorts and assume that it will be the same at the Riviera.

Some of the expectations are that resale prices will be lower, walking will be ore prevalent and availability will be harder.

 

[mustinjourney]

I would personally do three 75 point contracts and one 100 point contract. That gives you a lot of flexibility later on if you need to downsize in the future, and with the contracts being relatively small -- it should shield you from the resale restrictions somewhat. For example, people are going to need home resort priority for those tower rooms, so I could see someone wanting a 75 point resale contract so that they have 11 month priority -- but they don't have too many points that if they can't use all of the points one year, their risk is not as bad.

I broke my 150 points into 100/50 for this very reason. It's an extra $200 filing fee to the county.

 

[vikequeen]

Thanks everyone for your responses! This is definitely helping. So to clear up a little bit, her is some background. I am not in the dark to how DVC works, we have been interested for a few years now, but I haven’t used it before so that is what is making me apprehensive. My husband is in sales and works with contracts so he is going over everything with a fine tooth comb so I know we aren’t signing our life away. It would be a cash purchase and we have no problem covering HOA fees so not over extending ourselves.

That being said, I am appreciative to the“been there, done that, this is what we did” answers you all have been giving. So what I am gathering is maybe we should split our points purchase between CCV and RIV. We don’t intend on selling but I am prepared to take a hit on resale if it comes to it. What about this scenario... what if we buy 200 at RIV and 150 at CCV?

Also, what do you mean by “walking a reservation”? Thanks in advance everyone, you all are being so helpful! Also, we are Canadian so this whole purchase is already costing me a billion dollars with exchange rate at this point i’m not too worried if splitting the purchase between 2 resorts will cost a bit more

I would not split between two resorts. Since you have two kids I would split into two contracts. If you are worried about future estate planning. That is what we did (two riviera contracts) . Otherwise split as you see fit but pick one resort so you don’t lose you home booking advantage. They can only be combined at 7 months.

 

[TexasChick123]

When we started the process to purchase VGF via resale at the end of 2015 (it had just sold out a few months prior), I was told it was a mistake by many because I could always get it at 7 months, there was no walking option to MK, and it was overpriced. When we bought BLT about a year later, I was told there was no need because it’s “always available at 7 months”. I could now sell my small VGF for about $50 higher than I purchased it, and it isn’t “always available” at 7 months. Also, they’re building a walking path as we speak from GF to MK which is something many said could “never happen” for various reasons (there are multiple threads on this). My first BLT contracts would be about $45pp more if I were to buy today. Also, BLT isn’t “always available” at 7 months either. The lake view is easier to get than the others, but it’s by no means “always available”. None of the resorts are “always available”, not even SSR and OKW during those 1st two weeks in December. It really depends on when you want to travel.

We purchased Riviera because we like the look of the resort, wanted a resort with good transportation for our F&W trips, and we love gondolas as a means of transportation. We ride in them in Colorado when we vacation there. No one can predict the future. Go in being as informed as possible and then make the best decision based on the information that’s available to you. That’s all any of us can do really. All these predictions about the future are kind of silly because the prices have gone crazy on resale despite all odds (hello 2042 resorts!), and no one knows when the next recession is coming which will affect the resale prices at all of the properties.

 

[Hjs33]

Thanks everyone for your responses! This is definitely helping. So to clear up a little bit, her is some background. I am not in the dark to how DVC works, we have been interested for a few years now, but I haven’t used it before so that is what is making me apprehensive. My husband is in sales and works with contracts so he is going over everything with a fine tooth comb so I know we aren’t signing our life away. It would be a cash purchase and we have no problem covering HOA fees so not over extending ourselves.

That being said, I am appreciative to the“been there, done that, this is what we did” answers you all have been giving. So what I am gathering is maybe we should split our points purchase between CCV and RIV. We don’t intend on selling but I am prepared to take a hit on resale if it comes to it. What about this scenario... what if we buy 200 at RIV and 150 at CCV?

Also, what do you mean by “walking a reservation”? Thanks in advance everyone, you all are being so helpful! Also, we are Canadian so this whole purchase is already costing me a billion dollars with exchange rate at this point i’m not too worried if splitting the purchase between 2 resorts will cost a bit more

I agree with what everyone has said with regards to breaking up your 325pt contract into 2 or 3 smaller contracts.

I would not break it up into two different resorts. I think you may want larger rooms as the kids get older and breaking up the contract into different resorts will just make this harder to do in the 7-11 month window.

Also, do you plan on going soon? If not, why buy at a resort that isn’t open yet? I would wait until the resort opens and some reviews come out about the resort and the Gondola system. Given that it’s Disney, I’m sure it’ll be nice, but I would feel more comfortable hearing some actual reviews. Especially since your probably dropping about $60k on this purchase.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Thanks everyone for your responses! This is definitely helping. So to clear up a little bit, her is some background. I am not in the dark to how DVC works, we have been interested for a few years now, but I haven’t used it before so that is what is making me apprehensive. My husband is in sales and works with contracts so he is going over everything with a fine tooth comb so I know we aren’t signing our life away. It would be a cash purchase and we have no problem covering HOA fees so not over extending ourselves.

That being said, I am appreciative to the“been there, done that, this is what we did” answers you all have been giving. So what I am gathering is maybe we should split our points purchase between CCV and RIV. We don’t intend on selling but I am prepared to take a hit on resale if it comes to it. What about this scenario... what if we buy 200 at RIV and 150 at CCV?

Also, what do you mean by “walking a reservation”? Thanks in advance everyone, you all are being so helpful! Also, we are Canadian so this whole purchase is already costing me a billion dollars with exchange rate at this point i’m not too worried if splitting the purchase between 2 resorts will cost a bit more

What resort(s) do you like to stay at? DVC does sell points to all resorts. And you’re not open to resale even for part of it. Potentially Lots of money to be saved there which really is the point of DVC.

 

[ELMC]

Thanks everyone for your responses! This is definitely helping. So to clear up a little bit, her is some background. I am not in the dark to how DVC works, we have been interested for a few years now, but I haven’t used it before so that is what is making me apprehensive. My husband is in sales and works with contracts so he is going over everything with a fine tooth comb so I know we aren’t signing our life away. It would be a cash purchase and we have no problem covering HOA fees so not over extending ourselves.

That being said, I am appreciative to the“been there, done that, this is what we did” answers you all have been giving. So what I am gathering is maybe we should split our points purchase between CCV and RIV. We don’t intend on selling but I am prepared to take a hit on resale if it comes to it. What about this scenario... what if we buy 200 at RIV and 150 at CCV?

Also, what do you mean by “walking a reservation”? Thanks in advance everyone, you all are being so helpful! Also, we are Canadian so this whole purchase is already costing me a billion dollars with exchange rate at this point i’m not too worried if splitting the purchase between 2 resorts will cost a bit more

Thanks for the additional information. I'm a bit nervous when I hear you say that you haven't used DVC before and that you are apprehensive. You should trust your gut. If you're apprehensive there's probably a reason why. Perhaps it makes sense to enter into DVC with a smaller contract? Limit your exposure and get a feel for how it works (or doesn't) for your family before going in on a larger scale. Also, really ask yourself if it is DVC you want or the Riviera specifically. Good luck!

 

[Philsfan77]

Question for everyone mentioning splitting contracts...does this impact you come booking time? For example, I buy 300 points and split them into 2, 150 point contracts. Can I still use all 300 points at the same time when I make my booking? Or would I need to make 2 separate reservations using my points and then call member services to link them?

 

[Sneaky3]

you can use together

 

[The Jackal]

Question for everyone mentioning splitting contracts...does this impact you come booking time? For example, I buy 300 points and split them into 2, 150 point contracts. Can I still use all 300 points at the same time when I make my booking? Or would I need to make 2 separate reservations using my points and then call member services to link them?

Question for everyone mentioning splitting contracts...does this impact you come booking time? For example, I buy 300 points and split them into 2, 150 point contracts. Can I still use all 300 points at the same time when I make my booking? Or would I need to make 2 separate reservations using my points and then call member services to link them?

You can use both at booking, you select which or both contracts to use the points from. If you have two, 150 point contracts and make a reservation using 250 points, you first pick one contract and use the 150 points it has. Then you select the other one and use the 100 points, leaving you with 50. Once you do it once or twice you'll get the hang of it. I have 4 contracts, three at one resort and one at another.

 

[Philsfan77]

thank you...was always curious about that.

 

[kboo]

As others have said, I would break your large contract up into 2 smaller contracts. You will get the same incentives as if you'd purchased 1 large contract. We did this with our RIV purchase as well. I also wouldn't buy a second resort at this time. We have 1 home resort that has <200 points and I am finding it is a struggle to not always be borrowing points for our stays; we are also a family of 4 that is trending toward saying in 1BR and larger, rather than studios.

 

[AnnaS]

I would buy the points at only one resort to have enough for your stay. Do not want to mix two resorts if you need all those points for one reservation/stay. You won't be able to use them both for your 11 month advantage booking.

Definitely, 100 percent........split up your contracts - same resort but split it up as everyone has mentioned.

Good luck! Let us know how you made out.