How Buying DVC Resale Can Save You Thousands at Disney World!

An honest opinion of buying DVC resale. I was compensated for this post but all opinions are completely my own.

You may be familiar with renting Disney Vacation Club (DVC) points to save money on stays at Disney’s Deluxe resorts. But have you ever considered how much you can save on future Disney stays by becoming a DVC member yourself?

In this post, I’ll break down how much you can expect to save by purchasing a DVC contract on the resale market.

I’ll also share my personal experience buying DVC resale with ResalesDVC and my tactic for paying our dues by renting out part of our own points. This allowed us to stay at a Disney resort every year for free after our initial ownership purchase.

I bet you will be amazed at how much you can save on stays at Disney World when you become a DVC owner using the resale market! 

For most owners, this translates to more frequent trips “home” to Disney World, which is what we’re all after, right?

How Does One Become a DVC Member?

Becoming a member of Disney Vacation Club essentially involves buying a tiny percentage of a DVC resort hotel. You buy a set of points that represent your real estate interest in that property. DVC is Disney’s version of a timeshare.

You are able to use your DVC points to make reservations at any DVC property, regardless of which resort you buy a share of (aka your”home resort”).

There are ten DVC resorts at Disney World as well as resorts at Disneyland, Hawai’i, Vero Beach, FL, and Hilton Head, SC. They are: 

• Animals Kingdom Lodge Villas (Jambo House & Kidani Village)
• Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary Resort
• Beach Club Villas
• Boardwalk Villas
• Grand Floridian Villas
• Old Key West Resort
• Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
• Riviera Resort 
• Saratoga Springs Resort
• Wilderness Lodge Villas (Copper Creek & Boulder Ridge)

After your initial purchase, you will owe annual dues based on the number of vacation points you own. Different home resorts have different annual dues based on maintenance and taxes.

So becoming a DVC Member involves two different expenses: the initial cost to buy the DVC ownership interest, and the annual dues that you will pay based on how many points you own.

Since there is WAY more to how DVC ownership works than I can cover in this post, I suggest getting the free DVC Buyer Guide from ResalesDVC to help you understand all of the details!

How Much Can You Save Buying DVC Resale?

There are two different ways to buy into DVC: directly from Disney and on the resale market.

Buying DVC resale means you are buying a membership from an individual who has previously bought their ownership interest from Disney and for one of a variety of reasons has decided to sell their ownership.

There is one huge benefit to buying a DVC membership on the resale market: you will save a TON of money compared to buying through Disney! 

You can expect to save 40-50% off of Disney’s price when you buy resale.

I chose this 100-point Animal Kingdom Lodge listing from ResalesDVC as an example of the costs involved in buying DVC resale. You can view all of the current listings from ResalesDVC here.

The price per point for this 100-point listing is $115 per point for a total purchase price of $11,500.

A 100-point Animal Kingdom Lodge contract from Disney would cost $171/point or $17,100 total. In this case, buying resale would save you $5,600.

Now I realize that $11,500 is a huge investment for most people.

Many families use a home equity loan or line of credit to help fund their DVC purchase. Others save up for the purchase or finance it with a timeshare loan.

When you buy your ownership interest you will also have to pay closing costs (in this case $510) and the annual dues on any points for the upcoming year.

Annual dues vary by resort and you can compare the dues from all DVC resorts here.

How To Pay Your Dues By Renting Points

If you buy a 100-point Animal Kingdom Lodge contract, every year you will get 100 DVC points deposited into your member account. You will also owe $6.76 per point in annual dues, or $676 in total each year.

When we were owners, we paid our annual dues each year with the money we made from renting half of our points.

This is how it works: If you have a 100 point contract, use 50 points for yourselves. You can stay five nights in a Deluxe Studio Villa at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Boardwalk, or Old Key West for 50 points or less.

Then rent out the other 50 points using David’s Vacation Rentals or through DVCapp.

You can receive about $14 per point for renting your points out to others who want to stay at a DVC resort.

That means you’ll make $700 by renting your points which you can use to pay your annual dues each year. 

That means you’ll pay NOTHING out of pocket to stay five nights in a $400/night room at Disney World – every year!

Renting part of your points can help bring down the cost of DVC ownership and make your annual trips to Walt Disney World super affordable.

While annual dues do increase slightly each year, so does what you can earn by renting your points.

Our Experience Buying Resale

We bought a 160-point Saratoga Springs contract from ResalesDVC back in 2011. This was when the timeshare market as a whole was at a low and we got an amazing deal on our DVC ownership!

The Tutas family over at ResalesDVC were incredibly helpful throughout the buying process. They helped me find the perfect contract for our budget and promptly answered any questions I had.

The closing process and Right of First Refusal process (learn more about these processes here) went smoothly and I had my owner packet from DVC before I knew it!

We actually made the decision to sell our DVC contract a few years ago when I started staying at home to care for our daughter. We needed the money for a new vehicle and as an emergency fund since we were living on only one income.

I also used ResalesDVC to sell our contract and they were amazingly helpful.

They found a buyer right away and I ended up making money on the sale because I had bought at such a low point! I highly recommend the Tutas family at ResalesDVC for buying or selling DVC.

Are There Restrictions When Buying Resale?

Because of competition from the resale market, Disney limits the benefits of those who buy from anyone other than them.

If you buy resale you will be able to use your points for any DVC resort as well as exchange them through RCI, but you can’t use them for Disney Cruises or Adventures by Disney.

You also won’t be eligible for DVC “membership extras” such as discounts on tickets and dining (read how you can get the same benefits without a Disney direct DVC ownership here). The money you will save buying resale will easily outweigh these benefits.

When you buy directly from Disney you will have to purchase a minimum 100-point ownership.

When buying DVC resale you can get ownership with as little as 25 points! You can also buy any home resort on the resale market, but there are very limited home resorts available directly from Disney.

If you are a Disney lover who plans on visiting Walt Disney World for years to come, I suggest looking into becoming a DVC member.

You’ll save money in the long run which means you can visit Disney World more often!

The Tutas family at ResalesDVC will work with you one-on-one to find a contract that really fits your vacation needs.

Any questions about buying DVC resale? Please leave a comment below or join the discussion on The Budget Mouse Facebook page!