At What Point Is a Vero Beach Contract Worthwhile?

Vero Beach has always had a relatively low price per point on the resale market compared to other DVC resorts, but in recent months, there have been some real steals that have passed ROFR, such as a contract that sold for $45 per point!  

All of this makes Vero Beach contracts rather tempting.  However, the common advice is that the high dues outweigh the low price per point.  In what scenarios are cheap Vero Beach contracts worth it?

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Worth It: For Home Resort Advantage

Vero Beach may not be at the top of everyone’s list, but during the peak summer months it can be difficult to book if you don’t own there. If you want to book a cottage every year or every other year, owning points there also helps. There are only 6 beach cottages at the resort. 

Not Worth It: “Sleep Around Points”

The primary reason Vero Beach contracts aren’t worth it if you only want to use them at other DVC resorts is because of the high annual dues.  Annual dues for Vero Beach are currently $14.30 per point unless you are lucky enough to own a subsidized contract that originated pre-January 1, 1996 in which case dues are $11.23 per point.  Either way, the dues are steep compared to those at other DVC resorts and will outweigh the cost of the contract itself over the course of the 17 years left before it expires.

Moreover, it is often better to have an economical Walt Disney World home resort like Saratoga Springs or Copper Creek for sleep around points if that is where you actually want to vacation.  This way, you can at least secure a room at Disney World with your home resort window.  

Potentially Worth It: Temporary Points

There is one caveat to the sleep around point scenario.  If you don’t plan to hold the contract for more than a few years, and you don’t mind piecing together Disney World vacations at the 7-month mark or less, you could potentially make this work since it’s quick to reach the breakeven point compared to cash stays.

As an example, a 115-point Vero Beach contract recently passed Right of First Refusal for $45/point for a total of $7,398.  You could then take those 115 points and book a stay in a Saratoga Springs Preferred Deluxe Studio for a week in July.  A comparable cash stay booked through Disney would cost $555.86 per night for a total of $3,891.02 for the week.  Booking that same cash trip only two years in a row would cost $7,782.04 (without adjusting for any price increase from year to year), which already puts you past the breakeven point on the cost of the contract.    

Once you pay for the contract itself, the dues are the only remaining cost.  Dues on the 115-point Vero Beach contract are currently at $1,593.90.  However, assuming an average 5% increase every year, those dues will be $2,354.92 by year 9.  Moreover, you would have already paid more than twice the cost of the contract ($17,575.24) in cumulative annual dues by then.  Between that and the likelihood that Vero Beach contracts will sell for less as we get closer to 2042, it’s probably advantageous to keep the contract less than 7-8 years if you’re not using those points for their home resort advantage.

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What are your thoughts on a Vero Beach contract?  Would you ever consider one?