show me the way....

[JDSNY10]

Hi DVC crew,

My wife and I have been thinking about purchasing a DVC. Where can I start reading to get information about purchasing? I have visited the Timeshare store but I really havent gotten much information except for resale listings. I really want to know the pluses and negatives on the DVC. Please help me out so I can learn alot more about this.

Thanks alot, J

 

[Sandisw]

There are a lot of threads at the top of the boards that will give you information and dvcnews.com is also a really good site with information.

We bought in to DVC in 2009 and love it! DVC is points based so you have the flexibility to book when you want and where you want. You are not limited to room size, etc.--only by availability.

Where you own can be important because you do get a booking advantage there. You can book at your home resort 11 months in advance but only 7 months in advance at the others. If you have a preference where you want to stay, in case you can't get anything at another resort, then buy where you would be comfortable.

For us, home resort was crucial and we own at both BLT and BWV for that reason. For others, its not a big deal so they bought based on price.

The part to understanding is UY. Having a UY that begins just before your typical times of travel can offer the most flexibility in terms of what you can do with points if you have to change or cancel a trip. We are summer travelers now and eventually will be fall/early winter as well so we went with a June UY and Dec UY (which means we have two memberships but it works for us).

Good luck!

 

[disneynutz]

Hi DVC crew,

My wife and I have been thinking about purchasing a DVC. Where can I start reading to get information about purchasing? I have visited the Timeshare store but I really havent gotten much information except for resale listings. I really want to know the pluses and negatives on the DVC. Please help me out so I can learn alot more about this.

Thanks alot, J

Read the threads here in the DVD section for the pros and cons of DVC ownership.

Bill

 

[Missyrose]

There's also an e-book you can buy from Passporters that has lots of very helpful basic info about ownership. But your best resource will be to comb these boards, there's lots of information and lost of helpful owners. The important things you need to research are home resort, use year and banking/borrowing.

 

[Pinnochio]

The part to understanding is UY. Having a UY that begins just before your typical times of travel can offer the most flexibility in terms of what you can do with points if you have to change or cancel a trip. We are summer travelers now and eventually will be fall/early winter as well so we went with a June UY and Dec UY (which means we have two memberships but it works for us).

Good luck![/QUOTE]

Does this mean if i want to buy enough points for February that i must have a use year of Jan?....if so, why is that?

 

[disneynutz]

Does this mean if i want to buy enough points for February that i must have a use year of Jan?....if so, why is that?

You can buy any UY you want but the experienced DVCer will have a UY that lets them cancel a reservation and still have time to bank the points to keep from losing them. You can only bank points during the first 8 months of your UY.

During the time that you are a DVC Member, I guarantee that you will have to cancel a reservation at the last minute.

Bill

 

[zavandor]

If you want to bank your point, you must do so before 4 month of the end of the UY.
Example: you have a travel booked for February and your UY is March.

In December you discover you have a problem and must cancel your reservation. Since your UY is March, you cannot bank the points anymore, because you are after the 4 months windows. You must try to book a reservation last minute or loose the points

If your UY were February, you can cancel the reservation and you have up to end of September to bank your points. Plenty of time to book another time or bank the points for the next UY.

 

[chalee94]

Does this mean if i want to buy enough points for February that i must have a use year of Jan?....if so, why is that?

for future reference, you might want to bookmark the "understanding use year" thread here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1942668

you want to travel as early in your UY as possible. also, you ideally never want to travel in the last 3 months or so of your UY (jun-jul-aug for a sept UY) - largely due to traveling after your banking window has closed, which limits your options for any current year pts used to book the stay.

use year month is only an issue if you need to cancel. it has nothing to do with when you can call to book a stay.

some examples:

if you have a june UY and a may 2012 trip and you need to cancel 60 days out, your banking window closed on jan 31, 2012 so you'd have to use all of the pts in the reservation before they expire on may 31, 2012.

if you have a june UY and a june 2012 trip and you need to cancel 60 days out, your banking window won't close until jan 31, 2013 so you'd have until then to decide whether to use current year (2012) pts for a reservation in that UY or else bank them to the next year. (you'd still need to use banked and borrowed pts by may 31, 2013.)

if you have a june UY and a may 2012 trip and you need to cancel 5 days out, the pts would turn into "holding" pts so you'd have to use all of the pts in the reservation subject to a 60-day-out limitation - but that won't matter since they expire on may 31...which is less than 60 days out.

if you have a june UY and a june 2012 trip and you need to cancel 5 days out, the pts would turn into "holding" pts so you'd have to use all of the pts in the reservation subject to a 60-day-out limitation - but at least you'd have 12 months before they expire on may 31, 2013 to decide what to do with them.

 

[Pinnochio]

so:

* it doesn't matter what use year u buy as long as u intend on going same time every year....
* u have up to 11 months to book your home resort....
* 7 months for other resorts....
* u can only book dvc resorts if u buy a resale....

did i get all that right?

and 1 more thing:

* if i purchase enough points to stay at BCV each February, am i pretty sure (90%) certain that i can book availability for that month, provided i book 11 months in advance?....

thanx to all of you who have replied....

 

[disneynutz]

so:

* it doesn't matter what use year u buy as long as u intend on going same time every year....
* u have up to 11 months to book your home resort....
* 7 months for other resorts....
* u can only book dvc resorts if u buy a resale....

did i get all that right?

and 1 more thing:

* if i purchase enough points to stay at BCV each February, am i pretty sure (90%) certain that i can book availability for that month, provided i book 11 months in advance?....

thanx to all of you who have replied....

You have UY wrong, read the above posts again.

If you buy resale currently you can book DVC and RCI.

Bill

 

[Pinnochio]

so, the answer to my main question of what would be the best use year to buy in, if i travel in the month of February is:

* June....since it is eight months before Feb and i can cancel and bank within the 1st 8 months of a UY...

correct?

 

[pmaurer74]

so, the answer to my main question of what would be the best use year to buy in, if i travel in the month of February is:

* June....since it is eight months before Feb and i can cancel and bank within the 1st 8 months of a UY...

correct?

I am by now means an expert but from what I have heard January or February would be best if you travel in Feb. as you can bank your points after August or September.

EDITE: to say that after looking at the UY link above I am more confused than ever. So I may not be right in my advise.

 

[DenLo]

I agree with the others here on the Disboards. Read the old threads here on the Disboards.

Here is the link to the DVC News and it has some basic information on the DVC program.

http://dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-program

Definitely read the link on UY posted by chalee94 above.

I think my DH and I learned the most by reading the Public Offering Statements, the original declarations for our two resorts and the Home Resort Rules and Regulations. You can request the POS and Home Rules and Regs from the Welcome Center at SSR. Or ask the TSS if they have them.

 

[chalee94]

* it doesn't matter what use year u buy as long as u intend on going same time every year....

as i said above, ideally you'd like to travel early in your UY and never in the last 2-3 months of your UY. but you can book your home resort 11 months in advance regardless of what your UY month is.

* u have up to 11 months to book your home resort...
* 7 months for other resorts...

you can book your home resort at 11 months out. other members with different home resorts have access to booking your home resort at 7 months out.

* u can only book dvc resorts if u buy a resale....

as others have stated, you can trade for RCI resorts or intrawest resorts if you buy resale, but the value of buying DVC is really when you stay within the DVC resorts.

* if i purchase enough points to stay at BCV each February, am i pretty sure (90%) certain that i can book availability for that month, provided i book 11 months in advance?...

if you book at exactly 11 months out (first thing in the morning when MS opens), yes, you will virtually always find availability at your home resort. at new year's eve or something, you may rarely run into trouble, but generally, 11 months works great...