Looking for some simple answers

[gracerussell]

We've just started kicking around the idea of DVC and I have a few questions which are probably extremely simple....but I can't find them on the DVC website. Thanks in advance for your help!

- I see the initial fee is $24,000. How long does this cover you for? Life? Ten, twenty years??

- Am I reading this right, in addition to the initial $24,000 there is a hefty monthly fee of around $900?

This sounds pretty pricey for what would amount to a 3 day January stay at Bay Lake Towers (we are currently Contemporary lovers and that's where we'd want to stay). But, we can see our Disney trips becoming more frequent, so we are looking at DVC as a long term best option, potentially.

 

[chalee94]

- I see the initial fee is $24,000. How long does this cover you for? Life? Ten, twenty years??

it varies. if you buy a new resort like VGF directly from disney for 160 pts, it would cost $150 per pt. that is the $24,000. the VGF contracts expire at the beginning of 2064 and you get 160 pts per year each year until then.

if you buy a 100 pt contract for an older resort like SSR from a current owner ("resale"), it would cost closer to $75 per pt or so. that would be $7500. the SSR contract would expire in 2054 and may not include current year pts.

depending on how you prefer to vacation, you might need more pts than that...there are point charts for the different resorts linked in the top right-hand corner of the screen. you can use them to get an idea how many pts you'd need for your individual situation.

edited to add the link here:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/DVCpoints.shtml

- Am I reading this right, in addition to the initial $24,000 there is a hefty monthly fee of around $900?

that's wrong, yes.

a 160 pt VGF contract has annual dues of $866 ($5.41 per pt for this year).

the 100 pt SSR contract would run you $4.91 per pt, or $491 for the year (about $40 per month).

i have a tiny 40 pt OKW contract that costs me about $18 per month.

it all depends on what you want to do...

here is the DVC resource thread for some information about the different resorts:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2823952

here's a link to more information (and more links) if you want to do some reading:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3041038

 

[Kidanifan08]

The initial fee really depends on how many points you buy, what resort you have as your home resort and whether you purchase direct from DVC or via resale. DVC is currently selling BLT at $165/pt and it can be bought on the resale marker for $100 +/- $10 per point. S, on a 100 point contract, resale could be $55-75 less than buying direct from DVC. As far as the maintenance fees, those can be paid all at once in January or divided monthly. The maintenance fees for each resort are different and generally increase by 2-5% annually. The is a DVC Resource sticky at the top of this board that has the MF's for each resort from opening year to present.

You really need to spend some time looking at the points charts and deciding how many you need for the time of year, room type, and resort that you desire. You can also bank and borrow points, if you don't see yourself using them every year.

Keep the questions coming. You can learn a lot here before plopping down several thousand dollars!

ETA: I was typing while Chalee94 was posting. The links in that post are excellent. Didn't mean to duplicate info!

 

[chalee94]

This sounds pretty pricey for what would amount to a 3 day January stay at Bay Lake Towers (we are currently Contemporary lovers and that's where we'd want to stay). But, we can see our Disney trips becoming more frequent, so we are looking at DVC as a long term best option, potentially.

if you love BLT, i'd recommend owning there and booking 11 months out, especially if you want the cheaper standard-view rooms. so here are some BLT-specific numbers:

resale BLT 50 pt contract might run around $110-115 per pt (smaller contracts are more expensive per pt) plus maybe $400-500 in closing fees. so we'll ballpark it at $6200 upfront. BLT contracts expire in 2060.

annual dues for a 50 pt BLT contract would run about $20 per month. (they will increase over time).

a long weekend in january will cost you about 55 pts (lake view studio), so you could borrow 5 pts per year and have to skip a trip once every decade.

those are closer to the actual numbers for doing what you say you want to do.

 

[Missyrose]

OP is the $900 per month you're quoting the monthly payment for financing the DVC purchase?

 

[oneprincessjo]

I pay roughly $240 (combined for 2 contracts) a month for my BLT loan. I bought the first hundred points at $100 pp direct and I bought an additional 50 pts last year at $165 pp... had I known what I know now, I wish I bought 200pts at the intro rate a few years back. My maintenance fees cost about $60 per month. This has been a great investment for us. I was about 27 going on 28 when we bought in... we did this pre-kids so we knew we would always be able to take them (I never went anywhere growing up). Now when we plan trips I only need to worry about park tickets and food. My dd is just under 2 1/2 and will be going on her third trip in a couple weeks. This would not be doable without DVC. My inlaws pay out of pocket spending at least $4k each time and stay in a moderate. We usually go to Disney the week after Thanksgiving or the end of January or February... with 150 points I can stay in a 1 bedroom lakeview for 5-6 nights during that time. I am also guilty of borrowing points from the next year's lot to stay an extra night... but I have been getting better with that... also the 5 minute walk to Magic Kingdom with a toddler is worth every penny I spent

 

[dundey]

FYI, we recently purchased a resale BLT 100 point contract for $95 per point.

 

[disneynutz]

We've just started kicking around the idea of DVC and I have a few questions which are probably extremely simple....but I can't find them on the DVC website. Thanks in advance for your help!

- I see the initial fee is $24,000. How long does this cover you for? Life? Ten, twenty years??

- Am I reading this right, in addition to the initial $24,000 there is a hefty monthly fee of around $900?

This sounds pretty pricey for what would amount to a 3 day January stay at Bay Lake Towers (we are currently Contemporary lovers and that's where we'd want to stay). But, we can see our Disney trips becoming more frequent, so we are looking at DVC as a long term best option, potentially.

If you wish to be and informed buyer, I recommend that you forget the Disney site and start reading here. Your questions are asked often and all of the pros and cons are covered.

Bill