$500 deposit?? Advice needed asap!!

[rhodymom]

My husband is at Disney right now (at a conference).

He went on the DVC tour, as I asked because we have been talking about it FOREVER (should have done OKW on our honeymoon in 2000!) anyway...I am not too sure I like his guide...this is the situation.

1. we are 80% leaning towards BWV - they can sell us the number of pts we want in an August UY. But it's more expensive than resale...GUIDE tells husband "you can try to buy resale but we ROFR almost ALL of them" (me being a DIS-lurker calls BS on this!)

2. thinking about AKL due to length of contract but worried we will NEVER get into BWV during Food & Wine fest - our most fav. time to go to Disney.

3. Guide asking for $500 deposit which is refendable in 30 days if we do nothing....I am worried this will screw up our chance at resale if we go that route over Disney

4. What is the difference in closing costs with Resale vs. Disney??

THANKS!

 

[Chuck S]

Disney does discount the closing costs, but I don't know by how much.

There are other advantages to going through Disney:

1) Easy financing, if you need to finance

2) You have access to your poins ad can make reservations right away, versus waiting on a resale to go through the process. That may be important to you, as you will soon be in the booking window for F & W 2008.

I don't see how putting down a $500 refundable deposit would have any impact at all on you if a resale contract to meet your need becomes available. Unless you need the $500 right away as "earnest money" on the resale.

 

[tjkraz]

I agree with Chuck on all points.

Depending upon the number of points you're looking at owning, you could consider buying AKV or SSR now and add some at BWV later just for using during the F&W.

A couple other things to consider:

1. If you are Disney Visa cardholder, they are currently running a deal where you can get $500 worth of rewards and 6 mos interest free if you put the down payment on your Disney Visa.

2. Just yesterday DVC began a promotion where you can get a set of 160 Developer's Points (basically just an extra one-time allocation of points that must be used in 12 months) if you have the name of a current member to use as a referral.

The only catch to #2 is that you have to buy 225 points at SSR or AKV to qualify. But you still get the $8 (AKV) or $10 (SSR) cash discount at the resort you purchase.

If you're willing to buy at SSR or AKV you could get the cash discount AND the $500 reward dollars from Chase AND the 160 Developer's Points AND all of the points for your 2007 Use Year (with 2008 coming up soon) AND pro-rated dues for 2007. That's one of the best combinations DVC has ever been able to offer.

The biggest downside to BWV, in my opinion, is the contract duration. Ownership ends in 2042 as compared to 2054 for SSR and 2057 for AKV. You may pay less via resale for BWV, but your ownership duration will also be 30-40% less than other options currently available.

 

[Tinkerdreams]

If you're willing to buy at SSR or AKV you could get the cash discount AND the $500 reward dollars from Chase AND the 160 Developer's Points AND all of the points for your 2007 Use Year (with 2008 coming up soon) AND pro-rated dues for 2007. That's one of the best combinations DVC has ever been able to offer.

I got all of the above EXCEPT the developer points because I just bought 2 weeks ago at SSR.

If only I had waited....

 

[jjk1107]

I got all of the above EXCEPT the developer points because I just bought 2 weeks ago at SSR.

If only I had waited....

Talk to your guide. They should be able to rewrite the contract.

 

[prettypixie]

$500 deposit? Isn't there a down pymt required?

 

[tjkraz]

$500 deposit? Isn't there a down pymt required?

When agreeing to buy, they normally ask for a good-faith deposit of $500 which is placed on a credit card. There is no firm commitment made at that point, but Disney does begin to incur expenses as they draft all of the formal agreements in your name, ship it via Fed Ex, normally include a welcoming gift, etc.

You can still cancel the deal and get your $500 back. Like I said, it's just a good-faith gesture so that they don't have to go thru that process for many, many more people who truly aren't certain about buying.

If you finance, the remainder of the down payment (less the $500) is due with the signed paperwork. If you aren't financing, you send the entire balance of the purchase price.