Annual Dues

[njgeneral]

So I have been doing a lot of research and trying to see if my sister and her DH would be interested in going in with us. What got her was the annual dues.

If we are planning on a big vacation every other year, the annual dues seem high to pay if you are not going to use your points in any given year.

Does anyone else think dues are high? What are general thoughts on dues?

thanks,

Chrissy

 

[ToddyLu]

I want to stay in a studio with a savannah view every year. That room will cost $3500 out of pocket if paying cash. Once my loan is paid off for the points, I will ge tthe same room for about $1000 which is my annual dues (or close to it). That is how I want to enjoy Disney....so it is worth it to me.

 

[Sandisw]

I don't think they are bad and for what you get, I think DVC is well worth it.

For me, we own 180 BLT points, which run me around $680.00 a year. For that, I can stay 9 nights a year, in a studio, during Magic Season (our typical time of travel). If I traveled in less expensive point times, I would get even more nights.

That same BLT studio would run, even at 40% discount, over $2000 per year.

Now, granted, I need to pay myself back for that initial investment, but there was also no guarantee that I would get 40% off every year from now on.

For those that only go every other year, it can still work out to be a good deal since you only need to get yourself 1/2 the points, cutting those fees in 1/2.

 

[sleepydog25]

One does have to figure the cost of dues into the overall equation of whether DVC is worthwhile. As the others say, for most people who buy into DVC, they've figured out their trip habits (frequency, type of room, size of family, etc.) and have decided even with the dues, DVC pays for itself at some point down the road. However, that is a personal decision and one that must be made beforehand since the dues won't go away, only increase over the years. Good luck.

 

[Cruella 66]

We also own at BLT (180 points I think) and our dues are roughly $625 a year; even if we only go every other year, $1250 wouldn't begin to pay for a hotel at WDW for a week. I should say-a hotel at which we would consider staying. Think about that...if you don't care where or at what level you stay; maybe DVC isn't right for you or your sister's family. Good luck with your decision! It took us 2 years to finally decide it was the right thing for us.

 

[dmoore22]

So I have been doing a lot of research and trying to see if my sister and her DH would be interested in going in with us. What got her was the annual dues.

If we are planning on a big vacation every other year, the annual dues seem high to pay if you are not going to use your points in any given year.

Does anyone else think dues are high? What are general thoughts on dues?

thanks,

Chrissy

Here is a link to a DVC Primer posted at MousePlanet.com that you may find helpful: http://www.mouseplanet.com/8739/A_Disney_Vacation_Club_Primer

We do not find the dues to be a major issue compared to what we paid before joining DVC. We did purchase a resale that had banked points and the seller paid the first years MFs. We paid cash up front for our points so we did not take that long to reach the break-even point. Since we itemize our taxes we include the property tax component of the Mfs as a deduction. We visit WDW twice a year and calculate our per night stay for accommodations is about $68.00. Each person's situation is unique and may not be as fortunate as we have been.

 

[Ryansdad0727]

We decided that every other year was enough for us so we bought a smaller point account of 120 pts through resale. Dues are 500 per yr but a two bedroom unit for 6 nights anywhere on property would cost you at least $4000 every other year. At that rate we would have the initail points purchase paid for within 4 visits then paying the dues it is still cheaper than staying at a value resort for 6 nights. I own point in Worldmark also and have been spoiled to the jet tub and full kitchen. It is also much cheaper to eat with a full kitchen. You can easily save $200 to $300 cooking yourself.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Perhaps I am not understanding your post correctly but it sounds like you may not know about banking/borrowing. If you go every other year the points from the year you don't go won't go to waste - nor the dues you pay on them. Just buy 1/2 of the points required for your intended stays and use either banking or borrowing.

 

[AndriaRose]

My original purchase was a 50 point BWV contract bought through resale from the Timeshare Store.

The contract was small enough for me to pay cash. The resulting Maintenance Fees were very affordable every year. That small contract was enough to get me "in the door", giving me full member status on par with anyone buying 1000 points directly from Disney, and got me the ability to add-on at any resort for any point amount I needed (above the minimum 25 point add-on.)

It was also enough to go every year for a short weekday stay in a studio during January (DH's must-go time of year), or bank my points for larger stays every 2 years.

I would recommend doing more research, especially on banking, borrowing, points requirements for your vacation needs, and resale contracts for smaller amounts. I suspect you may discover a small resale contract may suit you. At which point you may decide adding other people to the process only complicates matters.

 

[disneynutz]

Owning a DVC membership can get expensive. In addition to the purchase price and increasing yearly dues, you also have increasing transportation, admission ticket, and food costs. That could add up to a extra couple of thousand dollars per year. If you vacation at WDW every one or two years now anyway, then you might come out ahead as a DVC Member.

Bill

 

[Crystal_27]

The annual dues question is really the reason why people who usually stay at the Values are usually not good candidates for DVC. For those who are happy staying at the Values, they are probably paying for their Value accommodations about what the dues cost for an average DVC contract. BUT, for those who typically stay in the Deluxes, the dues are a fraction of what they would be shelling out to stay in the Deluxes. For example, the rack rate on our December stay at BLT would be $7,700 plus tax. As a comparision, for year 2010, I paid just over $800 for dues. But, again, had we been wanting to stay at the Values, we probably would have only been paying about $1,400 for the stay. Still a good deal when you consider just the dues aspect, but definitely not a good deal with you consider the initial buy-in. Either way, good luck!

 

[dmoore22]

The annual dues question is really the reason why people who usually stay at the Values are usually not good candidates for DVC. For those who are happy staying at the Values, they are probably paying for their Value accommodations about what the dues cost for an average DVC contract.

Before DVC we used the Value Resorts almost exclusively. The challenge for us is that we have 6 kids so we needed at least two rooms. The rules required that there be at least one adult in each room which added to the challenges. After buying into DVC we found that our costs were a tad cheaper than paying for two rooms in a Value (pre-family suite era) plus we had additional space (two bedrooms) a laundry, a kitchen, a jacuzzi, and our own bedroom.

 

[tjkraz]

So I have been doing a lot of research and trying to see if my sister and her DH would be interested in going in with us. What got her was the annual dues.

I would be VERY wary about buying into DVC with another person. DVC is a deeded real estate purchase. Legally it's not much different that buying a house or a cabin on the lake with other parties.

In the event of the death, divorce or bankruptcy or ANY of the parties listed on the deed, the entire ownership could be negatively impacted. I know we all like to think "I don't need to worry about that", but every day there are countless people dealing with infidelity and financial ruin who did not see it coming. Whenever there is joint ownership of an asset, you run the risk of it being tagged in a bankruptcy or divorce proceeding.

Even under the best circumstances, ask yourself how you would come up with an equitable division of the monthly payments and dues on the DVC contract? What happens if one family cannot pay their share? What happens if one family decides they don't want to go to Disney anymore? Who will ultimately own the contract when all of the current parties have passed?

My recommendation would be to have one family or the other purchase and own the timeshare. The non-owners could agree to some form of annual compensation to help pay for these annual Disney trips. Or just have both parties buy their own interest and combine the points for bookings.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I would be VERY wary about buying into DVC with another person. DVC is a deeded real estate purchase. Legally it's not much different that buying a house or a cabin on the lake with other parties.

In the event of the death, divorce or bankruptcy or ANY of the parties listed on the deed, the entire ownership could be negatively impacted. I know we all like to think "I don't need to worry about that", but every day there are countless people dealing with infidelity and financial ruin who did not see it coming. Whenever there is joint ownership of an asset, you run the risk of it being tagged in a bankruptcy or divorce proceeding.

Even under the best circumstances, ask yourself how you would come up with an equitable division of the monthly payments and dues on the DVC contract? What happens if one family cannot pay their share? What happens if one family decides they don't want to go to Disney anymore? Who will ultimately own the contract when all of the current parties have passed?

My recommendation would be to have one family or the other purchase and own the timeshare. The non-owners could agree to some form of annual compensation to help pay for these annual Disney trips. Or just have both parties buy their own interest and combine the points for bookings.

I was going to say the same thing. It works better if you keep it in the direct family and not extended family.

I just realized that we could have paid for our son's entire college costs (including grad school) if we had not have bought DVC. It's not cheap and it doesn't get cheaper.

 

[Tiger926]

As others have mentioned, you need to factor in the purchase cost (which may also include interest), as well as dues. You have to add both of those together in order to figure out the true cost of your vacation. When you get this number, you can then determine if it's worth it or not.

The dues by themselves are pretty reasonable, IMHO, but once you add in your purchase investment, you might not think so. Especially if used to staying in Values and only going every other year.

Tiger

 

[DenLo]

I just realized that we could have paid for our son's entire college costs (including grad school) if we had not have bought DVC. It's not cheap and it doesn't get cheaper.

Yes, you could have saved the money for your son's education by not purchasing in to the DVC and by not taking vacations at WDW. But I would have to believe you would have taken some vacations, even if they were not to WDW and that would lower your total savings. I don't think anyone on these boards states it's inexpensive to travel to Disney World or to become a DVC member. It's just a way to save on lodging for vacations we would do anyway.

 

[cheerdad]

We just bought at AKV after many years of "we should have". We signed our paperwork on April 6, DVC signed it on April 9. We paid cash for 160 points. We picked June as our starting month. As part of the deal we received 2009 points (which I banked till next year) and $12.00 off a point. I just received an annual dues statement for 2010 prorated at 282 days. I have tried to figure out how they came up with 282 days. Can somone shed some light on this for me? On a side note we have not received our deed yet. How long does this normally take?

 

[Chuck S]

We just bought at AKV after many years of "we should have". We signed our paperwork on April 6, DVC signed it on April 9. We paid cash for 160 points. We picked June as our starting month. As part of the deal we received 2009 points (which I banked till next year) and $12.00 off a point. I just received an annual dues statement for 2010 prorated at 282 days. I have tried to figure out how they came up with 282 days. Can somone shed some light on this for me? On a side note we have not received our deed yet. How long does this normally take?

When did you make the initial deposit on the points? Was it March 25? You have use of the points from the day Disney receives a deposit.

 

[cheerdad]

Thanks for the quick reply. That is exactly the date I gave them the deposit. Any info on how long it takes to receive the deed?