Any DVC Member Lawyers Available?

[BigDisneyKids]

We got our SSR "Member Documents Kit" yesterday to sign!!

We're in the process of going over this enormous package however, short of hiring a lawyer, does anyone know of any particular areas that deserve more than a once over???

Better yet, has any new SSR members had any heartburn with any of this? Things that we should be aware of???

Unfortunately with everything in life, there's always "a catch" somewhere.

Thank you.......

 

[Dean]

First, DVC is a great system if you wan to use it for stays at the DVC resorts, other than for things like long weekends.

I'm not a lawyer but here are few of the things that seem to get many people. I'm sure others will add to the list.

• There's always the remote possibility that SSR could exit the DVC system though unlikey. Eventually it will be the system as the older resorts exit in 2042.
• The home resort priority could change.
• There is no guarantee that one will get non SSR reservations at the 7 month window.
• Fees could go up a lot more than you anticipated.
• It's possible they might not build the entire resort.
• NONE of the exchange options are guaranteed other than those within the DVC system itself assuming your resort is still a member of the club.
• Exchange points could keep going up, they always have.
• The quality you paid for may or may not always be there.
• WDW itself could close leaving you with just a hotel in a place no one wants to go.

I'm sure I'll think about dozens of other similar issues after I leave for work but this will get you started. Still, none of these are major risks at this time though you never know what will happen.

 

[PamOKW]

Bear in mind that Disney is very, very good at covering themselves. The documents cover just about every contingency that you could think of and protects Disney. The likelihood of any of these things happening is small, but reading them is a bit disconcerting. It's true that you do have to have a level of confidence in the Disney Company that they will do the right thing.

 

[tjkraz]

For what it's worth, we had our attorney review the paperwork before signing. Most of the work he did was simply bullet-pointing indiviudal procedures within the program, which we already understood better than he did.

The only item he really questioned was the disposition of the ownership if my wife or myself were to pass-away before the contract ended. He had recommended inserting language that would grant the entire deed to the surviving party.

After relaying this request to DVC, we found out that under Florida law, the above will automatically happen when there are multiple owners listed on the deed. So really it was a non issue.

Most of the clauses that Dean outlined are to protect Disney. And I suspect you would see similar items listed in any timeshare purchase agreement. Some people may call this a naive point of view, but personally I feel a greater degree of confidence in DVC than I would another timeshare manager.

 

[RCM]

Just sent in our signed papers on Monday! I agree that it is a little nerve racking when we try to pick out every little thing that can go wrong. I feel Disney is a better bet then a timeshare that isn't as well known. I believe the point system is better then specific week rentals. I feel into the forseen future that my children and grandchildren and my husband & I will have great times together. What happens after that we cannot control so I am not going to worry.

 

[rocketriter]

My wife is an attorney and when we went over our papers late last year she saw nothing out of the ordinary. At this point it's probably better to spend time learning the rules of banking and borrowing than to worry about legal contingency clauses. The latter would affect us all as a class, not just you, and we spend too much money at WDW for Disney to casually tick us off.

 

[BigDisneyKids]

Thanks to everyone for you're assistance in putting our minds at ease.

Just like anything else, not only is this intimidating but can be overwhelming as well.

 

[paults]

We're in the process of going over this enormous package however

BigDisneyKids, if you are buying a big contract ( like over 300 pts) you might want to get 2 (150 pt contracts). That way if you decide you don't need all those pts you can sell 1 contract and keep the other. Its pretty hard to sell the larger contract.

 

[Judique]

***********************
Better yet, has any new SSR members had any heartburn with any of this? Things that we should be aware of???

Unfortunately with everything in life, there's always "a catch" somewhere.

Thank you.......
***********************

The 'catch' is that once you sign and become a member, you realize you can never have enough points! Then you start with the addons and you learn to drive to Florida from Maryland, to squeeze in another quickie trip, and you discover that you CAN get to Hilton Head in a day from Md..........
Welcome home!

 

[Zurg]

Dean forgot :

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

 

[kathyseb]

We signed out contract for SSR last fall. Thinking back, we did not have any reservations. Our Vacation Club Guide, Randy was great. He did not rush us along and answered every question we had. And then some!!
Maybe what made it easier for us was we had gone to a Time Share Presenation the day before for Hilton. They were so rude we could not believe it. One thing Hilton demanded was you decided that day.

After hearing that presentation, we decided to give Disney another try (had looked into it in 1997 and decided we could not afford it). So the following day we stopped at the booth at Epcot and signed up for the presentation. One of the first statements out of Randy's mouth was this is a big decision and we do not expect you to be able to decide today. I think that sold us right there and then.
We bought 313 points. Our first trip will be in Sept and we have already decided we do not have enough points to last through out a year.

 

[KelNottAt]

Just wanted to say welcome to the boards and hello to a fellow Carroll Countian. I've "met" other Marylanders on the DIS (Ellicott City, Towson, Gaithersburg) but you are definitely the closest to home!



Kelley
Eldersburg

 

[rocketriter]

Following up on the suggestion to split a large contract into 2 or more parts: this also gives you a way to have more than 1 child inherit ownership.

 

[BigDisneyKids]

Hi Kelley from Eldersburg!

Even though we are new to the DVC, it's a welcome to hear from a fellow Carroll Countian!!!

The DW and I thought we were the only Disney fanatics here in the backwards county, (I mean back-woods country.)

Michele & Stephen
Taylorsville