BLT has lowest dues now, but...

[kerri0616]

Hi all!

Still considering taking the plunge. BLT has the lowest dues per point currently, but would you expect this to change at some point? After it sells out?

Please share your knowledge. We are considering AKL or BLT as we love both resorts and both locations. Of course we can get a resale contract at AKL for a lower price, but they currently have higher dues.

Thanks, oh wise ones!

Kerri

 

[drusba]

In the past for other resorts, there were no surprise upward changes once a resort sold out. BLT like others will have increases but should remain lower than others. One main reason it is lower per point than others is that they are selling a lot more points per unit than were sold for other resorts and thus the costs per unit will be spread among a lot more points than the other resorts.

 

[Sandisw]

I too think that it will remain lower than the others but the gap will close somewhat.

If you look at the increase in dues this year, the percentage increase for BLT was a bit higher than others.

IMO, however, I don't think that it will ever be as high as AKV. As you mention, you can buy AKV for a lot less than BLT and that will offset dues costs for several years.

The only other difference is the expiration date with BLT being 3 years longer than AKV. Not that I would base anything on that, but it is a small piece to consider if you are down to those two resorts.

Knowing that you love both resorts can make it tough. Owning at AKV will give you an advantage to get the concierge rooms, which are difficult if you are not an owner. However, the SV rooms at BLT are hard to come by as well and those are the ones that are less points.

We bought BLT because of location but also to ensure we would be able to get SV rooms as we book right at the 11 month window.

Good luck!

 

[Havana]

Will they stay lower than the others, who knows. But part of the sales pitch we were given about BLT is that the dues should be lower since there isn't much hotel staff or a restaurant in the building.

 

[disneynutz]

I wouldn't expect a large increase, but you never know, BLT is a unique property. The money saved by building up could be offset by the transportation costs, unique maintenance with extra elevators, security doors, and all those windows. We were told last year that BLT and the Contemporary have a bird poop problem that requires additional cleaning.

I tried to find out who will be paying for the upgrades and changes that were recently announced. All I was told was that once units are declared into the association, it is usually the members responsibility.

Bill

 

[erionm]

I tried to find out who will be paying for the upgrades and changes that were recently announced. All I was told was that once units are declared into the association, it is usually the members responsibility.

Tim at DVCNews.com said that the developer was paying for those changes.

 

[tjkraz]

I agree that dues will stay the lowest for the reason drusba cited. Regardless of what a DVC salesperson may have said, the low dues at BLT don't have a lot to do with it being a high rise tower or the limited landscaping. The single biggest factor is the higher point cost for every night's stay. When you spread the budget over a larger amount of points, the per-point cost is lower. No mysteries there.

If the nightly costs for a BLT room weren't 20-30% higher than all others, there would be fewer points sharing the same annual budget. On a per-point basis, dues would be $4.50 - 5.00 each just like the others.

Dues are certainly subject to annual adjustments but it would take a lot of years of unexpectedly high increases before BLT approached other resorts.

 

[TisBit]

Also, remember at when comparing to AKV you don't have to pay to feed the animals.....animal feed costs a lot!

 

[Ericandjenng]

Honestly the best choice is buy where you want to stay. When it comes down to the money, it will come close to being even in the end or at least not enough of a difference if you're disappointed every time you try to book a room.

The 11 month window is very important at BLT. I booked 1 week into my 11 month window and could not get the full stay I was requesting for Oct in a SV, had to opt for a LV. Yet this past year, I booked fairly close to a planned trip and was able to get a Savannah view (NOT concierge) at AKL without any problem.

Good Luck!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

If the nightly costs for a BLT room weren't 20-30% higher than all others, there would be fewer points sharing the same annual budget. On a per-point basis, dues would be $4.50 - 5.00 each just like the others.

Dues are certainly subject to annual adjustments but it would take a lot of years of unexpectedly high increases before BLT approached other resorts.

This is a very important point. It will generally cost you more points to stay at BLT and AKV has some of the most value accommodations. There's considerations of what type of accommodations you want to stay in but if you plan on staying at your home resort then the actual cost may be closer than you think once you factor in points required * annual dues. However if you were to use BLT points to stay at OKW or AKV standard/value then you could come out ahead buying BLT but won't have the 11 months access.

Surprisingly AKV historically has some of the smallest increases in their annual dues. BLT took a larger jump this year. If the trend continues then the gap could close.

Depending on how many points you plan on buying you may be best off purchasing where you most want to stay.

 

[kerri0616]

Thanks for all of the great replies!

I've never considered bird poop at the CR/BLT or feeding the animals at AKL!!!

Once we get done paying for Christmas, maybe we'll be able to get serious about our search.

Love the low points for AKV Value rooms....love the idea of owning right next door to MK. Decisions...decisions...

Kerri

 

[Dean]

I also think they will stay somewhat lower but I expect the gap to narrow considerably over time making dues a poor reason for home resort choice above other factors like price and stay preferences.

 

[Mtnman44]

Just to further clarify the points already made:

If you own at BLT but use the points to stay at other DVC properties then yes, the lower dues will save you a tiny bit. However, your purchase price is waaaay higher for BLT than other properties if you consider resales in the equation. So if you want to stay at another property anyway, just buy there and save a lot more than what you save on the difference in dues.

If you own BLT to stay at BLT then the lower dues don't really matter since you have to own more points anyway in order to stay the same amount at BLT due to the higher room costs.

Summary: In my opinion the "lower" dues at BLT shouldn't be a factor in a purchase decision. Currently, owning at BLT is more expensive, not less.

 

[Sandisw]

Just to further clarify the points already made:

If you own at BLT but use the points to stay at other DVC properties then yes, the lower dues will save you a tiny bit. However, your purchase price is waaaay higher for BLT than other properties if you consider resales in the equation. So if you want to stay at another property anyway, just buy there and save a lot more than what you save on the difference in dues.

If you own BLT to stay at BLT then the lower dues don't really matter since you have to own more points anyway in order to stay the same amount at BLT due to the higher room costs.

Summary: In my opinion the "lower" dues at BLT shouldn't be a factor in a purchase decision. Currently, owning at BLT is more expensive, not less.

Not for all resorts. We travel in Magic Season and the points for SV rooms at BLT are very comparable to BCV, BWV, and VWL. For my family, it is not more points expensive to stay at BLT than those other resorts during our travel times. Since those are the only other resorts we are interested in, owning BLT with lower dues works in our favor.

Since we bought when it first opened, we paid about $96/ppt. At that time, BCV was running $88 - $90 per point, and VWL and BWV were running between $80 and $85 per points. So, for us, BLT, all things considered will end up being cheaper in the long run.

BLT is not necessarily going to cost you more points each and every time compared to every other resort that has higher dues so someone really needs to evaluate their specific situation and go from there.

 

[JWG]

I believe that BLT will stay lower in per point dues for many reasons:

• More points per room on average
• Few amenities to may for (pool and community hall)
• Insignificant service staff (no check-in, shared bell staff, etc.)
• Shared transportation cost with CR (and monorail should be no cost)

If that all plays out, who knows, but it adds up to what should be fewer dues per point.

Now, if you want to stay in a MK view during Premiere season, it won't matter because you'll be using significantly more points. But, if you're able to do SV in the value seasons, you could make out signifcantly. Or, if you stay at OKW or some other low point option.

We believe this will play out to our advantage as we're ok with SV in the off season.

 

[Dean]

Not for all resorts. We travel in Magic Season and the points for SV rooms at BLT are very comparable to BCV, BWV, and VWL. For my family, it is not more points expensive to stay at BLT than those other resorts during our travel times. Since those are the only other resorts we are interested in, owning BLT with lower dues works in our favor.

Since we bought when it first opened, we paid about $96/ppt. At that time, BCV was running $88 - $90 per point, and VWL and BWV were running between $80 and $85 per points. So, for us, BLT, all things considered will end up being cheaper in the long run.

BLT is not necessarily going to cost you more points each and every time compared to every other resort that has higher dues so someone really needs to evaluate their specific situation and go from there.

Obviously it depends on how you're comparing and what's important to you. However, scanning BWV & AKV (the 2 I thought were the best comparisons) for similar rooms it looked like BLT was more across the board. About the closest you could get was Standard view at BLT to the higher cost views at the other 2 I was looking at excluding concierge. Trying to say that BLT really isn't more is like saying that a high end Corolla is about the same price as the base Camry, you're comparing apples to oranges. To compare fairly you need to compare like to like such as Standard to Standard and high view to similar (MK to Savannah and BW view for example). You certainly can adjust for the larger capacity compared to BWV if it's applicable as it will be for some but not for most, this doesn't apply to AKV because the capacities are the same.

Still, BLT maint fees are lower currently, though I don't think the spread will survive at nearly the level or % it is now but we'll see. Given the price spread though, I doubt one would ever come close to making up the difference between retail and resale for a lower cost property even if the current spread remains. We all realize there is more that goes into a decision that simple math, such as home resort preferences, which is why everyone needs to make their own decisions in the end. Just don't kid oneself about the realities. Owning BLT will be more expensive overall than essentially all other current options with appropriate choices (resale where applicable and reasonable) assuming a stand alone contract of any reasonable size, say 100 or more points.

 

[Dean]

I believe that BLT will stay lower in per point dues for many reasons:

• More points per room on average
• Few amenities to may for (pool and community hall)
• Insignificant service staff (no check-in, shared bell staff, etc.)
• Shared transportation cost with CR (and monorail should be no cost)

If that all plays out, who knows, but it adds up to what should be fewer dues per point.

Now, if you want to stay in a MK view during Premiere season, it won't matter because you'll be using significantly more points. But, if you're able to do SV in the value seasons, you could make out signifcantly. Or, if you stay at OKW or some other low point option.

We believe this will play out to our advantage as we're ok with SV in the off season.

There is or was a small developer subsidy on points I believe. Plus it's simply not the nature of timeshares to have such a disparity in costs long term. They will find a way to make them much less diverse, trust me.

 

[NewDCLGuy]

There is or was a small developer subsidy on points I believe. Plus it's simply not the nature of timeshares to have such a disparity in costs long term. They will find a way to make them much less diverse, trust me.

DVC has had such a disparity in costs since BWV came on line in 1996.

As some point, we stop thinking of DVC as a new concept... it's now essentially 20 years old with a fairly consistent track record. Maintenance fees go up by steady amounts year over year, with no unexpected jumps when the resort sells out. The only out-of-the-ordinary events have been at Vero and HHI. So I might be a bit nervous about Auliani, but not BLT.

Despite what the guides may say about lower costs at BLT due to... whatever, the difference is almost entirely due to the higher points per night. The maintenance cost per room at BLT is almost exactly the same as at SSR. It is just being divided over more points. Since "more points per night" is never changing, I see no reason for the fee differential to go shrink or go away.

 

[Sandisw]

Obviously it depends on how you're comparing and what's important to you. However, scanning BWV & AKV (the 2 I thought were the best comparisons) for similar rooms it looked like BLT was more across the board. About the closest you could get was Standard view at BLT to the higher cost views at the other 2 I was looking at excluding concierge. Trying to say that BLT really isn't more is like saying that a high end Corolla is about the same price as the base Camry, you're comparing apples to oranges. To compare fairly you need to compare like to like such as Standard to Standard and high view to similar (MK to Savannah and BW view for example). You certainly can adjust for the larger capacity compared to BWV if it's applicable as it will be for some but not for most, this doesn't apply to AKV because the capacities are the same.

Still, BLT maint fees are lower currently, though I don't think the spread will survive at nearly the level or % it is now but we'll see. Given the price spread though, I doubt one would ever come close to making up the difference between retail and resale for a lower cost property even if the current spread remains. We all realize there is more that goes into a decision that simple math, such as home resort preferences, which is why everyone needs to make their own decisions in the end. Just don't kid oneself about the realities. Owning BLT will be more expensive overall than essentially all other current options with appropriate choices (resale where applicable and reasonable) assuming a stand alone contract of any reasonable size, say 100 or more points.

I guess what I am trying to say is it really depends on your needs. We are a family that just won't stay at SSR, OKW, and AKV. So, while those resorts could allow us to stretch our points farther, it is immaterial as I would never stay there.

If my only choice that year was one of those resorts, we would bank our points and not go.

So, for my travel in Magic Season, it will cost me the pretty much the same # of points to stay at BWV, BCV, and VWL as it will in a SV at BLT. Since I bought BLT so I could book at 11 months and pretty much get SV most of the time, it is very comparable for my situation.

Now, we may be a very unique family in that where we stay is our number one priority and we only bought DVC because BLT was built. If that was not there, we would not be DVC member. We love the location and ability to walk to MK which is why we almost always stayed at the CR prior to DVC.

All I am saying is that people need to evaluate their own travel needs and look at things from their own perspective. To say that owning at BLT and staying at BLT is going to always cost you more points is simply not true.

I will agree with you that there are certainly resorts that you can go to that are cheaper points, but you have to be happy at those resorts. If not, does it really matter if it is less?

 

[JKnLydia]

One more reason for lower maint fees at BLT is the almost complete lack of landscaping to maintain. There's no need to water, fertilize, or mow the concrete!