Buying from outside "registered" areas/Buying too early

[Fellowship9798]

Hello all. Longtime lurker, first time poster.

I returned from a WDW vacation in early October and while I was down I took the SSR tour. Having been a former cast member and also having visited a few times since, I am quite familiar with DVC but I've never taken the tour and was quite interested in seeing SSR.

I think the wife and I are quite set on buying into DVC at some point, but the question is when. After the tour we were quite pleased but seeing as we live in Western Canada which is not a "registered area" we would have needed to sign papers right then and there to buy in as they could not sell to us by phone or mail. Actually I was relieved in a way to hear that since I knew I would mentally never be able to commit to a large chunk of money like that on the spot (we were leaving the following day). Financially this is not the ideal time for a luxury expense like this with a new baby who won't really enjoy WDW for a few years, wife on maternity leave (therefore reduced income), mortgage payments, etc. Not being able to buy unless I was physically at WDW was a great way to avoid the mother of all impulse purchases. SSR was quite nice and we'd be happy staying there.

As it turns out, I've got an upcoming trip in 2-3 weeks to Orange County, CA and there is a DVC sales location at Disneyland from what I understand, so I could sign up at that time. Now with the 15% referral deal going, I am starting to wonder if we are set on buying in sometime in the next few years, maybe we should just do it now to take advantage of the deal and rent the points out for the first year or two (or three) until we are ready to go back. I think we'll be an every other year tye of family due to the distance from Vancouver to Florida. There probably is never going to be an ideal time to spend money on prepaid vacations. I could scratch the money together to make the purchase price with little or no financing (I wouldn't do it any other way). Here's a few of my dilemmas:

1. I have a few questions for the DVC people before deciding for sure, but if I call the guide I took the tour with, will he even be able to talk to me since I'm not living in a registered area? Of course I know I can just call him myself to ask, but it's 11:30 PM on a Sunday and the topic is on my mind so why not ask the smart people here too.

2. Any volunteers to be a referral if I do decide to take the plunge? I know there are threads full of volunteers, but rather than randomly picking a person from there, I thought I would make someone suffer through my long posting before possibly getting the reward of a referral bonus.

3. Any opinions on whether I would have trouble renting out points as I would be a new member and have no previous renting references? I know if I was renting I would look for references, so I don't know if my thoughts about renting out points at the beginning is going to be easy or not to accomplish.

4. Any thoughts on if I'm being foolhardy here by considering jumping in 2-3 years before we may really be ready to use DVC to it's fullest? I know it's a very personal decision with no right or wrong answer, but I'm sure many of you put similar thoughts in before buying and I'm interested in opinions.

What a windbag I am. I though I would only have a few sentences, but here I am paragraphs later. Yikes.

Darren

(I'll come up with a fancy signature line later. I've got to go to bed.)

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

Hello Darren.. welcome to the DisBoards!


Renting points .. I know very little about it and can't help you there.

Don't know much about the referrals .. but .. hey .. I would be glad to help.

A thought about jumping in before you think you are ready ..

I think it is one of those things that people ponder and wait .. and ponder some more .. and then regret not just going ahead and joining. Is there ever going to be a perfect time?

You do have factors to consider, that's for sure. Traveling to WDW with a baby from Vancover will not be a picnic... but babies grow up fast. Is your wife returning to work at some point?

I waited from 97 to 03 to join and I really don't know why I waited so long. We were going every year .. staying at the BC, Polynesian, AKL, BW .. paying too much cash. It seems silly now when I look back on it.

If you can swing it .. do it! Come on in, the water's great!

 

[JimC]

Welcome to our little community on the DIS!

We toured in 1992 and bought in 2002. We waited because we were looking for land to have a house built in 1992. Why we waited so long is a mystery. Wished we would have done it sooner, but do not regret putting the house first in our priorities.

We all make a great deal of the price per point and it is a consideration. However, if you own for the length of the contract it is the annual dues that will eventually make up the most significant portion of your financial outlay. For example anyone who bought in in 1992 at 230 points would have paid about $12,000 for their points. Over fifty years the maintenance fees are likely to be an additional $77,000. So be careful that you are comfortable with both ends of the financial obligation (purchase and dues) before you buy.

That said if you are going to come at least once every other year, want to stay on property, normally stay at moderates or better and will use DVC primarily at DVC resorts; then this is a great program.

Renters will often look for number of DIS posts (to search and see who this person is) and references. But for all things there must be a first time. Use a contract (there is a great thread here with advice on that -- http://130.94.75.33/showthread.php?t=895654).

If you need a reference, PM me and I will be happy to help you get the discount.

Good luck!

 

[redmomof4]

How do you tell what the dues are, are they per point? Are they different at different resorts?

 

[Pluto 2]

do it now why lose those 2-3 years. you get the price right now for 83.30 with a referal. post you are looking for a referal and you will have at least 10 people wanting you to use their name. a lot of us waited and almost everyone will tell you that they regreted of waiting. i bought into dvc in 2000
first look into dvc in 97, so i lost those three years. in those three years what did i do i stayed at the all stars but for cheaper i could of been staying at a dvc resort. who knows what the price will be in 2-3 years.

 

[bobbiwoz]

How do you tell what the dues are, are they per point? Are they different at different resorts?

This year the "dues" per point are as follows:

Saratoga Springs $3.82
Old Key West $3.86
Hilton Head Island $4.03
Beach Club Villas $4.26
Wilderness Lodge $4.35

Boardwalk Villas $4.41
Vero Beach $4.86


Bobbi

 

[dianeschlicht]

DO it now, because costs will only go up. We first looked into it when points were under $60 and bought at $62.50 for some of our points and $65 for our add-on. That was 8 short years ago, and looke where they are at now. I think the new offering is a GREAT deal, and you are welcome to use my name as a referral. I wont get any perks from it, since our state doesn't allow them, but I'd say "go for it"! Just seperate my users name, and give me a PM if you need more information than name.

 

[Fellowship9798]

Thanks for the replies. I've still got some thinking and number crunching to do. Of course I realize that asking a board full of happy DVC members whether I should sign up now or not is really a case of "preaching to the choir". Maybe that's not exactly the right phrase, but I'm sure you get the idea.

My subliminal mind is probably just looking for a push to convince my cautious engineer's brain to go for it.

Thanks again to all who replied.

Darren

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

. Of course I realize that asking a board full of happy DVC members whether I should sign up now or not is really a case of "preaching to the choir". Maybe that's not exactly the right phrase, but I'm sure you get the idea.

Darren

Maybe is the choir preaching to you!

 

[Fellowship9798]

Maybe is the choir preaching to you!

I think that's more the idea I was thinking of!

To JimC, that's good advice to keep the maintenance fees in mind as it's by far the larger share of the costs if you stay in for the long term. That's an advantage for the larger dedicated DVC (OKW and SSR) resorts I guess. Lower maintenance fees = lower overall long term cost.

Darren

 

[Dean]

I don't think anyone can get the referral since you're already a contact. The referral would have had to be in place prior to or at the time of your first contact I believe.

 

[redmomof4]

If so, I am so glad when I asked for info last week I put our table mates from the Wonder down as referrals. Thanks Nette!!

 

[pumpkinboy]

Since you don't need to use the finincing, I don't think there is any advantage to buying direct from DVC mgmt. The referral discount is really nice @~$83 per point, but you can get an even better deal buying resale for the same points (SSR: lots of contracts at or below $80 per point). Other advantages to buying resale would include the ability to purchase from your home province (BC) and to choose a home resort other than SSR if you like. I have referred two other buyers this year, both of whom bought new at SSR, after I advised them of the other possibilities (one wanted Disney financing, the other paid cash but wanted the flexibility that comes with buying new). Buying resale would allow you to take your time with the decision, shop for the right contract at the right price, niether of which you could do if buying on your next trip to DL.

Take your time. Think it all over. It's an awefully long trip from Vancouver to Orlando (even if you drive to Seattle and take a direct flight from there). There will be other incentives if you end up deciding to buy new. Look over the resale contracts and see if any suit your needs. If you decide to buy new this year in DL, and use me a a referral, I'd be happy to split any referral bonus they would send me (plus you'd have the discount). PM me if you decide to go this way. But I still think in your situation, you'd be better off buying resale.

Good luck!

Nice new signature, BTW

 

[Fellowship9798]

Since you don't need to use the finincing, I don't think there is any advantage to buying direct from DVC mgmt. The referral discount is really nice @~$83 per point, but you can get an even better deal buying resale for the same points (SSR: lots of contracts at or below $80 per point). Other advantages to buying resale would include the ability to purchase from your home province (BC) and to choose a home resort other than SSR if you like. I have referred two other buyers this year, both of whom bought new at SSR, after I advised them of the other possibilities (one wanted Disney financing, the other paid cash but wanted the flexibility that comes with buying new). Buying resale would allow you to take your time with the decision, shop for the right contract at the right price, niether of which you could do if buying on your next trip to DL.

Take your time. Think it all over. It's an awefully long trip from Vancouver to Orlando (even if you drive to Seattle and take a direct flight from there). There will be other incentives if you end up deciding to buy new. Look over the resale contracts and see if any suit your needs. If you decide to buy new this year in DL, and use me a a referral, I'd be happy to split any referral bonus they would send me (plus you'd have the discount). PM me if you decide to go this way. But I still think in your situation, you'd be better off buying resale.

Good luck!

Nice new signature, BTW

More good advice. I am by nature a pretty cautious person so having to sign up specifically during a trip to DL because I can't do it anywhere else goes against what I would normally do. It's pretty easy to get caught up in a kind of mania on this board about how amazing this deal is, how you may never see anything like it again, etc. Must buy now, now, now before it runs out or else you'll have to sacrifice your first born to ever even have a chance at owning at double the cost! I'm exagarating of course, but it's a feeling I get reading through the posts. It's important to keep rational about these things. Of course there is an emotional component to buying your own "piece of the magic" but I've got to keep it balanced with the logic of also paying the mortgage, saving for a college fund, retirement fund, and other boring things.

I'll be buying, it's just a matter of when and how (direct or resale). I'm just happy to have a nice resource like these DIS Boards to draw on since I can see so many points of view, away from the Disney sales pitch.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[DisneyFunFan]

Darren, good to see you on the Dis. I sent you a note with info on our experience buying DVC. Check your private messages!

Trent

 

[CherCrazy]

Usually the Disney guides are laid back, non-pushy type individuals. The REAL nutz are us DVC'ers!! We are soooo happy with our purchase that we have to excite everyone else about it!

Best of luck with your decision...count me as another who wished we had done it years ago.

 

[Fellowship9798]

Darren, good to see you on the Dis. I sent you a note with info on our experience buying DVC. Check your private messages!

Trent

Trent:

Thanks for the PM. I did read it Sunday, but couldn't get time to reply until today. Strange to bump into someone I originally met in real life years ago in an online forum like this.