Can you purchase DVC for use by family at different times?

[dcibrando]

Can you purchase DVC for use by the whole family at different times throughout the year. What I mean is, can we all go in together and purchase a large amount of annual points that we can all use/share as a family each year together or at different times if we want?

 

[jarestel]

Definitely. As long as you have the points, you can go whenever you want, assuming resort availability.

 

[married@wdw]

You can, though I would think that would make it very complicated. Depending on how many points your family wants, it might be better to get several small contracts in different names from the same place and use year. That way, you know whose points are whose, but you can always pool them to get rooms in bigger reservations by transferring points between the accounts.

There are lots of other things to think about, too. If you're financing, you have tax deductions to think about. And who will be allowed to make reservations off the account. Also, if you want to take advantage of the AP discount -- only one address is listed and only those at that address can take advantage.

Your best bet is to call and talk to a guide to find out how best to work this scenario.

We own 330 points which we share with my mother. It's worked very well for us, but she didn't care at all about perks and wanted me to be the "travel agent" for she and her friends anyway.

 

[tjkraz]

Functionally you can put as many names on the deed as you wish (although I do believe all listed owners must be over age 18.) But make sure you give some consideration to the long-term ramifications of a piece of property owned by multiple indiviudals. I've read stories here of people being forced to sell their contract due to divorce.

Also, if one "owner" were to die, my understanding is that the remaining owners would simply assume a greater share of the total contract. In the end, the last surving member of the group may end up owning the whole thing.

Depending on the number of points you wish to buy, one thing to consider would be a master contract of 150 points placed in the name of one indiviudal (or immediate family.) You can then purchase add-on contracts of 25 points or more, and place these contracts in the name of different individuals.

It would still be fairly simple to transfer points among contracts for the sharing of reservations, but each contract should maintain its unique ownership.

 

[dcibrando]

So if I were to do the main purchase... and say my parents wanted to take advantage of some of the points and go to Hilton Head one year by themselves... would I have to make the reservations and would they be able to check in ok by themselves?

 

[jarestel]

So if I were to do the main purchase... and say my parents wanted to take advantage of some of the points and go to Hilton Head one year by themselves... would I have to make the reservations and would they be able to check in ok by themselves?

You would make the reservation in their names, and they will be able to check in fine.

 

[JimMIA]

[EDIT: These first two paragraphs were in response to OP's original post asking about sharing points and using points at different times of the year. You guys gave OP so much great feedback so quickly, some of this looks out of context!]

Yes. One of the keys to DVC is that you are not buying a specific type of accommodation for a particular time slot, like traditional timeshares. You buy (or more accurately lease) points, which you can then spend any way you choose.

You receive a certain number of points each year for the length of the contract. Saratoga Springs contracts expire in 2054; all other DVC contracts expire in 2042. If you do not plan to use all of your points in one year, you can bank them forward into the next year - subject to some restrictions. If you need more points one year, you can borrow from the following year - again, subject to some restrictions.

Multiple owners:
Our family did exactly what you are contemplating. We bought a 310 point OKW contract resale, and are in the process of adding on a 120 point SSR contract. That should be plenty of points for our three families, because we all live in Miami and tend to just drive up for 3-5 day stays, rather than longer trips.

The only caution I would give you about doing a combined account like that is to make darn sure all of the people involved fully understand the applicable rules, regulations, restrictions, etc. of DVC. They are certainly not onerous, but if someone doesn't understand what they are doing, they could put all of the owners in a position where the use of everybody's points is restricted.

You'll also have to keep track of who uses what, and how many points each group has available when, how many they've borrowed/banked, etc. You can do that with a pad and pencil, or Excel. Point management guru Caskbill is working on a tracking software package now which will also make tracking a lot easier.

 

[JimMIA]

Also, if you want to take advantage of the AP discount -- only one address is listed and only those at that address can take advantage.

On our account, all three of us are listed as owners at three different addresses. All of the owners have all the perks of ownership, because that's the way we set the account up in the first place. People buying AP's would have to be immediate family members of one of the owners and live with that owner, but we don't all have to live together.

 

[JimMIA]

So if I were to do the main purchase... and say my parents wanted to take advantage of some of the points and go to Hilton Head one year by themselves... would I have to make the reservations and would they be able to check in ok by themselves?

You can make reservations in anyone's name, and they can check in completely independently of you. The only restriction is that only an owner can make or change a reservation.

 

[crisi]

There are some caveats.

It may be better to buy several small contracts. If you ever want to sell, small contracts are much easier to dispose of. So instead of one 400 point contract, two 150s and a 100 will be a better idea long term. Disney will link them all together for you, if you still want everyone's name on them.

Make sure you REALLY like your family and can trust them - and not only them, whomever they are married to, kids they might allow to use the contract, etc. I adore my family, but had we bought with my well-liked brother in law, I have no doubt my ex-sister-in-law would have been the fly in the ointment - booking vacations with points 'we'd' reserved, then not paying her share of dues, and finally demanding the contract in the divorce (she was a peice of work).

However, if you want one big contract, they can occationally be gotten for a few dollars less per point than small contracts on the resale market (given that difficult to sell problem) and you might be able to get a relative bargain (provided you can pass ROFR).

 

[JimMIA]

However, if you want one big contract, they can occationally be gotten for a few dollars less per point than small contracts on the resale market (given that difficult to sell problem) and you might be able to get a relative bargain (provided you can pass ROFR).

Before you ask, ROFR means Right of First Refusal. Disney retains ROFR on all resales, so they review each resale contract. They have the option of buying the contract themselves at exactly the terms the seller and buyer agreed on. ROFR causes much gnashing of teeth and many sleepless nights! It's almost as big a mystery as Hanname!

 

[JimMIA]

Here's a link to a thread that covers a lot of questions about buying DVC. Don't just read my brilliant introduction to the thread, many other contributors made great comments and suggestions throughout the several pages.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=778634

 

[spiceycat]

be carefully with multiply contracts with other owners.

You don't want someone with financial problems to put your DVC jeopardized.

I kept all the points in my name and pay all the fees - I let my relatives use them.

 

[JimMIA]

The advice from crisi and spicycat about having multiple owners is good advice. In our particular case, our DVC account is actually owned by a family trust and the three of us are trustees and therefore the people on the account as owners. I don't think I would go to the expense of creating a trust just to hold DVC, but it offers us protection from the concerns others have expressed.