Canadian DVC owners

[Louiepipbgeeco]

In your opinion, what is the best option for us--buy directly through Disney or the resales?? I know cost can be less with resale but is it a big hassle being Cdn?? Or is the ease of Disney worth the extra money?? Other than closing costs for resale what other fees do the resale companies charge?? If (I do it through Disney, I am looking at the resorts that have incentives-AKV particularly)
Secondly, my understanding is that Cdn customers pay the MF in one lump sum and cannot do it monthly. Is this correct??

 

[Sheribo]

I bought resale and would do it again in a second. The deals are just too good to compare to buying directly from Disney. The only benefit I can see would be the time element. Resale does take longer but the money you save is worth it.

I bought from Jaki Apetz at **********.com and highly recommend it.

 

[Louiepipbgeeco]

Thanks Sheri that is one of the people in resale I have been looking into. But, can you tell me, what exactly are all the "additional costs" Are there a lot of admin fees, etc. I know closing will be about $450 but just trying to determine exactly how much "extras" to budget for. If you could PM me with some more details??

 

[TagsMissy]

I bought through Disney and have not worked with resellers so I can't fully comment on your questions BUT -- we can pay monthly through disney but the rate is huge 11.5% or something! I suggest if you can pay with a CC, and pay off the CC right away with either avail cash or LC/loan from the bank. This is a great way to get points.

 

[jguner]

We just bought through Disney while on vacation. We have looked at re-sale but in the end the promotion at the time as well as the fact we get 50 years at BLT sold us. BLT and AKV both are absolutely beauftiful resorts.It was painless and quick and we booked our Christmas Trip a week after we came back. They were very quick at getting the paper work done as well as our sales guide was able to help get our BLT for Christmas.

 

[ABCanada]

We have bought both. My preference is direct with Disney but we cannot from Alberta.

While time is the key issue, depending on the use year you purchase I think buying from Disney can be cheaper.
They cover part of the closing costs on the first purchase and all on the subsequent.

You only pay maintenance fees from the date of purchase, so 4.5/12 if you bought now. You get all the current years points (so if you buy now for UY Sept 1 on you get all 2008 and all 2009 when your UY comes up, you may bank the 2008)
The incentives can be quite good as well. (In addition to the discount we got 2 annual passes for buying at DL)

You need to do the all in math to evaluate the two.

 

[CdnKayDee]

We bought resale through the Timeshare Store. Was pretty easy. Likely not as easy as buying direct but much cheaper. Funny thing is we ending up buying from fellow Canadians.

 

[stefanospops]

I bought direct for Disney but investigated resale. The main reason I stuck with Disney was because I got a better deal through them since I wanted to buy at Bay Lake Towers. Had I been okay with any other resort I may have considered resale.

The bonus of doing resale is that you can get a smaller contract instead of Disney's requirement for getting 160 points at minimum through them. This said, after looking at everything I decided BLT was the best choice for my family since we have three young children (4, 2, and 7mos) and probably one more kid in the next year or two. I will be dependent on the monorail and walking distance to Magic Kingdom for some time! I figure once MK is no longer the main draw for my family that I may resell those contracts and buy elsewhere, such as Animal Kingdom, if that is what my family gravitates towards.

The main reason I got a real good deal was that I had a member referral. You can add on a member referral anytime prior to signing your contract with Disney. The referral typially gets you more $ off per point or in my case I opted for a free 7 day Disney Cruise for 4. Not sure if you can request a referral on the Canadian DVC members thread, but there is a referral thread in the DVC section of the site. You can private message me for more details if you like. Good luck!

 

[realfam]

We considered resale, bought twice through Disney direct. When you take into consideration the current incentives and ease of purchase. DVC direct, I think is the way to go if you want BLT, AKV, SSR. If you want a small contract or one of the older resorts. Resale is the way.
We love our DVC and have been very happy buying direct (even if it cost a little bit more, peace of mind is worth it)

 

[Louiepipbgeeco]

I knew I could count on all of you for advice!

Can I buy it and request my use year ? ie. Looking to get a Dec. or Feb. use year.(Maybe I should wait and buy it direct while on my cruise in March?? or possibly it would be equal incentives?? anyone know???)
(I agree with the post regarding avoiding Disney financing--too high for sure. I would also do the CC and pay with cash/loan from home)
Disney is now selling 100pt contracts(at least for AKV for sure) But, you do not get quite as good of a discount.
One post mentioned AP included. Has anyone else been given AP with their sale through Disney direct.???Keep the info and advice coming---I am taking it all in--thanks everyone You are awesome

 

[mommylo]

Hi, my first purchase (AKV) was direct from Disney in 2007. It was very pleasant and we got lots of goodies with the purchase. After we came back to Canada, I purchased OKW, SSR and VWL via resales, using both resales companies mentioned here. There was a little bit of negotiations involved but the $/point were much lower so it was worth it. I just added on BLT directly from Disney recently because they were offering an awesome discount.
And yes, when you buy direct from Disney, you can definitely pick your Use Year. Disney will usually try to match the UY for your existing contract because otherwise it's a separate contract.
AP is not included in purchase, either through Disney or resale. That is a thing of the past.
Good luck in your decision.

 

[dhluvsDisney]

Done both ways. Both have their advantages. My resale (timeshare store) was a contract with 2 years banked. Better than Disney at the time. You can't go wrong with either one really.

 

[LauraLap]

We did it through The Timeshare Store and had no issues. It was a great deal!! We had extra points banked from the previous owners which we rented to get an additional 2k (USD) to put towards our purchase. It was a win-win situation!

 

[Rileygirl]

If you want BLT or AKV, I think you would be better off doing Disney Direct. If you are thinking of SSR, or any other, seriously look into resale. Be educated though-- if you are paying good coin for price per point, and also all the MF, you may not end up ahead, especailly on smaller contract add ons!

That said, I think we got a great deal! We used Jaki and ****, got the Beachclub for 89/point, the dollar was at 95 cents then, (last august) and had a huge number of banked points (which we did not have to pay the MF for.

I highly recommend Jaki and ****- they very much care about their clients, and will tell you exactly what things cost (I asked about closing costs before I even made an offer, if there were any 'canadian issues', and **** laid out everything).

Also, on resale, you can tell the broker exactly what you want. If its a specific use year, they will find the right contract for you. Its important to note that these brokers can go and find you the right contract from other brokers, you dont just need to look at their listings. Tell them exactly what you want (I told ****, a BCV contract that was fat with points, around 200-250 - I did not see a contract like this on any of the websites, but the next day he had found one for me!)

He also spent a lot of time going over different combinations of offers, including point price, who pays closing costs, and how much of the MF to cover. Also, once I made my offer, they were there to hold my hand and answer every annoying email I sent

I think also that Jason from the TTS would be a good broker too. If you are considering SSR -- do resale!! its about 30 less pp right now -- there are some great deals.

I do want to add on at the BLT though, that property does it for me too. I will go through Disney for that one, if it is not sold out by the time I can afford it.

good luck!

 

[calgarygary]

We have bought both. My preference is direct with Disney but we cannot from Alberta.
While time is the key issue, depending on the use year you purchase I think buying from Disney can be cheaper.
They cover part of the closing costs on the first purchase and all on the subsequent.

You only pay maintenance fees from the date of purchase, so 4.5/12 if you bought now. You get all the current years points (so if you buy now for UY Sept 1 on you get all 2008 and all 2009 when your UY comes up, you may bank the 2008)
The incentives can be quite good as well. (In addition to the discount we got 2 annual passes for buying at DL)

You need to do the all in math to evaluate the two.

Just to clarify, Albertans can buy direct from Disney, they just have to do the deal while at Disney.

 

[DbleTheFun]

We have done both as well... We have 2 resale contracts and an add on contract purchased direct. It's convenient to buy direct, but as an Albertan we have to be there on site to do so... and with the deals on the resale market right now, we couldnt pass up some of the those deals and didnt mind the wait for it to clear etc.

 

[dsneygirl]

We used the Timeshare Store with no hassles at all.

 

[I Run Long]

Sorry to highjack the OP's thread but, aside from the obvious like having a fabulous place to stay, are there any benefits and/or discounts that only DVC members get? I'm really trying to look at all the angles to talk my hubby into it. Help please.

 

[Louiepipbgeeco]

Sorry to highjack the OP's thread but, aside from the obvious like having a fabulous place to stay, are there any benefits and/or discounts that only DVC members get? I'm really trying to look at all the angles to talk my hubby into it. Help please.

I THINK (if my research is correct-as I am still in process) some of the benefits for DVC members include:
discounts at some of the dining
ability to buy Dining plan without buying a ticket
Discount (approx $100) on annual pass
free internet
Magical express service
member cruises( I would be interested to hear if these involve any sort of special pricing?)
pool hopping at DVC resorts while staying at DVC (NOT including SAB and Bay lake tower, I think AKL may also be NOT included)
I thought I read also that they get opportunity to buy tickets for special events ahead of others??

That's about all I can tell you.
Now just keep the dollar climbing so that you can justify/convince your hubby into it even more.....

 

[I Run Long]

Now just keep the dollar climbing so that you can justify/convince your hubby into it even more.....

You said it! I keep watching that dollar every day. I am so excited about getting into DVC, I just know we can convince hubby too. Just a little arm twisting that's all.