Canadian DVC'ers?

[tmli]

I'd like to hear from you regarding how difficult it was making the purchase? Did you use disney financing? Can you pay your annual fees monthly? Did you have to get a US bank account?

Any and all info would be greatly appreciated!

 

[MikeJ]

It was painless (except for the exchange rate ). We bought two OKW contracts via resale - the first in 2000 (180 points) and the second in 2001 (150 points). We bought the second contract after we realized we would be in a state of perpetual borrowing.

We obtained both contracts through Jaki Apetz at A Timeshare Broker (she's very well regarded over on the DVC Discussion Board) and although the first one was processed faster than the second, in both cases we were in the DVC computer system within 4-5 weeks of our offer being accepted. We did not use Disney financing (as we bought resale) but did make use of our line of credit on a short-term basis.

As far as paying dues monthly, I understand you need to have a bank account on a US bank to do that. I didn't want to go to that hassle, so we take our annual dues, convert to Canadian dollars and divide by 12. Each month we take that amount and transfer it into a separate bank account. Come January, I use a credit card to pay the dues and then immediately transfer the money out of our special DVC bank account and make the payment on the card. Same difference as paying Disney monthly but without the need of opening a US bank account PLUS we get AirMiles on the dues payment.

I sure some of our other DVC owners here will share their experiences, too.

- Mike

 

[Louise-Montreal]

We bought when we were down in Florida and put the cost on our line of credit. As for the monthly dues, what I do is buy a Canada Savings bond each year. When the dues are due, I put it on my credit card. When the statement comes in I cash the bond, and pay the cc. Works for me.

Louise

 

[Sandyrella]

Louise....I had done some research on the DVC site and from what I understand, Quebecers are not eligble to purchase DVC points. How did your manage to circumvent this "rule"? I don't think we are in a position to purchase now, but perhaps in a few years..... I just wanted to have an idea of what price we were looking at for our family of 5.

Thanks,
Sandy

 

[Louise-Montreal]

Hi Sandy,

You are right- the rule is you cannot buy a timeshare(not sure if it only refers to Florida) without having seen it; therefore, we had to sign when we were in Florida. I think the law originates from when people were selling swampland in Florida and unsuspecting buyers got swindled.

We could not have signed when we got home; however I think we were entitled to a 'cooling off' rule where we could cancel the agreement in so many days.

If you live in Quebec, and want to buy DVC you have to buy when you are in Florida. Yet another example of what makes us a "distinct society". Drives me nuts that we cannot participate in any sweepstakes games.

Louise
PS If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer them!

 

[hwyhowie]

We bought our first "timeshare" in 1992 and this was about the time when Disney was getting involved with the "Vacation Club". We looked into this concept breifly and may have got some bad info, but were scared off by the "points" as opposed to the "weeks". These days I am not sure there is a great deal of diffence between the two, except the DVC is disolved after a 42 year contract. This is not an issue unless we live to be older than 88. In any event, one must either save or borrow time to get more the a week or two at a given resort.

We bought 250 Disney point in 2000, and have used it a couple of times, but have learned the high seasons are not great value, although the resorts are second to none. If you buy Disney points, then use them at DVC resorts, don't trade them to I.I. or use them at the disney hotels, as they are expensive and your best bang for your buck is in the off season.

As far as finacing goes, the rates we were quoted were somewhere around 12% (OUCH). You can do much better at your local Canadian bank with a line of credit or a personal loan.

We do not regret buying at Orange Lake in Orlando, (RCI) and have used "get away" weeks in California and Arizona, something that cannot be done with Disney points, but both have pros and cons.

If you are contemplating DVC, I believe all transactions must be completed in Florida, there are some Canadian laws prohibiting the sale of DVC here. We live on Van. Island and have no difficulty with correspondence or the 1-800 numbers for resi's. We pay our dues via Visa, once a year, although the exchange rate leaves a lot to be desired, it's the cost of doing business.

What ever you decide you will enjoy your vacation at WDW, good luck.

 

[Louise-Montreal]

Hi Sandy,

Just realized that you asked another question. We are a family of four (2 adults and 2 teens) and we bought 150 pts. which is the minimum. It works for us as that allows us to book a studio every year. If you are a family of five you would have to go to a two bedroom, as a studio and one bedroom can only accomodate 4. This costs more points. You could buy 150 pts. and go every second year by banking 150 pts- which would you give you 300 pts. every second year. What you would need to do is sit down and figure out what is best for your family.

We paid $62.00 a point and because we are cheap 150 pts. works for us. We always go in the off season and we always book a standard view. With our points we have managed at stay at Disneyland Paris, Vero Beach, brought my family (mother, brother, sister in law, neice and nephew) down at OKW, etc....
There are many ways you can stretch your 150 pts. if you are flexible.

It is a good chunk of change to put out, but I have never regretted my decision. In fact I think it was one of the best decisions we made.

Louise

 

[Sandyrella]

Sorry...I tried to delete this one...it's a duplicate

 

[Sandyrella]

Thanks so much for your responses Louise. It's good to know that we can make this purchase, if/when the time is right. It is a little costly given our lousy dollar but is something to consider in the future.

Have a great trip!

TMLI....Sorry if I hi-jacked your thread. My curiosity got the better of me

Sandy

 

[SandraC]

We are considering renting points for our next trip, about 4 days at BC, but I am scared to death to trust a stranger. I have been reading the DVC boards and they all seem like great folks, never any mention of problems so I might just have to mustard up the courage and rent points from the DVC boards. I have all the info about DVC from WDW. I am disappointed with the info. Just lots of testomonies. I would like to have seen more resort footage and less chat. S

 

[MaMudduck]

PM you.

 

[tmli]

No problem, in making this decision any and all info is welcome!!

Thanks everyone for the great replies, I'm renting points for a studio at the Boardwalk this summer---kind of like a test run!

 

[snarfieca]

We purchased into VWL in 2000 with no problems at all.
They had financing that worked for us. We pay everything thru the credit card - monthly paments & annual dues. When we want to make an extra payment, we call Member Services and ask them that we want to make an extra payment to the card they have on file.

We have no regrets becoming DVC members and are planning which 2 weeks to book for next year. We stayed in a 1BR last year and banked this year's points.

Brenda
from Manitoba

 

[WDWorld]

Hi Sandyrella,

I personaly bought a resale last fall directly from here in Quebec They mail all the documents and you just mail them back signed and it is very fast and easy.

A few weeks before I decided to become a DVC member, I emailed the french speaking Disney representative which I've met at Disney to ask a few questions and also to know what was still available directly from Disney and he couldn't give me the informations by email because I live in Quebec.

 

[SandraC]

Charles, Votre website et les images sont belles. Merci, Sandra

 

[DSNY FN]

We purchased a year ago Dec and it was seamless we went through Disney and used the Disney Financing all our stuff was sent to us via Fed Ex we signed it all and sent it back and were contacted a week later and told all was approved and we were the owners of 150 points now all we need to do is buy some add on points as 150 is fine for going in Dec. But you will want atleast 200 points that is what my in laws just bought. A word of advice if you don't care about booking at the 11 month window buy in at either Vero Beach or HH Island they offer you a buyback of your first years points at I think 13 or 14 dollars a point which actually helped us as we then didn't have to come up with any money out of pocket for the down payment and part of the first years dues.

 

[tmli]

Thanks for all the great tips. The buy back option sounds appealing at Vero or HH. Just today my DVC video showed up, I can't wait to watch!!!

 

[MikeJ]

I'm sure you're been checking out the DVC board as well (and if not, get over there right now! ) but the mantra there is "buy where you want to stay". Sure, the point cost with the current MB offer is appealing at Vero or HH, but Vero has the highest maintenance costs of any of the DVC resorts. And if you want to travel at any of the peak times you may have great difficulty getting accomodations at the WDW DVC resorts at the 7-month window, particularly at either BWV or BCV. OKW reportedly has the greatest availability at 7 months, but that's primarily because it has the greatest number of units.

Not to try and scare you off, but make sure you research your decision carefully, particularly if you're looking at buying at a non-WDW resort.

- Mike