Complete DVC Newbie Questions

[PrncessA]

I promise I searched for topics that would answer this but my mind must not be working correctly today so I am hopeing for a couple direct answers, please.


DH and I took a tour and sales pitch yesterday at the Woodfield Mall DVC location. I have been very intrested for a while but DH didn't really want to get into it. After the tour and the info we are both very interested.

Here are our concerns and/or questions...

The only "new" resorts to get the insentives on at WDW are The Treehouses, BLT and AKL. We are don't like the AK themeing or the remote location from MK(DH hates it for some reason) and BLT's deal ($6 off a point and higher cost per point) isn't great for us.

The best "deal" seemed to be the Grand Californian ($15 off a point and LOW closing costs), but it is in DL not WDW so no year out booking for us at WDW although it would be easier to convince DH to go to DL and possibly Hawaii and make a stop there. Is this a HUGE problem? We have young kids so we are able to go during the slowest/cheapest times of the year for another 5-6 years easy. Is 7 months far enough out to book? We love staying near the MK but near Epcot is great too. Plus they will match our points when we buy.

We really like the financing option so we would be doing the purchase direct through Disney. Since we realistically see ourselves making at least 6-7 trips in the next 10 years I am sure we will get our value.


Our other concern is the "what if" senerio. What if... DH loses his job and we decide that is the thing that HAS to go. What happens? Can we sell? Do they forclose? How quick or slow is the process?

Thank you!!!!!

 

[Deb & Bill]

You might want to check out a resale. If you have no plans to go to DL, I wouldn't buy at VGC. As an owner, you want that home resort benefit to get the place, size or time you really want when it is hard to get.

If you decide you no longer want your contract, you can sell it. If you don't pay the annual fees, Disney will take it back from you, but you won't get anything for it. They just take it back for failure to pay the annual fees.

There are several resellers out there. You should be able to Google DVC sales to find others. The Timeshare Store is a sponsor on this site and there is a link to the contracts that they have for sale. You'd probably have to get your own financing and you wouldn't get a extra year's worth of points for free, but you might find a contract that works for you.

You could purchase enough points to use banking and borrowing to get an every other year vacation if that works best for you.

Good luck on your decision.

 

[vicki_c]

BTW, the Treehouses aren't a DVC resort themselves.

They are just a booking category / room type at Saratoga Springs Resort. They are the same # of points as a 2 BR at SSR.

 

[Snurk71]

Plus they will match our points when we buy.

Can you explain this? I haven't seen any matching/developer point incentives mentioned anywhere. I wonder if this is a marketing of giving you current use year points on a shortened year to bank into next year?

Thanks

 

[vicki_c]

Can you explain this? I haven't seen any matching/developer point incentives mentioned anywhere. I wonder if this is a marketing of giving you current use year points on a shortened year to bank into next year?

Thanks

That is also my assumption - we got this as well, as so many have. We got the prior year's points as well as the current year's points.

edited: now that I think about it, we got developer points, current year points, and the prior year's points when we bought in early 2008. I know we had a TON of points to use up that year.

 

[disneynutz]

Getting extra points from Disney depends on where you buy, when you buy and your UY.

Extra points are nice, but I would never buy at a resort that I don't love just to save a few bucks or to get some one time use extra points.

Bill

 

[Sandisw]

Can you explain this? I haven't seen any matching/developer point incentives mentioned anywhere. I wonder if this is a marketing of giving you current use year points on a shortened year to bank into next year?

Thanks

It sounds like they were simply offered current UY points with their purchase. And, Disney has been allowing those that purchase, who choose a UY in which the points are outside the banking window, extra time to bank.

 

[Best Aunt]

I think the Timeshare Store can arrange financing again. They weren't able to for awhile last year, but I think they are now. Check their website.

I had great luck selling with them. Probably one of those "results aren't typical" situations. They found me a buyer who would pay full asking price within 4 hours of getting my listing. Then the person backed out that night, and they found me another buyer who paid my full asking price the next day.

 

[ToddyLu]

I would also not purchase VGC if you are intending on staying at WDW. VGC is a 50 unit DVC and will be more difficult to book I am guessing if you do not take the 11 month advantage. I would look at the resales for BW and BCV if you are interested in Epcot. If you get a contract with lots of points the incentive points with Disney will not mean that much and you will have a resort you want. However the most economical resale right know if SSR and if you purchased points there you would have access to THV.

That is what makes DVC so great...if you don't like AKV...you just purchase somewhere else.

Also if you have children I would buy maybe 2 small resales with the same UY so they would be easier to resale and you could give one to each of the kids later in life. You could also get Disney to break the contracts down I think. That is the one thing I wish we had done if I had to do over. We own 210 points at AKV. Spend a couple of weeks reading, reading and reading here and at DVCNews.com before you make your purchase. Be sure you are familiar with the "rule of 4" and the cancellation policies.

 

[PrncessA]

Thank you everyone for your advice and information. We have decided NOT to buy into the VGC and none of the current WDW deals really appeal to us. Resale is probably our best choice and we can buy what we want... when we want. I am going to do a lot more research before we make our decision.

 

[Crystal_27]

The best "deal" seemed to be the Grand Californian ($15 off a point and LOW closing costs), but it is in DL not WDW so no year out booking for us at WDW although it would be easier to convince DH to go to DL and possibly Hawaii and make a stop there. Is this a HUGE problem? We have young kids so we are able to go during the slowest/cheapest times of the year for another 5-6 years easy. Is 7 months far enough out to book? We love staying near the MK but near Epcot is great too. Plus they will match our points when we buy.

If you go this route, you have to assume worst case scenario (particularly as DVC resorts continue to sell and more members get added into the system). If you buy at GCV, there is a possiblity that you might not see any availability at WDW at the 7 month mark. Although this is a remote possiblity, you have to consider it. Much more likely, however, is that you are unable to find consecutive days at any one WDW resort at the 7 month mark. If you are okay with changing resorts mid-stay in the years that you are unable to book your entire stay at one resort, going with GCV is not a bad plan. If, however, you want a guaranteed WDW stay, you need to buy at one of the resorts at WDW.

In terms of your "what if" scenario that your DH loses his job, you would have the option of selling the interest yourself or contacting Disney to see if they will agree to buy it back. Another option to consider, since you are worried about not being able to fulfill your loan commitment, is to buy and smaller contract (50 points or so) via resale and pay that off as quick as you can, and then add on in smaller increments as your vacation needs change. Either way, best of luck, and hopefully we'll be welcoming you home soon!