Confused....Clarification on Program

[NicknTab]

It may or may not be obvious from the title of this thread. However, I am an interested person in DVC. Is it feasible for me in my life right now? NO. However, I would like to hope and dream and put my head in the clouds.. so I will. Therefore, I want to know everything that there is to know about having DVC membership before I'd ever become a member..... which is a good idea for me to do seeing as how I won't be one for a little while.

I have several questions/curiosities about the program and I'll number them:

1. You purchase a real estate interest in a certain DVC resort represented by points for which to purchase. Each resort has a different price per point. Why?

2. Based on the answer to that question this question might be valid. If each DVC resort has a different price per point, what would be the benefit in selling? More specifically, how come you see someone reselling 200 points really cheap at Vero Beach, yet on the other hand, you'll see a resale for Animal Kingdom 200 at almost twice the amt you saw?

3. Why would someone buy the points at one resort and not the other if it would be cheaper to do so?

I may have other questions as time goes on. As you can see, I'm pretty confused. I feel like I fundamentally don't understand the program... which is difficult for me to accept because i feel like it's pretty straight forward whenever i think about it.

Here's what I understand: you buy a real estate interest in a resort at a certain price per point and a certain number of points depending on your individual situation. Then you can use those points to redeem anywhere throughout disney's different vacation club resorts. Which is nice because you don't have to stay at only one timeshare location (i.e. the place you purchased), you can stay at any location including a cruise, adventures by disney.... anything.

I guess what I'm looking for is confirmation that I'm right about what I know.. or a correction on what I know and an explanation. I thought the best people to ask would be the members themselves.

Anyway, PLEASE help... this is bothering me...

Thanks very much!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Right up at the top of the page there's a link to DVC Point Charts. That's actually the informational side of the dis, wdwinfo.com. Click on FAQs, and that'll take you here. That can give you some nice basic info.

You can also read the various "sticky" threads on the Operations, Planning, and Misc forum inside the DVC section to try to get an overview.

We dreamed about DVC for nearly 2 years after having a nice long informational meeting with a guide at Disneyland Resort. He emailed us every so often, then later I found out that he's the guide of a friend of mine, she reintroduced us, and finally we bought in. We probably should have waited longer, got the cash ready to plunk down, and I'm sure he would have still been there, waiting for us (he could tell we really wanted to get into DVC). It's nice that many of the guides can sit on their hands and wait for people. So what I'm saying is that you *could* request info from them, and if you got the right, low-key guide, they'd be waiting for ya when you were finally able to buy IF you decided to.

Just to give you the tiniest replies...tiny b/c I don't want to confuse you more, and sometimes I do that...and because I don't have my replies perfected yet, LOL...you'd buy into one over the other b/c you want the "advantage" that allows you to make reservations 11 months in advance of your travel at the resort where you own. For example, we own at Bay Lake Towers. So I can book there 11 months out. If I want to book anywhere else, I have to wait until I'm 7 months out. I'm "behind" allllll those owners of the other places. And we're doing that right now, waiting to 7 months to see what's available, b/c we didn't realize we wanted to stay at Bay Lake for our December trip until we were around 9 months out! Whoops!

Also, a site like Vero Beach is going to have higher annual dues, which go towards maintenance and insurance etc, because they are on the coast and get hit harder by big storms, etc. So your annual cost, above and beyond the cost of buying in, is going to be much higher at VB or Hilton Head Resort, than it will be, at, say, Bay Lake Tower (big concrete block, LOL).

 

[NicknTab]

Thanks very much. This reply--as well as me taking the time to just read what others have said--has helped me understand the program a bit better.

When it comes to cost/price-per-point being different, I now understand that the only times it would matter would be (1) for "home field advantage" type booking situations with the 7-month and 11-month windows (2) resale value, and (3) during financing having to pay higher annual fees such as in your example of Vero Beach(VB) and Hilton Head(HHI)(<---I have to get used to typing in the acronyms).

About the agent, I have Bill Koontz as my guide. He is great... very patient... not aggressive at all with me. Besides, all he has to do is just simply know that I'm interested and doing some research on their site.. if I get curious about something and start doing live-chat with one of their live people.... he's calling me right away if he's there. He's always available to help.

Anyway, I thought that I understood the situation...and I do... I guess I just didn't understand the finer points as to why one would be an owner at one as opposed to another.

 

[RescueRanger]

Thanks very much. This reply--as well as me taking the time to just read what others have said--has helped me understand the program a bit better.

When it comes to cost/price-per-point being different, I now understand that the only times it would matter would be (1) for "home field advantage" type booking situations with the 7-month and 11-month windows (2) resale value, and (3) during financing having to pay higher annual fees such as in your example of Vero Beach(VB) and Hilton Head(HHI)(<---I have to get used to typing in the acronyms).

About the agent, I have Bill Koontz as my guide. He is great... very patient... not aggressive at all with me. Besides, all he has to do is just simply know that I'm interested and doing some research on their site.. if I get curious about something and start doing live-chat with one of their live people.... he's calling me right away if he's there. He's always available to help.

Anyway, I thought that I understood the situation...and I do... I guess I just didn't understand the finer points as to why one would be an owner at one as opposed to another.

Bill is great! He is our guide as well. I must have called him half a dozen times with questions before we finally decided to buy into AKV. They don't mind the questions. It is, after all, a major purchase and a long term commitment. good luck on whatever you decide.

 

[robertdangelo]

Keep in mind, you can purchase a smaller contract through resale and become a member... saving some $. You can be a member with a contract as small as 25 points/year, however I would suggest at least 50 or 100, depending on your needs. The price per point on many resales are $20-30 less than direct from Disney. This may be a nice way to start and get your feet wet. Through banking borrowing you could go every other year with as little as 50 points. You can always add on down the road.
Good luck! The Timeshare store(sponsor of Dis) is great to deal with. There is alot of info on their site too.

 

[crisi]

Potentially home ownership would make a difference at some other times as well. For instance, DVC has the ability to do a special assessment if HHI or VB get hit by a hurricane - or they could potentially not even rebuild and just send you your share of the insurance money.

For certain units at certain times of the year, the "home advantage" in booking is very important. For other units or other times of the year - not so much. Make sure to understand that so you aren't disappointed when you can't get the Grand Villa at Boardwalk on New Years Eve with anything other than BWV points.

 

[chalee94]

here is a thread for more info about choosing a home resort.

 

[nunzia]

Resale to get your feet weet is very good advice. I had no interest in getting 160 points, the minimum buy in from Disney ( It think they may still have lowered that buy in at SSR and AKV to 100). I also wanted to buy at VGC since it is the smallest resort and the only one at DLR, and I was worried it would sell out. Existing members generally have a window to purchase a new property before it goes on sale to the general public, and I wanted that privilege without buying a big contract through Disney, so I bought 25 points resale at OKW, which put me in the system. I am now 'equal' to any other DVC owner. This 25 points can let me stay nearly a week every three years, and annual MF are only $100.00... what a bargain.
Then VGC came on board and the nightly point stay if H I G H. Disney can do this, and has to establish when the villas first open the point structure.. The points to stay at the resort cannot be changed after established. Remember..they can be REARRANGED which is what people are upset about recently..a weekend night may cost less, weeknight more, seasons may change, etc., but the total points can't be changed. So..that is why points structures at older resorts are less and they go up at newer resorts. A week in a studio in January at VGC is 129 points and the same week at OKW is 77. If I was a WDW traveler and didn't care where I stayed I'd buy a mess of OKW on the resale market, make my reservations there at 11 months and then at 7 months try to find a different resort if I wanted one. Since I am mainly a DLR person, this isn't an option. I feel if you want to stay at the VGC you will need points there. Right now reservations seem fairly easy to get at any time, but I don't think that will be the case much longer. VGC do not come up in the resale market often, it's too new, and the ones that do seem to want more than buying from Disney. So..I bought 60 and 65 at VGC as soon as I could, then..like all good DVCers...realized that wasn't enough and so added on 50 more. My little 25 point ownership is now 200 points. I'll sell my OKW and then just have my 175 VGC, which will work for me for trips to WDW and DLR. I also like having 3 small contracts in case I want to sell one or two and still be 'in'. Also, it works better for leaving to the kids, although totally unfair since all three contracts are different amounts.
As to why Disney keeps raising the price per points on new DVC properties, it's because they CAN

 

[Crystal_27]

1. You purchase a real estate interest in a certain DVC resort represented by points for which to purchase. Each resort has a different price per point. Why? The resorts are priced based on a lot of factors and, for the majority of cases, buying through Disney will cost more than going resale. I think that it is usually safe to assume that the resorts that are within walking distance to a park or have a specialized theme are going to be the most expensive. After those, the second most costly resorts will be the remaining ones on Disney park property, followed by the cheapest resorts which are the beach properties.

2. Based on the answer to that question this question might be valid. If each DVC resort has a different price per point, what would be the benefit in selling? More specifically, how come you see someone reselling 200 points really cheap at Vero Beach, yet on the other hand, you'll see a resale for Animal Kingdom 200 at almost twice the amt you saw? The beach properties are really unique to DVC in that they are part of the timeshare and yet not on any Disney property. With DVC you will always pay a premium for the on-property resorts (compared to the other DVCs) because owning at one of the on-property resorts will guarantee you a vacation at Disney World (if booked at the 11 month mark) whereas when you own at one of the beach properties you will have to trade resorts at the 7 month mark and take your chances.

3. Why would someone buy the points at one resort and not the other if it would be cheaper to do so? I think that to anyone new to researching DVC it is always attractive to look at buying the beach properties instead of spending more money for the on-property resorts. However, again, keep in mind that when you own the beach properties you have no guarantee that you will get a Disney vacation when you call to book at the 7 month mark. Chances are that you will find something available, but you might have to change resorts mid-stay or you might end up staying at a resort that you don't particularly care for. It is always wise to buy where you will not be disappointed staying every single time.

Then you can use those points to redeem anywhere throughout disney's different vacation club resorts. -- correct with the caveat that you understand that owners at their "home" resort can book their vacations 11 months before the start of their vacation, whereas any other resort not your "home" you cannot book until 7 months before the start. Keep in mind, though, that when you call at the 7 month mark, you are competing with every other DVC member who is also trying to book at their non-home resorts.

My comments are in blue above. Good luck!

 

[crisi]

On thing Crystal brings up is there might not be availability at seven months on property. Currently the risk of this is pretty low, but remember that DVC has changed a lot since its inception, and will change more over the life of the contract.

If significantly more offsite rooms are built, its likely that there will be more competition for the onsite rooms that exist. If Disney stops building offsite resorts and builds more onsite resorts, there will be more rooms available for people who don't own onsite. No one has a crystal ball to know the direction DVC will take, but we are purchasing contracts that last decades. So manage your risk over decades.....