Considering a purchase

[sev34]

I am wondering if some of you recent purchasers could help me out with a few questions. I am considering a 350 point purchase. As I have already arranged to rent points for my next vacation, the Magical Beginnings program looks like a good one for me. I usually travel in March, so a Feb. or March use year would probably be ideal. Here are my questions:

1. On a 350 point BCV vacation, what would be the discount associated with the Magical Beginnings program (could I get $10.00 per point on all 350 points?).

2. Have I read correctly that I might be able to purchase VWL directly from DVC and, if so, is the MB savings the same?

3. Since I am taking advantage of MB (and therefore do not really need the membership for some time), am I able to reserve the points and use year now, without having to put all the money up right away (ie. perhaps a deposit now to secure, and the balance later this calendar year)?

4. Does anyone know the interest rates that DVC charges on their shorter term financing?

I really appreciate your time and input.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Hi, sev34. I'll try my hand at a few....

1) Yes, you can get a one time credit for $3500 toward your down payment.

2) Some use years are available at VWL....Check with your guide for current status on use years and Magical Beginnings (MB seems to change day to day).

3) The only way to do that is to finance your points. That would be like making a down payment, then holding your points at the current Disney interest rate.

4) The current interest rate is......somewhere between 9 and 13 percent. Big range, but this also changes often, and also with length of term.

Good luck with your decision, and feel free to ask questions....

 

[jaysue]

We travel in March and based on the advice we received Dec/Feb/Mar use years work best - depends on whether you think you might cancel or not as the banking deadlines come into play

1) yes you can get MB to apply to all 350 points - takes price down from $84 to $74 per point - we just purchased 270 BCV with December use year under this program

2) yes and yes but points and use years are limited whether as a master contract or add on

3) not sure about this - we put 10% down and the MB rebate as down payment and financed the rest for now with the intent of paying back the balance within about 1 year - just in case though we took the 10yr finance - as a Canadian this is posted to my credit card as a charge since I do not deal with a US based bank

4) not sure

Anytime

Thanks
jaysue

 

[Dopey Sharon]

I just called yesterday to get some information...

1. Magical Beginnings is $10 a point rebate that you use towards your downpayment, but I'm not sure it is available for all use year months.

2. There was still availability at BCV and VWL, but BCV was 85% sold out and VWL was very limited availabilty left.

3. I don't think that will work. The way I understand it...I put a $500 deposit down (you can use a credit card to get the paperwork started faster), after you receive the paperwork (which comes FedEx, so it probably arrives pretty quickly) and sign everything, you send the remaining deposit and a voided check because your payment is taken out of your checking account. The magical beginnings amount is then deducted from the balance. You then have 15 days, after you sign the papers, to change your mind. You pick which day of the month you want the money withdrawn...either the 1st or the 15th of each month. Your maintenance fee is also taken directly out of your account.

4. The interest rate for 10 years is 9.75%. They have a shorter term and lower interest rate. You have to put a 50% deposit down, and have one year to pay at 4.something% (didn't quite catch that rate)

I called my bank and asked what the home equity loan interest rate was...6.49%. If I do decide to buy, I will go that route. The lady at Disney said that you can do that, but you still have to fill out all the paperwork, but just pay it off when you get the home equity loan.

 

[sev34]

Thank you all for your helpful responses. I think I will follow up with my guide this week. I've been hooked on WDW since my folks first took my sister and I in 1975 (a glorious two-week holiday at the Polynesian Village -- my father reminds me that the Canadian dollar was about par back then). Since 1975, I have probably been another 18 to 20 times, always staying on site, and we quickly fell in love with the Fairway and Vacation Villas at Lake Buena Vista (later Disney Institute), because of the "home away from home" characteristics. Seven years ago, I took my wife to WDW for our honeymoon, and she's now hooked. A now four year old daughter and two year old son have enjoyed two one-week "rental" trips in 2 bedroom units at VWL the last two years, and baby number three is due in three weeks. We have also just finalized another one-week "rental" at BCV for next year, again in a two-bedroom, and we are already counting down the days.

From this quick summary, I'm pretty sure that we fall into the category of families for whom DCV is a no-brainer. Still a big step, however, so reinforcing feedback is appreciated.

Stay tuned ...

 

[dianeschlicht]

You are definately good cantidates for DVC! Our only regret was that we did not do it as soon as we learned about it! We could have saved SO MUCH money if we had!