Considering a Vacation Club purchase help please

[jerlove]

Just back from our first ever WDW family vacation and loved it. Now I am considering at DVC purchase. Spoke to the guy at the resort and he told me they were currently selling AKL and Bay tower and that it would be $17,000 to start.

I am hearing things on here where people are starting at $10,000 for even more points. What is the best way to buy? What are the pros and cons? what are the closing fees? annual fees?

Any help you can offer to this really confused person would be great.

Thanks

 

[dvczerfs]

Just back from our first ever WDW family vacation and loved it. Now I am considering at DVC purchase. Spoke to the guy at the resort and he told me they were currently selling AKL and Bay tower and that it would be $17,000 to start.

I am hearing things on here where people are starting at $10,000 for even more points. What is the best way to buy? What are the pros and cons? what are the closing fees? annual fees?

Any help you can offer to this really confused person would be great.

Thanks

did you take the dvc tour while you were there?

 

[kritter]

Have you spoken with a guide yet?


I do believe that DVC will pay your closing costs for you!!!

 

[jerlove]

As hard as the guy at the resort tried to get us to, we just did not have the time. It was our first ever Disney vacation and we were going to spend every minute we could at the parks. Kicking my self now but figure I can get just as good info here perhaps even better. Never realized I could save money going thru a reseller.

 

[jerlove]

I am not even sure who or how I speak to a "guide"

I am assuming perhaps a guide was the guy I spoke to at the resort I was staying at?

 

[dvczerfs]

As hard as the guy at the resort tried to get us to, we just did not have the time. It was our first ever Disney vacation and we were going to spend every minute we could at the parks. Kicking my self now but figure I can get just as good info here perhaps even better. Never realized I could save money going thru a reseller.

i would talk to a guide, make sure its for you and it fits your vaction needs, than shop around.they dont pressure you at all. we took the tour, spent 4 hours looking and told the guide id have to think about it and gave me my book and tape and thanked me for my time. (bought 2 weeks later and havnt looked back)we purchased 300 pts , ten years ago for $58 per point. the dues come out of our checking (im guessing 140-150 per month,dw does the check book) and we go evey year for 10 nights and stay in a 2 bedroom at okw. we love it, but it fits what we like to do.

 

[chalee94]

I am hearing things on here where people are starting at $10,000 for even more points. What is the best way to buy?

which DVC resort do you prefer to stay at? can you book 8-11 months in advance to take advantage of the home resort booking window?

DVC will sell you a contract at any DVC resort you like. some contracts expire earlier...in 2042, while newer resorts like SSR, AKV and BLT expire in 2054 or later.

you can save money by buying resale, but you need to be clear exactly what you are purchasing. some contracts are “stripped” and won’t have any points available for travel for the next year or two.

also, if you buy a contract at HH or VB - they are cheaper upfront but have higher annual dues and you are taking a real risk of not being able to book at wdw at 7 months. it's also a little risky to buy at SSR or OKW and expect to be able to stay at BLT or whatever. buy where you want to stay (or at least, where you won't be disappointed to stay.)

What are the pros and cons?

DVC is a timeshare deal that allows you to prepay room costs for staying at WDW.

the DVC works best for people who:

1) go to disney at least every other year
2) prefer to stay onsite at deluxes (or at least moderates)
3) can plan their vacations 10 or 11 months in advance
4) can limit Fri-Sat stays since weekend point costs are significantly higher (although this may be changing)
5) intend to use DVC primarily for staying at a DVC resort at disney (rather than trading out for other timeshares or cruises, etc.)
6) need or prefer larger accommodations than a basic hotel room

OTOH, there are lots of good reasons to balk at buying DVC:

1) thousands of $ upfront plus annual fees require a certain level of financial ability and commitment (and still need to pay for tickets and travel, etc.)
2) commitment to wdw/fear of wdw burnout (sorta - while you can trade out, the best value is staying at the DVC resorts)
3) DVC not as deluxe as deluxe hotels in some senses (limited housekeeping, sofabeds, no room service at some DVC resorts)
4) prefer to stay on weekends and weekend point costs are MUCH higher
5) financing a depreciating (sooner or later) luxury purchase is generally a poor idea
6) happy with value hotels
7) amenities like a kitchen and washer/dryer have no value for me
8) i don't/can't plan my vacations 6+ months in advance
9) i enjoy hunting for deals/bargains for each trip

If you’ll be upset when other people can pay cash for a room and get a discount or get “free” dining thrown in, then DVC is not for you.

what are the closing fees?

here is how to start figuring the numbers:

1) start with the point charts link in the top right corner of the screen, to figure how many pts you need at your preferred resort. also, the point charts are being reallocated in 2010 so you need to be aware of that and consider adding a "buffer."

2) then use the resale listings link in the top right corner of the screen to figure how much a resale contract would cost. add $350-500 to their stated cost as an estimate of closing costs.

OTOH, if you buy direct, estimate closing costs to be in the $250-350 range.

annual fees?

here is a link to the historical maintenance fee costs. multiply the number for your resort times the number of pts in your contract. expect it to rise 3-4% annually.

here are more links to DVC FAQs:

from all ears

from tagrel

 

[dvczerfs]

you can call dvc and they will set you up with a guide. if you talked to a guy at a table at the resort, that wasnt a "guide" per say.

 

[dvczerfs]

excellent! there you go, read chalee94 post. thats a great start!!!

 

[Cmbar]

Where do you live? Anywhere near Chicago? They have a February greet in a few weekends at the Doorway to Dreams store in Shaumburg Ill. They have the Bay Lake Tower models there and guides to help walk you through. You can purchase over the phone (except in certain states) but I think it would be better to have a guide walk you through it. It sounds like this is relatively new to you so you may not even know which resorts are DVC and which ones you would like to stay in. Good Luck in your decision and Chalee's post is a great start

 

[calgarygary]

chalee94 put up some excellent points. I would like to add to his comment about preferring to stay onsite and say that you must be willing to pay a high premium to stay onsite. In this timeshare market, quality resorts can be picked up for 10% or less of developer pricing and Orlando is the easiest market to trade into - even during peak periods. So if you are content staying in deluxe accomodations offsite and happy to save thousands, maybe DVC isn't for you.

 

[jerlove]

chalee94, Thank you for such a detailed post.

That answered a lot of questions.

 

[dhlikesbellemore]

It took me several years to buy in and we finaly did it this year at BLT.The biggest problem I had with the whole thing was the yearly dues.What we are going to do is let our disney visa card pay for the dues .The biggest question is was home res.do you want.We picked BLT because it has the lowest dues.The cost of the points is a one time cost once you get it paid for its done. Im the money person in the house and i somtimes over figure large purcases.
we were 36 on our first trip and it took our 2nd. trip to get the magic.Now 5 years later and we have been once and somtimes twice every year since.
I finaly realized im already paying the money we all love coming and life is to short to do all that figuring.
Our best freinds that go with us almost every time did not buy in .They could not justify the cost.Its one of those each to his on type things.

hope my babbling could help.

 

[backyardponder]

A few suggestions:

1) Make sure you can afford this. Your kid's education and other factors may or may not be a factor. Figure $5.00 per point per year for fees. Actually, this is probably a bit low since they will go up over the years.

2) Consider resale, if you have the time to invest in it. Look at pros and cons. Pros: Cheaper, you have your choice of resorts. Cons: Your contract expiration is shorter. Many resorts it is currently 2042. You won't get developer points and will have to pay closing costs. Resale at BWV worked out quite well for us.

3) If you can, go to WDW for a few days, rent a car, and visit each of the resorts. Get a feel for where you would like to stay the most and make that your home resort. If you tell the guard at the gate that you are considering DVC, they will let you right in with free parking. Go to the front desk and ask for a map and a suggestion of where to walk.

Good Luck!

 

[Malaguti Ball Clan]

did you take the dvc tour while you were there?

We are heading down in June, have a bit of time on either side as we are staying at SOG then OKW 2bd (renting) then back to SOG, How long is the DVC tour? do I just call DVC sales to set one up? Thanks (oh by the way, I want dvczerfs life, you folks must have some awesome disney memories) We are late starters as my wife and I are just wrapping up our 20-25 year military careers and moving onto our second careers, our kids are 13-15, 15 and 21 (21 is also active duty) and although we didn't vacaction all that much, we lived in Tampa for 5 years and hit all the parks, followed by Key West for 4 years which was like a vacation everyday...now we are in northern virginia and MISSING Florida Soooo much. Thanks for all the info. Alex and Sherrie

 

[roberte114]

I don't know if DVC is right for you since it was only you're first family trip. DVC really only works for people who go on a consistent basis. Do you really want to make a long term commitment based on your experience with just one trip? Not to talk you out of it but it is a big financial decision.

 

[jerlove]

Good point... I am hoping to make it a 2x per year trip now that we have gotten the disney bug. This was not our first family vacation just our first disney vacation.

 

[mickey0930]

Let me start by saying we just returned from disney 2 wks ago and did take a guided tour at SRS with DVC guide. Our daughter is 5 and has been to disney 3 times already. I am on board with purchasing in the DVC, my husband on other hand is on the fence. I was considering on purchasing resale because $17,000+ is alot to spend at one time and we really dont want to finance. My thought is to purchase about 100-150 points now and 100-150 point at the end of the year or beginning of next year. My question is has anyone done this and has it worked out? Of couse I would purchase all my point for the same home resort. Would like to buy into SSR. BLT would be nice too but I cant find any resale for that resort. Has anyone purchased resale from anyone other than the Timeshare Store and if so how was that transaction?

My husband's thinking is with the economy the way it is more resales will be offered for better prices if we wait because ppl will need the extra money. We are aware of ROFR, so that may come into play if people start selling allot.

 

[dudelydude]

A couple of things that I would like to stress as I can still remember when I was a new DVC shopper. Also, I was just at WDW last weekend and went to Saratoga Springs Resort (SSR) for a tour with a guide.

1) The guides are PRIMARILY interested in selling you on Bay Lake Tower (BLT) at the Contemporary resort, Animal Kindgdom Villas (AKV) and SSR as these are new or newer resorts. BUT, Disney still does sell contracts for the older resorts when they are available. Some people buy older resort contracts through Disney or they buy contracts on the resale market through other entities, like The Timeshare Store (see the sponsor at the top of this page). By the way, you can probably still find a thread at the top of this board's main page with a list of common acronyms used if they become confusing.

2) What I never understood is why anyone would buy a contract directly through Disney if there were contracts available on the resale market. For example, if you wanted a 100 point contract at Old Key West (OKW), Disney might sell this for $100 per point, when you can get a 100 point contract from The Timeshare Store for $70 per point...a savings of $3000. Keep in mind that if you purchase your points on a resale contract, you will be treated no differently than those that purchase directly through Disney. You are entered into the DVC system and become a customer of Disney.

3) Just remember that if you do not want to make BLT your home resort (buying a DVC contract at BLT), than you have many other choices and can save a ton at resale.

4) The only advantage to buying through Disney is that the closing costs are less or there are no closing costs. And I believe that they offer pretty good financing. Of course, if you are paying in cash, this will not be a variable for you.

Good Luck

 

[dvczerfs]

We are heading down in June, have a bit of time on either side as we are staying at SOG then OKW 2bd (renting) then back to SOG, How long is the DVC tour? do I just call DVC sales to set one up? Thanks (oh by the way, I want dvczerfs life, you folks must have some awesome disney memories) We are late starters as my wife and I are just wrapping up our 20-25 year military careers and moving onto our second careers, our kids are 13-15, 15 and 21 (21 is also active duty) and although we didn't vacaction all that much, we lived in Tampa for 5 years and hit all the parks, followed by Key West for 4 years which was like a vacation everyday...now we are in northern virginia and MISSING Florida Soooo much. Thanks for all the info. Alex and Sherrie

wow, thanks. the usaf is how i started going w/ my family. my brother was stationed at homestead afb. we would go to see him and hit wdw (magic kingdom only at the time) every year, sometimes twice. my brother passed away at 42 and both my parents are gone. i was lucky, i had an excellent child hood and wdw and the time we spent there are alot of my memories. i took the tour in 99, it was about 2 hours. when you check in, you will see a "booth" like table set up, dont worry, they are well marked. i bought in 1999, it $56 per point. we love okw, we go to the parks early am, come back to okw around noon, nap hang out, and than back to the parks around 4. we go for 11 days, we take a day and go hotel hopping, and a day to just hang out. anyway, take the tour, do your homework and thank you for your service to this great country! my father and his brother are both ex marines. my uncle retired from the marines and went to work for them as a civilian. hes noe retired from that and moved from fredrick va. to mert. beach sc. theres a dis dads thread, come on over and join us!! have fun on your trip.