continiue to ponder owning dvc

[DAISYDUCKRN]

can someone share we us, we are wondering, if you purchase dvc with minimum points (do not remember how many), if you book a 7 night stay at a moderate resort, say carribean beach, ABOUT how much out of pocket will need to be paid. i know that the more points you own, the less oop to be paid. we would like to purchase but still need more info from those who have dvc. thank you very much

 

[fers31]

DVC is only good for Deluxe hotels. You "could" use your points for a Moderate, but the points are actually MORE so it doesn't make sense to do this.

 

[greengeen]

DVC points can be used at DVC resorts (like Saratoga Springs), at deluxe resorts (like the Polynesian), or at moderate resorts (like Coronado Springs). But using them at a deluxe or moderate instead of a DVC resort is a big waste of points! The biggest bang for your buck is a regular DVC accomodation. For example, your can get a standard studio at AKV for 10 points/night Sunday through Thursday in January, but a room at a moderate like CBR for the same time period runs 18 points/night. Almost twice as much and the accomodation is not as nice!

 

[JimMIA]

can someone share we us, we are wondering, if you purchase dvc with minimum points (do not remember how many), if you book a 7 night stay at a moderate resort, say carribean beach, ABOUT how much out of pocket will need to be paid. i know that the more points you own, the less oop to be paid. we would like to purchase but still need more info from those who have dvc. thank you very much

I don't know where you got your information, but DVC points do not work like this at all. Points are used to reserve rooms only, and you can't combine points and cash to make a reservation.

The best use of DVC points (and in fact, the only thing we use them for) is for stays in the DVC resorts themselves -- not moderates, not deluxe, just DVC.

The WDW DVC resorts are Old Key West and Saratoga Springs (both stand-alone, condo-style resorts in the Downtown Disney area), Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas attached to deluxe hotels in the Epcot area, Animal Kingdom Villas attached to the deluxe Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Villas at Wilderness Lodge and Bay Lake Towers attached to the Contemporary in the MK area.

At other locations, DVC has the Villas at the Grand Californian at Disneyland, and the Vero Beach, FL and Hilton Head Island, SC resorts. They currently have resorts under construction at National Harbor, Md just outside Washington, DC and Aulani on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

Those are the properties you really consider buying DVC for, and if I've left any out, I'm sure someone will add them.

There are other options with DVC, but most people do not consider them good value for your points.

Also there are two ways to buy DVC points. One is to buy direct from Disney with a minimum point requirement (although that has been lowered to 50 points for now), or resale through established timeshare real estate brokers.

The big advantage of resale is that you should save a good bit of money over buying direct. For resale info, a good place to start is the Timeshare Store links at the top of this page.

 

[disneynutz]

can someone share we us, we are wondering, if you purchase dvc with minimum points (do not remember how many), if you book a 7 night stay at a moderate resort, say carribean beach, ABOUT how much out of pocket will need to be paid. i know that the more points you own, the less oop to be paid. we would like to purchase but still need more info from those who have dvc. thank you very much

Disney will tell you that you can use your points at all kinds of resorts, but using them anywhere other than at a DVC resort will cost you.

You are forced to use your points or you will lose them. That means that you have to vacation every couple of years, pay your dues every year, and have money for transportation, food, and extras.

If this is what you want to do, or if you vacation at WDW every year now at a deluxe resort, then owning a DVC membership can save you some money.

Bill

 

[DAISYDUCKRN]

thank you for your replies. yes, i now remember about the specific dvc resorts. i am still wondering if. if i do buy and make a reservation, say i have the minimum points or maybe a bit more and stay 7 nights at the basis dvc accomodation, about how much cash do i have to put towards it, or will my dvc points, providing i have enough for 7 nights cover the cost. i hope i am explaining this so that it is easy to understand what i am asking. also, i understand the basic dvc will cost approx $16,000 or so which i can pay like a mortgage is that true. thanks

 

[kamik86]

There is no oop cost for the room on DVC stays, well there is one exception in that if you are less then 24 points shy of having enough for the stay you can rent them from disney and that will cost money but if you have enough points there is no oop expense.

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

The current minimum buy in from Disney is 50pts.

50pts @120 / point is $6000 (BLT)

Disney will require you to put 10% down, and if you want you can finance the rest through them (on a 10 year loan).

For us, our 160 point contract is sub $300 / month.

 

[srberubenh]

thank you for your replies. yes, i now remember about the specific dvc resorts. i am still wondering if. if i do buy and make a reservation, say i have the minimum points or maybe a bit more and stay 7 nights at the basis dvc accomodation, about how much cash do i have to put towards it, or will my dvc points, providing i have enough for 7 nights cover the cost. i hope i am explaining this so that it is easy to understand what i am asking. also, i understand the basic dvc will cost approx $16,000 or so which i can pay like a mortgage is that true. thanks

You need to check out the point charts to see how many points you will need for a particular vacation. It depends on the type of room and time of year. Here is a link: http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/DVCpoints.shtml

If you buy through Disney, there used to be a 160 point minimum, but I believe that at least for now, the minimum is only 50 points. You could also buy through resale and potentially save a lot of money (i.e. Disney sells SSR for $95/pt., but you could probably get it through resale for around $65-70/pt. Disney does offer financing. It can be obtained through resale as well, but I believe that the rates in either case are rather high (greater than 10%). You could try to get a home equity loan for the purchase, which would probably result in a better interest rate. IMHO, I would not finance a luxury purchase, but I am sure many people do. We are thinking of buying in soon and will probably buy resale and only the number of points that we can pay cash for now. Good Luck!

 

[JimMIA]

thank you for your replies. yes, i now remember about the specific dvc resorts. i am still wondering if. if i do buy and make a reservation, say i have the minimum points or maybe a bit more and stay 7 nights at the basis dvc accomodation, about how much cash do i have to put towards it, or will my dvc points, providing i have enough for 7 nights cover the cost. i hope i am explaining this so that it is easy to understand what i am asking. also, i understand the basic dvc will cost approx $16,000 or so which i can pay like a mortgage is that true. thanks

Separate reservations and purchasing.

For points reservations, you use only points -- no cash.

If there is no points availability (there are two inventories -- points and cash), you can sometimes get a cash night at a 25% discount. However...25% off a DVC villa rack rate still leaves a pretty high room rate, so you might be better off doing cash nights at a value or mod.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

thank you for your replies. yes, i now remember about the specific dvc resorts. i am still wondering if. if i do buy and make a reservation, say i have the minimum points or maybe a bit more and stay 7 nights at the basis dvc accomodation, about how much cash do i have to put towards it, or will my dvc points, providing i have enough for 7 nights cover the cost. i hope i am explaining this so that it is easy to understand what i am asking. also, i understand the basic dvc will cost approx $16,000 or so which i can pay like a mortgage is that true. thanks

In addition to the $16,000 or so purchase price you've listed (and resale will be much less than buying direct from DVC!) there are yearly maintenance fees. Those can be paid in a lump sum at the beginning of the year or else spread out in monthly payments. Depending on the resort the fees will range from approx $3.60-$5.20/pt for WDW resorts. The initial purchase price plus the yearly maintenance fees cover the cost of your room and you do not pay any cash at the time of your stay.

 

[Lynne M]

There's really no 'basic DVC accommodation', or even a standard 7-night stay.

DVC is a points-based timeshare. You purchase a certain number of points, which gives you an ownership interest in one of the DVC resorts. This becomes your home resort. You don't have to stay at that resort, but you get a 4-month head start on reservations at that resort over owners at other DVC resorts.

Points are sort of the currency of DVC. Each resort has a variety of room types, and each of those room types costs a certain number of points per night. For instance, on my last stay at VWL, my studio cost 12 points per weeknight. You look at the point charts for the resort you're interested in, and look up how many points would be required for the room type and dates you want. You call and make the reservation, and the points are deducted from your account. There's no cash payment involved with a DVC reservation...you pay in points.

Now, if you don't have enough points to cover the number of nights you want to stay, you can always make a separate cash reservation for additional nights...maybe that's what you heard about?