Costs outside of yearly maintenance fees?

[cpster]

Hi everyone,

Assuming we do a resale purchase with no mortgage, do we need to worry about any other costs (excluding travel expenses)? Property taxes are included in the MF, correct?

Hoping that there are no other tax implications.

Thanks!

 

[SpaceMountain77]

If you are paying for your points upfront, in full, going forward, you would only be responsible for your annual dues. Maintenance and property taxes are included in member dues.

Depending on the company you are working with, there will likely be a one-time closing cost as well.

 

[cpster]

Thanks for the reply!

 

[LisaS]

Something to keep in mind is that annual dues go up 3%-3.5% on average every year. There can also be special assessments in the event of serious storm damage, a particular concern for the beach resorts (HHI, VB) though it's been a rare occurrence.

 

[zavandor]

If you are making some calculations to understand if/how much money you can save with, I would suggest to add also opportunity cost.

Opportunity cost is how much you loose not investing your money every year.

Example: you pay $10,000 upfront for 100 points. If you invest that money at 3% revenue, you could earn $300 per year. So you should add $3 per point to the maintenance fee to understand what you are really paying your points.

Opportunity cost is really an hidden cost and many do not consider it when purchasing DVC.

 

[disneynutz]

Hi everyone,

Assuming we do a resale purchase with no mortgage, do we need to worry about any other costs (excluding travel expenses)? Property taxes are included in the MF, correct?

Hoping that there are no other tax implications.

Thanks!

The dues for BLT increased by 8.41% this year. You excluded travel expenses but what about Disney food, park admission, and all of those Disney kitchen gadgets, wall art, and ears? These costs go up yearly.

The biggest expense is that as a owner you vacation at Disney at least every 2 years or you lose your points. For us that's around $3,000 per vacation in addition to dues and purchase price.

Bill

 

[Tigger's ally]

The dues for BLT increased by 8.41% this year. You excluded travel expenses but what about Disney food, park admission, and all of those Disney kitchen gadgets, wall art, and ears? These costs go up yearly.

The biggest expense is that as a owner you vacation at Disney at least every 2 years or you lose your points. For use that's around $3,000 per vacation in addition to dues and purchase price.

Bill

For full disclosure for the newbie, you don't have to "lose" your points if you don't vacation ever 2 years. There is the availability to rent them out. Not the ideal set of circumstances, but it will most often cover the maintenence fees.

 

[disneynutz]

For full disclosure for the newbie, you don't have to "lose" your points if you don't vacation ever 2 years. There is the availability to rent them out. Not the ideal set of circumstances, but it will most often cover the maintenence fees.

True renting is an option but many don't want to become landlords with the responsibilities that are included. In addition Disney can take away our ability to rent when ever they want to and there is nothing that we as owners can do about it other than to sell our contracts.

Bill

 

[cpster]

Thanks all. I've been reading this board for awhile now and are about to sign a contract. Just wanted to be sure I hadn't missed any costs in my thought process. Hopefully the rest of the closing process and ROFR go smoothly. Thanks again!

 

[kamik86]

True renting is an option but many don't want to become landlords with the responsibilities that are included. In addition Disney can take away our ability to rent when ever they want to and there is nothing that we as owners can do about it other than to sell our contracts.

Bill

Even without that its really every 3 years that you would need to go to disney. (bank year 1, use 2, borrow year 3 then start over bank 4, go 5 and borrow 6)

However at least for me that hasn't been an issue yet. 1 year is the most I have managed to stay away. I think the only time this will come into play is when I have kids. (Go once when pregnant but I don't think I want to bring a kid under 2 so I'll have two years off then do a big first trip and invite grandma to come along)

 

[JimMIA]

As others have said, property taxes are included in DVC dues, and there are few additional charges. That property tax inclusion is NOT true of all timeshares -- some bill it separately -- so that's an excellent question to ask.

If you valet park at WDW, you pay for that (formerly a free perk of DVC ownership).

Also, if you stay at Aulani, I think there is some kind of a state tourist lodging tax. I don't remember what it's called or how much it is, but it is something you have to pay. As I recall, it's not a small tax.

Florida has similar tourist taxes, but those are NOT paid by timeshare owners -- only by folks with cash reservations.