Currently Available DVC Resorts?

[mgilmer]

My wife and I are considering buying points in the DVC. We have called for the info packet and I was told it would be here in about two weeks. I was just wondering which resorts are still open for purchase directly from Disney? Also, what are the financing terms Disney is offering (interest rates, length, etc.)? Thanks in advance for the info.

Mike

DL in 1957
WDW in June 2002
WDW upcoming Dec. 2002

 

[Terry S]

Beach Club Villas is the only DVC property currently available on property from Disney.

We purchased at BCV in February and choose the 10.95% for 10 years with direct debit. I don't know if it is still the same or not.

 

[Shontell_Crawford]

Mike,

You can still buy Beach Club Villas, Vero Beach and Hilton Head directly from Disney. You can get any of the properties, including Old Key West, Boardwalk, and Wilderness Lodge via resale, but not always immediately and in the particular size you may need.

Let me know if I can answer any specifics for you.

Kind regards,
Shontell

 

[DVCDAVE]

SHONTELL won't say it as he is probably too modest. But he can save you money too. As resales usually trade at a discount to Disney offerrings, and can be negotiated. Disney doesn't negotiate.

Disney does have its own financing available, where as in a resale, you have to arrange your own line of credit or home equity loan. More often than not, your own financing is cheaper than Disney's currently around 10% for up to 10 years. So, if you don't mind doing a little footwork in the financing area, your savings with a resale really add up to some BIG $ savings.

 

[mgilmer]

Financing (and getting the start month) are the main reasons I am considering a direct purchase from DVC. I checked with my banker and he was very negative about timeshares and knew nothing about DVC. I finally did get him to quote me a rate for a points purchase and it was higher than what Disney wanted. Also with Disney I can buy the exact number of points I need. The downside is that I cannot get points at BWV. I am looking strongly at BCV at the moment. If that should sellout before I can move on it, I will just pass on the DVC and continue to rent points until another onsite resort opens up as I am not interested in Vero or HH.

Mike

 

[erikthewise]

Having just taught a course this spring that included some personal finance, I can't overemphasize how nice it would be to avoid Disney financing.

With Disney financing at 10.95% over a ten-year term with a principal of $12000, you would make monthly payments of $164.96 for a total payment of about $19795.

My home equity loan is currently at 4.75%. If that rate held up for ten years, I would make monthly payments of $125.82 for a total payment of about $15100. The difference would nearly pay my annual dues (about $43/month)!

A more realistic longterm estimate for effective rate on a home equity loan might be 6.00%. Then the monthly payments would be $133.23 for a total payment of about $15990.

Moral: If you can't pay cash, make every effort to find alternative financing.

 

[DVCDAVE]

By the way, 'Use year' or 'start month, as you put it, has little or nothing to do with the timeshare. It really is nothing more than the anniversary date for getting your annual alottment of points. If for any reason you need to use the points before your use year month is up, you simply borrow them. There is NO cost for that transaction. We started our purchase by 'banking our points immediately, this way we didn't have to borrow. But, we postponed our first trip the first year and waited before using our points.

Do not get confused with use year, it is nothing more than accounting procedure, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[DisOrBust]

I thought use year effects IF your able to get the dates you want. For example I have 2 small DD (soon 3!) and are getiting to the point of being able to go during peak times ie Easter. I thought if I don't have an April use year I would run the risk of noy being able to use my points during that time. This isn't correct? It really has been what has turned me off from DVC.

 

[dianeschlicht]

You are ALWAYS able to book your reservations 11 months from the date of check out at your home resort, no matter what your use year is. As stated above, use year is only for accounting purposes. The only time it would matter is if you ever have to cancel a trip less than 30 days before the trip. If that should happen, your points are placed in a holding account and must be used before the end of the use year. I 6 years, we have never had to cancel a ressie that close to the date.

 

[DVCDAVE]

sorry, that is incorrect.

The booking window is based upon your day of check out. As long as you have points available (incluing banking or borrowed points) you can make a reservation 11 month from your date of check out at your home resort, and 7 months from day of check out for any other DVC resort. Now I know some people are going to jump on me if I don't mention the fact, that you can call day by day and add on to your vacation day by day to get around the day of check out rule. That too is true.

As you can now see, use year has nothing to do with the utility of your time share interest. The only reason why someone may prefer a particular use year over another one, is if they are looking to do and addon to an exisiting contract (when doingg an addon through Disney they require the same use year), or purchase another contract and want the ease of managing all their points. The ease in the latter case, is simply rememdering when to bank to avoid lossing some points by missing cut off dates. But some of the software available free of charge eases a lot of that for you.

I am not at all surprised that your banker is uneasy about timeshares in general. Understandably, they prefer to lend against collateral that they are familiar with ie: your home. I'm sure the interest rate he quoted you was nothing more than a Personal Line of Credit. Nothing more than a credit card rate.

Why not obtain a home equity loan first, then shop fora contract in the resale market. Most Home Equity rates ate prime + 2 points. Approx. 6.75%, sure beats 10.95% that Disney is offering.

You will save BIG $ not only on your interest rate, but also on the price you'll pay for the resale. AND you may be able to find an exisiting contract with BANKED points, hence obtaining a double bonus your first year.

 

[WDWalways]

Originally posted by erikthewise
With Disney financing at 10.95% over a ten-year term with a principal of $12000, you would make monthly payments of $164.96 for a total payment of about $19795.

First of all, you have to put a down payment of 20% so you actually only finance $9600.00 if you start with the minimum.

Now, maybe I'm figuring this out wrong but 10.95% of $9600. is only $10651.20 which would be $88.76 a month for 10 years. I was never good at math!!

 

[DVCDAVE]

Right 20% down, 9600 financed.

Sorry WDWalways; The correct answer is ----

Payment = 131.97/month for 120 months =$15,836.21 Total payments, not including your down payment

Total interest paid = 15836.21 - 9600 = $6,236.21 WOW !!

 

[DVCDAVE]

At 7 % the 9600 financed is .....

111.46 / month x 120 months =13,375.70 Total payments not including down payment


Total interest paid is 13375.70 - 9600 = 3775.70

OR a savings of $2460.51 in interest expense !!

Annual passes for a family of 4 anyone ?!!!

 

[Shontell_Crawford]

Since this has turned into a financing issue, I thought this alternative might help someone who hasn't considered it.

The initial deposit on a resale can be as little as 10% - in certain cases possibly even lower. Discuss your situation with your agent, we are here to help. Keep that in mind if cash out of pocket is a big issue.

Next, the title agency can accept "purchase checks*" from credit cards for the initial AND final payment. If you have good credit and have a card with even an 8% interest, you could use one of the purchase checks, then pay it off at whatever payment rate is easiest for you. Maybe 7 years, maybe 1...just depends on your income, lifestyle and savings. Either way, you have still beaten Disney's rate.

*Be aware, some credit cards treat checks as "cash" and charge a higher rate, while others do not. Find out about your's by Calling the Credit Card company. I've even been given a lower rate on one of my cards just by calling and asking them to lower it. It never hurts to try.

Just food for thought. Good luck!!

Shontell

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by DVCDAVE
...As you can now see, use year has nothing to do with the utility of your time share interest. The only reason why someone may prefer a particular use year over another one, is if they are looking to do and addon to an exisiting contract (when doingg an addon through Disney they require the same use year), or purchase another contract and want the ease of managing all their points. The ease in the latter case, is simply rememdering when to bank to avoid lossing some points by missing cut off dates. But some of the software available free of charge eases a lot of that for you.

I think there is more to your use year than this.
As Diane noted above, cancelling within the 30 window is one consideration.
Another, is if you had to cancel a ressie earlier than the 30 window. You would want those points back in time to bank them, if you can not use them in that use year. I vacation Sept-May, so a September use year is advantages for me.

 

[DVCDAVE]

OK; When I was writing I wasn't thinking about cancalations, but none the less, you are right.

Then again, it is an accounting procedure, (not to discount it in this matter)

What else did I overlook ????

 

[Maistre Gracey]

It doesn't look like you overlook much, Dave!
That financing stuff looks very ugly. I am now in the process of a major paydown.

 

[mgilmer]

OK, you have convinced me that financing is not a good idea, so I need some cash purchase advice. I have figured, based on my family's annual vacation plans and vacation history, that to stay on the World every year I would need about 260 points. In order to get to that level, i will have to buy points over two-three years. I have about $10,000 now to invest. About how many points could I get for that initial investment, considering lthe ancillary costs like closing costs, title insurance, etc., for a World property like Beach Club, Boardwalk, or OKW? I am not interested in my primary resort to be offsite. I am afraid that the seven month booking window will be harder to use for non-home resorts in the future as the Club gains more and more members.

Mike

 

[CarolinaMike]

Originally posted by DVCDAVE
By the way, 'Use year' or 'start month, as you put it, has little or nothing to do with the timeshare. It really is nothing more than the anniversary date for getting your annual alottment of points.

Mike,

Hopefully I can help you understand the true importance of your use year. It significantly affects two things: banking points, and reservation cancellations.

First, you can only bank 100% of your points to the following year if you choose to do so within 6 months of your use year's beginning. In other words, if you have a February use year, you must decide by July 31 if you wish to bank up to 100% of your points. If you miss this deadline, you can then bank only up to 50%, and this must be decided within 9 months (October 31 in this scenario). Finally, if you miss both the above deadlines, you can only bank up to 25%, and this has to be done within 10 months (November 30 in this scenario). Therefore, the banking windows are very important as they relate to when you normally vacation. You need to consider when you will be planning vacations, and thus when you will know how many points you are using for the year, and determine which use year would be best as it relates to the banking windows.

Second, the use year affects cancellations (or more accurately, re-using points from a cancelled reservation). If you have to cancel a reservation in the last 30 days prior to check-in, those points must be used prior to the end of your current use year, and cannot be banked. In this situation, you can see that if you tend to vacation in August, for example, a September use year would be very bad - if you cancel a reservation sometime in August, you would have less than 1 month remaining in the use year to re-book and use those points.

Hope this helps!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Well, the current price is $80 pp. I don't know what (if any) promotional programs such as Magical Beginnings are going on right now. Closing and other costs are covered by DVC (of course built into the purchase price).