DVC as a gift?

[Riverhill]

Is it possible to give a DVC membership as a gift? Could someone pay for a DVC membership for someone else? Of course they would have to find out ahead of time to fill out the papers. Or would it be possible to just pay off their membership for them?

 

[rkdahl]

I'm not sure how you can do that unless you are also gifting the annual dues they would have to pay as well. Then you could just buy it and let them use it.

This is a type of real estate deal. So it's kind of like buying a house. You own the deed interest in this case until it expires (2042 or 2057) and during that term you are paying annual fees to Disney.

So I can't think of any way you can 'gift' it without actually owning it yourself. I guess you could give them the cash for the initial downpayment and then a fund they could use for the annual dues over the next xx years. But they would still have to sign the papers and close the deal.

Maybe others can chime in. Good luck though! And a very generous thought.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Is it possible to give a DVC membership as a gift? Could someone pay for a DVC membership for someone else? Of course they would have to find out ahead of time to fill out the papers. Or would it be possible to just pay off their membership for them?

Yes. Need my name and addy?

 

[mickeyfan0805]

My initial impression is that your best bet would be to make the purchase yourself and then transfer the deed as a gift to another. However, you are saddling the people with the dues at that point, and need to make sure they can handle it. Also, be weary of gifting limits on taxes. Depending on the size of the contract, you could be flirting with those limits. I would be certain that it is possible, but would not be apt to do it without the counsel of an estate lawyer of some sort. given the size of the gift, the cost of making sure you do it right would be relatively small.

And, as was said earlier, we'd be more than happy to be those who receive this generosity!

 

[Lynne M]

The largest part of the cost of DVC isn't the initial buy-in, it's the dues, which will amount to tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the contract. If you're going to gift that amount, you're a wonderful friend or relative, indeed.

If you were only planning to provide the funds for the initial purchase, that's pretty darn wonderful too. But as others have said, you need to make sure the recipient can handle the cost of the dues. It's not the kind of gift you give as a surprise.

 

[CarolMN]

If I were doing this and wanted to pay both the initial cost and future dues, I'd buy and put the purchase in my name. That way I would get all of the correspondence and bills. It would still be my asset.

I'd add the other person as an Associate. That way, he/she could make reservations and manage the account (bank, borrow, transfer, etc). It could be as though that person owned the contract, even though I were paying all the bills.

I agree with the others - if you do not intend to pay the dues, be sure the recipient of your generosity is in a position to do so and is willing to do so. Otherwise, it's a waste of several thousand dollars.

 

[lizziepooh]

If you gift it in their name, they would have the right to turn around and sell it. Would you be ok with that? You need to have a clear understanding between you of what your expectations are. As another poster suggested, I would purchase in my name and make them an associate. If they decide down the road they no longer want to use it, you still own it and can sell if you wish.

 

[disneylvrnMS]

My fiance bought and gifted DVC to me. He paid for it and also pays the annual mt fees. I had to complete all of the paperwork.

 

[Hunnypaw]

My fiance bought and gifted DVC to me. He paid for it and also pays the annual mt fees. I had to complete all of the paperwork.

Do you have to get the paperwork/contracts notarized or is it just signatures?

Thanks for letting me know.

 

[disneylvrnMS]

One of the pages had to be notorized.

 

[PamOKW]

A pretty lucky person out there is going to get one heck of a gift!

But, I agree you need to think this through and I don't think there can be a real "surprise". I don't think it's necessary to also pay dues for life. If you buy a house for someone, you don't also pay the maintenance and taxes for the years they live there! However, don't go into this without knowing if this is truly something this person wants and that they are capable of paying the on-going costs -- the yearly dues, the cost of travel to WDW, the cost of tickets, etc. etc.

You also have to be truly giving it as a gift -- they can do with it whatever they want.

Next question is whether you are buying it outright or will be financing through Disney. If you can buy it outright, I think the easiest thing would be to work with the lucky person and have them actually buy the DVC and you pay the bill. If you plan to finance, it gets trickier. However, I'm guessing the guides may be able to work with you on this. You may need to be "co-owners" at least until the bill is paid.