DVC confuses me

[Fanadisney]

Im thinking of joining dvc but it's really confusing me and I've read loads of threads by people and they contradict each other.

Me and my partner travel to Disney every 2-3 years and usually costs us between £1500-£2100 based on staying in all star resorts to animal kingdom lodge.

This is what I think it is... If I'm wrong can someone please correct me.

We can pay monthly for the shares or pay upfront?

Example, if we decided to get 160 points it would cost us $72.47 per month which would cost us $869.64 for the year, but we are tied into this for 40 Years?

Or we could pay $20,800 and get what exactly?

What is there to pay upfront? And why can't they give you the exact details on t website... There must be a Catch?

Answers on a postcard

Much appreciated

 

[Shazzasmd]

Others more knowledgeable will no doubt chime in. It sounds like you are missing the point that you have to pay the $20,000+ to initially buy into DVC (this amount varies depending on the resort and number of points you buy). You can also finance this entire amount, and make monthly payments.

After that, you then have to pay an annual Maintenance Fee. This is the $800+ figure you reference. You can pay that in one lump sum, or spred it out over 12 months.

So, in the example you showed, you would pay $20,800 up front. You ALSO pay $869 each year for 40 years - and this cost will most likely increase at least a small percentage each year.

You are right about it being difficult to get all the financial details on the DVC website. It's best to keep asking questions here, as there are lots of helpful people.

 

[lions1995]

I think the 869.64 / year you are referring to is the Maintence fee. That is a yearly cost per point and will increase every year (most likely). You can pay that monthly or yearly. There is still the cost of the points themselves. Depending on what resort you buy (SSR, AKV, BWL, BCV...) and if you buy resale vs direct, prices can go from $45 to 150 / point. Resale is cheaper, but you loss some benefits. So for 160 points at $70 a point, it would cost you $11,200 (plus closing fees).

What do you get - points that you can use for a room.

If you are the type of vacationer that perfers to pay the higher cost for great accomadations, DVC might work out for you. If you look to go low to mid range in your room chooses, probably not. Also, you need to go to Disney World every 2 to 3 years.

 

[ToddyLu]

Hi. It is very difficult to see exactly what you get with the limited information on their websites. First you need to know that there is a huge resale market. The TImeshare Store and Fidelity are two of the most well known. If you purcashe a resale contract you can get great deals. If you purchase a resale you can only use your points at the DVC resorts, no cruising or other resorts. If you purchase Direct you can have more options. While they use that as a marketing tool, it really isnt cost effective to use your points outside DVC--one night in some of those places can be 70 points.

So you need to chaeck out the points charts and see how many you need for the type trip you plan to take. The charts are in a link at the top of the forum page.

People will usually buy a third of what they need in your case. So you would purchase say 50 points, then with banking, current year and borrowing one year you would have 150 points to use at one time. That would get you a studio for a week in a Deluxe resort. For instance there are contracts for Animal Kingdom at 50 points that are $4500. If you plan it right that would be a good way to get your foot in the door with out a big investment.

The only catch is not understanding what you are purchasing. You need to really understand what you are buying. You are only getting the room. You still have to buy tickets and food, and get there. THere are several nuiances or rules with DVC and as long as you are aware there is no catch.

We have really enjoyed our purchase. We go to Disney annually and purchase 210 points at AKV in June 2009. We financed our purchase ( which is not a popular way to get DVC on the DIS). Currently we pay $237 monthly for our mortgage and then $80 a month for the maintenance fee. Once the mortgage is paid off then we will only have to pay the MF. So we get our deluxe room for about $1100 a year at that point. MF increase each year a bit.

Read, read, read. DVCNews.com is another excellent site and the DVC Guide from Passporter can be downloaded and is an excellent resource. PM me if you have more questions that you cannot find the answers to here--this is an excellent website and I learn something new everyday.

 

[ToddyLu]

In simple terms since 2009 we have used DVC points for 7 trips in a studio at about $3500 a week for when we travel--if you were paying cash for a studio at AKV. So already we have spent close to our buy in amount of $21000, 7 X $3500. In the last three years. We have another 7 years on our loan ( I hear people out there cringing but it worked for us). Again once the loan is paid I still get the same nice Deluxe rooms for the price of MFs. So yes, DVC is an expense timeshare. But if you love the place and are going often it really is very nice. It was the only way a nurse and firefighter could stay at that level resort consistantly for years.

We will have the contract until I am in my late 80s. You can pass it on to family and you can sell it at some point. DVC still has a better value on the resale market compared to others.

You may also want to try the TUG website which is all about time shares. Wyndum and others have popular places in Orlando and are not as expensive--and they are not on Disney property--that was important to us.

 

[Sammie]

Basically there is initial buy in cost for the purchase of the points.


Then there are yearly maintenance fees that you pay every year for a very long time.

 

[princessaloha]

Im thinking of joining dvc but it's really confusing me and I've read loads of threads by people and they contradict each other.

Me and my partner travel to Disney every 2-3 years and usually costs us between £1500-£2100 based on staying in all star resorts to animal kingdom lodge.

This is what I think it is... If I'm wrong can someone please correct me.

We can pay monthly for the shares or pay upfront? Both/Either...if you go direct you can 1. choose to finance and pay monthly until the loan is paid off or 2. pay the entire amount up front. If you go resale then you will have to pay the entire amount up front (unless you get your own financing).

Example, if we decided to get 160 points it would cost us $72.47 per month which would cost us $869.64 for the year, but we are tied into this for 40 Years? Depends. First: Are you talking about the initial purchase price? or Maintenance Fees (MF)?

If you are talking about the initial purchase price with financing then that would be determined by the amount of purchase price + interest + loan time, etc as with all loans.

If you're talking about the yearly re-occurring Maintenance Fees (MF) then you can choose to pay the entire amount once a year or you can choose to pay in monthly increments. How much those MF are depends on 1. How many points and 2. Which resort you buy into. MF can also go up or down (very rare) depending on how Disney assesses resort maintenance needs.

Or we could pay $20,800 and get what exactly? Not sure where you got this number. If you are asking what you get when you purchase into DVC then the simplest way I can put is you get deluxe (by Disney standards) room at moderate prices pre-paid at today's prices locked in for the duration of the contract. Most estimates say that the break even point for DVC vs cash room res is 5-7 years, after that your room reservations through DVC will only be your MF. So, using your number of $869.64, you need to ask whether you think in 5 years you will be able to book in cash your room reservation for that amount. If no, then DVC will save you money (in regards to room reservations).

What is there to pay upfront? And why can't they give you the exact details on t website... There must be a Catch?The only catch is that there are several variables that change the dollar amount and therefore can not be determined without additional information from the customer. 1. What resort are you looking to buy at? 2. How many points do you want to purchase. 3. Are you going Direct or Resale?

Answers on a postcard Sorry, I'm more of a novel kind of girl

Much appreciated

Hope I made sense. If not, someone with much more knowledge than I will make corrections. I would encourage you to take some time and read this board then keep asking questions until it makes sense.

 

[Sammie]

The reason the info is not on the website is there are simply too many variables as to what the cost could be.

Depends on what resort you buy, how many points, if they are offering any incentives and this is just if you are buying from Disney.

If you are buying resale the prices are all over the place.

 

[ELMC]

Im thinking of joining dvc but it's really confusing me and I've read loads of threads by people and they contradict each other.

Me and my partner travel to Disney every 2-3 years and usually costs us between £1500-£2100 based on staying in all star resorts to animal kingdom lodge.

This is what I think it is... If I'm wrong can someone please correct me.

We can pay monthly for the shares or pay upfront?

Example, if we decided to get 160 points it would cost us $72.47 per month which would cost us $869.64 for the year, but we are tied into this for 40 Years?

Or we could pay $20,800 and get what exactly?

What is there to pay upfront? And why can't they give you the exact details on t website... There must be a Catch?

Answers on a postcard

Much appreciated

It sounds to me like you don't understand the fundamentals of how DVC works. I think the best remedy for that is to go on a tour with a DVC salesperson and have him explain it to you. That will give you the basics of what you need to know. But please don't think that you will have all of the information you need to make an informed buying decision after just two hours. Resist the pressure to buy right then. Simply learn what there is to learn and then come on the boards to test/confirm what it is that you know about DVC. Good luck!

 

[zavandor]

I was confused as you at first, but after reading this forum for about 3 months I thought I had all information to make the right decision.

As you I live in Europe (I think, you are using £ in your post, so I guess you are from UK), so as you I'm planning to visit WDW every 2 or 3 years. I started thinking about 160 points, but I understood that to visit not every year it would be too much cost upfront and and too much for maintenance fees.
So I ended up buying only 65 points, banking and borrowing I can get 195 points every three year, enough to stay 15 days in low season (when I plan to visit) in my home resort.
I spent only 3000€ to make the purchase and yearly Maintenance fees are very reasonable.
Moreover, if you buy too few points you can always add on later, if you buy too many you would end loosing a lot of money.
Buying from abroad is very easy, I made all by email, selling can be a little more complicated.

It's very important that you are sure to understand every bit of the program. And be sure to understand the resale market and its limits. I bought resale and I would suggest to consider it to you too.
Keep reading disboards every day!

 

[Fanadisney]

Visited animal kingdom lodge kidani village today and signed my contract with AJ, nice chap

Got a really good rate for 160+20 free.

Can't wait to come back next year

Time to enjoy my last couple of days staying in Jambo house.

Ded happy

Thanks to all who helped xxx

 

[bdoleary]

Congratulations! Enjoy your stay and your DVC ownership!

 

[ToddyLu]

We love it too, Welcome Home!!

 

[Shazzasmd]

Congratulations!

 

[snoope]

Not to be a negative Nancy. But...investigate resales. You could get that contract for a lot less. There is a cooling off period in which you can cancel your original purchase. Just giving you options.

 

[VrBchJ]

Visited animal kingdom lodge kidani village today and signed my contract with AJ, nice chap

Got a really good rate for 160+20 free.

Can't wait to come back next year

Time to enjoy my last couple of days staying in Jambo house.

Ded happy

Thanks to all who helped xxx

Welcome Home. You'll have many years to sit on your balcony and watch the zebras and giraffes stroll by. Enjoy every minute.