DVC Membership - 3 days to decide - Help!

[kissiffer4]

Hi! This is my first post on the forum, so be nice!

My wife and I returned yesterday from a long w/e trip to DW to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary. It was my first trip to DW and I had an amazing time (I didn't think there would be so much to do for a 29 year old youngster ) We did the Saratoga Springs vacation club tour and despite all of my timeshare/vacation club supsicions, Disney were actually not that bad. To sum it up, they gave us one of these 3 day incentive options to sign up for the club, finance the deal (9.99%) with 160 points as the initial purchase (that is the # of points we came up with). Now, I don't know if this is really a good deal or not. I have been reading over dozens of posts and still can't really decide To give you some of our vacation info. there are a lot of places we would love to visit, Africa, Italy, France, Makinaw Island (sp?), Atlantis to name a few. Disney would probably feature once every couple of years. We don't have any kids at the moment, but are looking to start in a couple of years. For those with ickle ones experience, does that make any difference with your vacation location? It was tiring enough dragging myself around Epcot, MGM etc for 3 days, let alone a couple of munchkins

I know I need to read over a lot of the VC material again, but if anybody could give me a bit of advice over how easy it is to vacation overseas as opposed to Orlando Disney each year I would be most grateful

Many thanks,

Christopher

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

Hi, Christopher and welcme to the DIS. As to whether or not to buy, the answer is, to quote many a folk, it depends. If you plan on going to Disney/Orlando every year or every other year, and you like the idea of a 1-BR home or larger, it might make sense. If you plan to try to use your points to swap to those other places, it might not be the way you want to go. The points to swap out to those places tend to be rather high, and you would have to borrow and bank your points carefully.
With respect to munchkins, we have a DD6 and she loves the world, and we love showing it to her without having to commando vacation through the parks, because there is always the next time. That, to me, is the one perk that you can't put a $$ value on -- the ability to relax and say there's always next time, because there is.
As you saw from the tour Saratoga Springs is lovely....lots to do, and not do. If you plan to stay there for your WDW trips, you'll probably be able to book when you want and what you want. IF you buy into SSR and plan to trade into the other DVCs at the 7-month window then you may be disappointed.
DVC is great...if it is the right decision for your family. The best thing to do is make a list of questions, look at how you like to vacation, and come on back and talk to everyone....Cause one thing IS for sure...On the DIS, everyone has an opinion....
Good luck with your decision, feel free to ask any more questions.

 

[browniemtb]

I would agree with the above post. If you want to be in WDW every year or every other year than it will be a sound decision. To use DVC points for other trips...well I've never done it....and others here in the forum say its not worth it....but I'm going to do it someday. Also remember that if you can't use the points you can rent or transfer them to get the $$ out of them. These are the little tidbits of info you'll get here and not on tour. It took us 5 years before we join....we should have done it sooner. Also its not bad with the little ones.....you actually tend to slow down the pace a little, for them. DVC is a great timeshare that holds value in both a money sense and a family sense.
Brownie

 

[kissiffer4]

Thank you so much for the detailed reply. It is much appreciated! Yes, it really is quite a difficult thing to decide. We actually took a Marriott timeshare tour in Las Vegas a year and a half ago and decided against it in the end (mainly because they wanted a $800 deposit on the spot). One of the features of the vacation club that seemed quite appealing though is that there appeared to be a lot of 160 point vacation spots around the world. The lady who gave the tour recommended that we start with 160 points as this would give us more flexibility. Is this true? Are the 160 point locations any good?! lol.

Also, I do have a question about the financing. If we took the 9.99% offer and managed to pay off the total in under a year (or two years) would we still get charged the full 9.99% on initial points purchase? Any advice on this would be v. helpful

Thanks all. I'm sure I will have a lot of other questions over the next 24 hours, so once again I am v. grateful to you all!

 

[abner1776]

As a recent DVC member myself, I have no first hand experience using DVC points outside of DVC, but from what I have read on the issue, it would appear that while it's possible to trade out DVC points for trips to Europe, Africa and Asia, it may not be the most effecient and financially rewarding use of your points.

160 points is certainly sufficient to allow you to book a week or more in a 1 bdrm or even a 2 bdrm suite at WDW on an every other year basis, even for the more popular weeks at WDW.

Obviously, if you are on the fence about WDW and future vacation plans, then I would suggest you rent points first, but if you are convinced that WDW is where you want to go, then DVC can be a great opportunity. Remember that you do not have to buy into Saratoga Springs (SSR) as your home DVC resort, in spite of what the DVC sales person may have told you...the other DVC resorts are really not "sold out" as they say, and you can buy into them if you want. SSR is what DVC is selling at this point, so they are obviously pushing it to prospective buyers.

Committing 14k to 15k can be a big decision for many people, so I would look at DVC as you would any other large financial decision...is it really what I want, can we afford it and do we need it ???

 

[*elaine*]

I'm not clear as to what the 3-day incentive is. The going rate for financing through Disney is 9.95% - at least it was in June when I bought - so that shouldn't disappear in 3 days. You should NOT rush into a purchase - the incentive should be something REALLY good if you want to use it as an excuse to speed your decision. The financing cost is most likely NOT going to go up after a 72 hour period.

There is no penalty for early payoff on financing through Disney, so if you paid it off in a couple of years rather than five or ten, you would not pay the interest for the remaining years.

eta: if you want to finance for only one year w/50% down, the interest rate with Disney is 4.95% - a very appealing rate. It jumps to 9.95% for loans of more than one year if your credit is good, and 13.95% if your credit is not so good.

 

[kissiffer4]

I'm not clear as to what the 3-day incentive is. The going rate for financing through Disney is 9.95% - at least it was in June when I bought - so that shouldn't disappear in 3 days. You should NOT rush into a purchase - the incentive should be something REALLY good if you want to use it as an excuse to speed your decision. The financing cost is most likely NOT going to go up after a 72 hour period.

There is no penalty for early payoff on financing through Disney, so if you paid it off in a couple of years rather than five or ten, you would not pay the interest for the remaining years.

eta: if you want to finance for only one year w/50% down, the interest rate with Disney is 4.95% - a very appealing rate. It jumps to 9.95% for loans of more than one year if your credit is good, and 13.95% if your credit is not so good.

Hi Elaine,

Thanks for the reply. Sorry, my 3 day incentive description was not very clear at all! The financing piece is the same, but there was some sort of 3 day incentive to making a decision that quickly. I will look in the notes that I took this evening and post what I find on here (else I will end up creating more confusion by trying to guess!).

 

[kissiffer4]

Guys,

Is it worth considering buying through "The Timeshare Store" as opposed to Disney directly? They appear to have much better points for $ ratios - one of the resale prices states $86 per point for Saratogo Springs (180 points). It is so confusing to know whether we should buy through Disney directly or go to a reseller.

Thanks

 

[*elaine*]

Great question. Two things to consider when looking at the price of a resale contract vs. direct from Disney:

1) Closing costs - several hundred for a resale contract vs. none through Disney

2) How many points come with the contract. If you buy through Disney, right now it is $93 per point (after incentive) for a contract that will come loaded with your '06 points. If you want to give up your '06 points, it is only $88 per point (after incentive). If you buy resale, you need to look carefully at the contract - some are stripped of '06 AND '07 points (these are usually cheaper), but some come loaded with borrowed '05 points in addition to the '06 points.

If you buy through Disney, it will be a very quick process. If you buy through resale, it will probably take 6-8 weeks - and that is if your offer makes it through ROFR. If it doesn't, you'll start the process again. But you just came back from a vacation, so time is probably not an issue.

So, you can find good deals through resale, but you need to weigh all the costs, such as closing and how many points come with the contract. I've only heard good things about the Timeshare Store if you go that route!

 

[disneydenisel]

From reading the boards before we purchased, DVC is really best used for visiting WDW every year or every other year. It isn't necessarily the timeshare that you want to own to trade to other places, although it is always high in demand. If you would like to travel to those places you mentioned, you may consider renting instead of owning a timeshare and having to worry about exchanging and depositing weeks and all of that. Timesharing takes a lot of time when you want to exchange. It takes a lot of time and planning when you don't want to exchange. Just booking your home resort at 11 months out can be a lot of work, and even more so if you want to try for another resort at 7 months out. Add kids to the mix and school holidays, and airfare for all of you, and then it gets even more complicated (or fun )!

Do you travel during peak times? Do you like the luxuries of hotels or the condo life? All of this should be considered before you purchase. There are many timeshare locations that you should be able to try by renting first. So many owners will rent their weeks at various locations. This is a good way to experience timesharing without the financial commitment. We've rented timeshares from Embassy (now Sunterra), Four Seasons, Marriott and Starwood.

The advice that I have always read and heard is "Buy where you want to go," whether it be a certain DVC resort or another brand timeshare like a Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt or Starwood. We like the flexibility of some of the hotel timeshare systems...often you can convert your week to hotel points and use the points in any of the hotels in that system, with no blackouts. That might work for you if you want to visit places without timeshares.

Check out www.tugbbs.com/forums for all you ever wanted to know about timeshares, before you buy!

Good luck. We love our Starwood and DVC...and now we're looking at Hilton (HGVC).

 

[kissiffer4]

Thanks all Into the second day of decision making and still weighing up the pros and cons. One thing I'm a little confused about is how easy/difficult would it be for example if I wanted to take my 160 points and stay in London or France for a week? (I must admit to being taken in by all of the lovely blue '160' point markers around the globe during the demo ). Is it a straightforward process to do this? What is the availability like for destinations around the globe?

Also, despite working in IT, my maths is not the best in the world. How do people usually figure how much this will cost them over 48 years (SSR expires in 2054)? I am using the following calculation based on the offer we received from Disney:

Initial Price Per Point offer from Disney:

160 points
----------
$16,160 (cost)
$1,280 (Saratoga saving promotion - paid by Disney)

($16,160-$1,280)/160
=
$93 per point

Sound like a good deal?

Elaine, the $1,280 offer from Disney if we reply within 3 days is the offer I couldn't remember yesterday

Cheers all!!

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

Hi!

IMHO don't rush into this. DVC has incentives all the time! Their price went up to $101 but they have been offering the $8 off for a long time. Back in the fall & winter they had the Friends and family discount and SSR only cost $83 a point.

You could also buy the sold our resorts thru Disney or resale, but that contract is only for 36 years. I think the BCV,BWV, OKW & the WLV are $95 a point right now- which works out to be on $380 more than SSR with the incentive for a 160 point purchase.

I first looked into DVC in March of 2004- and finally bought in Oct 05. I bought 150 points for $92 at the BWV and recently added on 30 points. I'm really glad I waited to purchase because I ended up with exactly what I wanted. In 5 years the price per point isn't going to matter that much. (for example paying $93 or $95 per point)

Good luck with your decision!!

 

[jcodespoti]

DVC has 'value' when it comes to staying at Disney. You do not get the most bang for your buck if you use it outside of the DVC model. In other words I would not buy DVC to use it to stay in France or London. You could do it from time to time, sure, but pound for pound (get the pun) you would do better using cash or a vacation package to do those offsite things.


Joe in CT

 

[kissiffer4]

Hi!

IMHO don't rush into this. DVC has incentives all the time! Their price went up to $101 but they have been offering the $8 off for a long time. Back in the fall & winter they had the Friends and family discount and SSR only cost $83 a point.

You could also buy the sold our resorts thru Disney or resale, but that contract is only for 36 years. I think the BCV,BWV, OKW & the WLV are $95 a point right now- which works out to be on $380 more than SSR with the incentive for a 160 point purchase.

I first looked into DVC in March of 2004- and finally bought in Oct 05. I bought 150 points for $92 at the BWV and recently added on 30 points. I'm really glad I waited to purchase because I ended up with exactly what I wanted. In 5 years the price per point isn't going to matter that much. (for example paying $93 or $95 per point)

Good luck with your decision!!

Tink-n-Belle, what was the main reason you chose Boardwalk over SSR? I have been reading up on the various resorts and the Boardwalk does look pretty exciting. I wish the SSR had more restaurant options. Is it possible to change location in 5-10 years? Also, you mention Disney had the $83 per point offer in the fall, is it worth trying to bargain w/ Disney to get the better rate? Maybe somebody can advise as to whether it is a waste of time to bargain!!

 

[starbox]

If you are planning on purchasing 160 points, Europe with a family ora cruise is not going to be a realistic option, even with banking and borrowing. We have 175 points and that will get us 3 5 day trips to Disney resorts in the summer (not Christmas or Spring break) if we travel Sun-Thursday and stay in a studio. We bought in with the plan to do Disney twice and either Vero or Hilton head once per year. We have young kids and this will meet our vacation needs for a long time. Then again, I went to WDW on my honeymoon, so I'll probably still want to use my points at Disney locations in the space between traveling with my own kids and my grandkids - when it's just my husband and I. If I swapped out points, I could get about one week at a non-Disney US location.

We attended a DVC sales pitch over a year ago and felt like we had to decide right then - but we held off. A year later, we got basically the same incentives and price per point to join and we knew for sure that it was the best and right decision.

You should have gotten a "Dream" book with point values in it. I'd map out what you think you want to do vacation-wise and how many points it would take. Then, factor in all the other traveling expenses and see what is best for your family.

 

[kissiffer4]

Thanks starbox Yes, we have been busy scanning the pages of the dream book. There appear to be quite a few locations reachable with 160 points, but of course that limits us to a one week vacation per year at those locations.

Does anybody have a quick breakdown/comparison of how much it costs to buy a Marriott timeshare (for example)? I have tried searching various forums, but I can't really find a definitive price (i.e. for the vacation club, $16,160 for 160 points).

Thanks

 

[jgreenedc]

Do not rush into it is great advice. This is a large, long-term, and potentially life changing (or at least vacation changing) purchase. We decided it made sense for us because we have 3 young boys, I really like Disney (my wife too, though less so), my wife has family in Florida, and my brothers are big Disney fans. So to us the purchase was more a recognition of where we will likely be vacationing regularly for the next 15 or so years (at least), rather than a "new" decision to make Disney & Florida a regular vacation spot.

You also asked about resales - I spent a lot of time looking at what and how to buy, and ultimately decided resale was generally a better value. It is potentially a much better value - IF you take your time and find the right contract. We were fortunate enough to find a contract with almost all of the '05 points banked and all the '06 points coming soon. We won't need all these points in the first year (already have an '06 trip booked with points we rented back when we were still thinking about DVC), so we will be able to rent out many of our '05 and '06 points. Doing this will bring down the effective cost per-point to far below where it would be were we to buy direct. The key is to bide your time and wait for a good resale contract.


Re staying outside DVC - I initially was very interested in this and used the option as a selling point with my less-Disney-loving wife. But after reading up here and elsewhere I quickly came to realize that it was not economical and that we should not factor it into the decision process. DVC should be bought to go to DVC properties. I'm not saying we won't trade out because we will certainly consider it, just that my belief is that you should evaluate whether DVC is right for you without kidding yourself that trading is part of the value. And yes, I did come clean about this with my wife before purchasing (but we bought anyway). Good luck.

 

[hoopsrob]

DVC has 'value' when it comes to staying at Disney. You do not get the most bang for your buck if you use it outside of the DVC model. In other words I would not buy DVC to use it to stay in France or London. You could do it from time to time, sure, but pound for pound (get the pun) you would do better using cash or a vacation package to do those offsite things.
Joe in CT

I hear this often (that you don't get value if you stay outside of DVC) and I'd like for someone to fill in the gaps for me.

Assume you buy points to SSR now at $101/pt. for 47 years.
101/47 = $2.15 per point per year

Add to that the (current) maintenance fee of $3.98
$2.15 + $3.98 = $6.13 per point for the current year (it will change slightly as the maintenance fee changes).

If I were to take 160 pts to go to Hawaii for a week, for instance, then 160 X $6.13 = $980.80 ---- that is what it cost me in points to trade them in. That's only $140/night in a villa in Hawaii for a week.

I can tell you from experience, that's a deal. And I didn't factor in the $8 discount incentive per point so it would make it even a better deal.

Please poke holes in this logic but it seems to me that it does have value even outside of DVC.

Anyone? Bueller?

 

[lovinthemouse]

From the posts I have read the advice is good. For the sake of not saying the same thing over and over again, let me just say. WDW is a lifetime of memories with or without kids. It will be something that you will be able to cherish with your kids as well as your grandkids when they come. If you plan on traveling to WDW at least everyother year and want more "homey" accomodations then I would do it. However, as others have said don't buy with plans to trade. It is just not cost effective. We also bought 160 points and it suits us well for now. That amount does give us the option to trade out to a 1 bdrm should we choose to. This is a tough decision (not for us we are Disney Fanatics). It is too expensive to take lightly. Good luck and I hope to welcome you home very soon.

 

[bpmorley]

Unfortunatley it's a personal choice. We don't have any kids either but this has been great for us. With the points you buy you'll find yourself heading to WDW more often. And after you've been there a couple times you'll be a little more relaxed. We were there for 30 days on 4 different visit from 6-05 to 5-06. We still did everything we wanted to, but we didn't have to run around like maniacs to get it done. Good Luck with whichever way you go.