DVC Questions

[SharpMomOfTwo]

Though we cannot afford it right now , I'm really interested in joinging DVC. I called today, and the guy said that to join its something like $17,000 and then something like $750 per year, but after I told him that was a bit out of our range right now, he almost hung up on me!!!
The first woman I spoke with said that there was nothing left in the Boardwalk, but then the guy I spoke with said there was... whats the deal with that, do they or don't they?
I was also wondering if you can BUY into moderate resorts, like POFQ or whatever, or if you HAVE to buy into AKL or Boardwalk, and if you buy into a moderate is it cheaper?
If you buy into AKL, can you use your points to stay somewhere like POFQ and make your points last longer?
Does anyone share their DVC with anyone to cut costs and only take a vacation once every other year? Are you allowed to do that?
When does it start being worth it?? When do you pay off the $17k to the point that your really saving money?
Is it cheaper/better to just rent points from someone, and where can you do that?
Will Disney buy it back from you if you can no longer afford it, or do you have to sell it on your own?

Thats all I can think of right now.... any other points/suggestions please feel free to post!!!! I just ordered the free DVD and book from Disney, so I'm waiting learn from them too!


TIA!!!
Sarah

 

[ajk912]

Hopefully the mods will move this to the appropriate board, there is a whole board for DVC threads and they can really help! I am looking into DVC, too. Like you, I am looking at the future so just really casually looking (when I say future..meaning when I graduate college which I haven't even started yet. )

There is no moderate property DVC. DVC is only at deluxe properties. I am not sure about what you mean about making money..you pay the 17,000 or whatever and you get your yearly points, so you stop paying hotel fees so you really start making money right away. It's a 50 year contract (or something like that..) so it's not like when it's paid off, it's yours, you know?

People sell points all the time, so you can use that to help you with costs, too. And then you can take your vacation every other year.

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

OMG I've been on here HOW LONG and I've never noticed that!!! I'll go post it over there!!!!

 

[all4fun]

The $17,000 figure is if you purchase the minimum point value of what DVC is currently selling. When they said that Boardwalk wasn't available, the actual truth was that they were not selling boardwalk.

You can buy DVC through a resale company like the one that sponsors the boards that AKJ referred to. I just checked and the timeshare store is selling boardwalk contracts. http://www.dvc-resales.com/

While these tend to be less expensive than the ones from Disney, the contracts expire earlier than what an AKL or Saratoga contract would. (I forget off hand, but I think Boardwalk, OKW, and VWL expire in 2042).

While you can use your DVC points at non DVC resorts, Disney has added fees in addition to the less-than-worthwhile point conversion that make this pretty useless in my opinion.

 

[barkley]

the timeshare store sells boardwalk-i know, i listed mine there thursday and it sold same day (waiting on my wilderness lodge to sell now). they have some pretty good deals if you keep an eye on their listings (or let them know what you are looking for-that's how they sold ours so fast, someone let them know they were looking for a specific amount of points for a specific use year).

you can buy dvc with other people-you all end up listed on the deed and the membership. dues are based on a per point price and vary from property to property.

we purchased our dvc in 2000 (and added wl whenever it first came available), and in the past 8 years it's more than paid for our investment. we did'nt go yearly, we would bank and borrow points (save one years, add it to the next, borrow from the following years) and do BIG vacations. during our 8 years of membership our family of 4 did 2-7 day disney cruises (total cost-$25 dollars per cruise), 1-7 day alaska cruise ($25), 1-15 day vacation, 1-5 day vacation, 2-1 week vacations at disneyland (disneyland hotel and grand californian), and a couple of nights at the claremont hotel in berkeley california. in actuality-with the amount we are selling it for, even with the commission-our entire membership, inlcuding our dues for all these years is'nt much less than we will net in re-sale.

 

[james'mommy]

Buy where you want to stay is a good guideline. I own SSR. We never stay there but don't mind staying there if I can't get a ressie at another DVC resort. All resorts (i think) but SSR and AKV expire in 2042. I think the rest are 2054. Check out the DVC boards. They have been a huge help for me. There are tons of in's and out's that take a while to get used to.

 

[daisyduck123]

To answer one of your questions...no, you cannot buy into a moderate. You can only buy into the DVC resorts. Once you are a DVC member, you could use your points to stay at a moderate, but that would NOT be a wise use of points at all.

 

[eliza61]

POFQ and make your points last longer?
Does anyone share their DVC with anyone to cut costs and only take a vacation once every other year? Are you allowed to do that?
When does it start being worth it?? When do you pay off the $17k to the point that your really saving money?
Is it cheaper/better to just rent points from someone, and where can you do that?
Will Disney buy it back from you if you can no longer afford it, or do you have to sell it on your own?



TIA!!!
Sarah

Yes you can rent points from some one else. We have an entire forum on renting points here on the dis.

For my family we broke even after the 7th trip. We calculated that we spend any where between 2-3K on board when we travel to disney since we only stay deluxe. One suggestion: you asked about the moderates, DVC really makes sense if you stay at the deluxes. So if you generally do moderates and values DVC really is not your best option

 

[Miz Diz]

I would suggest buying a resale. If you buy through Disney, you have to buy a minimum of 150 or 160 points. I can't remember the amount. There is no minimum if you buy resale. We bought 100 points through resale. You can find contracts with fewer points, but when we were looking at resale, the small contracts were selling very quickly and for more $ per point.

There are several resale companies. The Timeshare store, DVC by resale, Resales DVC. Also GMAC - we purchased through them. People on the boards seem to really love The Timeshare store. The only reason we purchased through GMAC is because they had a 100 point contract with 100 banked points and all 100 points. When you buy resale, find out if any points remain for the year and if any have been banked or borrow.

I believe one or 2 of the resale companies lists the points needed to stay at each resort. You could figure out how many points you would need and buy half or a third of those points needed. You could then bank and/or borrow, so that you stayed every other year or once every 3 years.

If you need to sell your DVC, Disney has the first right of refusal. Meaning - you list it with a resale company and once you get an offer, Disney reviews it and can buy it at the offer price or refuse it. If Disney refuses, the person who made the offer, buys it.

Once you buy resale, you will have a guide assigned to you.

If you decide to add on to your contract, there is a minimum 25 points if you are paying it in full or 50 if you are financing.

 

[Miz Diz]

Oh - about Boardwalk........

I just stayed there 2 weeks ago and they were selling Boardwalk and had models you could walk through. When Disney exercises their Right of first refusal, this gives them inventory that they can sell. So even though Boardwalk and Beach Club are "sold out" you can still purchase them through DVC if they have some inventory - though you might be on a waitlist.

We also stayed at Vero Beach in March and they were selling Vero Beach points.

 

[ColleenG]

When does it start being worth it?? When do you pay off the $17k to the point that your really saving money?
Is it cheaper/better to just rent points from someone, and where can you do that?

We have 4 kids, yes 4! So we need a big room at a deluxe or 2 rooms in a moderate or value resort. For us it made sense so we could get a 2 BR villa and still have plenty of space so we are not all on top of one another. In October we are making our third DVC trip. I think we figured out after 4 trips it will have paid for itself. The other way we looked at is we prepaid our vaccations for the next 50 years. With the World Passport Collection you can use your points to literally go anywhere in the real world! For now we will mostly be travelling to Disney World, but when the kids are a bit older we would love to take a trip out West to the national parks and Grand Canyon. Someday DH and I would like to go to Europe. We just firgured we'd plan it through DVC. With all the kids it's great to have the kitchen and the washer and dryer. Not that I want to do laundry on vaccation but the way my kids spill on there clothes I'd be tossing them by the time I got home to wash them.

Definately check out the DVC boards on the Dis. They are a huge help. I wish I had known about them when were buying. Good luck in your decision.

 

[m3retired]

We did it, we love it, 'nuff said!