FREE New 20 page Brochure about DVC & Resales!

[ImaBeliever]

How much are the average maint. fees per year? We are thinking of buying and I want all my ducks in a row if you know what I mean.

 

[Jason@dvcstore]

How much are the average maint. fees per year? We are thinking of buying and I want all my ducks in a row if you know what I mean.

The approximate annual dues per point for 2008 at each resort are: Saratoga Springs $4.21, Old Key West $4.56, Animal Kingdom $4.71, Beach Club $4.80, Wilderness Lodge $4.87, Boardwalk $5.04, Hilton Head $5.16 and Vero $6.04. All include real estate taxes.

 

[Indykds]

I can't wait to receive "Mine,Mine,Mine"

 

[MariaEllerºoº]

Ok...from what I'm understanding you pay so much per point. Say our family wants to buy into Beach Club $4.80 per point. This is how our family "typically" travels:

5 plus infant in family
Stay Saturday through Saturday
mainly in the summer...June, July or August

According to a point calculator that I looked up some time ago it stated we would need like 300 points or so. That would cost us around $1,440 that we would pay every year on dues correct???? On top of what ever we pay for the contract that we would purchase. Am I correct on thinking this way?

 

[chalee94]

Ok...from what I'm understanding you pay so much per point. Say our family wants to buy into Beach Club $4.80 per point. This is how our family "typically" travels:

5 plus infant in family
Stay Saturday through Saturday
mainly in the summer...June, July or August

According to a point calculator that I looked up some time ago it stated we would need like 300 points or so. That would cost us around $1,440 that we would pay every year on dues correct???? On top of what ever we pay for the contract that we would purchase. Am I correct on thinking this way?

yes, a contract for 300 pts per year at the beach club would probably cost around $27,000 up front plus the $1440 in annual dues (which will likely increase every year until the contract finally expires in 2042).

(for a family of 6, though, you will need a 2BR which would cost up to 350 pts for 7 nights in the summer.)

 

[sixthscents]

Please forgive me if this is not the correct place to ask this, but can you use your points to stay at a Disney deluxe resort like the Contemporary, Polynesian, or Grand Floridian, or are you limited to just the vacation club resorts? I am also wondering if it requires a lot more points if it is even possible. Any information would be helpful.
Thank You,
Sixthscents

 

[chalee94]

Please forgive me if this is not the correct place to ask this, but can you use your points to stay at a Disney deluxe resort like the Contemporary, Polynesian, or Grand Floridian, or are you limited to just the vacation club resorts? I am also wondering if it requires a lot more points if it is even possible.

it is possible but you have to pay a $95 fee to make the reservation and THEN pay a LOT more pts. you could stay in a studio at BCV for around 12 pts a night, or you could stay in a similarly sized room at the GF for over 40 pts per night (plus the fee).

also, the point charts for "disney collection" trades are not fixed like the point charts for the DVC resorts and can increase every year. (the contemporary will also likely be removed as an option soon since there is a connected DVC resort being built...just as you can't stay at the WL on pts but only the VWL.)

(a DVC owner also has the option to trade out to other timeshares through II.)

 

[sixthscents]

Thank You for the information. I had assumed as much. We are trying to decide if the vacation club is the way for us. My husband is in a wheechair and sometimes the buses can be a challenge (especially when people grumble about him being loaded first, even though he insists on waiting for a second bus if others are there before we are). Anyway, we have never tried one of the monorail resorts (too expensive--I'm a teacher and he is a disabled veteran). I was thinking that a monorail resort might be more convenient for him. He is only 40, and it really bothers him that he is now in a wheelchair, and comments about him getting "preference" really, really bother him. Anyway, I digress. We have always stayed at the French Quarter because it is smaller and the buses are not usually overfilled. Any suggestions about which vacation club resort is best for a situation like that? We have a 9 year old who loves Disney World (5 trips in 3 years) and we thought it might be cheaper for us to become members. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[MariaEllerºoº]

yes, a contract for 300 pts per year at the beach club would probably cost around $27,000 up front plus the $1440 in annual dues (which will likely increase every year until the contract finally expires in 2042).

(for a family of 6, though, you will need a 2BR which would cost up to 350 pts for 7 nights in the summer.)

Thanks Charles!

 

[chalee94]

I was thinking that a monorail resort might be more convenient for him. He is only 40, and it really bothers him that he is now in a wheelchair, and comments about him getting "preference" really, really bother him. Anyway, I digress. We have always stayed at the French Quarter because it is smaller and the buses are not usually overfilled. Any suggestions about which vacation club resort is best for a situation like that? We have a 9 year old who loves Disney World (5 trips in 3 years) and we thought it might be cheaper for us to become members. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

the only DVC monorail resort is Bay Lake Towers (BLT) at the contemporary resort, which won't be completed till late 2009. it will also be fairly expensive in terms of upfront cost and number of points needed per night (but may be the least expensive in annual dues.)

the least expensive options would be a resale at OKW or SSR - OKW especially is relatively inexpensive in all 3 components: cheaper per point upfront, cheaper in points needed per night (as low as 8 pts per weeknight for a studio) and fairly low annual dues.

definitely google some FAQs about DVC, scan through threads on the DVC forums, use the search function and ask questions to learn how the system works. you can try things out by renting points to stay at a DVC resort and see if it fits how you like to vacation. you could also look for a small contract (50 pts or so) to book 4-5 weeknights a year (or you can bank/borrow pts and stay 7 nights every other year) as that is a fairly low risk introduction to DVC.

if you're happy staying at a moderate hotel onsite, you may not necessarily see much financial benefit from DVC, however, and DVC generally works best for people who travel to wdw every year.

 

[sixthscents]

Thanks Charles for the info. We prefer to go at least once a year and usually twice a year, so I think we would need more than 50 pts. We actually have never stayed at any resort except Port Orleans French Quarter (4 times) and Port Orleans Riverside (once) (all in the last 3 years). We have really been wanting to try a deluxe, but can't see spending the extra money when we know we like the French Quarter. We were hoping that with the DVC we could stay somewhere more like a deluxe at a cost more like a moderate. I just have not found out yet if that would be the case. Any ideas. If we are planning on going about twice a year (probably October and March) for 7 nights each, would the DVC allow us to do that cheaper than staying in a moderate resort at rack rates for the same 7 nights? I guess that is what I am trying to find out. Also, I have heard that the DVC resorts are much nicer and larger than a moderate resort's rooms. Is this correct? Our daughter is 9 now and has lost no interest in going even though she has been 5 times, so I don't see our trips slowing any time soon.
Thanks again,
sixthscents

 

[chalee94]

We were hoping that with the DVC we could stay somewhere more like a deluxe at a cost more like a moderate. I just have not found out yet if that would be the case.

IMO, you definitely can stay at prices competitive with a moderate or cheaper on weeknights. weekend nights OTOH can change the math.

look at the point charts in the top right corner at the resort you'd like to stay at and figure out what you would need (and if you want to stay at BCV or BWV during october - i.e during epcot's food and wine festival - you'd better plan to buy there and be able to book 10-11 months in advance.)

then it's no problem to figure out how much it costs upfront to buy in directly at each resort and then look at the resale listings linked above (estimate another $500ish for closing costs) to see if they are a better deal.

from there it's easy to find out how much each DVC resort charges in annual dues, which typically increase over time.

then you can do the math to see if DVC's numbers seem to work for you.

(BTW, if you have other questions, it's probably more polite to start a new thread and leave this one for questions about the brochure.)

 

[sixthscents]

Thank you for the info (again). I am so sorry! I did not mean to be impolite. I will see about starting another thread.

 

[princess_disneymom]

yes, a contract for 300 pts per year at the beach club would probably cost around $27,000 up front plus the $1440 in annual dues (which will likely increase every year until the contract finally expires in 2042).

(for a family of 6, though, you will need a 2BR which would cost up to 350 pts for 7 nights in the summer.)

Okay I guess I'm confused. Annual dues are around $1400 every year if you had 300 pts (depending on the resort) Plus you would be paying on the $27K that you initially spent to purchase it??? Is that correct? If that's the case our hopes for purchasing a DVC is completly out of the picture.

 

[chalee94]

Okay I guess I'm confused. Annual dues are around $1400 every year if you had 300 pts (depending on the resort) Plus you would be paying on the $27K that you initially spent to purchase it??? Is that correct?

sorry, but yes, that is correct.

 

[hmurry]

im trying to post 10x in order to get to send a personal message and this is so frustrating

 

[royjack]

So, after reading this string (back to 2006) it would appear that there are several timeshare re-sellers that I could contact if I wanted to fully and finally sell my timeshare. As is often the case, we bought with high expectations, and those expectations have changed.

We have enjoyed our Disney trips, but we find the process of using the points (especially outside of the narrow "Disney" world) difficult and cumbersome. The annual fees on our 300 points (just over 1,200 a year) make it not really worth the effort. I have tried - with MARGINAL success - to try and "rent" our points, but quite frankly it is a real hassle. The tme spent on booking, answering questions, correcting misinformation, explaining that you did not write the rules, and then politely saying "No" to the efforts to re-negotiate the deal after everything is done, just looses some of its charm after a while.

We paid (I believe) 24K for 300 points at Saratoga. (Which seems to be one of the least popular locations, thus making renting the points even more difficult since SSR points can only be booked 7 mos out for other "preferred" locations.) I guess I will contact all of the resellers for thier brochures, but it looks like it will cost us a couple of thousand to sell these points for - depending on how bad the current economy is - something around the exact same price we paid. Wow. What a great adventure.

You folks who do this are really great for sharing your information so freely. Thanks for the candor, and now I have to start emailing the re-seller folks.

Roy Jack

 

[DVCGeek]

... if I wanted to fully and finally sell my timeshare. As is often the case, we bought with high expectations, and those expectations have changed.

Sorry to hear you are leaving the DVC family but good luck with your resale.

I definitely understand how things might not work for everyone, especially if you were interested in frequent non-Disney (or at least non-DVC) trip options. My Ex & I had a timeshare with BlueGreen. It was a nice looking resort in the pictures but I didn't have any particular desire to go there! Anyway, we NEVER used it and lost a bundle. Tried to rent, no dice, etc. Several things our sales rep told us weren't quite true. Oh well... I hope your DVC experience wasn't that bad at least!

 

[royjack]

Thanks for the commiseration. We did have some good times, but the reality is that we are not going to be going to Disney year after year (I know. Heresy!), and although I thought I could "lay off" the cost, it is just too much work. I am finding out that in the current market I will take a several thousand dollar loss, but better - IMHO - to take the loss now and get something, than to just keep paying the ever increasing maintenance fees and take a loss later on. Anyway, now that I know where the DISboards can be found, if we want a Disney rental (OKW is my favorite) we will just rent some points from all of you deeply committed folks.

Roy Jack

 

[maznorm]

Could you email me a copy of the brochure please?

marieclairef@yahoo.com


Thanks!!