Help me I need DVC guidance!

[TinaLala]

I've done the tours twice and each time I leave not sure how much it's going to cost per month with all the fees and such. My DH really wants to buy in - has wanted to since 1995 (kick myself because it was only $10K at the time). I think I'm starting to cross over on it because if I can use my Disney Visa Card to pay for the closing costs and down payment and have 0% financing for 6 months then it will help.

What are the fees and costs based on 200 points?

Isn't this just a timeshare of hotels, but you still need to pay for tickets and food? Sometimes that costs as much as a regular vacation would cost doesn't it? How much do you save on annual passes?

On average how much does everyone pay on a monthly bases for their DVC for the annual maintenance fees and for the mortgage?

I'm about to tip to the DVC side so please help me!!

 

[CarolMN]

I've done the tours twice and each time I leave not sure how much it's going to cost per month with all the fees and such. My DH really wants to buy in - has wanted to since 1995 (kick myself because it was only $10K at the time). I think I'm starting to cross over on it because if I can use my Disney Visa Card to pay for the closing costs and down payment and have 0% financing for 6 months then it will help.

What are the fees and costs based on 200 points?

I can't help you with this. We bought in 1999 and things have changed a lot since then. But this will get things started and I'm sure some others will chime in later.

Isn't this just a timeshare of hotels, but you still need to pay for tickets and food?

Basically, yes. DVC covers only the cost of accommodations. You will still have to pay for transportation, tickets, food, and souvenirs. You are essentially committing to Disney vacations (and the associated costs) for many years to come.

Sometimes that costs as much as a regular vacation would cost doesn't it? How much do you save on annual passes?

Currently, DVC members receive $100 off the price of an annual pass and $125 off the price of a premium annual pass. This is a perk and could change or disappear at any time at DVC's discretion. Hope not, I think it is the best perk we have and have ever had - of course, we bought after the free ticket perk at OKW was discontinued, so OKW owners may not agree with me on this last, LOL>

On average how much does everyone pay on a monthly bases for their DVC for the annual maintenance fees and for the mortgage?

I'm about to tip to the DVC side so please help me!!

Again, I can't help you with this. I'm one who believes it is not a good idea to finance vacations. But here's a post that has the history of the annual fees through 2008:

Annual Maintenance Fees thru 2006

Good luck with your research and your decision.

 

[Jeremy&Susan]

You've asked a number of really good questions. I'm sure some of the more seasoned people on the board will point to to a thread or two that has many of the answers you are seeking.

Some of the answers, "What are the monthly costs?"
That depends on how many points you buy, where those points are (different resorts have different maintenance fees), and what you finance.
As far as maintenance fees go, SSR is one of the lower costs per point and BWV, BCV and WLV are soem of the higher, but they are not dramatically different. Maintenance fees are billed out to you once a year in January but can be paid off monthly if you want to set-up an auto payment plan.

As far as food and park fees;
-DVC members get a discount on annual passes with a price that is only a few bucks more than a Florida Resident
-Food at Disney is never cheap but you can use participate in the food plans at a cost of between ~$40/day per adult up to over ~$100/day if you choose the plan with all the bells and whistles.
-If you get the annual pass you can also purchase the Dinning Experience Plan for $65/yr (one time one person fee) that allows groups of up to eight (I think) discounts at many restaurants around Disney.
-Also by staying in a home at a DVC (1-Bdrms and above) more than just a hotel room, you tend to make many meals in the room at the cost that it would be for you at home. Cereal breakfasts or pancakes, pack a lunch and bring it to the park, quick diner on nights you don't want to eat out anymore (we get tired of eating out every signel meal).

Good luck in searching the site for your answers.

 

[sjdisneywedding]

.

What are the fees and costs based on 200 points? !!

well the intial cost will run you anywhere from about 14k to 20k depending on what resort you are looking for. There are resales at some of the off site resorts and older resorts that are going in the $70 range per point. The newer resorts are going to be around the $100 range per point depending on the incentive deal you get to purchase. Then there are all kinds for sale in between.

.Isn't this just a timeshare of hotels, but you still need to pay for tickets and food? Sometimes that costs as much as a regular vacation would cost doesn't it? How much do you save on annual passes?!!

absolutley, its pretty much just a way for those who already frequent WDW quite often(or at least who are starting to plan to visit often) to prepay for their accomadations. Although currently DVC is starting to expand its offsite WDW properties.

.On average how much does everyone pay on a monthly bases for their DVC for the annual maintenance fees and for the mortgage?!!

everyone is going to vary greatly depending on what they put down for a down payment, how many years the are financing it for, how many points they have, what resort the points are at.

 

[TisBit]

The maintenance fees are based on your ''home" resort, so they will vary somewhat. I am not sure these are the current, but they will get you close:

Beach Club Villas - $4.63
BoardWalk Villas - $4.85
Wilderness Lodge Villas - $4.72
Hilton Head - $4.98
Old Key West - $4.39
Saratoga Springs - $4.12
Vero Beach - $5.62

This doesn't have AKV fees, but I believe they are like 4.60 or something per point.

The purchase costs from DVC direct is about 98 per point, with a 10 off for SSR and 8 for AKV. This will get you started on the fees and costs. This only covers your lodging, so it is more expensive then value resorts, but with much larger rooms, etc. You got all that info on the tours!

I am not sure about the mortgage payment for 200 points, but you can use some loan calculators, I think the normal rate is about 10.5% interest with DVC (14% for high risk borrowers)

 

[sjdisneywedding]

heres the MF's

Year OKW BWV VB VB(sub) HH VWL BCV SSR AKV
2008 4.56 5.04 6.04 4.71 5.16 4.87 4.80 4.21 4.71
2007 4.40 4.85 5.63 4.39 4.98 4.73 4.63 4.12 4.62
2006 4.24 4.69 5.27 4.12 4.34 4.61 4.48 3.98
2005 3.86 4.41 4.87 3.84 4.04 4.35 4.27 3.83
2004 3.68 4.25 4.67 3.67 3.86 4.22 4.18 3.80
2003 3.49 4.11 4.36 3.45 3.70 4.05 3.97
2002 3.22 3.92 4.17 3.33 3.48 3.80 3.77
2001 3.13 3.82 3.97 2.70 3.32 3.63
2000 3.16 3.94 4.08 2.87 3.25 3.62
1999 3.16 4.02 3.99 2.82 3.18
1998 3.17 3.94 2.76 3.20
1997 3.14 3.84 2.90 3.16
1996 2.99 3.70 2.82 3.16
1995 2.84
1994 2.70
1993 2.63
1992 2.56
1991 2.51

 

[TinaLala]

See I think DH is forgetting that there's going to be another mortgage payment and he's thinking it will be no big deal. But if you figure 90/ppt for 200 points that's $18000 and at the 10.5% interest rate for 5 years that's $387 more a month.


I know some people put their closing costs and down payment on their Disney Visa card, is that something you can do normally or was it only a special one time deal?

 

[SSRFred]

DVC allows you to pay for the purchase with basically any card. I got Amex miles for mine. You'll have to check, but the Disney rewards card was recently allowing up to $2,500 of your purchase at 0% for 6 months.
Also I think the loan can be 10 years.

 

[javamom]

I'm about to tip to the DVC side so please help me!!

I agree with everything previous posters have said. Believe me, we agonzied over the same issues.

You are right that you still have all the other travel related expenses to pay for the lifetime of your contract. Remember that circumstances can and will change over several decades, so the option to sell is there. Disney has done a good job of keeping the resale value there, so keep that in mind.

So, the question that we asked ourselves, was "Are we going to go on vacations anyway? And do we intend to keep coming to Disney?" We realized that the money that we have spent on just 2 vacations, would have paid half the cost of the points we would want for a lifetime of trips (that is unless they announce CRV, and we add on.. shhhhhh).

If the answer is that you would be traveling anyway, then those costs don't really matter. It is money you intend to spend anyway. Placing those issues aside, concentrate on the value of the accomodations that you will be getting, the use of the plan, etc... For us, it was worth it.

You indicated that this would be "another mortgage payment."

Let me tell you what we did, maybe it will give you another option.

We paid for a portion of our purchase with cash. We also paid the closing costs with cash. We did this to lower the financed portion of the purchase as much as possible. The remainder, we financed through a home mortgage with our bank. It is a much lower interest rate than through Disney and we have it planned to pay this off within 5 years. Additionally, we may be able to deduct that interest from our taxes. We aren't banking on that, but if we can, that will just sweeten the deal for us.

After those 5 years, which are admittedly an expensive 5 years, our vacation expenses come down to: those same travel costs as before, and our dues. Historically, the rate of increase in dues has been less than the same increase in standard hotel rates.

Again, if you are already going to come here at least every other year... then why not get a bigger room and save a little of that money you were going to give to Disney anyway?? And the ability to bank and borrow will make it possible to use your points in all sorts of fun ways.

Hope this helps?

 

[DVC Mater]

there's one option I have not seen put on these boards. We are relatively young and borrowed against our retirement. (in govt work its callled deffered comp 357) but I'm pretty sure you can do it with 401k. The interest they charge (6.something) is paid to your account, so your basically borrowing your own money and paying yourself interest. Between my wife and I borrowing around 8k each we pay around $75 a paycheck before tax for 5 years. We barely even notice its there. Plus with the economy going into the R-zone, I'm almost glad my money is not being lost in the market. Just another option....

 

[javamom]

Mater, that is a good suggestion too. We actually wanted to do that too, but we already had another loan that isn't quite paid-off yet, so we couldn't do it because they only allow one at a time. So, we went with Plan B. If circumstances had been otherwise, this is what we would have done instead of the other loan. We liked the idea of paying ourselves interest, and what with the market being what it is we would likely have come out on the plus side in the end.

 

[starbox]

On a 200 point contract @ AKV/SSR, financed 10 years through Disney, with 10% cash down, I'm guessing you'll probably be paying somewhere around 200$ per month on the loan and 60-80$ a month in annual fees.

That's around 3,400 per year for accommodations. APs with the discount - ours for 2 adults 2 kids were (I think) around 1,300 last year - but prices have gone up.

I think the DDP cost is a fair estimate of food costs if you want to eat @ Disney and do TS. Of course, with the DDE or OOP you can get much better food choice for the same amount of money - but it's still going to run you around that price including tip. If you do the DDP - add about 20$ per day for tips.