Help with these simple questions not found on the FAQ thread

[Merandab4]

Hi,
DH and I are debating over DVC.
After reading the FAQ and many other threads, we still have a few questions that I could not find on here, so maybe some of you can help.

1. First of all, I understand that we have to buy a minimum of 150 points.
What determines where your home resort is? I know you get to choose, but what are most people basing their choice on? Are some Resorts more expensive then others? Where can I find a chart that tells how much each point is for each resort?

2. Also, once we've purchased DVC and have a "home resort", are we required to spend so much time at that resort, or can we use our points to stay at any of the other resorts? Can someone explain in detail how this works.

3. The maintenance fee... Is this tax deductable?

4. Once you buy DVC, how many days a year can you go? Say you have enough points saved to stay for 10 days, can you go 5 days in June, and then 5 days in December, or do you have to take them all at once?

5. Are there any hidden costs that you as a DVC member have ran into?

6. After our inititail investment has paid off, what keeps Disney from raising the fees? Like is it possible that the maintenance fee could double or triple?

Thanks for any help you go provide.

 

[LIGrumpyGirl]

I am pretty new to this but let me see if I can answer some of your questions...


1. First of all, I understand that we have to buy a minimum of 150 points.
What determines where your home resort is? I know you get to choose, but what are most people basing their choice on? Are some Resorts more expensive then others? Where can I find a chart that tells how much each point is for each resort?

Right now you can only buy SSR new. If you want another resort you have to go through resale. Somebody else can help you there.

2. Also, once we've purchased DVC and have a "home resort", are we required to spend so much time at that resort, or can we use our points to stay at any of the other resorts? Can someone explain in detail how this works.

You can use your points anywhere you want. Each resort has different point values especially for weekdays and weekends. The biggest advantage to your "home resort" is that you can book 11 months out where as the other resorts you would have to wait until 7 months out.

3. The maintenance fee... Is this tax deductable?

As far as I know...no

4. Once you buy DVC, how many days a year can you go? Say you have enough points saved to stay for 10 days, can you go 5 days in June, and then 5 days in December, or do you have to take them all at once?

You can take one long trip, two medium ones or 10 small ones. It is up to you and the amount of point you have. Use wisely!

5. Are there any hidden costs that you as a DVC member have ran into?

So far I haven't...other than the gifts my daughter wants each time!

6. After our inititail investment has paid off, what keeps Disney from raising the fees? Like is it possible that the maintenance fee could double or triple?

The experts will have to jump in here but I think the answer is...there is nothing stopping Disney from doing that BUT the history has only been a small percentage each year.

How did I do, experts? Am I figuring this out yet!?

 

[LeftCoaster]

A couple of additions. Tax laws will vary from state to state and the property tax portion oh the maintenance fee may be tax decuctible.
Disney is limited to raising the maintenance fees to no more than 15% a year. They also can not make a profit on maintenance fees except for the property management fee.

 

[AJKMOM]

Look through this website, The Timeshare Store website, and the official one run by Disney. There are point charts there. Plus, The Timeshare Store has re-sales listed, so you don't always have to buy minimum of 150 points. There are rules about Disney's Roght of First Refusal. This is a somewhat expensive proposition, but we bought a few years ago at the boardwalk, and it's tough to imagine a vacation any other way--no one squeezing 5 into POR for us!

 

[RobDoc]

All resorts may be purchased directly thru DVC or thru resale. Do the math with any purchase to see what the total cost will be. If you want a resort other than SSR, your ownership will end on January 31, 2042 (SSR goes until January 31, 2054), but all are available thru either sales method. Resales are typically a little less costly and you may also purchase fewer than 150 points thru resale.

You may reserve 11 months ahead at your Home Resort and 7 months ahead at any of the others- all based on availability.

You should check with your tax advisor, but generally you should be able to deduct the property tax portion of the annual fees.

You may reserve as many nights as your points will allow each year. The minimum stay is 1 night. You may also bank points into the next Use Year and/or borrow points from the following Use Year to make a reservation.

Other than the annual maintenance fees, there are no other surcharges or taxes required.

The maintenance fees have increased an average of about 4% per year- some years a little more and some years have even had a decline. The points required for stays can also change (to keep the system balanced, if some are raised, others MUST be lowered) but this has happened only once in 1996 for OKW.

Keep asking questions as they arise. There are lots of little nuances to the program that can take time to understand.

Enjoy!

 

[ColoradoBelle1]

Because DVC is based on a points system, you can stay as little as one night or as long as the number of points you have!
You can bank points until the next year, if you dn't want to use them this year. And you don't have to bank ALL your points...just the ones you don't use. You can borrow from next year if you want to have twice the number of points to use this year. It is very flexible, unlike the Sat-Sat 'week' resorts.

Up in the heading on this DVC site is Dis Home...Current Resales ...DVC Point Charts and FAQ. You can check out each of the 7 dis resorts for how many points it will cost per night...it varies by season. So OKW in the lowest season willl cost 8 points for a studio per night.

You must buy 150 points only if you buy direct through Disney. The only thing DIsney is selling right now is Sarasota Springs. They also will sell you 'add-on' points in small amounts after you become a member.

Otherwise, you need to look at all the resales and find one that suits your desires. With smaller contracts, remember that the closing fees are about the same as with the larger contracts and that ups the cost per point.

There are lots of threads that have discussed pros and cons and detailed many of the questions you have asked....you need to use the search key unless someone here can send you some links (I don't know how to link.)

I think the best advice is that which I took myself, as I am a recent purchaser at BWV.....read here and ask plenty of questions. Utilize the internet to search for 'deals'. Read the ROFR thread...it is invaluable.
Then, be patient. Wait for the right contract. I 'lost' a HH , a SS, and a BWV contract but then got a much better BWV contract about 2 weeks later.

I have no regrets.

 

[dizplanner]

1. First of all, I understand that we have to buy a minimum of 150 points.
What determines where your home resort is? I know you get to choose, but what are most people basing their choice on? Are some Resorts more expensive then others? Where can I find a chart that tells how much each point is for each resort?

If you purchase from Disney, they will want to sell you SSR as that is the new resort. However, if you really want a different home resort, they sometimes have points available. From what others have posted, you can probably get points for BWV and OKW. If they do not currently have points available (like at BCV), you can go on a waitlist - it might be days or months before points become available. (They get points by buying back contract through their Right of First Refusal or by foreclosing on contracts because of non-payment.) Minimum contract is 150 from disney. SSR is one price, I think $98 now and old resorts are another I think $92 (they just raised the prices so I am not sure). But SSR almost always has an incentive that lowers its price to below the others.

If you want to purchase resale, check out brokers like The Timeshare Store or A Timeshare Broker (who I bought from) to see what is available. The different resorts go for different prices, but range from high 60's (VB) to mid 80's (BCV). The minimum contract is 25 points, but contracts for less than 150 are scarce. I think many are sold prior to being posted - call the brokers when you are serious.

See the "DVC Point Charts" link at the top of the page (right under The Timeshare Store banner) to see how many points it takes to stay. The number of points varies by season, Sun-Thur vs Fri-Sat, accomendation type, and resort. It varies from 8 points a night for a OKW studio on Sun-Thur in Sept-Jan, excluding Thanksgiving and Christmas to 162 points a night for a OKW Grand Villa on Fri-Sat for Christmas and Easter. (this last one surprised me - most of the time OKW Grand villas are less points than the other Grand villas, but not weekends during the holidays - although the weekly points are a lot lower which makes the weekly cost less.)

If you can make reservations between 7 to 11 months in advance, it is recommended that you purchase at the resort where you would like to stay the most, particulary if you go during a busy DVC time of year.

2. Also, once we've purchased DVC and have a "home resort", are we required to spend so much time at that resort, or can we use our points to stay at any of the other resorts? Can someone explain in detail how this works.

At 11 months in advance of your stay, you can make reservations at your home resort. At 7 months you can make reservations at any resort - along with everyone else. For example, I am planning a extended family trip to WDW in March 2006. I own at VWL. In April I reserved a 2 bed and a studio at VWL. This is my backup reservation. I know we have rooms and if I can't switch at 7 months, I will be happy with these rooms. However in August I am going to call and see if I can either get rooms at BCV or OKW. (BCV for the pool - OKW for the larger rooms and less points - I will try for a Grand Villa but doubt if I will get it) If rooms are not available I could go on the waitlist - either for the whole stay or day by day.

3. The maintenance fee... Is this tax deductable?

Only the property tax portion which is only about 1/5 or 1/6 the amount - they do give you a statement with a breakdown.

4. Once you buy DVC, how many days a year can you go? Say you have enough points saved to stay for 10 days, can you go 5 days in June, and then 5 days in December, or do you have to take them all at once?

You can use your points in any combination you want from one night up to the number of nights that can be reserved with your points. You can bank up to one year's allotment - there are deadlines to keep in mind for banking. You can borrow up to one year's allotment of points for a reservation. Once banked or borrowed, the points cannot be returned to their original use year.

5. Are there any hidden costs that you as a DVC member have ran into?

Just the costs of a Disney vacation - airline tickets, passes, food, etc.

6. After our inititail investment has paid off, what keeps Disney from raising the fees? Like is it possible that the maintenance fee could double or triple?

The maintenance fees do differ from resort to resort, based on the cost of running that resort. The fees are tied to the costs - if the costs go up, the fees go up. OKW and SSR have the lowest dues. If the costs go down, the fees go down. There is a safety limit of a 15% max raise in any year. The typical raise is 3 to 4%. Due to compounding the dues will double, but it will take 20 years. Your income should do the same.

 

[fishermouse]

Just an added note to all the good answers posted. Take this list of questions with you when you purchase and discuss them with your guide (salesman). The other LARGE hidden cost is the addonitis you will surely catch.

 

[gjw007]

Just an added note to all the good answers posted. Take this list of questions with you when you purchase and discuss them with your guide (salesman). The other LARGE hidden cost is the addonitis you will surely catch.

Don't forget annual passes since you will traveling to Disney so much!

 

[JimMIA]

Hi,
DH and I are debating over DVC.

Remind DH that "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"

1. First of all, I understand that we have to buy a minimum of 150 points.

Actually, you have to buy a minimum of 150 points only if you buy direct from Disney. Resale contracts of less than 150 occasionally become available, and you can buy those. Once you are a DVC owner, you can add points in increments as low as 25 points (50 if you need Disney financing).

As Doc correctly explained, you can buy SSR, or any of the sold-out resorts, either direct from Disney or via resale. For most, but not all, of the sold out resorts, resale may save you some money.

3. The maintenance fee... Is this tax deductable?

As others have explained, only the property tax portion of the dues would be tax deductible on your Federal income tax return -- and then, only if you itemize deductions. If you finance the purchase, the interest may be deductible -- again only if you itemize. If you live in a state which has an income tax , you'll have to check your state regs to see whether anything is deductible. (Just for the record, Florida does not have a state income tax!)