Help

[ninahbear]

I read the FAQ's for DVC and I still do not understand it all that well. I think I heard that they start around $13,500. Do you just finance them sort of like a car or a house. Then what about the points is that included in the purchase or do you buy them seperately? Someone please explain this to me!

 

[Granny]

DVC is a fairly complicated system to grasp at first. But in the back of your mind as you go through it, remember that most of the complication is due to the flexibility of the program.

You can stay at anytime of the year (not locked into "your week" like other timeshares). You can stay for one night or two week or whatever your points will allow. You can make multiple trips per year if your points allow. You can stay in a studio or other more deluxe accommodations.

Yes, you can finance your points through Disney or through your own sources. Many people like to take out a home equity loan so the interest will be deductible.

Saratoga Springs Resort (SSR) is now selling for $89 a point. There is a minimum first purchase of 150 points, so that's your $13,350 figure. For that amount, you will receive 150 points to use for reservations each year for the next 50 years.

On top of the initial investment (and that's all there is, no additional fees or closing costs) you will have to pay maintenance fees each year. The maintenance fee schedule is not yet available for SSR, but other similar resorts are in the $4.00 per point range which would be another $600 or so each year.

At the top of this page is a DVC points calculator. Saratoga Springs is not in there, but you might want to use Villas at Wilderness Lodge to give you a rough idea of how many points it takes to reserve a particular type of accomodation at a particular time of the year. SSR will actually be less points per month, but I don't have ready access to the SSR point chart.

There is lots more, but usually it's easier to answer specific questions than just to repeat the entire DVC spiel. I encourage you to use these boards to ask questions. Put each question in a separate thread so they don't get lost.

And of course, contact Disney for the information brochure, tape, etc.

Good luck!