How long to Close?

[richard220]

DW and I are looking to buy into SSR direct through Disney soon, but are also planning a trip within the next few months. How long does it take from starting the purchase process to when you are able to use your points? We are wondering if we should save the money we would be spending on a room this vacation and put it towards DVC ownership.

Thanks!

 

[oogsdaughter]

We just bought in 2 weeks ago. Once we gave them the deposit the next day we had our member number and were able to book ressies for Dec. The closing isn't until August 15 though.

 

[Man_Of_Leisure]

Congratulations. Welcome Home.

We agreed to purchase in March. Completed paperwork and sent remainder of down payment in May. Financing approved in June. Just received our permament DVC membership cards yesterday. Awaiting closing which should occur once the certificate of occupancy for our building is completed sometime in July/August.

We have a September UY and I was able to make a reservation for New Years as soon as I got home from vacation in March.

Man Of Leisure

 

[Man_Of_Leisure]

I told you my story, but I didn't answer your question. Using this years vacation dollars for a DVC down payment and then getting a reservation this year will depend upon when are you planning to vacation and what month your DVC user year (UY) begins. Your UY will be based upon when you purchase your membership and what is available at the resort.

My UY starts in September and therefore I could book a reservation for anytime after September 1, 2005. This meant that I could book up to eleven months in advance at my home resort (SSR) and seven months in advance at any other DVC resort. Because I purchased in March, I could have booked through February 2006 at SSR or through Oct 2005 at another DVC resort if available. I hope this is not confusing.

You would need to contact someone at SSR for the next UY availablity to answer your question. Have you already taken a tour and spoken to a guide? If so, contact your guide (sales rep) and they should be able to tell you which month the UY is currently at. It will be based upon the availability of the new building, unless you are buying a resale, then it will already be determined.

Maybe someone who has purchased more recently can tell you what is the current UY for a new membership at SSR.

Man Of Leisure

 

[JimMIA]

Actually, if you're buying direct from Disney, you can book reservations as soon as they have your deposit and you are in the system...couple of days.

However, your arrival date cannot be prior to your closing, which is determined by the occupancy date of the particular building your interest is assigned to. So you could buy in June, have a closing set for July, and you could make reservations almost immediately for any time after your closing in July.

Use year has nothing to do with when you can make ressies. If your stay is prior to the beginning of your use year, you simply borrow the points for that stay. Before you do that, though, be sure you understand that borrowing is a final transaction -- points that are borrowed cannot be un-borrowed, so they expire at the end of the use year they are borrowed into.

 

[Man_Of_Leisure]

Generally, JimMIA would be correct, but in this case UY would have something to do with when you can make ressies if are not intending on borrowing points. While it is true that your arrival date cannot be prior to your closing it is also true that if you wish to arrive prior to your UY, which is usually after your closing date on a direct sale, then you will have to borrow points. As JimMIA has said, "borrowing is a final transaction -- points that are borrowed cannot be un-borrowed, so they expire at the end of the use year they are borrowed into."

I can't speak for eveyone else, but I made my first purchase based upon my annual needs and did not plan to 'borrow' immediately upon becoming a member.

Another important point is that you are buying into SSR which means you will not be able to close until the certificate of occupancy for your building is complete. In this case the UY and closing will probably be tied closely together. As in my case, it will be only a couple of weeks apart.

oogsdaughter pointed out that they made Dec ressies and purchased two weeks ago. Although their closing date is scheduled for August they didn't say when their UY begins and whether or not they borrowed points.

Man Of Leisure

 

[oogsdaughter]

Like I said we bought in 2 weeks ago but I forgot to mention the specifics. We have Dec as our UY and in our transaction they gave is the points from Dec '04 so we immediately had our full years worth or points to use and then in dec we will get our next batch. They even let us bank the full amount of points even though we were within the 6 month window. So for us we were able to book within days and could have traveled without borrowing immediately after closing which is 8/15 (our contract date was 6/16) if we had wanted to.

 

[JimMIA]

Borrowing points is not a big deal if your plans are solid. We use both banking and borrowing as a strategy to avoid losing points. But when we're borrowing points, which always occurs late in the use year, we are careful to be sure our plans aren't going to change. Our situation allows us to do that; not everyone's does.

 

[gppnj]

We just bought in 2 weeks ago. Once we gave them the deposit the next day we had our member number and were able to book ressies for Dec. The closing isn't until August 15 though.

Did you book down there in person?

 

[gppnj]

Actually, if you're buying direct from Disney, you can book reservations as soon as they have your deposit and you are in the system...couple of days.

Does that mean you can bank right away if you know you're not going to be able to use current points?

 

[oogsdaughter]

Did you book down there in person?

No, everything was done via phone.