Inquiring mind wants to know

[Travelin' Man]

Hello all,

Recently found this Dis board and have learned so much allready. I have become very intrigued about the DVC concept. I will admit up front I've allways been extremely anti time share. Have even been thrown out nastily by one company during a visit (thats a story for another time). But, I do love WDW and might consider buying at DVC. My two questions that I have not found answers for on this board are as follows.

1. I understand that you buy points to use for your stay. Is there a written contract that the number of points you have to use for a particular resort now will not go up in the future? In other words will my 300 points now get me the same vacation 5 years from now?

2. What other costs will I be paying DVC in addition to my original cost ? Do they charge annual dues and how much ? Can they increase these dues ? 15 years from now when my home resort needs renovating can they charge a special high dollar assessment ?

Thanks in advance for all your help and I truly do appreciate every thing I've learned here.

See you on the road!

Travelin' Man

 

[RobDoc]

Glad you finally found us here! There are many of us who began with the same timeshare experiences and concerns.

The total number of points at any DVC resort may not change, but a reallocation (raising some nights and lowering others) is possible. This has occurred only once however- 1996 at OKW.

After initial purchase there are annual maintenance fees. These fees have averaged an increase of about 3% per year- but have gone down the last few years at some resorts. There is a cap of 15% on any annual increase.

DVC has been a great program for those who travel to WDW regularly and it's flexibility offers a lot of options for other travel, if desired.

Enjoy!

 

[DVCDAVE]

I'll defer to DOC for most things, but just want to add a few things of my own. First welcome, as I see this is your first post.

Here is a link to the FAQ's

http://www.wdwinfo.com/dvc/faq.shtml

You may also find additional information on the Disney 'Official' website, but I personally believe it is purposly written to add more questions so you call for an inquirey. I will add that the sales pitch is very low key, as anyone on this site will confirm that.

http://disney.go.com/DisneyVacationClub

Additionally, I was anti-timeshare too. The last thing I thought I ever wanted to get involved in is a scam like that. But this site changed my mine, and now I own at 2 reorts, BWV, and VWL. Never say Never.

 

[The4OfUs]

Originally posted by DVCDAVE
I will add that the sales pitch is very low key, as anyone on this site will confirm that.

Oh without a doubt!!! They were wonderful. After our nightmarish experiences with time share salesfolks in Cancun on our honeymoon I was surprised that my DH even agreed to go look at these, and had there been a hint of sales pressure he would have been out of there like a shot. It was a wonderful experience for us and we haven't regretted this a single day since we bought in 1997.

On a side note, your question about points changing down the line - when we bought, they told us that the points would always be the same, only the dates for the various seasons would change...this was after the 1996 incident Doc mentions, so fingers crossed it is true.

 

[wdwoldtimer]

And I'll add that the DVC does an excellent job of planning maintenance and renovation. IT's ongoing so it's very unlikely that they'll suddenly be hit with huge maintenance costs. I think many of us were a little skeptical at first. But 10 years and two point add-ons later, it's still one of the best investments we've ever made!

 

[DVCDAVE]

WDWOLDTIMER is correct. The annual dues is broken in to several parts, one being property taxes, operating budget, and capital reserves. They have been very diligent about forcasting repairs (they have enough experience in this) and getting things done on time in and within budget. Although there is no guarantee that a disaster won't happen and a unforeseen assesment won't occur, we are protected by the 15% annual cap. I pesonally researched the history of the dues, and found it to be very much in line with the inflation rates for the prior 12 month trailing period. This can't be said about the Hotel Resort rates on site, as they have been increasing at an average 10% rate for over a decade.

 

[mrtoadslastride]

wdwoldtimer, I talked to you yesterday on the web. Thanks for pointing this site out to me! My wife and I are considering buying into the DVC and I have found some very helpful info here. My connection dropped out on me yesterday.

Thanks!

 

[wdwoldtimer]

Welcome to the board, Mr. Toad. If you ever need to know anything about the DVC or anything Disney, this is the place!

When you finally decide to join the DVC family, let me know and I'll hook you up with a DVC guide I know.