Is this a good deal?

[adisneymama]

So dh and I have been thinking about doing DVC for a while now. I got a call from a salesman today and they are offering us SSR for 47 yrs or AKV for 49 years. We can take $10/pt off for SSR and get an additional 160 pts. (We are looking at buying 160) and this would be used towards our down payment or we can pay full price for the points and get an additional 320 points. Same thing for AK except it is I believe $8/pt off? Can't remember the full details at the moment. We are a family of four and go yearly. We might be able to go more often if we did DVC. Some of the other benefits members get are appealing to us as well. So what do you think? Is this a good deal? Give me all your expert advice, please!
TIA!

 

[Chuck S]

A good deal as opposed to what? Compared to other timeshares, probably not, but it is DVC. They do not "Wheel & Deal" like other timeshares. It is take or leave it, it is the same deal as everyone else gets that buys directly from Disney. Any other pricing would have to be through resale.

If you're asking if DVC itself is a good deal, I will say it has enabled us to go to WDW at least twice a year, and stay in lovely accommodations for about the same price we would pay for one week in a Deluxe.

 

[drakethib]

Agree with Pretty much what Chuck said.

End result is you need to see if it is a good deal for you and your family.

That is the hard part !!!

Good Luck either way

 

[BUDDYBEAR]

YES I THINK IT`S A GOOD DEAL GOOD LUCK

 

[Caskbill]

Just to be sure, you do understand the 'extra' points are for one year only, not for the life of the contract (47/49 years). They are called Developer Points and there are restrictions on their usage. Be sure you understand the restrictions and will definitely be able to use them.

 

[eleven24]

We just purchased and I think the additional 160 points may be misleading.

Did your guide tell you that you will get 2007's points PLUS 2008's points? Did they also tell you that your use year would be something along the lines of JUNE 2007? Because this is what I was offered and I initially took it as my starting balance would be 320 points, and then in June 2008 I would get another 160 points. Not the case. You'd start off TODAY with 160 points and the ability to borrow TODAY from your June 2008 allocation (again, using June as your use year).

The 160 bonus developer points are offered if you buy in at 225 points (or at least they were as of Jan 4). Buying in at 225 would start you off with 385 points in your account, with another 225 coming at your 2008 use year.

Keep in mind that by going with the June 2007 use year (or anything in the past) you will be paying the retroactive monthly dues today as a lump sum. For example, using the June use year, you would have a DVC Dues payment of monthly-dues-charge X 8 (June through January). So for AKV you'd be paying, with a 160 point buy-in, $63 x 8 = $504.

For us, we bought in at 200 pts and changed the use year to November 07. I'll owe 3 months of back-dues, and start off with a point balance of 300 (there was a 100 developer point bonus for buying in at 200 on Jan 4th - may still be in effect though I'm not sure).

If I'm mistaken in how I understood the offer made to us (especially in regards to the backdated-dues), I'm sure someone will step in and clarify -- but this is, to my understanding, how it works.

Hope this helps!

 

[adisneymama]

Yes, he informed me that it would be good for this year only. Also, the offer now is that you don't pay the dues for the 2007 points. He did also explain that it would be 160 available now and then the 160 in June or October depending on which resort we chose. I was just wondering if anyone had gotten better deals from Disney or if this was something they do all the time. Thanks!

Oh and we don't have to buy but the minimum of 160 points to get this offer.

 

[ldo]

unless they JUST changed the rules in the past month, you DO have to buy a minimum of 160 points for your 1st purchase if you buy from DVC.

 

[adisneymama]

Right but PP stated she had to buy 200. I was saying we only had to buy the 160 min to rec the offer.

 

[White_Sox_Fan]

Keep in mind that by going with the June 2007 use year (or anything in the past) you will be paying the retroactive monthly dues today as a lump sum. For example, using the June use year, you would have a DVC Dues payment of monthly-dues-charge X 8 (June through January). So for AKV you'd be paying, with a 160 point buy-in, $63 x 8 = $504.

I was told my my guide when we purchased that the dues would be pro-rated from our date of purchase to the end of our use year. I don't actually know yet because my purchase has net yet technically closed so there is no dues statement on the website for me yet.

 

[Quiksilvr]

We bought in October at AKV (the minimum 160 points). We have a June UY. The deal we got was the $8/point incentive, plus 160 2007UY points. Disney covered the dues on the 2007 points in full. We banked the 2007 points. We also paid the down payment and closing costs on a Disney VISA card, so we got 0% for 6 months on the down payment and 500 Disney Reward Dollars.

 

[dopeygirl76]

Just wanted to throw another option out. We are also a family of four and we looked into purchasing through Disney. DH wanted AKV and the incentives as noted we less for AKV. When we spoke to the guide she provided so much information for us and noted that getting the best value may be our best bet. So we decided to look at resale - not that that was her plan - but we agreed - we LOVE DISNEY and just wanted to be a part of DVC. While resale takes longer we are currently closing on 225 pts at SSR which was more than what we were going to purchase (200) but were able to do so because we got such a great deal!! We also got a loaded contract that had the 2007 points banked!! So get some information on resale too- you might come upon a great deal!!!

Robert at TSS is great!!!

 

[adisneymama]

Just wanted to throw another option out. We are also a family of four and we looked into purchasing through Disney. DH wanted AKV and the incentives as noted we less for AKV. When we spoke to the guide she provided so much information for us and noted that getting the best value may be our best bet. So we decided to look at resale - not that that was her plan - but we agreed - we LOVE DISNEY and just wanted to be a part of DVC. While resale takes longer we are currently closing on 225 pts at SSR which was more than what we were going to purchase (200) but were able to do so because we got such a great deal!! We also got a loaded contract that had the 2007 points banked!! So get some information on resale too- you might come upon a great deal!!!

Robert at TSS is great!!!

But how many years is your deed for? Is it still the 49 yrs that they are offering? We did look at resale, but I don't know that it is that much of a savings given the incentives they are offering right now.

Quik = thanks for the visa tip! Will have to remember that one!

 

[Quiksilvr]

Quik = thanks for the visa tip! Will have to remember that one!

I'm not sure if they are still running that promotion. They might be, so you should ask. The only thing you should know is that there was some requirement that I already have a rewards card, and something about a rewards number (I had to call Chase and get a number that wasn't my credit card number, or my rewards card number, even though they needed both of them). It was kind of a hassle, but the 500 reward dollars posted within a couple of months after we bought and about a month after the closing date. I'm looking forward to spending them in WDW.

 

[adisneymama]

I already have a rewards card, so no problem there. Hey even if I only get the standard 1% that is nothing to balk at! Again, thanks for the tip!

 

[dianeschlicht]

But how many years is your deed for? Is it still the 49 yrs that they are offering? We did look at resale, but I don't know that it is that much of a savings given the incentives they are offering right now.

Quik = thanks for the visa tip! Will have to remember that one!

The number of years on the deed is tied to the resort and will always be the same for every contract in that resort with the exception of OKW. Some OKW contracts will end in 2042 and some will end in 2057, but that is the only one that has two end dates.

 

[dopeygirl76]

As Diane stated above the years go by resort - so we got the full length of SSR - 2054. With the savings - it was a perfect deal for us - now of course the wait has been nerve racking!! Send closing documents 1/16/08 and if all goes well we should be 7-8 weeks for the entire process. The savings was worth the wait for us!!!