Just a few newbies ?????'s

[Lori-n-NY]

Hi everyone.
I enjoy reading this board and all the info you all share with each other. I have a few questions.
I am looking into (ok going to purchase) SSR with 150 points.

How much of a down payment does Disney want?

What is the interest percent on financing thru Disney direct?

Can you claim the interest you pay on your taxes? (If you take out a home equity loan you can calim some of the interest paid.)

What should I expect to happen timeline wise?
(paying deposit, signing paperwork, closing..)


Will your use year be the same month as your closing?

Anyone willing to fill me in on anything you think I should know please do....

Thanks,
Lori

(I understand the cost of points and maintenance fees. And the chart to see how many points each night would be)

 

[dyingtodisney]

Hey Lori -n- NY!
Welcome! I'm fairly new myself but have learned so much from these boards I'll try to answer as much as possible... Anyone correct me if I'm wrong please..
Disney wants you to put down 10%. The interest rate through Disney is 10.75% or 9.75% if you do direct debit. Home equity lines are usually better interest but for some not an option (we've only lived in our home 1 year)
I've heard various responses about claiming the interest on taxes. I think it depends on where you live. I'd check with an accountant on this point.
Once you pay your deposit DVC will send you a BIG Fed Ex package in about 10 days. Then you will have lots of papers to read and sign, also need to get a notary, a few of us did this rather quickly(within hours of receiving docs) so depending on your schedule it could take a few days or minutes to look through and get notarized. After that point it seemed like maybe 3 weeks until the official "letter of approval" arrived. I'd say the whole process could be as quick as 4 weeks.
Your use year depends on what they are currently selling for SSR, last I heard they were selling Feb. use year...but then again I think I've seen June too? Any recent newbies wanna add?

 

[mom2rb]

When we bought SSR we were able to pick our use year. The only thing they would not let me have was Dec. it was sold out except for add ons.

 

[tjkraz]

A couple of things to add:

The 10% down is based upon the $89 per point cost at SSR. So, the minimum you have to put down is $1335, based upon a 150 point purchase. The promotional pricing (currently $5 off per point) then comes off of your financed balance.

If you finance through DVC, they may ask you to put 20% down if any credit issues are of concern.

The finance rates that dyingtodisney mentioned are based upon a 10 year payment period. The rates do decrease if you want to finance over a shorter time period. Note that there is no pre-payment penalty if you want to pay it off early, move the debt to a Home Equity line in a few years, etc.

With regard to tax deductibility of interest, the best thing to do is ask your tax advisor. The property tax component of your annual dues is fully disclosed and IS tax deductible.

You choose your Use Year when you buy. They do not offer every single month as a Use Year, but of the ones that are offered, only December is unavailable to new buyers. Read some of the rules on this board to determine which Use Year best suits your travel plans. It doesn't impact your ability to make reservations (that is always subject to the 11/7 months windows), but your ability to bank and borrow points is determined by the Use Year.

The closing on your SSR purchse will not occur until shortly before the building is ready for occupancy. But, as soon as you give your down payment over the phone (credit or debit card) you are considered a DVC member and can begin making reservations after 12/1/03, with your resort stays likely to begin as early as June '04.

 

[eporter66]

My wife handled most of this, but from my understanding here goes:

1. I believe a 10% down payment is required. We got $10 off our points based on when we purchased, I think the deal is $5 off per point now

2. Not sure about the finance rates, I think 9.75?

3. Our closing was listed for April 2004, and occupancy listed for May 17th.

Our use year is March. This was fine for us as we usually hit Disney in the fall (Food Festival, PGA Tour stop, less crowds).

As long as you plan ahead (and dont run into too many snags or have to cancel) we did not see the use year as a big issue for us. You have the 11/7 month window regardless. But since we have not tried to make reservations yet, and are not as experienced as others here, I guess we will find out about the use year soon enough.

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by eporter66
Our use year is March. This was fine for us as we usually hit Disney in the fall (Food Festival, PGA Tour stop, less crowds).

Actually if you normally travel in October/November, a March Use Year probably wan't the best choice you could have made. Ideally you want to choose a Use Year that falls immediately before your typical travel month(s). I'm not exactly sure which Use Years are available, but something around August or September probably would have been better for you.

With a March Use Year, you only have until the end of August to bank 100% of your points. After October 1, you can only bank 50% of your points. So, if you ever need to cancel one of those October / November trips, just be aware of this limitation as it tie your hands a bit.

 

[Lori-n-NY]

Thank you Thank you Thank you to dyingtodisney, eporter66, mom2rb and tjkraz for sharing your knowledge.

I have a good grasp of the whole DVC ownership just the financial end was a little blurry.

So the people who bought SSR can start to book in Dec based on when thier building is opening. But their use year is not necessarly May. And they may not of actually closed yet.
But the MS will know they have points available as soon as their use year hits. So you can book prior to actually having to points "in hand".
Sorry , just trying to understand everything before jumping in with both feet. I know Disney will make it a soft landing.

I will keep reading and asking questions as they come up.

Thanks again,
Lori

 

[Lori-n-NY]

deleted was a double post.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

So you can book prior to actually having to points "in hand".

Yes you can. That misconception regarding use year is probably the most common. Use year has nothing to do with when you can book. All that matters is that you will have points available for when you want to be at your resort. Those points can be that year, banked from this year or borrowed from the following year.

Good Luck,

HBC

 

[eporter66]

Thanks. I read all the material and understand use year and points pretty well now. I guess it may be wishful thinking, but hopefully we dont have to cancel anything down the road, so your right - being that we have 100% through August, it would have been nice to have a later use year.

Overall though - as long as we dont have to cancel, use year does not seem to be a big issue.

Thanks!

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by eporter66
Overall though - as long as we dont have to cancel, use year does not seem to be a big issue.

Yup. That's true. And, if you have to cancel, you can always do it before September and bank 100%. Or if you have to cancel Sept thru November, you can bank 50%.