Maintenance fees question

[jjohnson]

I finally closed last week on SSR - use year went back to 10/05

Yesterday I received a breakdown of my automatic withdrawal of maintenance fees & was surprised that they were more than double. I called MS and they explained that I need to pay the dues on the 2005 points I received for the entire use year.

I'm positive my guide did not mention this before the purchase. I assumed I would be paying fees from March (the month I mailed my check for the purchase)

Are they right?

 

[Granny]

Edited to delete my post which provided incorrect information. Sorry.


Congratulations on your purchase and WELCOME HOME!!!

 

[browniemtb]

That doesn't make sense to me unless they changed something. When we bought in we recieved the previous years points but did no have to pay the maint. fees on them. Also we were pro-rated for the year in which we bought as well. My guess would be that the 05 points are a gimme and the maintenance fees should be based on Jaunary 2006, maint fee go by year not use year, and since you purchase in March your 06 fees should be pro-rated to reflect the time you actually closed. I could be wrong....there are more experianced DVC'ers that make shoot this down.
Brownie

 

[jjohnson]

Thank you for explaining it all to me. I understand it now. We used all our points in May (before we closed) so the 2005 points are long gone.

 

[browniemtb]

Don't think of the dues in calendar terms...think of them as attaching to the points and due each year. So in this case, you already have your 2005 UY points and will get your 2006 UY in October. Normally, you would pay in January, 2006 for your 2006 UY points, but since you are just now buying in, you owe that now.

I'm sorry but I still don't beleive it. We are in 2006 now. Dues would be paypable for the 2006 calender year.......in this case pro-rated since they purchased in March. January 2005 has come and gone....those points are the benefit of joining through Disney. Disney should not bill you for 2005 calender year and 2006, 05 is gone we are in 06 forget about UY. They didn't bill me and my 2006 fees were lower to reflect when I purchased but yet I did get 05 points.

If your maintenance fees are double than something may be wrong. Call your guide....

Brownie

 

[RobDoc]

Annual fees are ALWAYS based on the calendar year- regardless what your Use Year may be. In the past DVC has always prorated these fees based on when you purchase- not on the Use Year or from January 1.

If your first contact with DVC regarding this purchase was in March - and that was when you decided to buy - in the past, your dues would be prorated from that date.

If you had purchased last fall on October 1, you should have paid 3 months of the 2005 fees (even if your Use Year was December instead of October) and then would have owed all of the fees for 2006.

In this case, assuming you purchased on March 1, 2006 (even though closing didn't actually take place until July)- you should have owed 10 months of dues. Based on 150 points at ~$4 each- that would have been about $500 - spread over the remainder of the year (about $83 per month). Since you are just now beginning to pay those fees, they are higher each month than they will be next year.

I'd sure suggest calling Member Accounting and ask them to explain this all to you using your specific details- but they should NOT be talking about your 2005 points at all- since dues are only based on the calendar year. I would also specifically ask if your fees have been prorated based on your purchase date.

Please call them and report back the outcome!

 

[jjohnson]

I'm going to call them but now I'm confused.

My first contact with DVC was in March.
I paid the contract on 3/31/06.
This letter states my Deed was recorded on 6/21/06.
My first monthly Annual Dues payment is due on 8/1/06 for $90.62.

 

[jjohnson]

Doc - I just reread your post & I pretty sure MS billed me correctly and whoever answered my question when I called gave me wrong information. 2006 dues are about $600 and like you said if they started in March and are prorated then my payment would be around $90.

Another question. If I'm on auto-debit can I still pay the dues in advance?

 

[browniemtb]

Another question. If I'm on auto-debit can I still pay the dues in advance?

It sound like everything is correct.....
Doc can probably answer this but I know that there are two ways to pay. Auto Debit by the month......or 1 lump payment in January.....If you want to just pay it off in one chunk, see if you can change to the single billing method and pay in january.
Brownie

 

[RobDoc]

...
Another question. If I'm on auto-debit can I still pay the dues in advance?

I'm glad you just got a confusing answer from MS and that everything is actually normal! (Still sorry to hear you got a confusing answer from MS though! )

Yes, even if you are on aitodebit, you can call Member Accounting and make extra payments on a credit card or just send a check. That would be a good way to minimize finance charges on a mortgage loan thru DVC, BUT, I would not suggest that for the dues, since there is no finance charge.

IMO, the autodebit for dues is a great deal for members- why give Disney the use of your money for the year when you can just pay it in equal montnly amounts with zero interest. I used to pay it annually until I finally understood the availability of the autodebit option- after doing the math ... I couldn't find any reason not to use autodebit.

Glad everything is under control now!

 

[jjohnson]

Your right. It's better to keep the $600 in my ING account. Thank you again.

Joyce

 

[RobDoc]

I just re-read your payment schedule and it does look correct. The amount due for 2006 should be just over $450 (prorated from 3/31/06- so you owe only for 9 months) and since the payments don't begin until 8/1- the $92 is correct since you'll be making 5 payments in 2006.

Welcome Home!!

 

[LisaS]

I couldn't find any reason not to use autodebit.

The only reason I can suggest to pay the dues in full in January is if the value of any benefits you would get by charging the annual dues to a credit card (cash back, miles, whatever) exceeds the interest you would receive on your money if you paid the dues monthly via autodebit.

For example, if the dues money was kept in a checking account that pays a low interest rate you might be better off paying in full with a credit card that gives you 1% back, assuming of course that you don't carry a balance on your credit card!