Need help---DVD can't talk to us because of state Real Estate Laws

[Blue&Gold]

We're stuck in the extremely frustrating situation where my current State of residence (Nebraska) doesn't allow DVD to sell "direct." It's especially frustrating because I am Active Duty military and am legally a Pennsylvanian! Need help/info from anyone out there who has recently purchased add-on points at non-SSR home resorts... We will be in Orlando in October for a BWV stay and am considering adding-on.
1) Please confirm Disney price of $92/point.
2) When purchasing add-ons, do they come with points for the current use year? Specifically, we have a Dec use year, so would the contract come with 2004 points? Will they let you bank them right off (we would be out of normal banking window by October and wouldn't have any other way to "burn" them)?
3) If 2004 points come with the contract, do you have to pay maintenance fees? Since 2005 hasn't started for the Dec use year, should I expect to pay full '05 maintenance?
4) Finally, are any of the issues above negotiable or do the add-on contracts come pretty much as a set package?
I want to compare apples to apples as Dec use year contracts become available on the resale market. Thanks in advance for the info.

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

I can't help you, but just wanted to say How Frustrating!!!!

 

[YesYourMajesty]

We are new DVC members as of last summer, so I don't feel I can answer your questions as well as some others could. However, I did want to say that I totally understand your frustration. We too are from Nebraska and dealt with the same thing. They wouldnt give us any information what so ever. They told us the only way we could sign up was if we were in Florida to listen to sales pitch and to sign the contracts. I was so crushed when I found that out...crying and all. Very sad for me. (Yet, somehow my husband found the strength to go on. ) But a year and half later we went back to Florida and got signed up. In any event, I totally get where you are coming from. It is frustrating and stressful.

Have you thought of doing the resale? It could be a lot cheaper than Disney and they may not have all the same rules to follow in terms of being able to give you information.

 

[vascubaguy]

I too don't know any of those answers but would be curious to know.

Can you call and tell them you are in Pennsylvania?

I'm pretty certain that someone posted the going rate for DVC resales is $92 (non-SSR) and I wouldn't think you'd get any 04 points with those.

Could you buy on the resale market?

 

[Blue&Gold]

Thanks for all your comments so far... Yes, we can buy resale without restriction (and did to get our initial contract). We are certainly open to resale again, but there are roadblocks there (waiting for right use year/point level/ROFR) that are avoided by buying direct from Disney.
Hoping someone out there is a DVD CM/guide and can answer "anonymousely" without putting their job on the line! (Couldn't resist the bad mouse joke, sorry.)

 

[sleepydog25]

You may have looked into this already, but have you tried renting a small PO box in your Pennsylvania hometown, then having them forward the mail to you? That would give DVC an address where they could get you info. I'm retired military, so I do appreciate the hassle you run into sometimes.

 

[tjkraz]

1) Please confirm Disney price of $92/point.

Correct.

2) When purchasing add-ons, do they come with points for the current use year? Specifically, we have a Dec use year, so would the contract come with 2004 points? Will they let you bank them right off (we would be out of normal banking window by October and wouldn't have any other way to "burn" them)?

Yes, they will come with current year points. Whether they will let you bank them or not is open to debate. Most of the time the answer is no--if you're past the deadline, you are past the deadline. You could TRY to make it a condition of the sale, but it's up to you how far you want to take that bluff.

3) If 2004 points come with the contract, do you have to pay maintenance fees? Since 2005 hasn't started for the Dec use year, should I expect to pay full '05 maintenance?

Maintenance fees are always based upon the calendar year (not Use Year), and you pay a pro-rated share depending upon when you buy. If you add-on in October, the most you would pay would be 3/12 of the 2005 dues (for October, November and December.)

4) Finally, are any of the issues above negotiable or do the add-on contracts come pretty much as a set package?

About the only thing you'll be able to negotiate is the point banking. The rest of the terms are pretty much set in stone.

BTW, vascubaguy's suggestion of claiming Pennsylvania residence probably wouldn't get you far. DVC would expect a PA mailing address for the documents and they would probably expect to see a PA notary when you return the signed agreements.

State-specific timeshare laws can be a real minefield, and DVC is very careful to abide by the laws.

I'm sure you realize that you can buy in person during your WDW trip. I'd just wait until then and plan to take care of it all in person--assuming you don't first find a resale contract more to your liking.

 

[Blue&Gold]

tjkraz---thanks for the detailed answer. Our intent is to try to compare the answers to the questions to the conditions of resales that emerge between now and our trip in October. I considered the "other address" scenarios back before our initial purchase and elected not to follow that route for lots of good reasons. I'm also pretty careful to abide by the law as well! Thanks to all.

 

[DisneyBill]

I may have misread what you meant in your post about buying when you're in WDW during October. If indeed you plan to buy while you're in Florida, you can regardless of state of residency. Pretty sure, ask your guide about that element.

 

[tamu91]

First off, let me thank you for the job you do

2) When purchasing add-ons, do they come with points for the current use year? Specifically, we have a Dec use year, so would the contract come with 2004 points? Will they let you bank them right off (we would be out of normal banking window by October and wouldn't have any other way to "burn" them)?

If Dec UY is still available then. We did an add-on at SSR during the last promotion and my UY on my master contract is also December. I was able to get 120 points with DEC UY and I took the $5 credit in lieu of $8 which gave us the 120 points from 2004 UY along with 100 developer point bonus. It was quite a deal IMO.

3) If 2004 points come with the contract, do you have to pay maintenance fees? Since 2005 hasn't started for the Dec use year, should I expect to pay full '05 maintenance?

This depends on the current incentive, I think. During the last promotion, Disney waived the maintenace fee during your first year so my '04 points came without any maintenace dues. I will start paying MF in Jan-06.

4) Finally, are any of the issues above negotiable or do the add-on contracts come pretty much as a set package?

As you know, other than the incentatives Disney offers at the time you commit, Disney does not negotiate. You take it or leave it. They won't even give you a DVC bag on a 120 pt. add-on

 

[TammyAlphabet]

I'm pretty certain that someone posted the going rate for DVC resales is $92 (non-SSR) and I wouldn't think you'd get any 04 points with those.

Actually, If you buy a resale through Disney at 92 per point, you get a full set of points upon purchase. If the points are a September use year, like mine, you get September 2004 points,which expire on August 31st, and a new set of points in September 2005. At least that is how it worked when I purchased in March.

 

[mamatojon]

Just wanted to add something my guide told me when we purchased in February - I live in WA and am subject to buying only while in FL too, unless via resale. He told me that they give residents of states like ours the previous price due to the fact that we can't add-on by telephone or mail. I think the last price was $89 - I would say call and check the validity of this but you know where that will lead! Maybe someone else can confirm it, but I am 99.9% sure I'm remembering it right, I'm only unsure if my guide was correct.

 

[vascubaguy]

Actually, If you buy a resale through Disney at 92 per point, you get a full set of points upon purchase. If the points are a September use year, like mine, you get September 2004 points,which expire on August 31st, and a new set of points in September 2005. At least that is how it worked when I purchased in March.

Thanks for correcting me there.... that's definately good news to know when I start considering "adding on".

 

[dianeschlicht]

Just wanted to add something my guide told me when we purchased in February - I live in WA and am subject to buying only while in FL too, unless via resale. He told me that they give residents of states like ours the previous price due to the fact that we can't add-on by telephone or mail. I think the last price was $89 - I would say call and check the validity of this but you know where that will lead! Maybe someone else can confirm it, but I am 99.9% sure I'm remembering it right, I'm only unsure if my guide was correct.

That is very good information! I think the OP should contact their guide now and see if that might be the case.

 

[debbie in Seattle]

We've got the same laws here in WA state. I gave them my daughter's address in AZ and she forwarded me all the info. I ended up buying through a timeshare resaler.

 

[PKS44]

... Just another example of how wonderful it is to have the government take care of EVERYTHING for you, since obviously you are considered too stupid to handle timeshare offers on your own...Thank you, Big Brother! I am sure the people of Nebraska are soooo much better off than the rest of us dummies in the states where we are left to make these sorts of decisions on how to spend our money all by ourselves...