Paying for DVC- could someone please explain it to me like I'm 5?

[SRUAlmn]

I've been learning all there is to learn about DVC so that I can share the info with my family when I go home for Easter. I've learned about the details of points and banking and everything (for the most part,) but how do people afford to do this? I saw an example somewhere of a point amount that was about $14,000 so let's use this as the example. Is this your initial cost? Can you make monthly payments to pay for this? Is there a required deposit up front if you choose to make monthly payments? I'm assuming there are annual 'dues.' Approximately how much do they run? Can you pay for those with monthly payments? Are there any other fees other than the initial buy-in and the annual dues? Sorry I have so many questions...I just want to explain it properly. I got the DVC video in the mail today, but it doesn't really go into it too much.
Thanks in advance

 

[wide awake]

I'm thinking about buying 150 points at SSR, so maybe I can help. As of today there is a $1500 reduction if you don't take a vacation before your points become available...therefore my points work out to $85 per point, or $12,750. I need to put down a $500 deposit, then a further $950 for the down. Depending on credit you may need to put more...our paperwork said we would be getting approximately $300 back at closing. Anyway, you can finance for 1, 3, or 10 years. You can have the payment and dues deducted monthly. Our first payment would be due in June, I would pay off by June of 2006, just because I hate debt. Like any real estate deal taxes and interest are deductible on your schedule A. Disney makes it extremely easy to buy into DVC.

 

[JimMIA]

If you buy from DVC direct, you would have effectively paid $85 per point at Saratoga Springs. However that $10 discount referred to in the above post expired today and I haven't see what the new discount is. Figure out how many points you need per year, multiply by $85, and you have the initial one-time cost for 50 years worth of points. DVC pays closing, you pay the dues. As the other poster said, Disney makes financing easy, but the rates are around 10% APR, with 20% down.

Dues are around $4 per point, per year. At SSR, I believe they are $3.83; at Old Key West where I'm buying, they are $3.86. At some resorts, they are close to $5. They will go up, although probably slowly.

If you buy resale, what you pay per point varies from resort to resort. Click the "Current DVC Resales" link above to get an idea. You'll see prices generally from the mid-$60's to the mid-$80's, depending on resort. (For the most part, when you buy resale, you are getting 37 years of points.)

With a resale, you get your own financing (a lot of people who need financing use home equity loans) and you pay closing costs. I don't have an accurate number, but figure on roughly 3% closing costs. [The actual process of buying resale is a WHOLE other topic, which could take volumes.]

How can people afford it? People who can afford to vacation at Disney in style can afford it. They are just pre-paying their future vacations. I think if you surveyed, you would find that few DVC owners finance - or if they do, it is only for a short period.

DVC works for people who go to Disney and stay in a certain level of accommodation for a certain number of nights every year - or in the case of many of our European neighbors, every other year. To determine if it is for your family, you have to look realistically at your anticipated visits - how many people, how many nights, what size accommodations, etc., and then compute the number of points you need and the associated costs.

If the numbers work, they work. If they don't, it's a great thing, but it's not for you. There are a lot of other wonderful ways to enjoy WDW beside DVC. DVCers have no monopoly on magic.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Thanks for the info. Like I said, it is for my whole family, not just me, so I will take this information to them and see what they think. Thanks again!

 

[Deep-Thots]

Karen --

I also just want to mention that a good way to "test the waters" at DVC is to rent points. If you want to see what it's all about and aren't gung-ho (at least not yet! ) about the idea of plunking down that much money, shuffle on over to the trade/rent board and rent a 1 BR (gorgeous, expansive, and all-together lovely!) for a few days. It generally costs about $10 per point, and it would give you a great idea of what you'd be "getting yourself into"!

Of course, once you do that, you'll be spoiled and probably won't ever be interested in going to any other non-DVC resort. And when I say "spoiled," I do mean spoiled: Chances are, after experiencing a 1 BR, you might even have a hard time wanting to book something as "small" as a DVC studio! At any rate, good luck!

 

[DVCTiff]

For the five year old: open your piggy bank and give some money to DVC. Now open it again every month to pay the nice DVC people for the next 1,3, or 10 years. Now go to Disneyworld and have a great time until your 55!

 

[disneyryan13]

We purchased our first 150 points for Board Walk Villa 2 years ago through the Time Share Store......ask for Pat, she's great!
timesharesales.com We then added 100 pts at OKW
We never paid more than 74.00 per point and we receive the same documents and priviledges as buying direct from Disney. We have about 41 years left and then I'm sure my children will have children of their own! I can't imagine buying from Disney at their prices. We paid cash so we didn''t need to finance. We don't plan on selling....maybe just adding on points and we plan to do so through resales.

 

[SRUAlmn]

For the five year old: open your piggy bank and give some money to DVC. Now open it again every month to pay the nice DVC people for the next 1,3, or 10 years. Now go to Disneyworld and have a great time until your 55!

Maybe I should have said 10? So what is the typical annual dues fee?

 

[BillM]

You might want to call and get a sales person assigned to you, Take a hypothetical # of points...say 150 and have them crunch all the numbers for you. They will not hassel you to death.

 

[SRUAlmn]

You might want to call and get a sales person assigned to you, Take a hypothetical # of points...say 150 and have them crunch all the numbers for you. They will not hassel you to death.

Thanks! That's good to know. I've always been hesitant to even stop at the little stands in WDW because I know how 'sales people' can get. I didn't want to be hasseled to death

 

[Deep-Thots]

Maybe I should have said 10? So what is the typical annual dues fee?

It depends on the number of points you own as well as the resort at which you own. At SSR, annual dues are $3.83 per point. At Vero Beach they are $4.87 per point.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Oh, another question...


If you rent DVC points from someone can you get a package? Or do you just have to by your tickets separately?

 

[Deep-Thots]

Oh, another question...


If you rent DVC points from someone can you get a package? Or do you just have to by your tickets separately?

Tickets purchased separately.

 

[crisi]

Like any real estate deal taxes and interest are deductible on your schedule A. Disney makes it extremely easy to buy into DVC.

As an FYI, this will be true for almost everyone. But for a few people the interest on DVC is not tax deductible (IIRC, and I am not an accountant or a tax attorney, you can't deduct interest on multiple "vacation" homes for instance, and there are rules on if you always rent out your time). If you do not finance through Disney or use a home equity loan, interest will not be tax deductible. There are some other rules, if you have questions, contact your tax advisor.

 

[Third times a charm]

We purchased our first 150 points for Board Walk Villa 2 years ago through the Time Share Store......ask for Pat, she's great!
timesharesales.com We then added 100 pts at OKW

Could you explain why you have points at different resorts?

 

[Sammie]

Could you explain why you have points at different resorts?

Some have points at different resorts to have the 11 month booking advantage at different locations. Some have bought resales and the second or third bought was a bargain, so location was not a concern.