Question on DVC- Do you ever own it?

[Caitsmama]

My mom owns a timeshare, and after she pays it off, she owns it, and can hand it down to us or sell it..
But, i have the feeling that DVC is not like that.. What is it i keep hearing about a 45 yr vacation? Do you ever outright own your dvc ?

 

[sunking]

Yes. After you pay off your membership fee, you will own your interest in the DVC program until it expires (sometime long after I'll be gone). The DVC program ends sometime way in the future but you will own it until then. You can hand it down to your family and sell it to another party if you wish. But, you will need to continue to pay your dues on the interest in DVC to allow for maintenance and upkeep of the property.

Regards,
Sunking

 

[Caitsmama]

Yes. After you pay off your membership fee, you will own your interest in the DVC program until it expires. Now, the program ends sometime way in the future but you will own it until then. You can hand it down to your family and sell it to another party if you wish. But, you will need to continue to pay your dues on the interest in DVC to allow for maintenance and upkeep of the property.

Regards,
Sunking

Right, i understand, but what i am asking, is - Is 2045 or something the yr that it "expires"? I keep seeing on their site about a 45 yr vacation? Like my moms never expires.. it is hers to own, forever.
So, i guess what i am totally confused on, is at some point yrs down the road, do you ever have to give this up- back to WDW??

 

[rinkwide]

...my moms never expires.. it is hers to own, forever...

Yes, and it will have to be dealt with it even after it becomes a negative equity burden to her or her children.

DVC allows you all the benefits of timeshare ownership without that particular liability.

 

[Caitsmama]

Right.. so i am just trying to understand... Even if you say that it is a negitive burden on us ( her kids..) can you clarify that? It could almost do the opposite for us, depending on our income correct?
Like i said, i am trying to understand all this, and thinking of meeting with a DVC person in WDW to ask since the website is so vauge.
So, that all said, you never do outright OWN the DVC correct??
I am really not trying to debate if it is better to own or not, i am just wanting all the info i can get.. I know nothing about DVC, and I love WDW, so it seems great, just need the specs on it all!
Thanks so much!

 

[DVCLiz]

Caitsmama - it helps to think of DVC as a lease program instead of an ownership one. You do own a fractional share of a specific DVC property but only for a specified time period. In the case of DVC, that time period expires in 2042 (2054 for SSR and any future resorts.) So you can "own" it, sell it, hand it down to your heirs, etc. as long as you do it all before 2042 or 2054. At that time the DVC interest you "own" reverts back to DVC, to do with as they please.

As you can tell, there are two ways to look at this. One says, "If I don't own it forever, it's a bad thing." The other way to look at it, and this is my point of view, is, "I'll own DVC for the useful life of my vacations, and my family will be able to use it as well, but we have an automatic end so we aren't stuck "forever" with an aging facility that is expensive to maintain and for which there is no resale market left."

So the answer to your question is no, you don't own DVC forever.

 

[Caitsmama]

DVC Liz, THANK YOU! That helps alot!!! SO, just out of curiosity, why is it a longer "lease" for the newer resorts?

 

[RobDoc]

DVC is a RTU (Right-to-Use) timeshare. There are a number like this, but it basically means that owners "own" a deeded lease to the property until it's expiration date.

For all resorts except SSR, that date is January 31, 2042 and for SSR it is January 31, 2054.

It generally represents a 50 year ownership for the first resort available with that expiration date. OKW opened in October, 1991- so early buyers there got a 50+ years of ownership. As other resorts opened in later years, the expiration date remained the same - so each of those actually had less than 50 years of ownership before expiration and even SSR had less than 50 years since it opened in May, 2004 (even though it expires on January 31, 2054 and sales began in summer, 2003).

Some have speculated that DVC will offer the opportunity to extend their ownership beyond the current expiration date, but no word from DVC has ever supported that notion. My guess is that there will be no extention and that the current resorts will eventually be demolished in favor of new, modern, up-to-date construction sometime after 2042 (or 2054).

I also own timeshares at resorts with no expiration date and am very concerned about the condition of the resort after 50 years. All are in fine condition at this time, but another 35+ years will certainky take a toll (and an expense) to maintain these resorts to current standards. In another 35+ years, the present DVC resorts will likely benefit from improvements in construction standards and technology over that time period. Demolition will very likely be the best option for the future.

Stay Tuned!

 

[phyllisnnj]

http://www.tug2.net/advice/TimeShare-101.htm#_What_a_timeshare - look for the section titled "Deeded and right to use" in this Timeshare 101 web page from the Timeshare User Group (TUG) Board's Advice section

 

[Disney Doll]

If your home resort is Old Key West, Boardwalk Villas, Beach Club Villas, Wilderness Lodge Villas, Hilton Head or Vero Beach, you (or one of your heirs) own it until the year 2042 or until you (or one of your heirs) decides to sell it...whichever comes first. If you own at Saratoga Springs resort, or any other new resort that they will be building in probably the next 15 years or so, you (or one of your heirs) will own it until the year 2056 or until you (or one of your heirs) decides to sell it, whichever comes first.

In the year 2042, when my DVC contract expires, I will be 80 and DH will be 84, so we will worry about it then, if we are still alive.

 

[spiceycat]

disney use to hate to give THEIR property....

all the non-WDW resorts are on leased too - they have a 99 year contract....

so DD hotels will ruin out in 2070.

don't remember when the Dolphin and Swan or SOG will quit.

the DVC plan is very fair. You can get back your investment from DVC in around 7 to 10 years. (with other timeshares it is 30 years or never - unless you are dealing with the resale market)

 

[Granny]

SO, just out of curiosity, why is it a longer "lease" for the newer resorts?

Disney started selling DVC in 1992 as a 50 year vacation plan. So it expired in 2042. As they continued to sell out the original resort (Old Key West) and add new ones (BWV, VB, HH, VWL and BCV) they set up each of those with the same 2042 expiration date. So when they were selling, for instance, VWL in 2000 they were really selling a 42 year vacation experience. People were still willing to pay the going rate (prices have gone up pretty much every year) even though the length of the new contracts were getting shorter each year.

Finally, when they opened up Saratoga Springs Resort in 2004, they realized that it was going to take some time to sell a resort of that size, and they went back to a 50 year vacation plan with an expiration of 2054. The guess is that Disney will continue to sell SSR and any future DVC resorts with an expiration date of 2054 until that becomes a sales liability (probably in 10 years).

 

[PrincessDadx2]

I also own timeshares at resorts with no expiration date and am very concerned about the condition of the resort after 50 years. All are in fine condition at this time, but another 35+ years will certainky take a toll (and an expense) to maintain these resorts to current standards. In another 35+ years, the present DVC resorts will likely benefit from improvements in construction standards and technology over that time period. Demolition will very likely be the best option for the future.

Stay Tuned!

Actually, assuming you bought in a desireable location this will be the best option for your other resorts also. The buildings will be torn down and a new resort developed, or they will be converted to condo's etc. depending on the vote of the owner's association. The difference is the owners will receive the equity (if any) rather than Disney. If land prices keep pace with inflation the land itself will be more valuble than the current total resort in 30+ years at prime locations. Then a sale or redevelopment will result in a payback to the owners.

 

[rinkwide]

...assuming you bought in a desireable location...

You mean like Branson?

 

[crisi]

Actually, assuming you bought in a desireable location this will be the best option for your other resorts also. The buildings will be torn down and a new resort developed, or they will be converted to condo's etc. depending on the vote of the owner's association. The difference is the owners will receive the equity (if any) rather than Disney. If land prices keep pace with inflation the land itself will be more valuble than the current total resort in 30+ years at prime locations. Then a sale or redevelopment will result in a payback to the owners.

Wouldn't that depend on how the contracts are written? If the contracts are written so you own the building but they own the land, they can sell out the owners for the fair market value of the building - which if its rundown, may not be much. I'd think a timeshare developer in a prime location would be nuts to let you own the land - I'd imagine most contracts are written so you only own the building. But I don't know.

 

[PrincessDadx2]

Wouldn't that depend on how the contracts are written? If the contracts are written so you own the building but they own the land, they can sell out the owners for the fair market value of the building - which if its rundown, may not be much. I'd think a timeshare developer in a prime location would be nuts to let you own the land - I'd imagine most contracts are written so you only own the building. But I don't know.

Actually I believe most are sold as condominiums where you "own" your week and have an equal share of the common area which includes the land. At least that is how my Marriott contracts were written. I will have to check out my deed next time I have my safe deposit box open.

Anyway, this is why Marriott or another developer can be removed if the HOA decides not to renew the management contract. They no longer own the land, but just manage the property for a fee.

I don't know about Branson, but I imagine beachfront in Maui or Hilton Head will continue to hold value well into the future. Whether the value is ever realized will depend on the HOA, which have their own politics and problems