Thinking about buying into DVC.

[Suzabelle]

We are thinking about purchasing 150 points at SSR and have many questions. We have been going every year for the last 10 years or so (should have bought then), but now that our daughter is in kindergarten will probably go every other year. Is it still worth it? Do you have to go every year for the money to make sense? We have been staying at AKL, Dolphin, Beach Club and GF.

I know there is a cap per year on the dues, have they been going up the 15% every year? Is it easy to make reservations to stay at some of the other properties at the 7 mo mark?

Thanks for the help. Now that I've convinced my Dh that we should look into it, I'm the one getting cold feet.

Suzanne:

 

[TnRobin]

First - Welcome to the DIS and the DVC Board.

Yes, DVC can pay for itself if you go every other year. Especially since you are staying at the Deluxe resorts. Just purchase your points accordingly. You will be able to bank one years points into the next year and then use two years worth of points every other year.

Keep us informed of your decision.

 

[Granny]

I think DVC could still make sense for you. But you might find that once you join, you will want to be going every year!!

Since you can bank points for a year, you could actually make a reservation that uses 300 points every other year. So yes, that could work very nicely. Especially if you are used to those deluxe resort room bills!!!

One consideration is.....do you think that you and your spouse would want to continue going to WDW after your children are grown? SSR is for 50 years, so it will last a lot longer than your children's childhood! Of course, you can always sell at some point, but it's something to consider.

Switching to other resorts at the 7 month mark is not a big problem as long as you have some flexibility in your timing and/or resort choice. It is more difficult during the peak DVC seasons such as early December. We've found it to be very easy for seasons such as the summer months.

 

[Suzabelle]

Thanks for the reply granny. I've been lurking on the boards for years and have posted only once or twice. Yes, I think we'll want to go to Disney after our daughter is grown. We are Disney obsessed and have been going way before she was born and have turned her into a fanatic too. So much so my husband has no desire to go anywhere else, save the Disney cruise that is..

Another question is, since we would own the property for 50 years can we will it to her if something were to happen to us before the 50 years is up?

TnRobin - thanks for the info. Can we bank more than one years points if necessary. I don't think we'd be away more than every other year, but who knows.

Thanks

Suzanne

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by Suzabelle
...(snip)......I know there is a cap per year on the dues, have they been going up the 15% every year? Is it easy to make reservations to stay at some of the other properties at the 7 mo mark?.......

No - To date, they've never gone up the 15% max. In fact, some years they've even gone down. Someone will likely post the hsitory, but a ball park average annual increase is about 3 - 4% (and that may be a bit high, depending on the specifc resort).

I'm personally expecting them to go up more in the next few years than they have in the past, though. Health care and property & liability insurance premiums are out of control everywhere!

FWIW, dues can only be used to pay for operating expenses and so far DVC has done a reasonable job of keeping those in check.

Another question is, since we would own the property for 50 years can we will it to her if something were to happen to us before the 50 years is up?

Yes. You will have a deeded interest that you can will to your daughter.

Can we bank more than one years points if necessary. I don't think we'd be away more than every other year, but who knows.

No. You may only bank one year ahead. You might consider renting the points that you are unable to use or using them yourselves for one of the non-DVC options closer to home.

Best wishes -

 

[Suzabelle]

Thank you all for your information. I have a couple of more questions if you don't mind.

Is it easy to deal with a DVC purchase from home. We won't be going back down until probably Nov or Dec and if we're going to purchase, want to do that soon. Can you do that via the phone and mail?

Also, do you know how many points a cruise is worth? Is it wise to use points towards a cruise?

Also, do you think SSR will be noisy at night due to Pleasure Island and DTD?

Thanks.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I think you are wise to want to do it now, because there is no guarantee that the Magical Beginnings will be around much longer. It is very easy to do it from home. Everything is mailed to you and you sign and overnight it back. Do you already have a sales guide?

I would not worry too much about the noise at SSR. We own at OKW, and while we hear both the fireworks at Epcot and sometimes at PI, it never has awakened us. I am sure Disney will use good judgement in the placement and soundproofing of units.

 

[Mickmse2002]

The only other piece of advice I would add is this: really examine whether or not you will go "every other year" when you determine to buy points. When we first bought into DVC it was with the intention of only going every other year and that we would bank our points in the off year. There hasn't been an off year yet and we have added on twice now that we have discovered the joys of the food and wine festival. We have found that although we loved WDW prior to joining DVC we have it even worse now.

 

[dianeschlicht]

LOL,Mickmse2002! I think MOST of us underestimated the points we needed at first. We originally purchased 230 points, and added on another 150 the next year!

 

[Disney Doll]

Yes, DVC makes absolute sense, even if you go every other year. Like most of the pother posters have told you though...once you start doing it the DVC way, you'll be wanting to go every year, maybe twice a year!!!!! If you can withstand "the lure of The Siren" and buy 150 points and go every other year, that means every other year you'll have 300 points to spend, which is a nice amount!!!!!

DVC is completely willable. The people we have willed ours to are praying that we die young!!!!!

I wouldn't be too concerned about the fireworks noise from PI at SSR. We've stayed at OKW and BCV, and the fireworks noise is not that loud...sort of a muffled booming in the distance, and the BCV are fairly close to Epcot...possibly closer than SSR to PI as the crow flies.

It is not hard to purchase DVC via mail...we did. It requires some FAXing and FedExing back and forth, but the packet was fairly self explanatory and well-marked as to where signatures were required etc.

Good Luck and Welcome Home!!!!!!!!

 

[anniet]

Hi Suzabelle!

Welcome to the DIS!!!

I'm in Scituate-Where on the southcoast are you?

DH and I bought 2 years ago-150 points at VWL. Like you we had been going for the past 10-12 years and decided it's time. A year later I added on 50 more points and now I still want more and the price has jumped $20 per point since my first purchase. So my advice is buy as many points as you think you'll need in the future!!!!

Also I can relate to the cold feet. The night I signed the papers I stared at the ceiling in my room that night and thought "OMG what on Earth did I just do?" I began thinking, "Well I still have time to back out" DH and I are SOOOOOOO Glad I didn't and while we were there in January he kept looking at me saying "This is the best thing you EVER did!"

Good luck and keep us posted on your purchase.

 

[Suzabelle]

Hi Anniet, we're in Rochester and my roommate from college grew up in Scituate. I just got off the phone with the DVC sales representative and he's sending us the video and booklet. So if the money makes sense I think we'll do it. My sister-in-law bought a timeshare in Orlando last year and my brother-in-law bought thist year in Orlando. Both my husband and I only stay on-site and said if we're getting into this timeshare thing, it's going to be in Disney.

Micmse2002. I know, we keep saying we're not going this year and we get that itch again, actually about now in the darkest part of February to start planning. I just don't know whether we'll be able to go every year with my daughter going into first grade next year (we like to go in Nov. and Dec). But accumulating 300 points for a one bedroom is not a bad idea.

Thank you all for your great information. I'm looking forward to getting the information in the mail.

 

[Blackunicorn]

We bought through the mail, also. As a matter of fact, my family has never even been to WDW! (I went once as a teenager.) So how stupid are we! It was extremely easy, though, and you can literally call your guide any time you want. We would come up with questions at midnight on Saturday, call and leave a message, and Veronica would get back to us Sunday morning! And there is also a "legal" department to help you out once you start on the paperwork. I think the hardest thing about signing the paperwork was finding a notary. (And the oh-my-god-what-am-I-doing jitters.) We took six months from contacting Disney to actually deciding to buy in, also, and at no time did Veronica pressure us or make us feel like idiots for dragging our feet. She did call us to see if we had decided from time to time, and to let us know that use years had sold out, and once to let us know that the promotion that we were hoping to buy in under was going to expire. It was the easiest, least stressful large purchase I've ever made. I wish buying a car was that easy!

Dawn

 

[sgtpet]

I think if you want to have extra space, enjoy deluxe resorts, love to go to WDW, then DVC is for you. Beware of one important fact. You will want to buy more points eventually. In some respects it took me 6 years to purchase from initial consideration as a young man in 95 to a new parent in 01.

 

[Caskbill]

While DVC works fine if you only want to go every other year, it even works well if you only want to go once every three years.

You can't bank 2-years worth of points, but you can bank and borrow so you go every 3rd year.

Year 1 - Bank into year 2
Year 2 - Borrow from year 3 and use Year 1, Year 2 & Year 3 points for a vacation.
Year 3 - you receive no points since you borrowed them ahead
Year 4 - Bank into Year 5
Year 5 - Borrow from year 6, and use year 4, year 5, & year 6 points for a vacation.
Year 6 - you receive no points since you borrowed them ahead

etc.

This way you can get by with fewer points. It will take some careful planning though such that the one year you use your points you use all 300% of them. If you have some left over then on occassion you would take a vacation every 2-years instead of every 3-years in order to use those leftover points.

 

[disneyberry]

Suzanne, as Carol predicted, here i am posting the link to the history of dues. (just click on the link in my sig for more info)

also, just wanted to say that using your points for booking cruises is generally not considered a good value. some members will rent out their points, and then pay cash for a cruise instead.

regarding ease of booking at 7mos, it depends on what time of year you want to travel, and what type of unit you want (for ex. BWV Standard Views and GVs everywhere are difficult).

good luck!

 

[Disney Enthusiast]

We bought in Oct 03 at SSR and already added on in Dec at BCV and have no regrets. We added on so we could go every year instead of every other year as Granny had mentioned earlier. The addiction does hit you fast as you can see w/ us. We have no regrets here and look forward to 50 more years! Good luck in your decision!!!

 

[Suzabelle]

Thank you for all the replies. We'll be waiting anxiously for the video and paperwork. I think we're mostly convinced this will be a good thing. Someone mentioned that the promotion was ending soon regarding the $5 off per point. Does anyone know when that will end? It is still up on the disney website.
I am also a little concerned that we won't be able to stay at other properties. We like to travel either the second week of November or the first week of December and someone mentioned this is a popular time for DVC. We like the idea of SSR and the 50 years, but would like to stay elsewhere too epecially BVW and BCV.

We're so addicted, I'm sure we'll adapt.

Thanks again.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I am also a little concerned that we won't be able to stay at other properties. We like to travel either the second week of November or the first week of December and someone mentioned this is a popular time for DVC. We like the idea of SSR and the 50 years, but would like to stay elsewhere too epecially BVW and BCV.

I would not worry too much about staying at your non-home resort. It is usually possible, but may get more difficult some time in the future. November and Dec. are popular with DVC, but you should always be able to get your home resort at the 11 month window at that time. If you are going with SSR, it will eventually be the largest DVC resort, so there should be no problem there.

 

[donald@home]

Oooh... while reading this thread I thought of so many things I want to post... where to begin...

First, Welcome.
Second, Good Luck.
Third, I was going to mention that some states don't allow you to buy timeshares from that particular state, so you would need to travel to WDW to do it, but Massachusetts is not one of those states. So you are all set.
Fourth, I predict, as others have, that you WILL end up going more than every other year and will add more points. We started with 210 (the mininmum at the time) and are now up to 500. When you have the points and an annual pass (which is what a lot of DVC members use) going to WDW (especially from Massachusetts) is so easy and affordable.
Fifth, Even though using points for the cruise is not the most efficient use of the points, we do it every few years. We figure we have them to use and it is a wonderful change from staying at WDW and why not. Some people rent out their points and use cash for the cruise, and we might try this someday if we can find a really cheap cash rate for the cruise and if the trouble of renting, etc. seems worth it.
Sixth, It is usually not a problem getting a non home resort at 7 months, as long as you are a little flexible. What we do is make a reservation at our home resort at the 11 month window, and see what is available at the 7 month. This past year at about the 5 month window, we had a choice of VWL or BCV for early Dec (actually, we reserved BCV but went on the waitlist for VWL, which became available in about 3 weeks).
Seventh, some people say that this was a difficult decision to make and like you, they got cold feet, but it wasn't for me. We walked in with checkbook in hand and walked out as DVC owners. We NEVER regretted it for even ONE SECOND, and we are reassured every time we check into OKW, unpack and realize we are HOME again. Unless buying into DVC is going to cause you to worry where your next meal is going to come from or cut into your mortgage payments, then be confident that you are doing the right thing and that you are making an investment in your families fun, for years to come. ENJOY.