Thinking of buying - have a few questions

[wdwtravels]

I'm sorry if these have been asked before - I've had a read through and haven't spotted them.

DH and I have just started thinking about buying DVC - we're considering getting 200 points at SSR - it's only the two of us and we'd like to be able to stay in a studio for two weeks each November. We're planning on taking the tour in May and then buying in the summer when we'll be able to do so without finance.

Here's my Qs:

1. How many years can you bank points for? We won't need all of the 200 points for two weeks in a studio, so we'll bank a few of them into the next year - which will allow us to stay in a different resort, or a different time of year. But what happens if I have left over points from 2007 and then we choose not to go at all in 2008? Obviously, I can bank my 08 points into 09, but can i carry the 07 points over too?

2. What is the resale value like? I have seen that resale is about 15% less than buying from Disney - but I'd like to know how the value holds over a number of years. So the cheeky question is, of you bought your points say 10 years ago, how much have you made/lost on today's price?

3. How often do the annual maintenance fees increase and how much by? I'm assuming what I pay for maintenance fees in 2007 won't stay the same for 47 years!



I think that's everything for now - TIA

 

[Didney Daddy]

1) You can bank for one use year only, if you do not use your 07 points in 08, you will lose them if you do not at least rent them.
2) Resale can be less than buying from Disney but generally not by much. With Disney's Right of first refusal they keep the spread pretty tight plus you have closing costs etc... The biggest benefit IMO is that through resale you may find a contract for a property and use year that you desire. Prices have gone up a lot over the last 10 years but that may give you the wrong impression. DVC is a prepaid vacation plan, not an investment. It is best viewed as paying in today's dollars for future vacation stays that may be more expensive. There is no telling if DVC can continue to sell its points for ever increasing amounts, seems unlikely to occur over the next 20 years as these contracts get closer to expiration.
3) THey go up every year and tend to be 2-5 % per year. There are threads that show the exact breakdown.

Remember, DVC is great if you love all things Disney and plan on going at least every other year and would normally stay in on property resorts paying close to top dollar. If these things are true, you should definately take a look.

 

[byoung]

Good luck on your decision, hope to Welcome you Home soon.

 

[LisaS]

3. How often do the annual maintenance fees increase and how much by? I'm assuming what I pay for maintenance fees in 2007 won't stay the same for 47 years!

There are tables here showing the dues/point for each resort as well as the dues increases each year since each resort opened: http://personalpages.tds.net/~rb/DIS/DVC/DVCDuesHistory.htm

 

[wdwtravels]

Thanks for the advice guys - just wanted to clarify my point about holding of resale value - we're not thinking in investment terms, just that we don't have a crystal ball and while this works for us now our situation may change in years to come and I'd like to know that if we had to sell we would at least get some of the money back.

 

[Mtnman44]

Historically, all of the market values have increased so it seems very reasonable to assume in the short term, you may be able to recover at least all of your initial investment if you choose to, if not actual profit. Remember, dollars in 2020 won't likely buy as much as the same amount today, but basically yes, it seems like they hold their value and actually appreciate.

However, none of the contracts have yet reached their 50% remaining level. When that occurs, all bets are off. Logic dictates that the market value will begin to drop as the "time equity" of the contract drops.

 

[Cruelladeville]

I bought in 1997 at $56 per pt, and sold one of my BW contracts this year for $83(to a relative, so there were no closing costs). I could have sold thru a resale agency for slightly more, but we wanted our "baby" to stay in the family! We have bought and sold other contracts, too, and they usually sell quickly. We have been very happy with the appreciation of the pts. I also own a couple of Marriott's, and , while a very nice timeshare, they depreciate in cost over time, or, at best, a resale holds even. That is generally the trend in Florida, except DVC. You probably can't go wrong if you go with DVC.