what is the initial cost of a dvc?

[mist_e_rose2002]

I have tried to read on the website what the initial cost of the dvc is. Can anyone explain to me how that works? and what do I have to pay up front?

What does my money buy?

 

[Cruelladeville]

DVC contracts begin at 150 pts for new members, and each point costs about $95 by now, I think. That's your up-front cost, which can be paid for on time thru Disney, for up to 10 years. On top of that you pay $4 per point for dues. If/when you sell your points, your money comes back to you thru the sale, like it does when you sell your home. The 150 pts you purchased are then used like cash, to "pay" for reservations at the DVC hotels. The cost depends upon the season of the year--a studio in the summer, for example, costs about 15 pts per night, so I could stay for about 10 nights. You will receive the same 150 pts every year to use for reservations. You choose the hotel you want to stay at, and the amount of nights you wish to stay. You can choose larger accommodations if you wish, and they cost more points than the studio.

 

[Aneille]

There are also incentives to purchase into the newest DVC resort which is Saratoga. I don't know what the incentive is currently, but I am sure its on the board somewhere. I think it used to be you get $8.00 off the pt price plus there was something about developers pts and your first years dues. You would be best of calling Disney to find out the current incentive.

Some minor pts, the dues you pay can change each year and each resort has a different dues cost per pt.

There is a point chart at the link at the top of the page. That may give you an idea of how many pts your family would need and would then help you with the intitial cost estimate and help with understanding what you get for your money.

Also you can also always buy through resale. With that you get the option of purchasing a contract less than 150 pts. You do need to pay closing costs and get through (ROFR) Disneys Right of First Refusal as well. But if 150 pts is too many pts for you, resale may be the way to go.

You can get financing through Disney though and with a resale you will need to come up with financing on your own or pay cash.

 

[sleepydog25]

Yes, the minimum new contract you can buy through DVC is 150 points, though more points can be purchased. Figuring at $90 per point (the actual costs depends upon any offers DVC may have), then 150 points would cost you $13,500. You can finance that amount or make payments for up to 10 years. That $13,500 is a one-time cost. However, each year you will have to pay dues--maintenance fees really--that currently average out around $4 per point. Thus, a 150-point contract would require roughly $600 per year in fees. . .fees which traditionally go up slightly each year, essentially mirroring the inflation rate at last calculation.

In return for the purchase of said points, you have the ability to book your accommodations up to 11 months out from your trip date for your home resort or 7 months out for any other resort. Those 150 points go further during an off-season than during a peak season. Hypothetically, if a studio costs you 15 points a night during a non-peak time, that same studio might cost 25 points a night during a more popular time. There are numerous links on this board that shows the corresponding point charts for a particular season at each resort.

When you purchase your points, you get the same amount of points each year to use, bank, or borrow. Using the example above, each year you would get 150 points to use for the life of the contract--current Saratoga Springs contracts expire in 2054. If you don't use all (or any) of your points for a given year, you may bank the remainder to the following year. Conversely, if you need more points in a given year than you own, then you can borrow from the next year. For example, should you skip using your points for 2006, then you could bank them to 2007, giving you a grand total of 300 points for 2007, or even 450 points if you borrowed from 2008.

What DVC does for is allow you to prepay your accommodations essentially for your lifetime and perhaps beyond. It is a hedge against inflation if you plan to visit WDW, DL, or even a resort that trades with WDW at least every other year. Most DVCers find that within 5-9 years, they would have paid as much in out of pocket accomodation expenses as it cost to buy into DVC. Buying into DVC isn't for everyone, and it shouldn't be looked upon as a true investment since it is basically a timeshare, and timeshares are notorious for being poor investments. However, unlike most other timeshares, DVC purchases tend to retain their value more and are a lot more flexible since you aren't limited to any one time during the year. I've only scratched the surface, but hopefully you have a bit better idea of what questions to ask now. Good luck! aw:

 

[chrome64]

Currently the price of Saratooga Springs is $98/point with a 150 point minimum. The current incentive is a credit of $8 dollars per point making your final price $90 per point. The maintenance fees for Saratooga is currently $3.83/point per year. This is the lowest maintenance fee of all of the resorts currently and the life of the owner ship expires in 2054, all other DVC resorts expire in 2042.

This incentive is good through the end of September. On Oct. 1st they will either start a new incentive or keep this one. I was told that I could pay $500 down to hold the points that I want to purchase with this incentive. Then when the new ones are released, I can choose which one I want to keep. So, really now is a good time to buy through Disney.

Another incentive that Disney is offering right now is that if you buy now, you will have a March "use year" (meaning that you will receive your points on March 1st of each year). But they will go ahead and give you all of the 2005 points and only charge a pro-rated amount of maintenance fees for this year. (Most resales charge for any points that you get this year) So basically you can subtract the amount that you are not paying in mainetenance fees for this year from your total cost. Plus when March of 2006 comes around, you will get another full set of points.

BTW, I don't think anyone has mentioned it but, you can "bank" and "borrow" your points each year to take longer vacations or stay in larger accomadations. For example, if you sign up now and purchase 150 points, you will get 150 points now and pay around $200 in maintenance fees for this year. You can "bank" those points to save them for next year. Then in March of 2006 you would have a total of 300 points. Then if you want, you can "borrow" points from the 2007 year to give you as much as 450 points to use in one year!

I could go on for hours. If you have any more questions feel free to PM me. I can give you the phone # of "my guy" at DVC. I have asked him all of these same questions over and over again and I'm sure he would love to hear from someone new!

Glad to see that you are interested!!!!

 

[Caskbill]

Another incentive that Disney is offering right now is that if you buy now, you will have a March "use year" (meaning that you will receive your points on March 1st of each year). But they will go ahead and give you all of the 2005 points and only charge a pro-rated amount of maintenance fees for this year. (Most resales charge for any points that you get this year) So basically you can subtract the amount that you are not paying in mainetenance fees for this year from your total cost. Plus when March of 2006 comes around, you will get another full set of points.

Maintenance fees are charged on the calendar year and have absolutiely nothing to do with Use Years or Use Year month. When you purchase, your maintenance fees are prorated for how many months are left in the calendar year. In January you will pay fees for calendar year 2006, regardless of what your use year is.

Many people mistakenly believe that the fees you pay for a specific calendar year apply to the points received during that year. For example in January 2006 they think they're paying the fees for their 2006 points. This is not correct. They are paying fees for calendar year 2006, which covers a timeframe which in all cases encompases a part of their 2005 use year and a part of their 2006 use year.

Just wanted to clarify that.

 

[vascubaguy]

As others have said... the current price for SSR is $98 per point. There are no other fees or charges to purchase the contract, the only additional charges are the maintenance fees that are due each year. If you were to purchase a new contract now, you would be responsible for paying a prorated amount of maintenance fees for the rest of the year, probably about 2 months worth.

They do currently have the $8 incentive, effectively reducing the price to $90 per point. HOWEVER, if you have to finance your purchase thru DVC they will credit the $8 incentive towards the downpayment. The contract price for 150 SSR points would be $14700.00. The 20% downpayment would be $2940.00 and then DVC would apply the incentive of $1200 towards the downpayment making the upfront downpayment = $1740.00. They require at least a $500 deposit to get things started. The balance would be due a few weeks after that.

You can also purchase the 150 points at the other DVC resorts (depending on availability of points) for $92 per point, but no incentives.

hth

 

[dreamalittledream]

This is all great info and I think I am "getting" it now but I have one question I cannot seem to find an awnser to, How long do you have the DVC for? Life? 30 years? a fixed end date? Thanks! Now I just need to talk DH into seriously considering it.

 

[sleepydog25]

There is a fixed end date to DVC contracts. The contracts offered for Saratoga Springs are through 2054. At that time, they revert back to Disney. All other contracts via resale--OKW, VWL, et. al.--end in 2042 I believe it is. Until then, however, you can sell or rent your points, give them as gifts, or even will your contract to someone. With DVC, you actually own a miniscule portion of real estate, albeit via a timeshare concept, that unlike a piece of land you might buy in your state, will eventually leave you and your family's control either in 2042 or 2054. But, if you take vacations regularly to WDW or associated ventures, then you will more than likely think DVC a good deal after a few years. Hope this helps. aw:

 

[crisi]

No one has mentioned the resale market. The Timeshare Store sponsors this site, click the link above. There are several others (I think they are blocked here nowadays, but google DVC resale).

Resales are a trickier equation. Sometimes you can save some money over buying from Disney, but you will pay closing costs in addition to the listed price. Disney has Right of First Refusal, which means if the price is too low, they buy up the contract - no bargains on the resale market! And you need to pay attention to what you are getting immediately - some contracts are "stripped" The owner has used all this years points and borrowed all next years. But it may be worth checking out.