Which resort has the lowest maintence fees?

[eeyoresmom]

Considering an add on. We have loved all the DVC resorts we've stayed at so far, but have a few questions for those who own seperate contracts. Is it difficult to manage if the contracts have different UY? Wouldn't it make sense for us to buy a resale at VB,HH,or OKW since the price per point is lower? (Unless their maintence fees are higher) That's why the leading question is about maintence fees. TIA

 

[senecabeach]

Here's the info...ignore my pm..had lots of stuff

Year OKW BWV VB VB(sub) HH VWL BCV SSR
2007 4.40 4.85 5.63 4.39 4.98 4.73 4.63 4.12

BTW...For me, I added on at my orig. home. Have "more points/power" to go make ressies @ 11th or 7th mo., manage 1 contract..works for me.

 

[bicker]

Wouldn't it make sense for us to buy a resale at VB,HH,or OKW since the price per point is lower?

I feel that the answer to this is a resounding no, it wouldn't make sense to do that, especially if your current contract is at BCV, BWV or VWL. It is becoming harder to book these resorts at the seven month window (because so many people have done as you suggest in the past, the competition for the limited space at the DVC resorts with the most direct access to the theme parks is fierce). I believe you're best-off aiming to buy points at the resort you plan to use most often.

 

[LisaS]

Considering an add on. We have loved all the DVC resorts we've stayed at so far, but have a few questions for those who own seperate contracts. Is it difficult to manage if the contracts have different UY?

If you purchase a contract with a different UY, it will be completely separate from your SSR contract -- you will have two "master" contracts. If you wanted to use points from both master contracts for one reservation you cannot just combine the points. You would have to book part of the stay using one contract and the rest of the stay using the other contract and link the reservations. You can end up with a small number of points left in each contract -- enough to book another whole day if you combined the points but you cannot do that with two master contracts. You could transfer points from one contract to the other, but that would use up your "one transfer per use year" on both contracts so you only get one chance per year to do that.

If you instead purchase an "add-on" (same UY, same or different resort) then you can combine the points from both contracts to make a reservation, 11 months out if the master and add-on are at the same resort and 7 months out if the master and add-on are at different resorts. You also can pool the points for the purposes of banking which can come in handy. Say you had 150 points at SSR and added on 50 at BWV. If you used all of your SSR points and none of your BWV points, you could bank 100% of your 50 BWV points all the way up to the end of your 25% banking window! Why? because your master plus your add-on total 200 points and your 50 BWV points are only 25% of your total. You cannot do this with two master contracts.

Wouldn't it make sense for us to buy a resale at VB,HH,or OKW since the price per point is lower? (Unless their maintence fees are higher) That's why the leading question is about maintence fees. TIA

Right now, SSR has the lowest dues. VB's are the highest, then HHI. Over the life of the contract you will pay a LOT more in dues than you did to buy in. It will take about 10 years for the higher dues at VB to make it a more expensive option than OKW but from that point on, it would be costing you more (assuming dues increases continue to be about the same percentages they have been in the past). Keep in mind too that if you did add on at VB and later decided to sell, just as you paid less for it, you would get less for it on the resale market and it would probably take longer to find a buyer, especially with everybody here cautioning people about buying there due to the higher dues!

What is your reason for adding on? Is there a particular resort where you want to have the 11-month booking window (an Epcot resort for F&W or VWL for the holidays?) or do you just want more points? If you add on a minimum of 115 points at SSR by the end of the day today you can get them for $86/point and get the 2006 points with your purchase. If you want a small add on (50-75 points) you will pay a premium price on the resale market for such a small contract and have to pay closing costs and reimburse the seller for the current-year dues. If you purchase directly from Disney you will have no closing costs and your dues for this year will be pro-rated from the date of purchase. Prices are higher than resale ($95 for BCV, BWV, VWL, $92 for OKW, and either $92 or $87 for VB and HHI, $91 for SSR if you purchase at least 50 points) but when you factor in the closing costs and full dues, Disney can end up being cheaper than resale, and you will be guaranteed to get the same UY from Disney. (If you actually prefer to purchase a different UY, you can but you would have to purchase a minimum of 150 points and it would be set up as a new master contract.)

 

[eeyoresmom]

Op here, just need more points

 

[MommaX03]

I recently did an add-on at SSR through Disney for more points. Lower dues, no closing costs. For add-ons, Disney had a promo through today of $86 per point for 115 points and up. Alternatively, Disney is doing for a time to be determined $91 a point for 50 to 114 point add-ons. Then, if you are adding on just 25 to 49 points, the per point add-on at SSR is $101. Keep in mind SSR prices are due to rise to $104 a point in March.

Disney gives you the same UY. The points hit my account the day after I gave a credit card deposit. 2006 points.

 

[LisaS]

Op here, just need more points

If you just need more points and aren't looking to get an 11-month booking advantage at any particular resort, then why not just buy more points at SSR? It currently has the lowest dues and at $91/pt (if purchasing at least 50 points) it's cheaper than OKW, BCV, BWV and VWL, and possibly also cheaper than VB and HHI if the $87/pt add-on price is no longer offered.

 

[Doctor P]

If you just need more points and aren't looking to get an 11-month booking advantage at any particular resort, then why not just buy more points at SSR? It currently has the lowest dues and at $91/pt (if purchasing at least 50 points) it's cheaper than OKW, BCV, BWV and VWL, and possibly also cheaper than VB and HHI if the $87/pt add-on price is no longer offered.

But one needs to also look at the long-run history of maintenance fees and the likely future path of the fees. Until the last couple of years, HH had among the lowest dues. There was a very large increase this year to pay for some refurbishing that occurred sooner than was expected. I expect that in the future, HH may begin to again fall below some of the other other on-site resorts once the extra maintenance fees for these repairs go away. Yes, there is the threat of hurricanes there that is more prevelant than on-site resorts, but property taxes and some other items are much lower there. I also expect that we will begin to see larger increases in SSR dues as the subsidy ends or is reduced when the resort is fully built out.

 

[LisaS]

But one needs to also look at the long-run history of maintenance fees and the likely future path of the fees. Until the last couple of years, HH had among the lowest dues. There was a very large increase this year to pay for some refurbishing that occurred sooner than was expected. I expect that in the future, HH may begin to again fall below some of the other other on-site resorts once the extra maintenance fees for these repairs go away. Yes, there is the threat of hurricanes there that is more prevelant than on-site resorts, but property taxes and some other items are much lower there. I also expect that we will begin to see larger increases in SSR dues as the subsidy ends or is reduced when the resort is fully built out.

That's why I said it currently has the lowest dues. There are no guarantees it will stay that way. The first year, SSR's dues were higher than the dues at OKW, the year after that they were about the same and then the following year OKW's dues were higher. So things can change over time.

But my main point was that the OP has stated she needs more points and has not indicated a desire to have the 11-month booking window at any particular resort. So the factors to consider seem to me to be the current price, length of contract, ease of point management (adding on at the same resort or at a second resort) and the dues, and this last item is indeed subject to change.