Trying to get as much information as possible

[RBrooksC]

Hey everybody. Ok, I know that there are extreme views on each side as to why DVC is a good idea and why it is a bad idea. However, it is more opinion than fact sometimes and it is hard to get an acurate idea of something is for me or not.

Here is my situation. My wife and I love Disney. Since 2001 we have been there three times including our honeymoon. I have one son who is two years old and we hope to have another child soon. I work for an airline so flying isn't an issue. Now being that I work for an airline, I do get a 50% discount on WDW hotels. Now, we do want to try the Disney cruise and we would love to go down more often than we do.

Now, we had an unfortunate family death that, once the house is sold, we could be in for some extra money that would allow us to do this.

So, we are wondering what the inital outlay of cash is and then how much a year? I know there is a minimum amount that one has to spend but what is the reality of what is needed for a family of four to have a comfortable vacation? Or what would be needed for a family of four to go on the cruise?

Also any pertinent information that would be helpful in deciding if this would be good for us if we did get enough money to do it.

[Ian]

Quite honestly ... if you get a 50% discount on WDW hotels, I don't think DVC is a good option for you. You'd save more money just booking with your 50% discount.

[Kidsmom]

I agree with the PP. Take the money you get from the house and put it into the bank for the kids college education.

Just my two cents!


(Oh...and I am a DVC member and love it.)

[mjstaceyuofm]

Quite honestly ... if you get a 50% discount on WDW hotels, I don't think DVC is a good option for you. You'd save more money just booking with your 50% discount.
I'd trust Ian as long before he was a DVC owner he and his family were frequent visitors staying at the various resorts on cash reservations. While I trust Ian's analysis of the 50% off price, I'd ask the following:

How long will you receive this discount?
Do you want to stay at DVC resorts specifically?
Do you want to finance your membership?
Will you be able to afford the annual dues for the next 40 years?

There's a myriad of questions that will influence your decision to buy. I believe most of the information about DVC is located here on Intercot, but to answer some of your questions you purchase points (which are currently selling for $100+/point). The minimum purchase is 150 points so it can get expensive. I believe you have to put down a minimum 10% and can finance the rest if your credit is good enough.

You need to look at your situation and how/when/how often you vacation to see what number of points make sense for you.

[RBrooksC]

Yes, This is why I want to get all the information I can get. Like what are the usually annual dues that one has to pay?

Also, I don't know how long I will work for the airline. While my job is a more necessiary job than most it isn't 100% secure.

I guess the reason we are looking into it, beyond the discount I get is that it is already paid and we can just decide to go.

However, the total cost/benefit is what I trying to decide. As I said before, it is hard to get good information because much of the time opinion is coupled with facts that makes it hard to know where the facts end and the opinions begin.

We are also curious about the vacation points when it comes to the cruise and other destinations available from DVC.

BTW, the children's education account would be the first thing we do but it is going to start an account and then build each year. Basically the same thing my dad did for my brother and me.

[Ian]

The minimum purchase is 150 points so it can get expensive. I believe you have to put down a minimum 10% and can finance the rest if your credit is good enough.This is nit-picky I know, but it's actually up to 160 point minimum now.

You don't have to put 10% down, but you do to get Disney's preferred financing. If you get your own financing, you can arrange whatever terms you can quality for.


Yes, This is why I want to get all the information I can get. Like what are the usually annual dues that one has to pay?

Also, I don't know how long I will work for the airline. While my job is a more necessiary job than most it isn't 100% secure.

I guess the reason we are looking into it, beyond the discount I get is that it is already paid and we can just decide to go.

However, the total cost/benefit is what I trying to decide. As I said before, it is hard to get good information because much of the time opinion is coupled with facts that makes it hard to know where the facts end and the opinions begin.

We are also curious about the vacation points when it comes to the cruise and other destinations available from DVC.

BTW, the children's education account would be the first thing we do but it is going to start an account and then build each year. Basically the same thing my dad did for my brother and me.To the first point about dues, the cost is on a per point basis. So the more points you buy the higher your annual dues are.

They also depend on where you buy. Resorts with more members (like SSR and OKW) have a lower per-point dues cost because they have more owners to spread their maintenance costs over.

We own 160 points at SSR and I think our annual maintenance costs are something like $4 per point or about $640 a year.

As far as using DVC for things like cruises and resort stays ... I would not buy into DVC with this as a primary intention. You should plan on spending 95% of your points at your home resort. So don't buy anywhere that you aren't willing to stay.

[Jasper]

Also, even though it does operate a little differently than the traditional time share DVC is still looked upon by the rest of the world as a time share. That means that just like any other time share the value does drop significantly as soon as you buy it. I do know that some time shares drop by over half of their value as soon as you purchase them. I don't think DVC drops that much, but when you go online and look at the prices individuals are asking for there is certainly a loss of value.

Also be fully aware of all the rules pertaining to selling your DVC membership. I do not know what Disney DVC rules are but some others I have seen are pretty darn strict about how you can sell. Yes, I know that if you buy you intend to make it a life long purchase or what ever but others have also said that and ended up selling at some point in the future.

[Ian]

Also, even though it does operate a little differently than the traditional time share DVC is still looked upon by the rest of the world as a time share. That means that just like any other time share the value does drop significantly as soon as you buy it. I do know that some time shares drop by over half of their value as soon as you purchase them. I don't think DVC drops that much, but when you go online and look at the prices individuals are asking for there is certainly a loss of value.

Also be fully aware of all the rules pertaining to selling your DVC membership. I do not know what Disney DVC rules are but some others I have seen are pretty darn strict about how you can sell. Yes, I know that if you buy you intend to make it a life long purchase or what ever but others have also said that and ended up selling at some point in the future.Actually this is mostly incorrect ... virtually all DVC memberships up to this point have increased in value. Some significantly.

Now this is absolutely not an indication of how it will always be, and you definitely should not buy into DVC as an investment, but thus far DVC memberships are worth more than what most owners paid for them on the resale market.

As far as selling your membership, Disney is really easy. They have ROFR, but other than that you're free to sell at any time.

[Hammer]

Actually this is mostly incorrect ... virtually all DVC memberships up to this point have increased in value. Some significantly.

Now this is absolutely not an indication of how it will always be, and you definitely should not buy into DVC as an investment, but thus far DVC memberships are worth more than what most owners paid for them on the resale market.


No, in most cases, you will lose money on a DVC you sell. I saved over $2000 from what it would have cost me had I bought SSR through DVC instead of the Timeshare Store. The only exception seems to be at Beach Club Villas.

[RBrooksC]

As far as using DVC for things like cruises and resort stays ... I would not buy into DVC with this as a primary intention. You should plan on spending 95% of your points at your home resort. So don't buy anywhere that you aren't willing to stay.


The primary reason would be the resort stay. WDW would be the primary reason for it. However, the option for the cruise or to go to Hilton Head would be something different to do.

[DizneeRX]

Actually this is mostly incorrect ... virtually all DVC memberships up to this point have increased in value. Some significantly.

Just curious - I checked The Timeshare Store and Saratoga Springs timeshares are listed starting at $73 / point. You paid less than this?

[mjstaceyuofm]

No, in most cases, you will lose money on a DVC you sell. I saved over $2000 from what it would have cost me had I bought SSR through DVC instead of the Timeshare Store. The only exception seems to be at Beach Club Villas.Like Ian said, it really all depends on your situation. DVC points have increased in cost almost annually. I bought my points for $58/each at OKW and just recently extended them another 15 years. I could easily sell them for $74/point if not more due to the extension I purchased earlier in the year. Because Disney has the ROFR, they can keep tabs on the price and keep it to a level they desire. While $16/point increase is not that great, I've also gotten well over 10 years of use out of my points too. More than enough to cover the initial cost of the points if I were to have vacationed that many times with cash reservations. Disney is NOT like other timeshares in the fact that it has increased in value for a lot of people.

[Ian]

No, in most cases, you will lose money on a DVC you sell. I saved over $2000 from what it would have cost me had I bought SSR through DVC instead of the Timeshare Store. The only exception seems to be at Beach Club Villas.Note carefully that I said "virtually all" ... SSR is the notable exception.

But a quick review of resale contracts on Timeshare Store's site shows that most contracts have gained value since they were originally purchased. Remember, points have only very recently spiked into the $90 and $100 per point range. Just a few years back, they were mostly selling for about $75 a point before incentives and with incentives that could get down even into the $60 per point range.

Also, we're obviously in a down economy so people will be less likely to buy contracts and more likely to sell. That's a clear market indicator that prices are going to drop.

And, to be fair, the vast majority of the SSR contracts are priced in the $80 per point range. There's only one contract priced at $73 a point, so using that as some kind of indicator is completely disingenuous.

Although, Christine, I do agree that resale is the way to go if you're not dependent on Disney financing or incentives.

[Hammer]

All I wanted to point out was that is much cheaper to buy resale through an outside broker like the Timeshare Store then to buy a contract from Disney for places like Wilderness Lodge, Boardwalk, and SSR. The average price for those properties on the resale market are low to mid 80's per point. If you were to buy the same thing from Disney, you are paying mid to upper 90's per point, not to mention you must buy 160 points.

As I said, the exception is Beach Club Villas, where the price is about the same.

[Ian]

Okay, then I definitely agree, Christine. There's no doubt that if you're looking for points at a sold out property the third party resale market is the way to go.