Making Good out of Bad - DVC Help ??

[wedoada]

Both of my parents died last Christmas and we are finally settling their estates. As a result we will have a small amount of $$. It is not enough to buy a house or even make a sizeable down payment here in our area.

We are thinking about buying into the DVC. We have two kids (son 11 and daughter 5) and the wife are I are huge Disney fans even without the kids. We know it is not an "investment" but we're thinking about all of the future vacations to our favorite place and the joy that it would bring. It just seems like a fitting use for the $$ from my folks.

Any thoughts ???

Should we go through Disney or the aftermarket ???

Which is a better deal ??

Any thoughts...advise...help...would be appreciated !!

[Ian]

Well first off, I love the sentiment. I think you're right ... I'm sure your parents would approve of spending some of your inheritance ensuring a lifetime of happy family vacations for you and their grandkids.

I would say, if you can pay cash, it probably makes the most sense to go through the secondary market and not from Disney. I generally think that, unless you need to finance, you're going to do much, much better buying on the secondary market.

Plus, if you go through the secondary market you'll have your choice of resorts, whereas if you buy from Disney you'll basically be limited to Bay Lake Tower, Animal Kingdom Villas, or Saratoga Springs.

Either way, I think you're making a good decision. We own at both SSR and BLT and we love our membership. Does it have some drawbacks? Absolutely ... everything does. Nothing is perfect. But we still feel great about our decision to buy (and basically only regret not buying in sooner!) and would do it again in a heartbeat.

If I could make a recommendation, buy where you want to stay. If you know you want to be near Magic Kingdom, buy at Bay Lake or Villas at Wilderness Lodge. If you're an Epcot family, buy at Beach Club or Boardwalk.

In the end, good luck no matter what you choose! :mickey:

[wedoada]

Thanks for the advise !

I use a wheelchair so we're sort of looking at BLT since it is the newest and has access to the pool and good room access.

I've talked to DVC and got the numbers from them. To get the points we'd want we could pay cash for about 75% and would need to finance the rest.

I'm still looking at the secondary market to get some sort of clue on price. Am I right that in the secondary market when you buy their points the term is much shorter ? Since they've probably used some of the years already...right ?

How do I tell how many more years come along with the points ? Probably a dumb question. LOL

[mjaclyn]

DH and I just bought into DVC in June and are scheduled for our first visit to Bay Lake Tower in two weeks!! We decided to go through Disney because we wanted to buy into BLT and there really wasn't any resale market for it when we were looking. The resales were actually more expensive for that property when considering the incredible deals Disney was offering at the time. The deals change all the time but we were able to go with more points because of the amount of incentive they were offering. It really depends on if you care where you stay when you go. For DH and I the location is a big deal because we have two young children and wanted to be as close to the parks as possible. We thought about buying into Beach Club or Boardwalk through resale but there was something that really attracted me to being on the monorail. Plus, I thought that in a couple of years we could still always purchase 100 points or so in Beach Club if we still wanted to. If location isn't that important to you, you can buy into a location like Vero Beach pretty cheaply through resale but you'll always be taking a chance booking 7 months out. Of course, if your trips aren't planned a year in advance (like mine are, LOL) that might not even matter to you. It all depends on your circumstances. I hope this helped and didn't confuse you even more! LOL

[Ian]

I'm still looking at the secondary market to get some sort of clue on price. Am I right that in the secondary market when you buy their points the term is much shorter ? Since they've probably used some of the years already...right ?

How do I tell how many more years come along with the points ? Probably a dumb question. LOLYou may want to check out The Timeshare Store (http://www.dvc-resales.com/). Their listings show the price per point, number of points, total price of the contract, and the number of years remaining.

But if you're looking at BLT, I'd say definitely go through Disney. You'll get a better price and much better financing. Remember ... Disney is the only lender who can offer you mortgage terms on your purchase, meaning you can deduct interest from your income tax!

[wedoada]

Thanks everyone...this is helping a lot !

[momofdisneyprincess]

We actually decided against buying DVC once we heard how high the yearly fees were. Plus, we don't go to Disney every year and like other places as well ( I know...perish the thought). I mention that only because I was surprised at the fees.

[seanyred]

We actually decided against buying DVC once we heard how high the yearly fees were. Plus, we don't go to Disney every year and like other places as well ( I know...perish the thought). I mention that only because I was surprised at the fees.

I don't know the answer to this so I am just wondering. You say DVC annual dues are high. I'm just wondering if you know what other timeshare companies (like Hilton or Marriott) charge for annual dues/additional fees? I see this statement a lot but it is always good to compare with what other companies are doing. I do remember one timeshare sales pitch we went on that might have had lower annual dues but had tons of "hidden fees". Like in addition to your initial purchase and annual dues you also had to pay $150 dollars to stay at the property you just bought into.

Back to the original topic:
I do know this we bought into DVC because we love going to WDW and DL and this makes the most sense for us.Also since the points can be used for non-Disney vacations we like have that flexibility as well.

[momofdisneyprincess]

My timeshare in Hawaii is $550 a year. The one in Gatlinburg is $600. No hidden fees. If I deposit with the exchange company and go somewhere other than where I own, I pay the $125 exchange fee. I'm not bashing DVC at all. I think it is great for those that frequently go to Disney. I just know some people have been blindsided by the fees and didn't want this to be the case with the OP.

[seanyred]

My timeshare in Hawaii is $550 a year. The one in Gatlinburg is $600. No hidden fees. If I deposit with the exchange company and go somewhere other than where I own, I pay the $125 exchange fee. I'm not bashing DVC at all. I think it is great for those that frequently go to Disney. I just know some people have been blindsided by the fees and didn't want this to be the case with the OP.

I didn't think you were bashing. I just had no comparison. I've been on several time share pitches (and didn't remember exact numbers) and none of them intersted me as much as Disney, but thats because I want to go their yearly. Plus my dues are less than $500 but I have a very small point package. I bought what I needed not what I wanted...trying to be conservative, you know.

[JMTStone]

I'd also like to recommend The Timeshare Store. We purchased 50 additional points at AKV through them. The process was easy and much less expensive than going straight through DVC. I've already booked using those points and there is NO difference to DVC experience.