DVC or not to DVC that is the question... About This Page:

[Clare loves Stitch]

I would like some advice from people in the know..... (thats you guys by the way )

I have been looking at DVC ok it started as curiosity to try to know everything i can about disney but now (as a result of finding out that I can purchase under 160 points via resale) I'm thinking it could be for us and i would like to know what you think.

I like to visit disney every other year and cannot afford to every year - I really want to experience WDWs food and wine festival, WDW at Christmas, i would love to stay at bay lake towers and see wishes from the balcony, I would love to stay at AKL and wake up and have breakfast over looking the savannah, do the safari...... so to fit in all these things i will need to visit WDW just a few more times not to mention the fact that a Spa break at saratoga springs appeals to me and so does a Cruise as does Vero beach. I would also like a girls break at disney and im sure Andy would like a boys break there. Also maybe one year taking my parents and one year taking his and also going with another couple. This makes me think that I would be happy with the fact that DVC does to a certain extent limit your vacation options.

I understand you can choose other breaks but as i cannot find points charts for those i have no idea the scope of these? can any one help on this??

And im guessing that if i (or more likely by DBF) have had enough I will be able to sell it reasonably easily?

As I live in the UK I like to stay for at least 10 day vacations due to the time I spend travelling. I have no real need for a kitchen on vacation so will be happy with studio accomodations. I have no children but someday I would like one! at present I can take my vacation whenever I wish.

I was thinking about buying 100-125 points via resale so that i would have 200-250 every two years for my vacation or enough for a short (7 day ) break every year!

Which I think will work out between $8-11k plus the closing fee I think will be about $300 ish.

I think would prefer to stay at the Beach Club as I love Epcot and a huge amount of my love for disney is due to the excellent dining experiences and i dont like to drive in the US. Making the Beach clubs location excellent for me.

Although this is my main source of confusion - should I choose a home base that I am happy to stay at the most often or one that has cheaper dues due to the variety of breaks I wish to have?

I worked out that will mean dues of $625 ish dollars a year - $53 a month which I am comfortable with and I would need $1500- $2000 for flights for us every year or every other year.

what do you think ??? will it be worth it as I dont vacation as often as other people??

I would really like your honest opinion - as $11k is alot of money and I really dont want to make the wrong choice!!

thanks for any help in advance

[tjkraz]

For the most part I think your logic is sound.

It's impossible to tell what will happen with resale values so I would go into this expecting to own for a MINIMUM of 5 years. Make sure that your financial situation is reasonably secure for that period of time (stable job, money in the bank, etc.)

If you have to sell you'll at least lose 10-15% in broker commission. All it takes is a small decline in the market, or an urgent need to sell, and you could find yourself $2000-3000 in the hole.

As for a Home resort, your post mentions quite a variety of resorts that you want to visit. If that's accurate, I would put more weight on contract durations and overall cost (acquisition + dues) than in owning a particular resort. BCV is a fine resort but the ownership ends in the year 2042 regardless of when you buy. That means you would only be getting about 33 years of ownership. By comparison. a Saratoga Springs purchase would get you 45 years, AKV 48 years and the Bay Lake Tower 50 years.

Most people who rely on booking at the 7 month window will tell you that it's rare that they are "stuck" staying at their Home resort. There are usually multiple options available if you call right at 7 months. But it's a situation where you may not be able to get a specific resort or room class every single time you want it. If you try to book BCV or the Bay Lake Tower Magic Kingdom View at 7 months, it make take you a few tries before you actually get it. Availability is such a fluid thing and it varies wildly from one season to another that it's tough to give you any firm advice.

If you really want the ability to consistently book BCV at 11 months, then by all means buy there. But in doing so you'll be paying higher dues than some other destinations and accepting a smaller overall contract length.

[moneyhappy]

Originally Posted by tjkraz

For the most part I think your logic is sound.

It's impossible to tell what will happen with resale values so I would go into this expecting to own for a MINIMUM of 5 years. Make sure that your financial situation is reasonably secure for that period of time (stable job, money in the bank, etc.)

If you have to sell you'll at least lose 10-15% in broker commission. All it takes is a small decline in the market, or an urgent need to sell, and you could find yourself $2000-3000 in the hole.

As for a Home resort, your post mentions quite a variety of resorts that you want to visit. If that's accurate, I would put more weight on contract durations and overall cost (acquisition + dues) than in owning a particular resort. BCV is a fine resort but the ownership ends in the year 2042 regardless of when you buy. That means you would only be getting about 33 years of ownership. By comparison. a Saratoga Springs purchase would get you 45 years, AKV 48 years and the Bay Lake Tower 50 years.

Most people who rely on booking at the 7 month window will tell you that it's rare that they are "stuck" staying at their Home resort. There are usually multiple options available if you call right at 7 months. But it's a situation where you may not be able to get a specific resort or room class every single time you want it. If you try to book BCV or the Bay Lake Tower Magic Kingdom View at 7 months, it make take you a few tries before you actually get it. Availability is such a fluid thing and it varies wildly from one season to another that it's tough to give you any firm advice.

If you really want the ability to consistently book BCV at 11 months, then by all means buy there. But in doing so you'll be paying higher dues than some other destinations and accepting a smaller overall contract length.

I agree with Tim...

• First, think about what you can afford, in later years you can always add-on points.
• Second, how long do you want your timeshare for? You might pay less for BCV but you will only have it for 33 years versus AKV or BLT.
• Dues - they are changing every year. So BCV may have higher dues, there is also the possibility of higher dues next year. From a financial standpoint leave some flexibility to be able to afford higher dues in the future.
• www. DVCNEWS.com (Tim... ) has point charts so you can compare your options. It is also a very good site fo DVC questions
• For buying resale... sorry I have only bought through DVC

[Clare loves Stitch]

Excellent thanks for your advice.... after that I think I will rethink the whole home resort thing!

I would like to ask ... im guessing that its easier to get a place at your home resort when its peak attendance - like Christmas? so would that mean if i have a resort I would prefer at christmas but dont mind any resort most of the other time then I should pick that one - is that logical?

Also how much do dues go up by roughly each year??? I was thinking of allowing 5% ish would that be right?

[DISNEY03]

Yes, you get to book your home resort 11mths ahead instead of the 7mth for your none home resort. The due's have not gone up too much at all since 2003. We have 150pts and we pay approx. $600 a year.
We go every other year also and that gives us 300 pts when we go. Good luck with your decision, we have never regretted it, actually we often say that this was one of the best decisions we've ever made.

[spluto18]

I hear you I am debating buying for Vero Beach because I can go to just the beach and I can go to WDW. I want to travel with my BF to WDW to make sure he enjoys going because if he doesn't I am unsure how much use I would get out of it if he didn't enjoy going there. A really good deal for resale even if I really used it for 10 years it would pay for itself and then I could stay at the deluxe level

This is a hard decision.. though I want between 200-300 point so I am unsure where I should get my "home" lol...

[Clare loves Stitch]

Hmmm - im now kinda debating between 3!!

Wilderness lodge as this is the lodge I would most like to visit at christmas BUT the shorter contract!

Boardwalk for its proximity to my two fave parks and a whole tonne of close dinning options and for the food and Wine festival) BUT the shorter contract!

Animal Kingdom Lodge for the low dues, the great restuarants (I love spicey food) and the idea that its pretty much a park in itself but im not sure there are enough Christmas things to do and its quite far out!

OOOOOHhhh how did you decide on your home resort??

[DVC Mike]

Originally Posted by Clare loves Stitch

OOOOOHhhh how did you decide on your home resort??

Choosing Your Home Resort - Factors to Consider

[chezp]

We decided on our home resort by where we wanted to stay - the Beach Club Villas, as we fell in love with it when we first saw it. However, we added on three times at Saratoga Springs, because that's where the deals were. Admittedly, each time, we added on through Disney, not resale.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned and is really important, as you'll be in the same boat as us - don't forget, when you were calculating the dues, some years those will be a lot more expensive than others, due to the fluctuating exchange rate. In 2008, we lucked out, with the exchange rate at $2 to £1, meaning we paid less than in 2007, even after the annual rises. This year was a very different story, as we were at about $1.50. It's something to keep in mind, as that will make a big difference to how much you pay in dues each year.

[chezp]

We decided on our home resort by where we wanted to stay - the Beach Club Villas, as we fell in love with it when we first saw it. However, we added on three times at Saratoga Springs, because that's where the deals were. Admittedly, each time, we added on through Disney, not resale.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned and is really important, as you'll be in the same boat as us - don't forget, when you were calculating the dues, some years those will be a lot more expensive than others, due to the fluctuating exchange rate. In 2008, we lucked out, with the exchange rate at $2 to £1, meaning we paid less than in 2007, even after the annual rises. This year was a very different story, as we were at about $1.50. It's something to keep in mind, as that will make a big difference to how much you pay in dues each year.

[Clare loves Stitch]

Originally Posted by chezp

One thing that hasn't been mentioned and is really important, as you'll be in the same boat as us - don't forget, when you were calculating the dues, some years those will be a lot more expensive than others, due to the fluctuating exchange rate. In 2008, we lucked out, with the exchange rate at $2 to £1, meaning we paid less than in 2007, even after the annual rises. This year was a very different story, as we were at about $1.50. It's something to keep in mind, as that will make a big difference to how much you pay in dues each year.

thats a good point ..... thanks Cheryl .....as the dollar to pound is 1.6 ish atm right? - i suppose that the bank you use for the Direct debit will effect the exchange rate too i remember that the exchange rate was 1:1 at one point about 10 yrs ago i think. I think 1:1 this is probably worst case senario right so if i make sure I have enough for that stashed away under my matress it should be fine?

[MickeyWatch]

Thanks for all the useful information. We too are considering the purchase issue.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Clare loves Stitch

thats a good point ..... thanks Cheryl .....as the dollar to pound is 1.6 ish atm right? - i suppose that the bank you use for the Direct debit will effect the exchange rate too i remember that the exchange rate was 1:1 at one point about 10 yrs ago i think. I think 1:1 this is probably worst case senario right so if i make sure I have enough for that stashed away under my matress it should be fine?

I believe the low was about $1.35. The average over the years is somewhere around $1.65 - $1.70, so we're not doing too badly now. I think yesterday, it was $1.63. We just pay it off on the credit card when it's due. I don't know if you can do Direct Debit. I know you can't do monthly payments, you have to pay it off in January in one go and we've always used the credit card to do that.

[Kynna]

You have gotten a lot of sound advice. We bought our home SSR based on incentives that were being offered and we love it. If you are flexible on dates then you should be able to try the other resorts without a problem. We have good luck getting non home resorts with our exact dates on the 7 month mark. (We tend to travel slightly off season.) I think the biggest thing is that we don't feel "stuck" when we book our home resort. We love it there but want to take the oppourtunity to try other resorts if we get them.

Every time we go I get a quote on a matching trip and a "value" trip and compare the costs. We can do a value trip for very slightly less. We always come out ahead regardless of the promotions being offered on the matching accomodations.

[DVCBird941]

When DW and I purchased in Nov 08 they were only selling AKV and BLT. The price was lower for AKV but the dues were much higher. In doing the math we would of saved $7500 in initial cost buying AKV over BLT, but would end up paying $7000 more in dues over the 50 years, w/o factoring in any increase. So in my eyes there was no question as the dues for AKV will go up much faster than BLT, and eventually cost more in the long run. Not to mention that BLT is on the monorail, therefore should increase more in vlaue, and we were sold. It did not hurt that we loved the look of the rooms.