Dues

[locutus]

Has anyone else gotten there 2009 dues bill yet? Disney raised them again--alot. My dues for 320 points went up over 200 bucks. Economy hurtin youd think they would mayby keep them at least the same as last year.

[vizsla]

The dues goes up every year on average of 3 to 5%. You have to expect the dues to go up every year when the operating expenses increase, someone has to to pay for it.

[Here we go again...]

The dues goes up every year on average of 3 to 5%. You have to expect the dues to go up every year when the operating expenses increase, someone has to to pay for it.

I posted this in another thread:

I am still trying to figure out my dues. I just paid SSR for 2009 and paid $922.
Last year I paid $727. for the same points.

It looks like the year before we over paid on estimated taxes... That is a huge difference though. Is this normal?

I put away $800 in anticipation of our dues but the $922 caught me off guard. Do the dues normally fluctuate this much?

That is a lot more than 5%. I thought that if I put away $800 I would be more than safe. Since I have not been a DVC owner that long I do not know what to expect in the future. Is it normal to see an increase like this often?
The fee per point did not go up much, so it does not seem right.

[VWL Mom]

Mine at VWL went up $70 on 282 points. I didn't think that was too bad since they did a ton of work there last year.

Your increase seems a bit higher. Did you own for all of 2008?

[VWL Mom]

Never mind, just read your signature and you did. Hmmm....

[DVC Mike]

Has anyone else gotten there 2009 dues bill yet? Disney raised them again--alot.

Disney raised rates in 2009 as follows:

OKW - 3.7%
BWV - 3.4%
VWL - 3.6%
BCV - 4.2%
SSR - 3.1%
AKV - 3.3%

That is very reasonable, and certainly not "a lot".

[Here we go again...]

Disney raised rates in 2009 as follows:

OKW - 3.7%
BWV - 3.4%
VWL - 3.6%
BCV - 4.2%
SSR - 3.1%
AKV - 3.3%

That is very reasonable, and certainly not "a lot".

Any idea what would cause a $200 increase on 210 points? locutus must have had the same problem I am running into but I can not get a reply from DVC.
I just want to understand... and be prepared if this is going to happen each year.

[Here we go again...]

My reply from DVC:

Hi, Angel. Thank you for your e-mail. The difference was that you
received a credit of $221.50 because you had paid the estimated property
taxes last year. The actual taxes ended up being lower for the Orange
County Tax Department taxed the property as undeveloped land, rather
than developed property. Your Bay Lake membership's dues are not owed
till 10/01/09, which is $122.70. Hope this helped. Please feel free to
contact us if you have any further questions. Have a great day, and
Happy New Year of 2009 to you, Angel.

That explains it.

Wow, when I posted this I realized the smile they put on the end of their email turned into one of our smilies. Cool....

[locutus]

Im just dissapointed to themthemgo up at all considering the rough financial times we are all in. Even if they were kept the same as last year, they would still be making a killing. People say "Hows that"?. Consider your one family paying such high dues every year....for all those members per resort..WOW! Im actually contemplating selling. My 1400+ per year (just for a room), I think id be better off selling and getting a 1400 dollar package that includes park admissions.

[DizneyRox]

Dues have nothing to do with the economy. They still need to maintain the property, pay the housekeeping, etc.

[Ian]

Personally, I don't think the $700 they charged me for a whole year is bad at all. That's like a shade over $50 a month and that includes upkeep and taxes on the entire resort. I can't even imagine what that runs for a year.

Heck, my homeowner's association payment is almost double that and that gets me next-to-nothing!

[TennesseeTink]

Heck, my homeowner's association payment is almost double that and that gets me next-to-nothing!

Excellent point

[DizneeRX]

Personally, I don't think the $700 they charged me for a whole year is bad at all. That's like a shade over $50 a month and that includes upkeep and taxes on the entire resort. I can't even imagine what that runs for a year.

Yes, for a whole year, this wouldn't be too bad. But in reality, this $700 is only for the days you use the resort - that's, what? - 7 to 10 days? - That's anywhere from $70 to $100 PER DAY in dues!

IMO, that's a bit steep...

[Ian]

It's actually more like 15 days, but your point is still valid.

However, consider the fact that if I get 15 days vacation a year for 50 years out of my contract that's 750 total vacation days over the length of my contract.

We paid about $14,000 for our contract. That works out to $18 per day. The $700 per year adds on $47 per day, for a total of $65 a day.

[lockedoutlogic]

It's actually more like 15 days, but your point is still valid.

However, consider the fact that if I get 15 days vacation a year for 50 years out of my contract that's 750 total vacation days over the length of my contract.

We paid about $14,000 for our contract. That works out to $18 per day. The $700 per year adds on $47 per day, for a total of $65 a day.

if you are a frequent offender at WDW...DVC offers a tremendous value over the whole length of the contract.....simple inflation will guarantee that.

But there is a big danger that seems to be manifesting itself on this discussion...

There is no way to cap how much dues will go up. And since that could greatly increase the cost over the term of the contract, it's important that people not go overboard with their point banks - which they seem to do.

Start small....then buy more if needed. My impression is that alot of people (on sites such as this) seem to be not too sure if they are even going to purchase....then they go ahead and make "the leap" and buy 275 points.

That's alot of dues....and it probably isn't necessary to have so many points for most...at least not at the start.

But i see what people do: they don't really manipulate the bank. Going on "easter/passover/useless spring break" isn't the wise way to go....nor is going at christmas or thanksgiving...
If it's two adults and 2 small children or an infant.....a two bedroom is overkill.....in most cases, two studios are a much better point value than the larger accomodations...

I would say buyer: beware. The dues don't seem like alot when you are happily signing your contract. I don't really mind them at all....but they are not fixed. And that is dangerous at Disney. They will use them to supplement their operating budget more if they don't like the bottomline...rest assured.

So it's all about choices. If you buy the appropriate amount of points and use them wisely...you might end up getting your rooms at 1/5th the current rack rate. If you are paying 3000 a year in dues and get 8 nights out of it....you're gonna be back close to retail price.

[Ian]

I do agree with that ... that's why we only bought the 160 point minimum when we first joined.

We also work very hard to maximize what we get from our point bank ... avoiding weekends, going during Adventure season, etc.

We quickly realized, though, that for the size accomodations we prefer and how often we like to visit that 160 points wasn't enough ... hence the 200 point BLT add-on.

[LynneM]

Im just dissapointed to themthemgo up at all considering the rough financial times we are all in. Even if they were kept the same as last year, they would still be making a killing. People say "Hows that"?. Consider your one family paying such high dues every year....for all those members per resort..WOW! Im actually contemplating selling. My 1400+ per year (just for a room), I think id be better off selling and getting a 1400 dollar package that includes park admissions.

I think you misunderstand what the dues are for...have you looked at the operating expense info that DVC sends you every year?

The dues are not profit for Disney. They cover the operating expenses for the resort. Think of it like a condo fee, where all the condo owners kick in to pay for the cleaning of the common areas, taking away the trash, general upkeep of the property and building.

So Disney can't just lower the dues because they want to be nice to people in an bad economy (and that's not how a capitalist economy works anyway ). Operating expenses go up every year, just because products and services generally cost more every year. If they cut our dues, they have to pay the housekeepers less. Or the front desk CMs. Or run buses to the parks less often. Or take away the trash less often. Or mow the lawn less often.

[Ian]

As an owner I should definitely know this, but are the resorts independently audited in terms of dues, maintenance expenses, etc.?

[Aurora]

As an owner I should definitely know this, but are the resorts independently audited in terms of dues, maintenance expenses, etc.?

It's hard to figure out the legalese, but I believe this is required by Florida law. From the Florida Dept. of Revenue site:

Before the first sale of a timeshare period, the developer shall create or provide for a managing entity, which shall be either the developer, a separate manager or management firm, the board of administration of an owners' association, or some combination thereof. ...

The duties of the managing entity include, but are not limited to: ...

...Arranging for an annual independent audit of all the books and financial records of the timeshare plan by a certified public accountant in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards as defined by the rules of the Board of Accountancy of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

A copy of the audit shall be filed with the division and forwarded to the officers of the owners' association, or, if no association exists, the owner of each timeshare period shall be notified that such audit is available upon request.

[Ian]

Okay, cool. Just checking!