An Amazing Alternative to Purchasing more DVC Points

[MICKIMINI]

DH and I have been DVC for 26 years and hold over 500 points. We need 1000 points. DH suggested I look elsewhere (gasp!) for options in the WDW area to extend our 4 weeks to 6-8 weeks annually.

I did my research and then held my husband hostage for an entire weekend using typical timeshare tactics to strong arm him into saving 50K! My presentation included:

*Shades of Green- great resort next to Poly but more hotel like (we like villas) no buy in so definitely an option if we need a couple nights
*Hilton - didn't like locations and our "seasons" didn't match up
*Marriott - too confusing!
*DVC

The winner is:
*Wyndham - Bonnet Creek has the best location and lots of villa options to 3 BR that don't break the bank. The contract I bought cost $200 net. I worked with a resale company I've bought DVC through numerous times so I was comfortable with the purchase. There is a buy back program, but for $200 I can hand it back to my broker and say sell it.

Full disclosure: We also bought two resale AKV contracts which are under agreement.

Win-win!

 

[Huskerpaul]

So I do have some questions. What separates the $1 timeshares that are not worth it from those that are? Why wouldn't they work for most people? How would you get rid of yours in a month? Do you believe DVC is the safest timeshare, or are there others? Do any of them appreciate in value? I would totally appreciate if someone would explain enough for those of us who don't know so that we could be at least partially informed "non experts".

Maybe you actually invest a couple minutes and watch the Wyndham video since it answers your questions instead of just demanding to be spoon fed the answers.

 

[ffindis]

Watch the YouTube channel "Destination Timeshare". It's Dioxide45 YouTube channel on the Timeshare User Group (TUG) forums. He taught me everything I know.

Thank. you so much for the suggestion!

 

[Sandisw]

Let’s keep things on topic and away from criticism of others.

 

[cbyrne1174]

SOME companies are awful, some are great. I will go over each company and my opinion of them and rank from best to worst (my opinion)

#1 Wyndham - Great resale product, horrible retail product. They have the most locations and the most room size/quality choices (Regular, Deluxe, Presidential)
#2 Marriott - Immaculate resorts, awesome amenities, still wouldn't waste the money buying retail. Doesn't have the #1 spot mainly because of room size choices (a lot of locations require a 2 BR minimum; studios don't have functional kitchens) and requiring 7 nights to get a good deal.
#3 DVC - Great if you live near Disney; highest resale value. Biggest con is how expensive it is for what you get.
#4 Hilton/Westin/Sheraton - Immaculate resorts but too few locations (why I don't own).

I refuse to own any of the companies below because their products aren't good and you can't get out of them easily. I won't even take them for free:
Vacation Village, Diamond, Westgate, Bluegreen, Holiday Inn

Those horror stories are from people who don't do their research and buy retail. I pay cash for my ownerships and only buy resale. I researched how to get out of my ownerships before even making a purchase. I started looking into DVC in 2018 and finally decided to get a deed in 2021. It took me 3 years of watching and researching to buy in to DVC. The biggest thing that held me back was cost because Bonnet Creek is such a good alternative. I felt more comfortable buying Wyndham than DVC.

I don't understand why a lot of DVC owners have such negative opinions about non DVC timeshares. If you look at resale values, some Wyndhams and Marriotts still sell for tens of thousands of dollars resale. Would I buy a silver Marriott week or a high maintenance fee Wyndham deed? No, because I know better. People who do that only do it because they dive in without doing their research. They do the Marriott/Wyndham equivolent of buying Vero beach to stay at Saratoga Springs and complain.

 

[RamblinWreck]

I don't understand why a lot of DVC owners have such negative opinions about non DVC timeshares.

I think the answer to this is probably pretty simple. Most people have a negative opinion of timeshares in general.

And many, maybe even most, DVC owners have never actually researched any other timeshare programs or had any interest in them or reason to look into them. They just like going to Disney World.

I don't personally have a lot of interest in the concept of owning a timeshare. I just know I want to go to Disney World at least once every couple of years with my kids for the next 15 or so years at least, maybe longer. So, DVC seemed to make a lot of sense. Even within Orlando there are a million different timeshares. There's only 3 of them on the Monorail.

 

[BillPA]

There is a reason other timeshare resales are $1.00.

 

[cbyrne1174]

DH and I have been DVC for 26 years and hold over 500 points. We need 1000 points. DH suggested I look elsewhere (gasp!) for options in the WDW area to extend our 4 weeks to 6-8 weeks annually.

I did my research and then held my husband hostage for an entire weekend using typical timeshare tactics to strong arm him into saving 50K! My presentation included:

*Shades of Green- great resort next to Poly but more hotel like (we like villas) no buy in so definitely an option if we need a couple nights
*Hilton - didn't like locations and our "seasons" didn't match up
*Marriott - too confusing!
*DVC

The winner is:
*Wyndham - Bonnet Creek has the best location and lots of villa options to 3 BR that don't break the bank. The contract I bought cost $200 net. I worked with a resale company I've bought DVC through numerous times so I was comfortable with the purchase. There is a buy back program, but for $200 I can hand it back to my broker and say sell it.

Full disclosure: We also bought two resale AKV contracts which are under agreement.

Win-win!

A lot of new owners buy Bonnet Creek first, but Bonnet Creek isn't a good Wyndham deed to own unless you need 13 month priority there. It's maintenance fees are high. It's fine to have a higher cost maintenance fee deed as your first purchase to learn the program. Most people make that mistake with their first deed, but if you decide to add onto Wyndham, use the TUG excel spreadsheet that shows you the underlying maintenance fees so that you save money in the long run. Bonnet Creek almost always has availability 10 months out. Owning bonnet creek when you don't need priority there is like owning Vero Beach without needing to book 11 months out. You still did better than 90% of people when they buy Wyndham (most fall for the developer purchase their first time), but next time around you can do even better!

Here is the link to Wyndham maintenance fees:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RUiHuxPdShXWp3OM2PiXf1_WDzHiv3Ickz1_o5ssiv4/edit#gid=0

You download a copy, sort it by the maintenance fee column (lowest to highest) and you can see which locations have the lowest costs.

 

[starry_solo]

Just find a friend who owns a timeshare and ask them to book for you!

 

[cbyrne1174]

There is a reason other timeshare resales are $1.00.

Yea but it's not like you can get a good Marriott trader for $1. Even if you found one, Marriott would excerise ROFR so fast.

 

[cbyrne1174]

Appreciate the response and thanks for sharing the info! I'm very much intrigued by the idea of adding on a Marriott week for trips with extended family members where staying on property isn't as important (and most importantly we get to save our DVC points for the things we want to do). I saw your other post about the getaways (thanks for posting that too!) and I've been browsing in there from time to time seeing some great deals on weeks at some of the Marriotts.

I spend my DVC points the most frugally because they're the most costly. I'm just banking them at the moment for Aulani if I can get a Marriott Ko Olina exchange. I also noticed that if you want to visit the Virgin Islands, it's half the price to fly out of Orlando as it is in most other locations. My tickets were $300/person using Spirit. So it's also good to spend 1 week in Orlando, then fly from MCO to STT to visit the Virgin Islands and use Marriott for your 2nd week, then fly home.

 

[cbyrne1174]

Just find a friend who owns a timeshare and ask them to book for you!

That's my biggest source of passive income lol.

 

[Sandisw]

I think the answer to this is probably pretty simple. Most people have a negative opinion of timeshares in general.

And many, maybe even most, DVC owners have never actually researched any other timeshare programs or had any interest in them or reason to look into them. They just like going to Disney World.

I don't personally have a lot of interest in the concept of owning a timeshare. I just know I want to go to Disney World at least once every couple of years with my kids for the next 15 or so years at least, maybe longer. So, DVC seemed to make a lot of sense. Even within Orlando there are a million different timeshares. There's only 3 of them on the Monorail.

This is us. We bought to do Disney and it makes sense.

I did own a weeks based timeshare 30 years ago and when I divorced my ex took it. He ended letting it sit and stopped paying dues because he couldn’t give it away.

I know things are different and I know others who have them and it works for them as they use in different locations.

Owong something else to stay at the resorts I want wouldn’t work.

Resale value does not matter but I do know that regardless of price, I can always find a buyer for my DVC as long as parks are there.

But in the end it’s probably more about the fact that we don’t want or need to do a ton of vacations all over the place and any we would do wouldn’t work with a timeshare system anyway..like cruises and such.

 

[sethschroeder]

A $3,500 Marriott resale purchase gets you 2 weeks a year at a Marriott and the process is just as easy as DVC Resale Market (who I used for my DVC).

How much yearly and if I want to get out of the contract will someone actually buy it if everything goes in the tank? Even in the worst times I expect I can sell off the DVC contract as opposed to needing to pay someone to take the contract off my hands.

But like others probably I would really never think about a timeshare except for Disney.

 

[sethschroeder]

I will post all fees below, not that you'll understand without a full explanation.

Annual Dues: $1476
Lock off fee: $90
Exchange fee:$164
Upgrade fee: $99

The resale value is $3,500 because you're buying it resale on the resale market for $3,500.

I dont think we need to understand what they mean.

I pay $3500 upfront and then another $1829/yr to get 2 weeks. So you are paying about $130/night to stay in these timeshare locations.

I would worry that if during "the best of times" which we are sort of exiting right now it was worth only $3500 what does that mean during the worst of times when I might want to just unload my contracts and not pay anything.

I will also say that with DVC yes I paid more upfront but I can also recoup a bunch on the backend if I do sell as well. Plus if I was doing a studio at BWV I would pay roughly $1600/yr in fees for my 2 weeks. Yes it might not be something like a 1br at these resorts but its also at WDW walking distance to the parks.

 

[sethschroeder]

uninformed panic about the imagined risks is also pretty silly.

What did these contracts look like in 2008-2011 when people were wanting out of them? I think that is my baseline. I have the information on DVC which makes me comfortable but what about Marriot?

 

[Paul Stupin]

A lot of new owners buy Bonnet Creek first, but Bonnet Creek isn't a good Wyndham deed to own unless you need 13 month priority there. It's maintenance fees are high. It's fine to have a higher cost maintenance fee deed as your first purchase to learn the program. Most people make that mistake with their first deed, but if you decide to add onto Wyndham, use the TUG excel spreadsheet that shows you the underlying maintenance fees so that you save money in the long run. Bonnet Creek almost always has availability 10 months out. Owning bonnet creek when you don't need priority there is like owning Vero Beach without needing to book 11 months out. You still did better than 90% of people when they buy Wyndham (most fall for the developer purchase their first time), but next time around you can do even better!

Here is the link to Wyndham maintenance fees:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RUiHuxPdShXWp3OM2PiXf1_WDzHiv3Ickz1_o5ssiv4/edit#gid=0

You download a copy, sort it by the maintenance fee column (lowest to highest) and you can see which locations have the lowest costs.

I spend my DVC points the most frugally because they're the most costly. I'm just banking them at the moment for Aulani if I can get a Marriott Ko Olina exchange. I also noticed that if you want to visit the Virgin Islands, it's half the price to fly out of Orlando as it is in most other locations. My tickets were $300/person using Spirit. So it's also good to spend 1 week in Orlando, then fly from MCO to STT to visit the Virgin Islands and use Marriott for your 2nd week, then fly home.

SOME companies are awful, some are great. I will go over each company and my opinion of them and rank from best to worst (my opinion)

#1 Wyndham - Great resale product, horrible retail product. They have the most locations and the most room size/quality choices (Regular, Deluxe, Presidential)
#2 Marriott - Immaculate resorts, awesome amenities, still wouldn't waste the money buying retail. Doesn't have the #1 spot mainly because of room size choices (a lot of locations require a 2 BR minimum; studios don't have functional kitchens) and requiring 7 nights to get a good deal.
#3 DVC - Great if you live near Disney; highest resale value. Biggest con is how expensive it is for what you get.
#4 Hilton/Westin/Sheraton - Immaculate resorts but too few locations (why I don't own).

I refuse to own any of the companies below because their products aren't good and you can't get out of them easily. I won't even take them for free:
Vacation Village, Diamond, Westgate, Bluegreen, Holiday Inn

Those horror stories are from people who don't do their research and buy retail. I pay cash for my ownerships and only buy resale. I researched how to get out of my ownerships before even making a purchase. I started looking into DVC in 2018 and finally decided to get a deed in 2021. It took me 3 years of watching and researching to buy in to DVC. The biggest thing that held me back was cost because Bonnet Creek is such a good alternative. I felt more comfortable buying Wyndham than DVC.

I don't understand why a lot of DVC owners have such negative opinions about non DVC timeshares. If you look at resale values, some Wyndhams and Marriotts still sell for tens of thousands of dollars resale. Would I buy a silver Marriott week or a high maintenance fee Wyndham deed? No, because I know better. People who do that only do it because they dive in without doing their research. They do the Marriott/Wyndham equivolent of buying Vero beach to stay at Saratoga Springs and complain.

This is all super helpful and informative, and it gives me a much better idea how the non DVC timeshare world works. Honestly, much appreciated. It definitely sounds like research is the key, because it does seem that without it, one can potentially make costly mistakes. Buying DVC was a bit more reassuring for me because I’ve witnessed contracts retain/gain value, the exit strategy is clear, and we like to stay at WDW.

That said, the alternatives you mention are clearly viable as well. Thank you again for sharing your take on this. It’s interesting to get a sense of how the larger industry works, outside of the Disney bubble!

 

[sethschroeder]

Maybe you actually invest a couple minutes and watch the Wyndham video since it answers your questions instead of just demanding to be spoon fed the answers.

This is a forum.... People are saying this is amazing supposedly..... So I would except an outline of why its amazing in text with in-depth information in video or other materials. I would also except fairly basic questions to be answered in text as well (possibly with a infographic).

See my historical thread on fixed weeks for DVC. Video is a terrible way to share general high level intro information as its linear in nature and requires you to watch everything instead of getting to the meat of the information correctly.

Video does work well for someone already interested in something deeply and wants to know all the information they can absorb.

 

[RoseGold]

Just find a friend who owns a timeshare and ask them to book for you!

I mean Redweek seems to be full of those friends. It's not hard to rent into these systems.

I like DVC and consider myself very good at it, but I haven't been able to see a use scenario that makes sense for me in another system.

Timeshares in general have earned their reputation.

 

[cbyrne1174]

I mean Redweek seems to be full of those friends. It's not hard to rent into these systems.

I like DVC and consider myself very good at it, but I haven't been able to see a use scenario that makes sense for me in another system.

Timeshares in general have earned their reputation.

The WBC weeks that I usually rent out on Redweek have a 100% mark up. My maintenance cost is $647 + $45 for verified and protected fee and my rent is $1400. My SSR points won't sell with that high of a mark up. My cost per point per year on them is $11.7 because of the expiration date and buy in, but I've only gotten around $20 per point max. I mean I don't mind selling to DVC owners for that much passive income, but don't they realize they're paying a huge mark up? Or is it worth paying double to not be deeded in the system?