Any fellow canucks members of DVC?

[torian]

We're thinking of joining and was wondering if any other Canadians are members and wanted to know about your experiences with DVC.

We lve in Ontario.

Are there any pitfalls I need to be aware of, mostly in the financial/real estate side of things? Any pitfalls of ownership in general?

Thanks!

 

[surfer_ed]

We bought a few years ago at SSR and loved it so much we bought a small add-on for AKV.

We moved to Winnipeg so it is harder to get there than when we lived on ON so I banked points last year. When I lived in ON we used to fly out of BUF and went 2 times per year.

So far no regrets.

 

[ahalla]

We bought in January '08. It is alot of money to put out but once we did the math is made the most sense for us. We are a family of 5 and by the time we would book two rooms value or not, our trips would be expensive. We also love our space. Our upcomming October trip, as we are taking friends, I figured out the rack rate cost, for a two bedroom and a studio, and it is practically what we paid for DVC.

We bought in because we had decided that as a family, family vacations were going to be our priority as this was something our families didn't do when we were kids. DVC makes us keep the promise!

I have had no issues with DVC or member services!

We too, also live in Ontario and we usually fly out of Detroit but this year, flights were cheaper and at better times so we are flying out of Buffalo.

If you can do it, I say go for it! We also, have no regrets!

 

[CDN Prince Charming]

Check the 3rd sticky down in this forum and you'll see there are 134 of us canuck DVC owners here.

Don't regret it for a minute.

CPC

 

[ABCanada]

There is a Canadian DVC sticky with a growing list of members.

Probably the biggest comment owners have is that you tend to buy more points.

We like the deluxe accommodation but did not like the deluxe price. Only issue is we now like a two bedroom for the three of us. (I am frugal so we will get over this.)

You do need to book your room at the 11 or 7 month dates. We have had reasonable luck for short stay requirements but you need to be flexible. For peak times, you cannot decide at the last minute and expect to get a room.

I like having the washer & dryer in the room, we use an owner's locker so only take a small carryon as luggage and we wash what we need. I also like not having daily maid service.
No regrets.

 

[ont/ohana]

Another member here with no regrets. We have made several trips a year and enjoyed different DVC resorts and rooms. We live in Ontario and purchased our original membership while at WDW. We have added on since and did over the phone with our credit card. The size of the rooms, the different themes and the atmosphere make any resort a great choice. We have yet to find a DVC resort we don't like, we do however prefer some more than others.

 

[torian]

Check the 3rd sticky down in this forum and you'll see there are 134 of us canuck DVC owners here.

Don't regret it for a minute.

CPC

Done!

 

[mommylo]

We bought in to DVC in 2007 when Cdn dollars were at par and more. We bought AKV while at WDW and added on through resales when we came back. No regrets here!!

 

[ssrdvcmember]

No regrets from us either, best thing we ever did. Like one of the posters above, we also have a owner's locker. Look into that next - it's the best!!!

 

[mackeyapp]

Count us in too!! Owners at SSR and BWV and love them both.

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

We too love our DVC - Worst thing about it is the addonitis!!

 

[MikeyNS]

Only regret is not buying sooner.. although I would never have bought if I had to take out a loan or the such. Don't like debt.. but it has (on paper) paid for itself and more.. the memories that we've made in 5 years of ownership is priceless!

 

[calgarygary]

We're thinking of joining and was wondering if any other Canadians are members and wanted to know about your experiences with DVC.

We lve in Ontario.

Are there any pitfalls I need to be aware of, mostly in the financial/real estate side of things? Any pitfalls of ownership in general?

Thanks!

Please visit tug and get a great education in timesharing before making such an expensive decision. If you then decide that timesharing is for you, and that you are prepared to spend the extra thousands that onsite commands, then DVC could be a good choice for you.

 

[drag n' fly]

We own DVC and live in Calgary. We are completely on the fence as whether to sell or not right now. I scoured the boards and did research for a year. We rented points and stayed onsite to make sure. We were completely educated about it when we signed the dotted line.
If I had to do it again we would not have bought

 

[MikeyNS]

We own DVC and live in Calgary. We are completely on the fence as whether to sell or not right now. I scoured the boards and did research for a year. We rented points and stayed onsite to make sure. We were completely educated about it when we signed the dotted line.
If I had to do it again we would not have bought

You don't mention why you would not have purchased... can you share?

 

[drag n' fly]

You don't mention why you would not have purchased... can you share?

I thought about mentioning why but DVC owners are very passionate about their ownership and I really did not want to start a debate. For us we feel that we did not get our money's worth.
This is no way reflects the value for other DVC owners,
Happy DVC'ing!

 

[MikeyNS]

I thought about mentioning why but DVC owners are very passionate about their ownership and I really did not want to start a debate. For us we feel that we did not get our money's worth.
This is no way reflects the value for other DVC owners,
Happy DVC'ing!

That's an absolutely valid reason.. I don't think anyone would be able to convince you that you don't feel you received a good value! It's a pretty big investment.

 

[jsweeks@cogeco.ca]

I hope you don't mind me asking, how much is it to buy into it? We were going to do a tour when we were there and my cousin's son went missing so by the time we found him and got the heart rate back we didn't have time. I ordered away for the DVD when we got back 3 weeks ago.

 

[MikeyNS]

Our buy in back in 2004 was approximately $13,500CDN. I believe buy in is closer to $17,000-$18,000 from Disney now, but you can get in a lot cheaper through resale.

We have taken 7 trips or so since then with a "rack rate" of about $21,000CDN (we stay in 2BRs for the most part, about 50+ days of stays).. so in 5 years it's "paid for itself" including maintenance costs, and I'm sure I could sell it for around $11,000-$12,000CDN now. Once the economy gets back on its feet I might be able to eek a couple of thousand more if I'm lucky.

Problem is that money would pay for a lot of value resorts or off property resorts.. but we've done that and don't enjoy it.

 

[dvcdisney]

I thought about mentioning why but DVC owners are very passionate about their ownership and I really did not want to start a debate. For us we feel that we did not get our money's worth.
This is no way reflects the value for other DVC owners,
Happy DVC'ing!

I absolutely love our DVC membership. But I know that it's not for everyone. I don't think anyone would argue about personal choice. If you didn't feel you received your money's worth, then selling is the best choice. It is a large financial committment and if you are not satified with it, there is no reason to keep it.

By the way, I'm not trying to convince you to sell it. I just wanted to let you know that no one in their right mind would argue with your choice.

There are many of us that LOVE our membership. But, for us, if it's no longer working for us or we are dissatisfied, we wouldn't keep it either.

Good Luck.