Anyone change thee tune on DVC long term?

[Daitcher]

Recently I have changed my tune on long term ownership of DVC. I feel like I will sell my DVC when my now 4 year old son starts to tire of the yearly WDW vacations. Owning SSR points and following resale values I feel my contract will still be worth quite a bit from a resale standpoint. Recent experiences and how difficult the process of trading out is has led me down this road. I love WDW so I can't believe I feel this way. I will always have a spot in my heart for DVC but I do see this happening unless some great new resort off site comes online like Hawaii or something in the Carribean or Mexico. I also intend on looking at Ritz Carlton Destination Clubs and high end Marriott offerings in prime locations like Aruba and Hawaii. Those should trade without a problem if I so choose. Anyone else have these thoughts? Is this just a crazy thought? In short, has anyone else considered only holding there DVC during the child raising years and then cashing out?


DAVE

 

[WDWLVR]

Well since we don't have children that was never part of our process. We love WDW and had gotten to the point of going once a year so DVC made sense for us. Still does and I think it will for many years to come. It isn't for everyone but it is for us.

 

[DisneyMomJen]

I have not thought this way, but I do have input on buying at other 'high end' vacations. We bought our first contact into DVC three years ago. At the same time my sister bought into Marriott Aruba (this one you also own for 40 or 50 years - not a lifetime). For her situation, I think it was the biggest mistake, even though they do love to go to Aruba every year. She HAS to use it every other year. Three years in a row she has not been able to use it. She traded a week for her Inlaws to go to Vegas, the next year she sold her week on Ebay, the following year she traded into Interval for Marriott Ocean Club in May. Again she sold that on Ebay. With these sales, they did not even cover her maintenance fees. You know with DVC you can at least rent your points and easily cover your maintenance fees. Now my sister is still going to go to Aruba this fall, but also wants to stay at a DVC resort badly in December. She wanted to see if she could trade into DVC, but I do not think it is that easy.
So, in order to get into a DVC resort my parents just bought into DVC. This is after YEARS of my father being dead set against DVC. They originally looked into OKW when it first opened and you received the Disney tickets for the next 10 years or so. I think it was such a mistake not to buy then. They own 4 Marriotts in Orlando which has been an excellent chioce for them since 3 of them you can trade your week in for points every year (This is the only way I would buy into Marriott). I am really disappointed with how Marriott has kept up their resorts (Sabal & Royal Palms at the World Center). After visiting Marriott Sabal Palms last year, there is no comparision between this and DVC resorts. I think after seeing how much we have enjoyed our DVC and how it has appreciated (BCV) in 3 years my father has finally seen the light!
I would just be careful where you buy, maybe consider a resale (just remember with a Marriott resale you do not have the capability to trade in every other year for Marriott points - you have to buy directly from Marriott).

 

[lisareniff]

Well we went into buying DVC saying that we would end up going every other year or so while the girls were young (meaning though highschool) and that buying just for that time then selling would not be finacially bad. We were happy with that commitment. We may end up going beyond that time frame but feel no pressure to do so and may sell.

I am coming to realize that going to orlando is far easier then many other places from our airport. We only have direct service to 3 FL airports. So this is a nice get away in the cold winter.

 

[Plutofan]

I was talking to a friend who owns at Hilton Grand. They purchased directly from Hilton and were disappointed to find out that they could have bought a lot cheaper on ebay. The point I am making is that right now with ROFR and the resale demand for DVC you can usually get a reasonable portion of your orginal purchase back on the re-sale market while other timeshares you usually lose a lot when re-selling.

 

[crisi]

We sort of go back and forth on what we will do. My nephew is five years younger than my daughter, and I should have another following him in the same family in another six months - and I think that about the time my kids get bored, my sister will be wanting my points for a trip or two. We'd like to use points to golf, eventually, too - but a lot depends on what airfare does.

Someone recently talked about adding on a few smaller contracts with the idea being to sell their main 150 points, and we may do that as well - leaving us 50 for golf weekends.

For right now though, we are happy with our bi-annual vacations

 

[carol1231]

I don't plan to ever sell. If the kids don't want to go when they get older, well that's their loss, I'm still going!! But I think I am raising two more Mouse lovers and that probably won't be an issue.

 

[keishashadow]

We just signed up last year so our DVC perspective is limited but, we don't consider DVC or even WDW to be the entire reason for our trips to Orlando.

Although we did purchase AP's to cover 3 trips, our intent is to visit the World 4 or 5 days (entering parks 2 or 3 days) and spend the rest of our vacation time elsewhere in FL (it's a big state - lots of other fun things to do).

We are mulling around the idea of seeing the original (DL); not sure if we'd go on points or just rent them out to help cover expenses. I couldn't bring myself to use points on our DCL (the numbers just didn't work off-season).

No flames intended to OP but, my boys range in age from 26 to pre-teen...they can decide where I go on vacation once they start paying for the trip...can't let the inmates run the asylum .

 

[jarestel]

We've already downsized our number of points rather dramatically, for a variety of reasons, some DVC related and some not. We still have a small number of points that we intend to use for as long as DVC remains a good vacation fit for us, but realistically, even under ideal conditions, I don't see us hanging on until the bitter end.

 

[cman]

I thought when my kids became teenagers that we would not tend to use DVc to go to WDW. We tend to use DVC for BIG (16-20 people) family vacations every 2 or 3 years. Now that the kids are 15 and 16 they want to go every year!

I think as they get older the kiddie things about Disney fade away but they start to have fun doing things on there own. When we last went they were 14 and 15 and we gave them some more freedom to explore the parks on thier own. Our home resort is BWV so we let them go to EPCOT on their own (cell phones in hand!) and our next trip they'll be old enough to explore all of WDW on their own - without Mom and Dad.

As the kids get older we plan on using it without 16 other people in tow. Maybe give it to our kids when they get married for their for their honeymoon if they want.

Then beyond that their hopefully will be grandchildren and it all starts over again.

We'll keep it until the end!

 

[llp479]

Our dds are almost 12, 12, and 9. They have not tired of WDW. There are so many things to do besides the parks. DH will see a spring training game this March, and he and my BIL and father have played golf while we ladies either relaxed by the pool, or strolled through the parks.

We have two contracts - one at BWV and the other at OKW. We are renting OKW points to a neighbor who owns Marriott, and couldn't get into DVC through II, and will cover our MF by doing so, and I rented for $7/point.

As for the the trading aspect, we bought MVC for trading purposes. We recently traded our 2 bdrm Grande Vista Plat unit into MVC's Maui Ocean Club. We also now own at Ko'Olina, so we'll be doing back to back weeks. The key with trading is to be extremely flexible. II can't give you what they don't have.

As for when the kids are grown, should they not want to go to WDW with us, DH and I figured out we have enough points to stay for all of Jan and Feb, and then two weeks at Grande Vista.

 

[DisneyHumbug]

I've owned for 5 years. My "kids" are 19, 21 and 23. We still take family trips (not as long as we used to with college and work getting in the way!), I go once a year now with a friend for a "girls only" week and the kids have used DVC on their own, too. Someday I hope to have grandkids and the cycle will start again.

 

[holcomb-mania]

I've always thought I would hang on until they pried them out of my fingers (still in process of buying). Under the right assumptions, my great-grandchildren could visit WDW using my points. Now I may not be with them riding Summit Plummet, but that still has value to me.

Also, we can use Orlando as a base to visit Canaveral, Tampa, and trade out to other resorts thru II. I don't really view it as an investment that I look to sell later. It's more like a prepaid asset in that I'm prepaying for 48 years of vacations with today's dollars.

 

[phyllisnnj]

Recently I have changed my tune on long term ownership of DVC. I feel like I will sell my DVC when my now 4 year old son starts to tire of the yearly WDW vacations. Owning SSR points and following resale values I feel my contract will still be worth quite a bit from a resale standpoint. Recent experiences and how difficult the process of trading out is has led me down this road. I love WDW so I can't believe I feel this way. I will always have a spot in my heart for DVC but I do see this happening unless some great new resort off site comes online like Hawaii or something in the Carribean or Mexico. I also intend on looking at Ritz Carlton Destination Clubs and high end Marriott offerings in prime locations like Aruba and Hawaii. Those should trade without a problem if I so choose. Anyone else have these thoughts? Is this just a crazy thought? In short, has anyone else considered only holding there DVC during the child raising years and then cashing out?


DAVE

I enjoy all of the timeshares we own but I've changed my tune for timeshares in general.

I think the difficulty with trading out will occur regardless of what timeshare/fractional you own. It's all based on whether another timeshare/fractional owner deposits a week for the exactly location, size unit and timeframe you're looking for.

For the long term, I think I'll stick with renting. In my mind this gives you the greatest flexibility. Your not locked into a yearly maintenance fee and you can get exactly what you want in terms of location, unit size and season.

Will I eventually sell my DVC? Perhaps, but after I've exhausted all of the benefits such as the concierge collection, private trades, renting, etc.

 

[NYMomof4]

We're in for the long haul-they can pull my DVC card from me when I'm 83!lol My kids are 4-13 and my sister is just starting a family so we should have kids, and then grandkids to enjoy it for many years. I like it as much as the kids and there are adults in my extended family that will be using it on the years when the kids are older.

 

[bridgemanva]

We were fortunate enough to buy in '94 - so we benefitted from the free passes for six years; added on a bit over the years and now have an asset that has appreciated nicely.
Our son was only 6 when we became members so we had many years of flexible vacationing through elementary and middle school years averaging 3 trips per year. Usually at least one was with one of our family & friends, one with one of my son's friends along and one just us w/ Grandma. We then have had several large family gatherings at the holidays Thanksgiving & Spring Break; now we have the next generation coming along my sister's grand chlldren -- and they're princesses no less! And through renting/trading our points to other DVCers and a few exchanges for NYC great theater vacations, and a memorable Panama Canal Cruise on DCL. And we just had the opportunity to book a honeymoon at WDW for one of our nephews -- what a great wedding gift.

I can't imagine selling my DVC -- Our DVC has allowed us to create so many memories and opened so many opportunities for sharing with family and friends. Prior to owning DVC we didn't really vacation; our ownership helped make it a priority --we learned to plan it and always have something in the works. Now as we're approaching another family milestone -- my son asked me to plan for his highschool graduation senior week in WDW (2008) I know our vacation stlye is going to change again and the possibilities are wide open. I love my DVC.

 

[SwampFox]

We have been members over 10 years and enjoy it more now than when we first joined. We are now finding ways to go more often and look forward to each subsequent trip. Selling is not an option. We have even discussed looking to purchase more points once ROFR is not controlling the pricing in a few more years.

Lots to look forward to in the future!

 

[bobbiwoz]

We were both over 55 when we bought just 2+ years ago. We bought it because we had found ourselves enjoying Disney vacations as empty nesters. We bought it with the hope of having more good times together and eventually with others, our extended family and friends. We recently discovered Disney at Christmas, the CP is a spiritual experience that we both don't want to miss for any year we may have left.

It was a financial decision that had lots of emotional pulls, and the addonitis upped our number of points from 200 to 550. This sum constitues a huge purchase, it's amount is more than our first home in Hamilton Township NJ, a brand new home in 1970 that had 3 bedrooms and 2 baths!

We will own DVC as long as it continues to meet our needs for relaxation, adventure (we obviously are not the rock climbing high adventure types) and other enjoyment. I hope to gather family/friends around us there for our 40th wedding anniversary in 2008.

I think that I remember reading the OP's posts when you bought SSR. I think you the one who bought with the idea of not staying there, of staying at the other WDW locations and you bought because of the years SSR had over the other sites. You and I bought for different reasons, and I can see that you are disappointed.

We take other vacations, I love going to National Parks, and we love going on cruises. We did not buy DVC with the intent of trading out our points to do those things, we bought DVC exclusively for Disney experiences.

Bobbi

 

[Daitcher]

Thanks for all the great thoughts guys. To clear something up I am not dissapointed with DVC. I still think it is the cream of the crops far as timeshares go. I guess the big thing is that lately I feel like we are moving away from the timeshare thing of visiting the same location multiple times a year. This year alone we will have visited WDW 3 times with the possibility of a 4th in the fall. I felt the same way as the majority here that I would never give up my points. Financially we are very fortunate. That alone may be the reason for the change of heart. We can afford to stay at top resorts all over the world without having to trade or possibly take a less than desirable resort just to go to the destination we want. Hmmmm...... maybe the whole timeshare thing just isn't for us. I can pay cash to stay at any timeshare I want whenever I want. We often pay cash for Marriott Timeshares like Marriott Grande Vista in Orlando and Marriott Surf Club in Aruba. They aren't cheap but I earn MArrioot reward points which provides me with free future stays. Hey, I think I'm answering my own question here. Thanks again and only the future will tell what I decide. I may follow the route of others and downsize my points to keep a foot in the door.


DAVE

 

[DisFlan]

Nope. We'll keep our points. I'll be 95 in 37 years. There's an outside chance we might still be interested in using our points (or anything else at WDW), but I sort of doubt it. Our son's name is on our contract. He can take over using the points for his family when my DH and I reach our fuzzy years, and they can do whatever they want (and pay the dues) from that point on. We paid cash, so whenever it switches more to our son's use (even if it's next week), it's unencumbered.

We've never really been concerned with the 50 year mark - or 37 (36?) now in BWV's case. We bought our points mainly for the Grandkid Years. If we get even a good 10 or 15 years' use, we'll feel it was a good buy.

DisFlan