Buyer's Remorse?? Dvc Too Restrictive?

[bujuni]

I just gave a down-payment for SSR tomorrow after a whirlwind day online and to get the F&F discount. We only just toured last week and yes, acted kinda quickly but $83.3 just was too attractive. My concern now that I have been on this board and another is around our vacationing habits. We take 2 major vacations a year-summer and winter. Our winter vacation is to a condo in Naples and then a 3 day trip over to Disney. Sometimes we go to Disney only every other year. In the summer we like to go to places other than Disney-for instance, this year we were going either to Mackinac Island in Michigan's Upper Peninsula of the Lake Taho area. We imagine taking our children to Boston and Washington DC in the next few years as well. Did my guide overhype the ability to book at places other that DVC's? From this forum I get the idea that people are trading points to do that which just sounds like a huge headache to me. We also like DCL and I read suggestions to rent/sell points and then pay cash. I have a headache just thinking about it. I also liked the HHI idea because it's one of my DH favorite spots and that REALLY helped sell him. Is it really so hard to get in there? I don't want this to come back to haunt me to find out that we can't go to HHI when the weather is at least semi-warm. Is it really such a bad financial deal to go to places in the World Passport Collection? I really am rethinking this and I haven't signed anything yet-only given a $500 deposit. You're help has been very valuable to this point and I thank you for your input!

There are much cheaper timeshares you can buy that you can use to trade to places that you have mentioned like Marriott. The have tons of first class timeshares in HHI, Williamsburg,VA(almost near DC),Boston,California,Ski resorts,etc...(In addition they are deeded for life..another topic). If you love Disney and perhaps expects to go there 3 out of 4 years then it's probably for you. There is no one perfect timeshare resort or points but you should really buy where you want to go and any exchanges you get would be the bonus. Good luck!

 

[Cruelladeville]

As an owner of both DVC and Marriott, and I love both, nevertheless, there are some drawbacks to owning either one. DVC is expensive. Marriott resale can be had for $8500, but there are numerous costs associated with it. To make ressies out of "season", you must join II and pay fees, around $259 a year. Changing a ressie results in a $39 charge, to give you an idea. And Marriott is considering restricting members who bought resale, no ressies until 7 months out, Full Members have full rights, even out of season. I love my Marriott and I love it for the places I can visit, but there are negatives associated with it, just as there are for DVC. With DVC your costs are up-front, and you will get your full investment back(for now, at least). With Marriott, yes, it is a lifetime deed, but I probably won't be able to sell it if I need to, unless I were to take a loss. It just all depends upon how you use your timeshare--we bought both because we are gearing up for retirement, when we can travel extensively.