Do you ever have trouble putting time in perspective with DVC?

[pinkxray]

I own at BWV and SSR. I will be 60 when BWV expires and 72 when SSR expires.

BWV is awesome. I bought a small contract mostly to use when there is a RunDisney race. If those end I will just use it as a split stay and enjoy walking to Epcot and DHS for those days. I have no intentions of selling and hope to run it all the way to 2042 enjoying every minute. I am guessing by the time I’m 60 my kids will be older and traveling with me less. Maybe by then I’ll be happy to be getting rid of some annual dues as retirement approaches.

SSR
I will be 72 when SSR expires. When I bought I thought maybe I should find something with a few extra years but there was just something holding me back from every other resort that I didn‘t like. CCV only fits 4 in a 1 bedroom, BLT grounds are a bit boring to me, Poly only has studios, etc.
I also looked at my parents. Dad died at 57. Mom started dealing with CHF and diabetes in her late 50’s. In dialysis and unable to travel in her 60’s. So I’m not too worried about what it will look like for me when SSR expires.

When I bought SSR, I always told DH if Disney builds a resort that checks all of my boxes of wants I will sell SSR to buy the new one. They seem to be moving away from things I look for in a resort so SSR might be it for us.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We bought our first points in 1997 at OKW, 24 years ago. We have about 21 years left. We recently asked our son if he would like the points in the future. He said he might want them, but not now since he can't afford the annual fees.

 

[chalee94]

It’s unlikely that properties like Vero beach will have their contracts extended past 2042 isn’t it?

The current consensus is that VB will almost certainly be sold off and spun out of the DVC system, yes.

I still think HHI is 50-50 but we'll see how it goes, I guess. With HHI, I wouldn't be surprised either way.

 

[Brian Noble]

And for the record, 20 years is like the blink of an eye looking back.

In some ways it is, but in others....my life is very different. Our kids are 20 and 22, so we had a toddler and an infant back then. We were in a very different place financially--both in terms of income and educational debt. In the intervening years, a lot of things have changed for me. I used to define myself by my career, and assumed I'd leave it feet first. Now I try to remind myself it is just the thing that pays (some of) the bills, and suspect that retirement is a thing I would enjoy. The eldest is fully out of the house, and her brother is not far behind. DW and I were separated for a few years and are reconciling. I entered recovery. The pandemic.

Those are just the big changes. There were plenty of other things down the years that didn't upend our lives but certainly changed the way we vacationed: the kids' vacations no longer lining up with mine; years my travel schedule was more or less flexible; changing tastes in what we wanted to do; the "busy years" in middle- and high-school that made travel harder; the demands of graduate school and early career years for the kids.

In short, I don't think we've had more than about three or four years in a row when things unfolded the way I expected them too. That's one of the reasons I recommend people not over-think their DVC purchase. Their vacation patterns are almost certain to change sooner rather than later.

 

[BayGirl22]

We are late 40's/50 and our kids are tweens. I see a DVC investment differently than a lot of people here. We don't want to burden our 30-40 year old kids with dues on a bunch of timeshares that they may or may not be able to afford. While we all love Disney, owning any kind of timeshare would not have been a financial priority for either of us at that age. We also aren't banking on DVC having the same resale/rental values as now, it would be nice, but no guarantee. We can be certain dues will continue to go up though.

We bought BWK with the idea that it expires when we are in our 60s/70s being a positive factor. We don't have to worry about burdening our kids. Our Aulani contract will have longer, but I don't know that we'll still own it by then - selling it to add to our retirement funds may be a consideration. We do plan to travel during retirement but I don't know that it will be focused on Disney when we are 70-80+.

Time does go fast, and we are glad we saved and planned and are in a good financial situation to buy DVC. However I've also learned not to make firm plans more than 10 years out, and to keep our options open. Expecting DVC to be some kind of family heirloom seems too presumptive to me.

 

[Jerbear2019]

The thought of what it’ll look like in 30 years has crossed my mind. I look forward to it then just as I do now. Only I’ll be smiling at grandkids as well as my kids. If they don’t like it then it’s ok, DM and I will enjoy it for the years left. I’ll retire at age 51 in 2035. AKL will still have legs on it after that. Lots of good memories left to be had.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I'll be dead when my current contract expires and when my potential DLH purchase expires. I just look at the next 10 years when I think about buying. Sure, I'll likely use it a lot longer than that, but I for sure will not use it until it expires.

 

[kdm31091]

We still do not know how they will handle the expiration. I think with so many expiring in 2042 it does not seem likely they will let them all go at once. I think for many, extensions will be offered at some point. Obviously you should assume it will expire in 2042 and be happily surprised if they offer something, but, in my opinion, something will be offered, at least for Beach Club, Boardwalk, Boulder Ridge, etc... I'm not totally sure on Vero or Hilton Head.

Since DVC is not an investment anyway, you should do what makes you happy and choose the resort you enjoy being at. Yes, financially speaking, the 2042 resorts are technically a worse deal since you are getting less time (assuming that in 2042 it truly goes away). At the same time, it's still 21 years out and you could walk outside and get hit by a bus tomorrow. Life is short and you should do what makes you happy. How long ago does the year 2000 feel to you? That's how long before the 2042 resorts expire. We love the Boardwalk atmosphere and no regrets about owning there because I love the vibe and yes, I will be sad if in 2042 it truly is allowed to expire, but we will see.

If you really are stressed over expiration I think something like SSR is a good value since you get 12 more years. I am relatively young (30) but even I would be scared of buying something like Riviera and being committed until 2070 when I will be ~80 years old (no kids to pass it down to).

I think I read that the average DVC owner owns for about 10 years and it makes sense since life changes happen. I'd first concentrate on roughly that amount of time when making your decision.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We still do not know how they will handle the expiration. I think with so many expiring in 2042 it does not seem likely they will let them all go at once. I think for many, extensions will be offered at some point. Obviously you should assume it will expire in 2042 and be happily surprised if they offer something, but, in my opinion, something will be offered, at least for Beach Club, Boardwalk, Boulder Ridge, etc... I'm not totally sure on Vero or Hilton Head.
...

DVC will just end for all the 2042 resorts. Disney can do a lot with those until they renovate them/tear them down and rebuild and sell them all over again. They can rent them out for cash. If DVC owners with the later expiring resorts want to stay there, they can just pay cash like the rest of the peons. Extensions at OKW were a big mistake. They won't do that again when they can sell them all over again.

 

[Robert Stoddart]

DVC will just end for all the 2042 resorts. Disney can do a lot with those until they renovate them/tear them down and rebuild and sell them all over again. They can rent them out for cash. If DVC owners with the later expiring resorts want to stay there, they can just pay cash like the rest of the peons. Extensions at OKW were a big mistake. They won't do that again when they can sell them all over again.

Agreed - and if you think RIV points chart is high, wait until you see Beach Club / Boardwalk 2.0.

 

[momtwoboys]

We bought our first points in 1997 at OKW, 24 years ago. We have about 21 years left. We recently asked our son if he would like the points in the future. He said he might want them, but not now since he can't afford the annual fees.

this is exactly why we are fine with a 2042 expire date! we will be 70 and 71 by then and if we are still traveling to FLA we will be renting for a month or 2. We do not want to have the burden of passing something to our adult kids that they either have to deal with selling or paying dues on . They love Disney and have grown up going but who knows what their partner will want and assuming they want to pay DVC dues and flights/tix/food on a yearly basis is not what we want. Long winded but I agree!!! Not everyone wants to pass these costs on...

 

[CarolynFH]

We're like Deb & Bill; our kids were preteen/early teen when we bought. We split our 300 points into 2 contracts so each of them could have one. However, currently the one who might want DVC can't afford it (dues, travel, tickets, etc.) and the one who could afford it doesn't want it (WDW is not an annual destination). I've told them that if we expire before our contracts do, they can use them or rent them - even if BWV isn't worth anything on the resale market, it should still be worth something as a rental those last few years.

 

[Lorana]

I will be at retirement age in 2042, so much as I’m willing to have 2042 resorts (we do own BRV and HHI), we want to be able to do MORE Disney in retirement, snowbirding for 6-8 weeks, rather than less, so having contracts that go to at least 2057 or later is key to us.

we don’t necessarily want to burden our children with DVC, but we do want them to have the option of inheriting our contracts. Our thinking is that having contracts with long lifespans will allow us to pass them on to our kids OR let our kids sell them for profit. Additionally, if our circumstances or preferences change, having contracts with long lifespans means we should be able to sell them for a profit later on.

 

[ScottJayhawk]

Life is short. DVC contacts are long.

 

[gisele2]

I will be 92 when my RIV contract expires I hope to live that long to enjoy it with my children, grandchildren and possibly great grandchildren.

Hope you will be healthy and capable of enjoying your points.

 

[Bjaiken77]

Agreed - and if you think RIV points chart is high, wait until you see Beach Club / Boardwalk 2.0.

This is kind of the idea. Is it worth buying BCV (my preference) or BWV for the remaining 20 years? 20 years is still a lot of vacations, and we have other contracts. I’m not going to want to start a 50 year contract in 2042.

 

[Robert Stoddart]

This is kind of the idea. Is it worth buying BCV (my preference) or BWV for the remaining 20 years? 20 years is still a lot of vacations, and we have other contracts. I’m not going to want to start a 50 year contract in 2042.

For sure. Haven’t stayed at either yet, so hard to say if either work for us - though I’m sure they would. Lots of options so we shall see.

 

[AdamsMum]

I'll be 85 when BW and BC expire. It's scary how little thought I put into buying. Got off the friendship boat at BW one day, had a look around the resort and decided this is where I want to stay. Went home and bought a small resale, then an add on, then a resale at BC that I couldn't look away from. Still don't regret that decision. At the time, prices were much lower, contract length really wasn't an issue (I think the only longer contract was at SSR), so it was a much simpler decision. As Brian Noble said, life happens. Kids grow up and get their own lives their availability changes, my marriage broke up. Now I travel solo or with one of the kids when they are available, or sometimes a girlfriend. Don't sweat the expiration date, I wouldn't buy a resort I don't want to stay at just for a few more years on the contract. JMO

 

[zavandor]

Admittedly, I’m a naturally anxious person. However, I look at these DVC expiration dates and sometimes forget how long 20-30-40-50 years last. I look at SSR/OKW/AKL expectation dates, and I say, “maybe I should buy resale on a resort with more than 40 years left.” I know people say time goes fast, and it certainly does. However, on the other hand, so much changes over 30+ years.

I find the same with these 2042 resorts, especially BWV and BCV for me. 20 years is still a long time if you get a good resale deal and use it until the end.

Does anyone else have trouble putting these expiration dates in perspective when thinking about purchasing?

That's not necessarily a bad thing. DVC is an exercise in risk management (pay now a huge sum for decades of discounted vacations) and the longer the contract, the higher the risk of not using it until the end. That's why the OKW extended contracts are just around $8 more expensive than 2042 ones. People do not value much 15 additional years that they may be able to use 20 years from now. DVC makes sense if one can break even in 10 years or so max. The longer the time it takes to break even, the higher the risk.