DVC as investment

[mousygirl]

hi all!
I know a lot of people on this board are disney crazy and I think that is cool. I was wondering though, if there are people who buy into DVC as an investment.
We like Disney and think it is really fun. Our kids are small and we feel like we have many years ahead of new Disney adventures. There are so many things we will be able to grow into as they get bigger (water parks, DTD, etc)

However, we are not disney nuts. We think of DVC as a good investment that will allow us to take vacations there every other year (we have 100pts). Anyone else or am I going to get booed on this one?

 

[scot@dvcstore]

mousygirl
I actually like the way your are approaching ownership. You do not need to be a Disney "nut" to enjoy Disney vacations and want to save money. The idea behind DVC is saving money versus renting from Disney, get better accommodations and spend quality vacation time with your family. You will love your DVC membership. DVC is one of the best vacation ownership programs available.

 

[disneynutz]

hi all!
I know a lot of people on this board are disney crazy and I think that is cool. I was wondering though, if there are people who buy into DVC as an investment.
We like Disney and think it is really fun. Our kids are small and we feel like we have many years ahead of new Disney adventures. There are so many things we will be able to grow into as they get bigger (water parks, DTD, etc)

However, we are not disney nuts. We think of DVC as a good investment that will allow us to take vacations there every other year (we have 100pts). Anyone else or am I going to get booed on this one?

I guess that it's as good as the stock market.
We have lost around $7,000 in value since purchasing a few years ago.

 

[kikiq]

However, we are not disney nuts. We think of DVC as a good investment that will allow us to take vacations there every other year (we have 100pts). Anyone else or am I going to get booed on this one?

What kind of investment? Financially not necessarily. An investment in my family time...yes. We bought DVC to be able to take vacations onsite and once in awhile bring extended family. Last summer took the first extended family vacation in 9 years since my mom passed away. My dad wanted to return to the Poly, my parents' favorite resort. But I had already priced out a week for 3 rooms (3 families), it was close to $10,000 and that's more than half the cost of our DVC points. We had a studio and 2 bdrm (staging area for the family) at SSR and the family loved it, even my dad. God willing, Dad (87) and the extended family will be back in 2010.

Besides there are varying degrees of being disney nuts, first you like Disney enough to vacation every other year and second I think you would be surprised how many DVCers there are out there just like you. They just don't post on the Dis boards.

 

[Lost in Neverland]

IMHO,The idea of purchasing DVC as an investment can be looked at in a couple of ways.While times are good meaning job stability and economic stability I consider my DVC an investment due to the fact that I have the extra money to go to WDW more often and not struggle to pay my MF. But if you have lost your job and still have the fees and are unable to afford to go to WDW then it is a burden. Just by looking at how the prices on the resale market have dropped over the past 6 months shows that you can not count on recouping your investment much less make a profit if you want to or are forced to sell.I agree with kikiq that it is more of an investment in time with my family than financially.

 

[Crystal_27]

If by "investment" you mean keeping your contract for a couple years, taking Disney vacations every other year, and then attempting to sell it for equal than or more than what you paid for, I don't think that's going to happen. BUT, if you do plan on keeping your contract for several years, there is a point where you will "break even" and a point where you will come out ahead from what you would have paid or will continue to be paying if you were to be paying cash for all of your room reservations. So, yes, DVC can absolutely be a cost savings measure, but not necessarily something that would be an ideal investment (although some properties will likely hold their value better than others).

 

[mousygirl]

Well, the way the whole DVC thing started was that friends of ours gave us points to spend a week at BWV in a 1 bedroom. After having an awesome time, we decided to go back this year and stay at WL. DH did not want to stay in a regular room and complained so much that we thought about paying to stay in a 1 bedroom. (DH is not into renting points, I know..) So by the time we paid for a 1 bedroom at VWL for a week, we were about halfway to the purchase price of 100 points with DVC. So, we figure that it will only take 2 to 3 visits to break even and then we can keep it until the family loses interest. Even if it sells for half of the purchase price, we would still be ahead of the game.
By only buying enough points for every other year, we are not tied down and the annual dues are not too bad either. It is a good investment for our family( in terms of quality time), but I don't think financially we will take a hit when we decide to sell one day.

 

[jfrazi2]

My wife and I decided to purchase because we both felt like we would be investing in future family vacations with our two sons (age 5 and 7). I have to say that this past vacation (we stayed at the Coronado Springs during Easter) was the best vacation that we have ever taken and my sons had a great time. We took the tour and purchase a contract at AKV. In addition being able to have better room accomodations is wonderful. We are actually going back at Mardi Gras and we do plan on trying to go about every other year while my sons are young so it made perfect sense for us to buy in.

 

[toniosmom]

Based on what I can see, I would not say that ownership in DVC is a good financial investment. Even after you pay off your loan, the monthly fees can still be quite high.

Having said that, I bought DVC as investment in my family. It's only me and my 4-year-old son, so I anticipate taking annual trips to WDW over the next 10 years or so. When my son is older and his interests change, I expect to be exchanging my points for locations outside of Disney on occasion.

I think you have the right idea -- buy the minimum points you need and plan a vacation every two years. By banking and borrowing, you should be able to have very nice vacations.

Enjoy your membership!

 

[toniosmom]

hi all!
We like Disney and think it is really fun. Our kids are small and we feel like we have many years ahead of new Disney adventures. There are so many things we will be able to grow into as they get bigger (water parks, DTD, etc)

However, we are not disney nuts.

One last thought -- YOU may not be Disney nuts, but your kids may turn out to be!!!

 

[DVC Mike]

I don't view my DVC ownership as a financial investment.

 

[jodifla]

We viewed it as an investment in family vacation fun.

We love to vacation, and we DON'T like to pay high hotel fees. So DVC works out great for us. (I cringe every time I have to shell out almost $100 for a crappy regular motel room. Ugh!)

We also started out with a minimum amount of points, so we never felt overwhelmed by out financial obligation.

That all being said, we bought in SO long ago, that we could get more than we paid for it if we decided to sell.

 

[ford91exploder]

It's not an 'investment' in the sense that it will gain value over time. It is a investment in time with your family,

Before DVC I NEVER took vacations. DW would come with me on business trips but that was it. Now with DVC the extended family has wonderful vacations together so it was definitely a worthwhile investment for MY family.

I've always been a Disney nut but it was from afar pre-DVC.

- So yeah I'd say it was a worthwhile investment and I'd do it again in a heartbeat just wondering why it took so long for me to take the plunge!

 

[Dean]

hi all!
I know a lot of people on this board are disney crazy and I think that is cool. I was wondering though, if there are people who buy into DVC as an investment.
We like Disney and think it is really fun. Our kids are small and we feel like we have many years ahead of new Disney adventures. There are so many things we will be able to grow into as they get bigger (water parks, DTD, etc)

However, we are not disney nuts. We think of DVC as a good investment that will allow us to take vacations there every other year (we have 100pts). Anyone else or am I going to get booed on this one?

Looked at truly as a financial investment, DVC is a poor choice. Looked at as an investment in family it can be a good choice or a poor choice depending in specifics. I'd estimate that one would be lucky to get a return of 5% long term. However, one that buys in now when things are low might do better in some situations. Now is a great time to buy timeshares including DVC.

 

[rahrah]

A DVC membership will not appreciated in value over the long run. In fact it is designed so that the value eventually goes to zero.

From a finance point of view it is an Inflation Hedge. If you are planning on taking a vacation in WDW for the next 40 or so years, and you expect prices to go up due to inflation then buying a DVC membership will protect a portion of that vacation money from inflation (the dues, tickets, transportation and food will still be subject to inflation).

Oh yea, and you can get nicer rooms

 

[JimC]

It can represent good value for your vacation dollar if you meet certain criteria. And for the early adopters it worked out extraordinarily well even if they sold it. But past performance should not be the criteria for buying now. It should remain a purchase to that meets vacation goals.

 

[nmoore14]

I have not purchased yet, but I am planning on purchasing within the next two months. I think it is more of an investment of time with family more than an investment of financial gain. I plan to take family and friends with me. I am a single person with no kids purchasing, but I enjoy WDW and want to pass the fun onto others.

 

[PIERCEDRN]

At the remarkably low prices of the DVC resale points right now, at best you could consider it a nice "hedge" against a market that is taking a beating right now, at worse it is pre-paying for a vacation for a very long time. Once we get out of a recession, the cost of a disney vacation will likely bounce back up, and you won't see Disney giving away the farm to attract hotel customers (free dining half the year, buy 4 get 3 etc.) For now, DVC members sorta grumble at the deals given to "New" disney money and how SSR studios only cost $164 cash rate.
When our economy rises, it will look more and more like a bargain. I still would never consider it an investment, though, as tickets flights and food all cost big bucks. I end up handing a lot of money to the Mouse to get that bargain on a room.

 

[bangzoom6877]

We bought into the DVC as an investment towards our future family vacations. While at WDW last summer, DH and I decided that Disney is the one place we could go to over and over again as the boys get older and not get bored with it because there is so much to do for kids of any age and also for adults. Our children are now 2 and 4. So we figure that between now and when the little one graduates high school, we will have many good vacations to look forward to with them. We decided that we would go to WDW every other year and do a different kind of vacation in between those trips. We also decided to go for 10 nights from now on every other summer, since we are teachers and have the time, and 5 days at the parks on a 5-night trip was a bit much last summer. DH also insisted on a queen bed for future trips (we were at Pop Century last year with 2 doubles) AND to stay on property where we could get the dining plan and get into the parks early. I informed him that a room in a deluxe resort with queen beds costs over $300 per night and his mouth dropped to the floor! He started asking me about DVC because he knew I was obsessed with these boards and that I was interested in DVC, so I had read a little about it. We did our research and I asked lots of questions here, which all got answered by all the great people on these boards.

We decided to go with a 150-point resale contract at BWV. The resort is walking distance to Epcot and DHS, which was very important to us, to be close to a theme park. We had looked into Beach Club too, but it cost more per point to buy resale, and it was more points to stay there than it was for a standard view at BWV. The pool was not that important to us (the pool is a HUGE selling featre of BCV). So we went with BWV. With a 150-point contract, we could stay in a 1-BR every other year for 10 nights (between banking and borrowing and throwing around numbers), for many years to come!

Next July will be our first trip home. We are so excited and very happy that we took the plunge and bought a DVC membership. We have no intentions at all of exchanging out and only want the points to stay at WDW (or Disneyland in the Grand Californian Villas eventually if we could get it at the 7-month mark when the boys are older, or the new one they are building in Hawaii once the boys outgrow Disney and it is just DH and myself!).

We have this contract until the year 2042, when DH and I will be 65. Plenty of vacation memories to be made between now and then, and I know that if we did end up staying in a deluxe resort for cash next summer instead of purchasing DVC,we would end up being mad at ourselves. So glad we bought!

 

[DVC4me4Ever]

We bought into DVC at a time when the price per point was extremely good. The 11 years we have been vacationing on points....we have more than gotten our original cost back two or even three fold.

Did I buy it as a financial investment? Nope, bought it to invest in vacations and family time and lock in the 'price' of rooms for a long time to come. Could I sell it now and be money ahead...definitely but have no plans to do so.

Now I am looking at my points as my investment for my retirement years. We now have enough points that we can go away somewhere in our retirement years for a week a month. Not a bad way to spend my senior years with the hubby....can't wait!!!!!