DVC Every 3 Years

[HBDad]

We're a little bubble here on disboards...most DVC owners aren't as "into it" as we are or as knowledgeable. Many people are getting priced out of an annual WDW vacation. Off the top of my head, a family of four/one week stay must be 10K or higher for a hotel room, tix, flights, rental car, dining etc. A 100K family dealing with 10% inflation may have to make hard decisions with that extra 10K just to pay for food and gas. DVC owners make it a priority but I can see owners close to the edge selling in the next year or two.

Owning DVC has allowed us to have a 1 BR villa and gift our son and DIL a studio twice a year for 10-12 nights. We've rented and flipped over the years and added to our DVC portfolio (LOL). For us it is a great value and a long term commitment.

It is quite sad to hear about the impacts of inflation. If someone's wages isn't growing and they don't own assets, they are losing purchasing power.

A broker told me we are entering a buyer's market for DVC. Might be worth waiting to see how prices move. Financing costs are higher and there are more resales listed. I heard Aulani was difficult to get last year but there's a glut of resales out there. If prices adjust, they will take a little longer to change.

DVC does have nice perks. It lets us have the same $10k vacation and with better rooms and possibly a longer stay. Before looking into DVC, we never considered staying in one place for more than 7 days. I bet it's been nice to have consistency over the years for you. Seems like addonitis is common for DVC! I feel like I should get a larger contract to start.

 

[HBDad]

We intend to try to do something like that maybe every other year. Other than that it will soon be just DW and me on trips (we did do a two week trip last year just the two of us).

Nice! I’m speculating whether our parents or friends would join us on trips. For a two week trip, do you split stay? How many days do you spend at the park?

 

[Stargazer65]

Nice! I’m speculating whether our parents or friends would join us on trips. For a two week trip, do you split stay? How many days do you spend at the park?

It varies, but we always drive, and we often split stay. That trip with my wife was unusual, and not all WDW...we spent 4 days at Daytona Beach, 2 days VBR, 5 days SSR, 2 days HHI. We had a 4 day park hopper while at SSR (I'm retired Navy and we use the military salute tickets).
Two years ago we stayed 8 days at Poly (no split stay) and had 5 day Universal tickets.
We are split staying in April...4 days BRV, 9 days BLT, 4 day park hopper again. So lots of down time this trip.

 

[HBDad]

It's very easy, especially on these forums and especially if you aren't looking for the highest possible dollar amount per point.

But realize that whatever payment processor you use will generate a tax form and you will need to do some legwork to minimize the tax burden from the renting of those points.

If I’m left with a handful of points like 5 or 15 and can’t bank it, is there anything that can be done?

 

[Stargazer65]

Duplicate post deleted

 

[RamblinWreck]

If I’m left with a handful of points like 5 or 15 and can’t bank it, is there anything that can be done?

There are a few options.

If you only have 5 points:
1. You could find someone who only needs a few extra points transferred to them, who would otherwise be buying one time use points.
2. You could advertise being able to rent out more like 10-15 points, and when someone says they will rent from you, you buy a few one-time-use points yourself to fill the gap.

If you have more like 15 points:
1. It's entirely possible you can find a reservation for someone that will use all of your points. Or if you are renting to a current member, they will look up something that will use all of your points. (The last time I was renting out points I wasn't going to use and couldn't bank, someone did exactly this)
2. You could transfer them to someone.
3. You could fill out a short 1-2 night reservation for someone by getting a small handful of one-time-use points.


Ultimately if you only waste 1-5 points it's not the end of the the world. But it can be avoided.

 

[Stargazer65]

If I’m left with a handful of points like 5 or 15 and can’t bank it, is there anything that can be done?

To add ...you can't transfer points if they are banked or borrowed, but if it's enough points for one night somewhere you may be able to rent them. If it's not enough for one night you could borrow a few to male the difference, or use OTUPs like the previous poster said.

 

[CarolynFH]

If I’m left with a handful of points like 5 or 15 and can’t bank it, is there anything that can be done?

Hopefully, the right UY and careful planning will prevent points being left over after your banking deadline.

 

[Spivey378]

I visited Aulani for an evening last week to check it out. Really liked it. I too came up with the every three years scheme. After reading this thread I may pass. I’m a new owner of 250 points at CCV and the idea was to get a small Aulani contract to only use at Aulani and use my CCV point at WDW. I really want to get back to Oahu more often as I used to live there and figured owning at Aulani would do it. It’s probably best for me to just rent the points.

I also visited Grand Californian last week and was scheming there too, although that is out of my league!

 

[HBDad]

To add ...you can't transfer points if they are banked or borrowed, but if it's enough points for one night somewhere you may be able to rent them. If it's not enough for one night you could borrow a few to male the difference, or use OTUPs like the previous poster said.

I see. If you are relying a lot on banking and borrowing, you need to make sure you book your vacation early in the use year so you can rebook if necessary.

 

[CarolynFH]

I see. If you are relying a lot on banking and borrowing, you need to make sure you book your vacation early in the use year so you can rebook if necessary.

Exactly. Keep your options (for rebooking or for banking) open in case you have to cancel.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I was able to upgrade a renter to a 1 BR from a studio because I had a few extra points that were due to expire. It just worked out and it was a win-win as he got a great villa and the mouse didn't get any freebies!

 

[sethschroeder]

hoping the 50% borrowing restriction will end

It may never go away originally there was restrictions on how many points could be borrowed as well. Heck Disney could even put restrictions on banking at some point.

Every 3 years

Terrible plan, do not do it.

If you really want to do something then just simply rent DVC points on this forum. Find someone who you can then rent from every 3 years.

The only way this works out is if you buy more points and then plan on renting out points so you basically Go, Skip, Rent, repeat. I wouldn't buy DVC to rent it out although I know someone had but its just a risk not worth the stress.

Heck in your plans your kids will be at college within 2-3 trips and you may find they won't even be going with you as they start their life.

 

[HBDad]

After all this feedback, I'm planning to wait until next year to make a decision. If we do proceed, I'm going to buy a larger contract (150-200) at WDW and use it every 2 years with the intention of renting points every 6 years.

Thinking about DVC really helped me consider how vacations will look like over the next 5 to 10 years. I planned out 2 years of vacation and there's a lot of possibilities for the years afterwards. We love national parks and visiting to new cities so Disneyland might be sufficient to hold us over to do one last WDW trip before all the kids are in college. Our trip this year to Hawaii will help us think about Aulani. With older kids, it's more about thinking what my wife and I want for vacations after all the kids grow up.

Waiting will be helpful to see how things play out with Disney.

1. How will Disneyland towers be priced?
2. Will WDW continue being a better place to visit for us vs Disneyland?
3. Disney is heading into politics / morality we don't agree with.. will this speed up?
4. DVC Resale inventory is going up. Resale price growth on DVC may flatten out.
5. How will increasing fuel and ticket costs impact our future WDW trips?

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[MICKIMINI]

1. Remortgage your home high! Totally worth it though if you live nearby!
2. There is more to do in 40 square miles of parks, resorts and DS to keep everyone entertained IMO.
3. Stay out of politics if they are smart...not so sure the current CEO is.
4. There may be more deals with more inventory, however don't count on prices going down. You are far more educated now and know where to go to get current info when you are ready LOL!
5. Rack up those miles...

We did two trips featuring National Parks from Yellowstone down to the southwest and both were wonderful. We started with a giant USA map from AAA and a highlighter pen (before the internet) and laid out our itinerary and then tightened it up. Those were some of the best trips ever! Enjoy!

 

[HBDad]

1. Remortgage your home high! Totally worth it though if you live nearby!
2. There is more to do in 40 square miles of parks, resorts and DS to keep everyone entertained IMO.
3. Stay out of politics if they are smart...not so sure the current CEO is.
4. There may be more deals with more inventory, however don't count on prices going down. You are far more educated now and know where to go to get current info when you are ready LOL!
5. Rack up those miles...

We did two trips featuring National Parks from Yellowstone down to the southwest and both were wonderful. We started with a giant USA map from AAA and a highlighter pen (before the internet) and laid out our itinerary and then tightened it up. Those were some of the best trips ever! Enjoy!

Love the map idea! 8 years of vacation plans with kids and the rest with my wife.

#4 This thread alone. LOL. The community here is awesome.

 

[Brian Noble]

Terrible plan, do not do it.

I will echo this. In my opinion, DVC makes sense if (and only if):

1. You plan to vacation at WDW at least every other year for at least 7-10 visits in total.
2. You would never consider staying in non-Disney owned lodging for those trips.
3. You primarily stay in Moderate or Deluxe-level Disney resorts when you visit.

If you are missing #1, you are better off renting. If you are missing #2, you are better off buying a non-Disney timeshare on the secondary market. If you are missing #3, DVC is probably more expensive than what you are doing now.

I suppose it can also make sense at DLR if the same conditions apply, but in my experience very few people would rule out a non-Disney hotel stay out of hand at DLR. There are several perfectly nice hotels that are priced attractively and are physically closer to the Esplanade than several of the much more expensive Disney-owned hotel rooms. Many others are only an extra 5-10 minutes' walk away.

These caveats apply because, again in my opinion, the only reasonable value for using DVC points is to stay at WDW-area DVC resorts. Using them for DCL cruises, ABD trips, or II exchanges is usually negative-value vs. just paying cash for those things. What's more, every time I do the math, renting is at best competitive with (and usually inferior to) just investing the purchase price in a low-cost broad-market index fund. But renting is more work and (arguably) more risk. That doesn't mean that renting when you are infrequently stuck with extra points is a bad idea, but planning to do it regularly seems like a poor use of time and capital.

To put this in a more positive light: the real value of a DVC purchase (or a timeshare purchase in general) is that it represents a commitment to frequent, regular Disney vacations (or vacations in general) at a price point you are comfortable with. Vacations become a priority that you plan other things around, rather than vice versa. I've owned timeshares for almost 15 years now, and the use-it-or-lose-it nature has definitely encouraged me to vacation more often, and in much nicer lodging, than if I'd been left to my own devices.

 

[HBDad]

What's more, every time I do the math, renting is at best competitive with (and usually inferior to) just investing the purchase price in a low-cost broad-market index fund. But renting is more work and (arguably) more risk. That doesn't mean that renting when you are infrequently stuck with extra points is a bad idea, but planning to do it regularly seems like a poor use of time and capital.

Great point!

 

[TeamRiley]

Here is what I would do. Do not delay your purchase until next year. Prices will most likely go down this summer, then back up.
As you stated, I would buy more points that you originally anticipated, but I would buy two contracts. Maybe one this year, and one next year - but get the same Use Year. If things work out, you can go with your 3 year plan. If not, go every other year and rent the leftover. If it doesn't work as you wanted, sell one contract or both.
We bought VGC long ago, but then bought an Aulani contract 2 years ago. We could sell the Aulani right now and walk away with a profit even including the cost of several trips there.

 

[plenihan07]

Here is what I would do. Do not delay your purchase until next year. Prices will most likely go down this summer, then back up.
As you stated, I would buy more points that you originally anticipated, but I would buy two contracts. Maybe one this year, and one next year - but get the same Use Year. If things work out, you can go with your 3 year plan. If not, go every other year and rent the leftover. If it doesn't work as you wanted, sell one contract or both.
We bought VGC long ago, but then bought an Aulani contract 2 years ago. We could sell the Aulani right now and walk away with a profit even including the cost of several trips there.

This is similar to the approach we are taking as new buyers. We got what we need to take our expected trip every 2 years with 2 x 2BR for our anticipated party size and the time of year (plus a buffer for potential point re-allocation). Alternatively we could consider going with a 3BR and a Studio or 1BR every 3 years depending on how borrowing shakes out. If we don’t want to go every 2 years, and borrow remains 50% or worse, we plan to skip the 3rd year and Bank, Travel, Rent, repeat. Enough options to feel comfortable with the investment and any changes that may come down the road.

Edit: And I meant to add we structured the contract 150/50/50 so we can sell 1 or 2 pieces to provide additional flexibility in the future.