DVC is right for me....isn't it?

[DLBDS]

I WDW.
My DD10 WDW.
My DH likes WDW.

I want to go to WDW at least every other year (staying at least one week each time). The other years would be spent at other DVC resorts or places that we could use our DVC points at on the east coast. We only stay in Deluxe resorts when we go to WDW. I want my DD to be able to take her family on nice WDW vacations in the future without worrying about the cost.

Aren't these reasons enough to buy into DVC?

DH (who would NEVER leave town if he could get away with it....which he pretty much did for WAY too long....about 17 YEARS!!....but no more. I won't let him. ) insists that DVC is not a cost-effective venture and there's nothing I can say to change his mind. (I'm not a math brainiac and he knows this well.) He says it's prepaying for your vacations and feels we would be better off paying as we went. He'll say...."What does Clark Howard say?". I don't know! I haven't talked to him recently! Geez. He says Clark Howard says that timeshares are bad. At that point I say that DVC is NOT a traditional timeshare. Then we're at a stalemate and I won't bring the subject up again for a couple of months. What's a girl to do? I'm even thinking of making the jump on my own but that could be tricky (no employer).

Does anyone have any comments, concerns or advice?

 

[dianeschlicht]

Tell him that "pay as you go" also means accept the escalating prices every other year too. With DCV, it's a "pay for the next 50 years at today's prices", and THAT is the real savings.

 

[TisBit]

The key with DVC is that you get more than just a Hotel room. You can do a studio (similar to hotel room) but you can also get a one bedroom with full kitchen, two or even three bedroom places. Breakdown of the cost....160 pts which would get you about one week a year depending on times and size of room that you went, etc. Initial cost at SSR would be about 15000 for initial buy in and current dues are just under 600 a year. You can do vacations for that much and maybe even a little less each year when you average your costs....but DVC helps to "force" your husband to go about every year. You get more than a deluxe hotel room....

I think it is a personal choice and not worth fighting over. Yes, you can do it without DVC....but if you like the benefits of having a bigger place, your own kitchen, etc you will enjoy DVC.

Now, buying resale, all of those numbers will adjust accordingly, you will be able to buy in with a smaller point value and less per point, but there are drawbacks too. More expensive financing and closing costs....more involved in sending paperwork back and forth, etc.

 

[DVC Mike]

Timeshares are definitely bad as an investment vehicle. Timeshares are not like typical real estate in that they don't go up in value or appreciate. Your typical timeshare acts more like a new automobile purchase -- it goes down in value. Yes, DVC is a bit different because of it's high-demand location and Disney's exercising ROFR to keep resale values high, but it's still not an investment.

It's a prepaid vacation that can save you money over the long haul when compared to the rates Disney is charging for Deluxe resorts. If you see yourself regularly visiting WDW and typically staying in a Deluxe resort, then DVC may be a good fit for your family.

That said, DVC is a luxury purchase, IMHO, and not a necessity.

 

[DVCLiz]

Something that really tipped DVC for me was a stay at Hilton Head. I took my daughters for a fall break before I bought my first DVC contract, just to see. My thinking was that we might not get to WDW every year, but a week at the beach is practically a God-given right for North Carolinians, and if we liked HH as well as we liked the NC beaches, we would have a guaranteed vacation at the coast each year.

We LOVED Hilton Head!!! More so than the NC beaches!! The beach itself is wide and the surf is calmer than the NC Atlantic waves, we think. We can rent beach chairs and umbrellas (nice for us bewcause we are all fair skinned easy to burn folks) and have access to the food, pool, and bathrooms at the Beach House. We LOVED the resort itself - being on the marsh, watching the dolphins, participating in the activities - or not, as we chose. It has become our favorite family time.

Your DH might change his mind if he knew he was going to be able to take his family to the beach every summer, with the occasional WDW trip thrown in the mix. Even if he's not a "beach" person, the resort is so conducive to just relaxing. You might give HH a try one of these days!!!

Btw, I started with a 165 point contract at HH - enough for 5 days in the summer in a 2 BR. Now I own 430 oopints - 165 at HH, 165 at BCV, and 100 at AKV. We LOVE our DVC!!!

 

[browniemtb]

I to am against many timeshares that are available in the market. But DVC is not a traditional timeshare and guess what, if you didn't like it you can sell it for just about what you payed for it. Some timeshares you basically have to pay someone just to take it from you. There are no red/white/blue weeks, you have access all year long. As someone posted, you have many villa size choices and choices of the location you would like to stay. If you do stay in deluxe resorts you would be a great candidate for DVC. Just think two trips the way you pay now would almost pay for 160 points at SSR. DVC, yes is prepaying for your vacations at todays prices, but it is more than that. Let me put it this way....my family looked at DVC for years and never did anything about it. The last few trips before our DVC purchase we spent more than $12,000 just in accommodations.......just think couple more thousand and we could have purchase DVC and paid for 50 years of vacations. But finally we purchase DVC and bought enough points to stay in a 1 or 2 bedroom, once you stay in one of these you will never want to go back. Maybe you should rent some points and stay in a 1 bedroom villa just to show your DH what he is missing.

Brownie

 

[dallasdisneymommy]

If you would be visiting Disney on a regular basis and staying in a Deluxe resort anyway, buying into DVC seems to make a lot of sense, in my opinion. We planned to visit once per year or once every two years and we're a family of five, so we bought in and haven't regretted it a day since. We have taken vacations and saved money over what we would have spent at rack rates, stayed in more comfortable accomodations, and enjoyed taking friends and family along for the ride. None of this would have been possible without DVC.

However, I think that if you are planning on using DVC points to stay anywhere else on a regular basis (you said something about the east coast every other year), it may not be as good an idea for you -- I think the general consensus is that you lose value if you trade out to non-DVC properties. I've never done it, but it never seemed like a good enough trade for me to want to do it. And the list of properties available seems to be declining. Someone else could probably speak to this issue better than I.

My husband had to be dragged along for the ride, but he is glad I pushed him to do it. We've had the best time and created a lot of great memories.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Granny]

DH (who would NEVER leave town if he could get away with it....which he pretty much did for WAY too long....about 17 YEARS!!....but no more. I won't let him. ) insists that DVC is not a cost-effective venture and there's nothing I can say to change his mind. (I'm not a math brainiac and he knows this well.) He says it's prepaying for your vacations and feels we would be better off paying as we went. He'll say...."What does Clark Howard say?". I don't know! I haven't talked to him recently! Geez. He says Clark Howard says that timeshares are bad. At that point I say that DVC is NOT a traditional timeshare. Then we're at a stalemate and I won't bring the subject up again for a couple of months. What's a girl to do? I'm even thinking of making the jump on my own but that could be tricky (no employer).

I tend to agree with TisBit...it's really not worth arguing over, especially as vehement as this discussion sounds like it is.

I especially wouldn't make the jump on your own, so to speak. It's a big purchase and you two need to be in agreement.

I want to go to WDW at least every other year (staying at least one week each time). The other years would be spent at other DVC resorts or places that we could use our DVC points at on the east coast. We only stay in Deluxe resorts when we go to WDW. I want my DD to be able to take her family on nice WDW vacations in the future without worrying about the cost.

Aren't these reasons enough to buy into DVC?

Based on your description, you might try something different. Since you plan on going every other year to WDW, buy 1/2 as many points as you need for a trip...cuts the cost of purchase and annual dues in half. You then would bank your points on your off year and use two years worth of points on the years you go to WDW.


Your other trips to other locations are probably best paid for through other means than DVC...it just isn't a very good trade out value for the dollar.

Good luck with the decision, and remember the important thing....your husband didn't refuse to go to WDW, he just doesn't like the idea of DVC. So if your worst case scenario is that you go to WDW every two years and stay in a luxury resort on-site....well, that ain't too shabby, is it?

 

[DLBDS]

However, I think that if you are planning on using DVC points to stay anywhere else on a regular basis (you said something about the east coast every other year), it may not be as good an idea for you -- I think the general consensus is that you lose value if you trade out to non-DVC properties. I've never done it, but it never seemed like a good enough trade for me to want to do it. And the list of properties available seems to be declining.

I was figuring on Vero Beach and Hilton Head....both places we've never been before. A week at these resorts is about the same as a week at the VWL. But, yeah, I've seen in the Dream book that to stay at non-DVC places is quite expensive point-wise.

As for what Granny said about the 2 of us "being in agreement"....not true in my case. I learned this year that if I really want something, I have to make it happen on my own. For example, DD10 started public school this year after being in Montessori for 6 years. She wasn't doing well in math and needed help FAST. I made the decision to have her evaluated at Sylvan. When I told DH what it was going to cost for 155 hours of tutoring, he balked. Meanwhile, the blowouts during homework continued. Long-story short...I enrolled her myself and she went for a couple of weeks before he ever found out. But I'm paying for it....$6500. Doesn't that seem like something we should have both agreed on? Of course. But I wasn't going to sit around and do nothing while DD suffered at school AND at home over MATH. I can't tell you how much improvement there has been! And the relief I feel now? Please, it was SO worth it. I made it happen by getting a 12 month interest free credit card (I maxed it out by the way ). If I don't have it paid for by then, I'll get another credit card with 12 months/0% interest and transfer the balance. I don't care what it does to my credit rating to have several credit cards. I pay my credit card debt off every month (on my every day card) so I don't see this as credit card debt but school tuition....which I've been used to paying anyway (remember Montessori). So, my point to all this is...if I want in on DVC? I'm gonna make it happen for myself AND my DD!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Education is one thing. Vacations are another. I wouldn't get another no interest for 1 yr credit card just to put a DVC purchase on. Points have early doubled in cost in just 11 years. And dues continue to go up. You will secure lodging for tomorrow at today's price, but who knows how much dues will go up?

Using DVC for anything other than DVC resorts is just not cost effective. But if you do decide to buy in, you probably will want to have points at HHI and VB because it gets hard to get those resorts at 7 months out.

 

[sajetto]

Education is one thing. Vacations are another. I wouldn't get another no interest for 1 yr credit card just to put a DVC purchase on. Points have early doubled in cost in just 11 years. And dues continue to go up. You will secure lodging for tomorrow at today's price, but who knows how much dues will go up?

Using DVC for anything other than DVC resorts is just not cost effective. But if you do decide to buy in, you probably will want to have points at HHI and VB because it gets hard to get those resorts at 7 months out.

I agree with everything just said here. There is no way of knowing what the exact cost of dues will be in the next 10 years. Although, I adore DVC I won't let myself head toward financial ruin for it. If it gets to the point where it is unafforadable, I'll let it go.

 

[DLBDS]

Wouldn't the MFs go up at a standard rate from year to year? I mean, they aren't gonna spike one year out of the blue. Current MFs seem reasonable to me. As long as they don't become MORE than the cost of an OOP vacation, I'm good. That won't happen. Will it?

 

[DLBDS]

WebmasterDoc posted this in another thread...

Here is the history of DVC annual fees at all of the resorts:

Year OKW BWV VB VB(sub) HH VWL BCV SSR AKV

2008 4.56 5.04 6.04 4.71 5.16 4.87 4.80 4.21 4.71
2007 4.40 4.85 5.63 4.39 4.98 4.73 4.63 4.12 4.62
2006 4.24 4.69 5.27 4.12 4.34 4.61 4.48 3.98
2005 3.86 4.41 4.87 3.84 3.86 4.35 4.27 3.83
2004 3.68 4.25 4.67 3.67 3.70 4.22 4.18 3.80
2003 3.49 4.11 4.37 4.37 3.69 4.05 3.97
2002 3.22 3.92 4.17 3.33 3.49 3.80 3.77
2001 3.13 3.83 3.98 2.70 3.32 3.63
2000 3.16 3.94 4.07 2.87 3.25 3.62
1999 3.16 4.02 3.99 2.82 3.18
1998 3.17 3.94 ---- 2.76 3.20
1997 3.14 3.84 ---- 2.90 3.16
1996 2.99 3.70 ---- 2.82 3.16
1995 2.84
1994 2.70
1993 2.63
1992 2.56
1991 2.51

 

[Didney Daddy]

Another important decision is an honest assessment of the Disney Love factor. I know a lot of people that enjoy Disney, but in order to truly not regret a DVC purchase I have found that a profound Disney heart is the key. If your husband just enjoys Disney, he will probably always analyze the purchase. In the end, DVC is about buying a piece of the magic. Over the long haul, it may make some economic sense but the most likely scenario is that the purchase itself and the experiences you have at Disney and staying at DVC properties is the real payoff.

 

[sajetto]

Wouldn't the MFs go up at a standard rate from year to year? I mean, they aren't gonna spike one year out of the blue. Current MFs seem reasonable to me. As long as they don't become MORE than the cost of an OOP vacation, I'm good. That won't happen. Will it?

MFs cannot exceed a 5% increase annually. From what I've read from Doc, that hasn't reached 5% yet, but that doesn't mean it won't. It seems to me that you are set toward buying so there really isn't the need to ask for the opinions of others. Good luck.

 

[TisBit]

I agree with your assessment, if you feel that your husband is just balking to balk, than maybe taking that first step is good for you. Another option is the next time you are down at WDW schedule (without his knowledge....take him over and let him see the units and how they are different, etc). It will also give you an opportunity to study up and see for yourself (plus you can have another person, the guide in your corner to help answer questions). It is a no pressure sales, so it won't be like "other" timeshares. Go armed with what you are paying for that vacation (hotels/rental car) and compare it to what it would cost for your DVC buy.

You know your situation and husband best....if he is a better to ask forgiveness than permission person, so be it. But don't ruin your home life over DVC....it is nice to be member, but not necessary!

 

[sajetto]

TisBit is right and it definitely isn't a high pressure sales pitch. Any time I have ever called my guide he has just shared the current cost, incentives, and whatever the upcoming end date is of that incentive and simply says that he looks forward to hearing from me again later. If I happen to call back and add points he makes the purchase smooth and easy. In fact I added on this morning and it took no more than 10 minutes.

 

[chalee94]

MFs cannot exceed a 5% increase annually. From what I've read from Doc, that hasn't reached 5% yet, but that doesn't mean it won't.

this is incorrect.

the cap is more like 15% (although i believe it does not apply to property tax assesments, which can be higher.)

a quick look at the dues history shows that all of the resorts older than SSR have had multiple increases of greater than 5%.

 

[sajetto]

Thank you chalee, that seems more like it. I had the feeling that I was off and that makes an even stronger case to use caution before buying

 

[Granny]

As for what Granny said about the 2 of us "being in agreement"....not true in my case. I learned this year that if I really want something, I have to make it happen on my own. [clip]

So, my point to all this is...if I want in on DVC? I'm gonna make it happen for myself AND my DD!

Everyone must do what is best for their situation. If this approach is the one that works for you and your family, then by all means proceed if it looks good to you.

I still think you'd be better off starting small and banking points to use every two years. Once you buy, you can always buy more points if you need them. Plus, smaller contracts are easier to sell.

Good luck to you and your family.