DVC Sales Help... please!

[merryweather's twin]

Are there any things we should consider when making the decision to buy DVC?

My DSO is a little concerned with the annual dues. They appear to be about the same cost as renting a house off-site for the same period of time. Can someone help me convince them that DVC is loads better? (The transportation being busses like the AS does not help)


Thanks.

 

[CarolMN]

If your family is/has been happy staying off site DVC is probably not for you. There are some very nice off site options, many of which are less expensive than DVC,

DVC works best for those who tend to go to WDW at least every other year, stay on site in a moderate or delxue resort, stay mostly on Sunday through Thursday nights and can plan their stays at least 7 months ahead.

If those criteria do not describe your family's vacationing habits, think very carefully about DVC. You will not be as satisfied with your purchase as you expect.

Best wishes -

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

I'm not crazy about the annual fees either...so I counteract by using my Disney Visa to pay for everything I can. That way, I can use the rewards earned to help pay the fees. Yes, the price is similar to renting a house, but staying onsite is so much better. Plus, the nice thing about DVC is that you can always sell your contract in a few years (if you want to) and get most, if not all, of your investment back. We just purchased a little over a year ago and would get about 15% more than we paid if we sold. No bank account I have is offering that interest rate.

 

[Disney Doll]

If your family is/has been happy staying off site DVC is probably not for you. There are some very nice off site options, many of which are less expensive than DVC,

DVC works best for those who tend to go to WDW at least every other year, stay on site in a moderate or delxue resort, stay mostly on Sunday through Thursday nights and can plan their stays at least 7 months ahead.

If those criteria do not describe your family's vacationing habits, think very carefully about DVC. You will not be as satisfied with your purchase as you expect.

Best wishes -

Carol has given you some excellent advice.

For us, staying off-site is not an option. When we go to WDW, we want to be on-site. It makes it more of a vacation for us, we love being surrounded by the "magiic" all the time. Staying of-site would be disappointing.

 

[RobDoc]

I'd agree with the advice already offered and will make a couple of additional comments.

Make sure you afe comparing apples and apples. Since there are no "rental houses" on site- you are already making an unfair comparison (if you prefer staying off-site, then DVC may not be practical for you anyway), BUT ... I can stay in a 2BR villa for 7 nights at OKW in September for 218 points. My dues are less than $4 per point for this year so my cost for 7 nights is about $850. If I stay only 5 nights and forego the weekend the cost falls to about $425 for the stay.

Other resorts will vary due to higher dues or point costs, but the point is that the onsite cost is pretty reasonable. If you can save a few dollars by staying off-site and are happy with that arrangement, then by all means give lots of thought before joining DVC.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[thelionqueen]

Great advice on this thread!! The annual dues are what have been keeping us from buying lots of points w/DVC. We figure it would take us 9 years of visits at Deluxe hotels before we would come close to breaking even on our initial investment.

Still, I dream of DVC and every time we go get closer and closer. Since my mind is still not made up, I probably didn't help at all...sorry, just my 2 cents worth.

 

[JimC]

You may want to review this site for additional information:

http://www.mousesavers.com/dvc.html#dvc

Agree with what the others have posted so far. Do you mind paying more for staying on-site? That seems to be the fundamental question for you. The cheapest is always going to be off-site, whether you look at hotels or timeshares.

For our Orlando vacations we spend three weeks on-site at DVC and one week off property at Cypress Harbour (Marriott Vacation Club resort). That week we do mostly non-Disney stuff.

 

[OnMedic]

An option would be to rent points next trip and see how it fits with all stakeholders in this decision. They may not want to go back to off-site accommodations after your DVC trip.

 

[Anewman]

My parents paid about $2800 for 7 nights in a 1bedroom villa last month(Aug value season).

Next year the mortgage and Fees on our 200 points will be about $3000 and we will be going in September and doing exactly the same amount of nights. After you count the little tax write offs(interest and prop tax), we will be paying pretty much the same amount until mortgage is paid off.

After that it is all gravy.

And I feel confident(based on past numbers) that if we sell in 5-10 years we will get back most of our money, I cant say that about very many other time shares.

 

[sleepydog25]

Though the advice given before is largely sound, I would caution you against looking at DVC as any sort of investment. Yes, you MIGHT be able to resell later at a profit, but that begs the question, why would you buy at all if you thought you might later sell it? And what if down the road, DVC loses some of its value? I think it unlikely, but you can't bank on a timeshare--attractively packaged as DVC is it is still a timeshare--being a sound financial investment. Personally, I think you should make the decision based on whether you think such a purchase fits your lifestyle, budget, and way of vacationing. If it does, go for it! To me, for essentially the cost of a car, I have prepaid accommodations for most of my family's vacations over the next nearly 50 years. We like to spread out when on vacation, and DVC helps us do that. Good luck! aw:

 

[Anewman]

Though the advice given before is largely sound, I would caution you against looking at DVC as any sort of investment. Yes, you MIGHT be able to resell later at a profit, but that begs the question, why would you buy at all if you thought you might later sell it? And what if down the road, DVC loses some of its value? I think it unlikely, but you can't bank on a timeshare--attractively packaged as DVC is it is still a timeshare--being a sound financial investment. Personally, I think you should make the decision based on whether you think such a purchase fits your lifestyle, budget, and way of vacationing. If it does, go for it! To me, for essentially the cost of a car, I have prepaid accommodations for most of my family's vacations over the next nearly 50 years. We like to spread out when on vacation, and DVC helps us do that. Good luck! aw:

Oh I agree 100% that timeshares even DVC should not be considered investments, I did not mean it to sound like that. Just meant that to date the losses by those that have HAD to sell for what ever reason have been minimal when compared to MOST other timeshares, and some have made more than they paid.

Other timeshares have a history of being worth less than half(on resale market) of the retail purchase price b4 you even close. DVC does at least give you 14 year history of that not being the case. Not a garantee of a future pattern but it made a "timeshares are terrible" person, feel a little more comfortable and was factored into our buying decision.

 

[sleepydog25]

Anewman, you are completely right, and I shared the same feelings that DVC was different and their history much better. And, indeed, that confidence factored into our decision as well. My comments certainly weren't specifically directed your way--mea culpa if they came out that way. My primary concern, not terribly well-stated, is that someone not view DVC as strictly an investment but as part of a well-thought out decision on lifestyle: how one likes to travel, spend time outside of parks, perks, amenities, and long-range planning among other issues.

So, merryweather's twin, if you read the posts this far along , then I think the real choice comes down to how you and DSO really vacation. Rather than repeat all that's been said, I'll just say that for us it has, so far, been all we hoped. aw: