Economics of buying DVC vs. Renting points

[littlestar]

You could always buy a small amount of points, say 60 or 70 and then rent an extra 24 one time use points from DVC each year. That way you keep control over your vacations without using a points broker.

 

[Marionnette]

You could always buy a small amount of points, say 60 or 70 and then rent an extra 24 one time use points from DVC each year. That way you keep control over your vacations without using a points broker.

OTUPs can only be purchased inside the 7-month booking window. That would completely negate any home resort booking advantage.

 

[littlestar]

OTUPs can only be purchased inside the 7-month booking window. That would completely negate any home resort booking advantage.

True on the one time use points - but if she buys at SSR for low dues I think it could work, especially since she likes control of her vacations. I have had good luck with 7 month bookings with my SSR points, but I book right at the 7 month window.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

These direct and resale prices are hard to swallow. In your situation you can not go wrong renting. I’m having a hard time figuring out a break even timeframes for both direct and Resales. From my calculations, I’m coming up with 10-14 years for break even timeframes. In 2007-2008 it was 5-7 years.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

I'm wondering when rental prices are going up? It just seems like an incredible deal. I have zero risk tolerance, so I never rented for fear of our plans changing and never researched trip insurance enough I suppose. But obviously tons of people rent points and it seems some of the prices on the rent board here have been as much or more than the brokers at times. So, I'd have to imagine prices rising soon and possibly significantly.....?​

 

[Ben E N]

I'm wondering when rental prices are going up? It just seems like an incredible deal.

As more and more people have your exact thought. The more people find it to be a good deal, the more they line up to rent. The more demand there is for rentals, the higher the price will go. I would expect it to be pretty soon, though, considering One Time Use points went up from $15 to $17 each lately, and that Disney resorts charge for parking and DVC rentals do not.
I agree with you that it seems to be priced a little low right now, and would expect places like David's to start charging $18-19 per point soon. I have already noticed private renters asking for $17 per point, so it can't be too far away.

 

[tamerbelles]

As stated you are in control when you rent. It appears in your mde account. You make all requests about check in time, preferences, fast pass, and dining. The only things you are not in control of are magic express bus ride and making the dining plan activation (telling Disney you want the dining plan). The renter tells Disney those two items as part of your arrangement through them or the broker. But you are in control of everything else.

FYI renters can make their own reservation for Magical Express! You can call directly or use this website: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/airport-transportation-reservation/

Makes it even easier to be a renter, in my opinion. We're not dining plan people, so it's a pretty great experience. OP, I think you're right that you lack control in being able to modify your reservation once you've booked. But locking in my trip dates makes me a better planner! I'd probably go crazy if I could keep changing my room/dates.

 

[Marionnette]

FYI renters can make their own reservation for Magical Express! You can call directly or use this website: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/airport-transportation-reservation/

Makes it even easier to be a renter, in my opinion. We're not dining plan people, so it's a pretty great experience. OP, I think you're right that you lack control in being able to modify your reservation once you've booked. But locking in my trip dates makes me a better planner! I'd probably go crazy if I could keep changing my room/dates.

Renters should go thru the owners for DME arrangements. Our dues pay for transportation costs and bypassing Member Services messes up the accounting. Please use the proper channels.

 

[disneynutz]

When calling DME, the recording states that DVC DME reservations should be placed through DVC MS.

Bill

 

[crisi]

You didn't say how old your kids are, but they will throw curves at your budget that you cannot imagine. There will be times when taking teenagers who have been to Disney many times in their lives back to Disney is not nearly as much a financial priority as driver's ed and car insurance. Or test prep courses. Athletic fees. There was the $300 a month in ADHD medication for my daughter insurance didn't cover. College tuition.

Your budget that includes Disney is a short term thng, it will need to change over time as your families needs change - and it might not fit Disney in another five or ten years, in which case, you'd have likely been better off with the flexibility of renting.

 

[pirate33]

the safe spot is that the resale market of DVC is really good in the current market. Baring a huge economic down turn, if you bought and realized that you made a mistake or no longer wanted WDW vacations you could sell and likely not lose any money.

The economy overall seems high to me, and particularly the DVC resale market, so I would suggest some caution. In a recession, vacation-related things like DVC resales will be hit the hardest. So IMHO you should buy now feeling assured you could sell short term for a wash or profit. If there is a recession in the next few years, it could be hard to sell without taking a loss.

To put it another way, I wouldn't buy unless you feel comfortable you can hold for at least 5 years or even better 10 if the market goes down. Otherwise, you risk buying high and selling low.

 

[FireflyTrance]

Personally I preferred buying because I knew my contracts would hold at least some of their value if I eventually sold them. VGC resale has increased a ton since I purchased it. Who knows what the future holds, but my guess is you could eventually sell and re-coop some of your initial costs, if not all.

 

[Dean]

IMO it never makes sense to try to buy quickly to get that next trip on points and call it a discount for someone who isn't integrally familiar with DVC already. My suggestion is to spend a few months learning about the system, rent a time or 2 and in the interim do so long range planning. My suggestions are always that for one to buy DVC they need to be OK with the compromises of a timeshare, have a certain amount of on property and DVC experience, can reserve AT LEAST 7 months out (11 mo for some things) and be able to afford it (to me that's pay cash). DVC likely won't save you money overall but on a night over night comparison it should come out roughly the same price for a studio compared to a single moderate room with a decent discount (or close to 2 rooms to a 2 BR). If it's roughly break even in this context and you get an upgrade with DVC, I'd call that added value. IMO the only reasonable ways to look at dollars are what you would have spent not owning for what you would have chosen and/or the rental price of DVC. I feel comparing to DVC rack rates, even discounted, is a fools comparison.

 

[Ruca]

As a financial consultant i can tell you this is not an investment. i does have some "value" and the resale options make it fairly liquid. I've been buying points slowly and selling them to help displace cost rather than banking. what you may want to consider is buying points in smaller chunks IE contracts. I recently bought 150 more points under 2 contracts 100 and 50 - this does mean i have 2 bills but it adds up to the same. as i come into more cash i will pay on off thus increasing my cashflow and not tiring me to a higher monthly bill. the break even on points is about 7-10 years depending on your personal points. so if you plan on selling 10 years out of the 50 or so you have the original purchase price would be covered. again this is not a good investment but it allows for the hotel cost to be covered

 

[Dean]

As a financial consultant i can tell you this is not an investment. i does have some "value" and the resale options make it fairly liquid. I've been buying points slowly and selling them to help displace cost rather than banking. what you may want to consider is buying points in smaller chunks IE contracts. I recently bought 150 more points under 2 contracts 100 and 50 - this does mean i have 2 bills but it adds up to the same. as i come into more cash i will pay on off thus increasing my cashflow and not tiring me to a higher monthly bill. the break even on points is about 7-10 years depending on your personal points. so if you plan on selling 10 years out of the 50 or so you have the original purchase price would be covered. again this is not a good investment but it allows for the hotel cost to be covered

I'd agree but add that it will affect finances in other ways. Basically good choices will fit in far more appropriately than bad choices. Plus I've come to realize that those that make poor choices in areas of finance, including unwilling to delay gratification, tend to make poor choices in many areas.

 

[Ruca]

great addition! couldn't have said it better. Cash Flow is very important

 

[bless7ings]

Thank you!! All good points. I think I will just suck it up, rent this year, and then like you said, make a point to reconsider next year before our 2021 trip. I just feel like I always hear from people that they wish they had bought earlier, which is what my ex-DH said too... we should have done it right when our DD was born 8 years ago. It does make it hard to wait, but what's one more trip? And good point about AKV.. we LOVE it there and would rather have that then SSR so sounds like I would need to do a little more homework!

I searched for info on DVC's and saw this today and read the whole thing...and it is 2021...Have you bought a DVC?
The other thing is we kinda have had a down turn in the economy....how is that affecting owners? I am assuming if you can still afford to go it hasn't bothered?

 

[DVC Doctor]

As a financial consultant i can tell you this is not an investment. i does have some "value" and the resale options make it fairly liquid. I've been buying points slowly and selling them to help displace cost rather than banking. what you may want to consider is buying points in smaller chunks IE contracts. I recently bought 150 more points under 2 contracts 100 and 50 - this does mean i have 2 bills but it adds up to the same. as i come into more cash i will pay on off thus increasing my cashflow and not tiring me to a higher monthly bill. the break even on points is about 7-10 years depending on your personal points. so if you plan on selling 10 years out of the 50 or so you have the original purchase price would be covered. again this is not a good investment but it allows for the hotel cost to be covered

I am NOT a financial consultant, but according to Wikipedia:

INVESTMENT - To invest is to allocate money in the expectation of some benefit/return in the future. In other words, to invest means owning an asset or an item with the goal of generating income from the investment or the appreciation of your investment which is an increase in the value of the asset over a period of time. When you invest it always requires a sacrifice of some present asset that you own today such as time, money, or effort.

Thus, for some people DVC is a true investment, but obviously it is just a timeshare

 

[RoseGold]

If money is tight, I don’t see how a week long Disney vacation fits into that at all. I would be trying to economize down to an offsite Airbnb, not trying to game a week of luxury accommodations.

Your kids are getting older. Are you sure you want to lock in a week of luxury hotels and theme park tickets?

I could have gone to Europe for the cost of my last Disney trip.

 

[Marionnette]

I searched for info on DVC's and saw this today and read the whole thing...and it is 2021...Have you bought a DVC?
The other thing is we kinda have had a down turn in the economy....how is that affecting owners? I am assuming if you can still afford to go it hasn't bothered?

Looks like the OP decided not to purchase. They were seeking a DVC rental as recently as fall 2020 for October 2021.