Heard the sales pitch yesterday and have some questions

[your friend]

The pitch sounded good until I saw the resale sites and learned that they were much cheaper. We just finished our first trip with my 3 year old and needless to say we will be going back again and again but we would also like to use the other places through RCI (I think that is what it is). My Mother in law lives in OCMD and there is a hotel there which would work out well when we visit her but I have seen somethings about buying resale like you cannot use RCI if you buy through a resale. Is this true? I like disney and would like to go there again but we wouldn't use our DVC membership to just go to Disney. Should I look at another timeshare company or should I keep researching DVC?

 

[MouseMomx2]

The pitch sounded good until I saw the resale sites and learned that they were much cheaper. We just finished our first trip with my 3 year old and needless to say we will be going back again and again but we would also like to use the other places through RCI (I think that is what it is). My Mother in law lives in OCMD and there is a hotel there which would work out well when we visit her but I have seen somethings about buying resale like you cannot use RCI if you buy through a resale. Is this true? I like disney and would like to go there again but we wouldn't use our DVC membership to just go to Disney. Should I look at another timeshare company or should I keep researching DVC?

Resale purchasers are still able to trade through RCI. They cannot, however, use their points for Disney Cruise Line or Adventures By Disney vacations nor can they use them for the non-DVC Disney resorts or Concierge Collection locations. IMO, all of those offer a poor value for your DVC points anyway so I would seriously consider resale. We bought through DVC 14 years ago and have recently done two add-on purchases through resale.

IMO the price DVC is currently asking is ridiculous and at this time I would only consider resale...but that's me. My advice would be not to rush into anything. Do lots of research and make sure DVC is the right thing for your family. DVC isn't going anywhere and will be waiting for you if/when you decide to purchase.

 

[vicki_c]

In terms of using your DVC membership to book an RCI resort in Ocean City (regardless of how you buy DVC) -- that is not just a given/simple process. We don't do any trades to RCI, so I can't speak from personal experience, but you would want to do some more research on other timeshare boards before assuming you could easily make that happen (the Tug boards are normally recommended here - think it's tug.net or something similar).

DVC ownership is really best for using at Disney. If you really want to use it at other locations often, you should look outside DVC.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Or consider buying a smaller DVC contract that would only cover your WDW stays. With banking/borrowing you could go every other year or every third year with a smaller contract and then locate another timeshare that works better for trading.

 

[DenLo]

It's tug2.com for timeshare information. The reason most do not advise using the DVC points for RCI trades is because it takes lots of points and the DVC costs a lot more to start with than many of the RCI timeshares. So it would be cheaper to buy less DVC points to use strictly at WDW and a 2nd timeshare through another timeshare company for exchanges. You'll get a better selection on the exchanges as well and a better chance on getting the exchange with another timeshare. For some reason DVC points don't have much power in exchanging through RCI, many report not being able to get a reservation.

 

[disneynutz]

Unless you intend to use your points for Disney, I wouldn't spend the money to become a member.

Disney has been making negative changes to our ownerships and I expect that they will continue if it makes them more money. As soon as the RCI contract is up, RCI may also be removed for resale buyers.

Bill

 

[juncker]

Unless you intend to use your points for Disney, I wouldn't spend the money to become a member.

Disney has been making negative changes to our ownerships and I expect that they will continue if it makes them more money. As soon as the RCI contract is up, RCI may also be removed for resale buyers.

Bill

I'd agree with this. Don't purchase DVC with the intention of using it for RCI trades. Buy it for staying at DVC properties. Even with resale you have the option of doing RCI trades and if you want to use this on an occasional basis that it isn't a bad thing. I just wouldn't jump in thinking that this is the primary purpose.

If you want to see where the value of DVC is, just go to the Disney website and try to book a 1 or 2 bedroom DVC property for a week and see what they want to charge you for a cash reservation. Cost of DVC can be steep especially when you include annual maint fees, but think about buying that cash room every year. It doesn't take long for you to break even, but you need to commit to a regular Disney vacation every year (or at least every 2-3 years). If you look at RCI accomodations and look for the same size/same week and can find a cash price, I'll bet that it is way less than 50% of the DVC property. RCI doesn't provide as much value as you could get from your points.

Go slow and think it out. I'm definitely a fan of resale vs. direct for cost reasons, but DVC isn't going anywhere. These boards are a great source for real information. Do your research. Post your questions if you don't find what you're looking for and you'll love the results. This is a very enthusiastic bunch of people that are willing to help everyone learn the real story with DVC.

I hope it works out for you.

 

[ldo]

Having been timesharing, going to WDW, trading other timeshares thru RCI for 10+ years, (and a DVC owner for 4 years), here's what I would do if I were looking at DVC today:

buy enough resale pointsto travel every OTHER year to WDW--

Why?
1)Every other year is 1/2 the price outlay--easy on the budget. And, in the early days, you can borrow points if you must get an every year fix--or have points transferred into your account. You might pay a bit more for those transferred points, but I bet you will get used to every other year in a couple years.
2)the cost savings is substantial with resale---there is no perk that is enough to justify my purchase direct right now.
3) esp. with kids, you vacation patterns could change and that way you are not locked into using your points EVERY year. For example, in just 5 years, we went from loving our fixed week east coast beach locations to putting them in RCI for trade b/c our kids want to do other things.
4) with every other year, you do not have to rely on RCI trades with DVC----trading with RCI is not easy, esp. for high demand places-many places almost never have availability.
4)If you find you really want to trade with RCI (and I have had great luck--but it takes a lot of time and energy), there are tons of great trading timeshares that you can buy for next to nothing--check on TUG2.NET for lots of info in timeshares.
good luck. Elaine

 

[Dean]

The pitch sounded good until I saw the resale sites and learned that they were much cheaper. We just finished our first trip with my 3 year old and needless to say we will be going back again and again but we would also like to use the other places through RCI (I think that is what it is). My Mother in law lives in OCMD and there is a hotel there which would work out well when we visit her but I have seen somethings about buying resale like you cannot use RCI if you buy through a resale. Is this true? I like disney and would like to go there again but we wouldn't use our DVC membership to just go to Disney. Should I look at another timeshare company or should I keep researching DVC?

IF DVC makes sense for you for stays at DVC resorts, just buy the points you'll use there. You may want to consider a purchase at the resort in question in OCMD. Otherwise, a minisystem such as Bluegreen or Wyndham might be a consideration. From what I can see, there are NO highly rated resorts in MD anywhere outside of Wyndham's National Harbour. RCI has 13 resorts in OCMD.

 

[your friend]

Elaine,
I like what you are saying but how do I figure the annual maintenance fee if I am buying resale points?

Having been timesharing, going to WDW, trading other timeshares thru RCI for 10+ years, (and a DVC owner for 4 years), here's what I would do if I were looking at DVC today:

buy enough resale pointsto travel every OTHER year to WDW--

Why?
1)Every other year is 1/2 the price outlay--easy on the budget. And, in the early days, you can borrow points if you must get an every year fix--or have points transferred into your account. You might pay a bit more for those transferred points, but I bet you will get used to every other year in a couple years.
2)the cost savings is substantial with resale---there is no perk that is enough to justify my purchase direct right now.
3) esp. with kids, you vacation patterns could change and that way you are not locked into using your points EVERY year. For example, in just 5 years, we went from loving our fixed week east coast beach locations to putting them in RCI for trade b/c our kids want to do other things.
4) with every other year, you do not have to rely on RCI trades with DVC----trading with RCI is not easy, esp. for high demand places-many places almost never have availability.
4)If you find you really want to trade with RCI (and I have had great luck--but it takes a lot of time and energy), there are tons of great trading timeshares that you can buy for next to nothing--check on TUG2.NET for lots of info in timeshares.
good luck. Elaine

 

[JimMIA]

Elaine,
I like what you are saying but how do I figure the annual maintenance fee if I am buying resale points?

The dues (MFs) are the same whether you purchase direct or resale. And with DVC, the dues are the same per point whether you have a handful of points or a thousand.

At the top of this forum there is a "sticky" for DVC Resources. Look in that sticky and you'll find a dues history for every resort from the dawn of time. The most current dues (for 2012, just billed this week) may not be there.