Help please

[bakkaotaku]

Hello, I know this has been gone over and over in different threads but my girlfriend and I have been going over and over the pros and cons of owning and need outside help. We have decided that if we do decide to buy we will do so on the resale market because the extras are not really worth it to us and we can always purchase a small stake later from Disney if we change our minds. The problem is that we go to Disney too much, lol. We live in Florida and go at least once every month or other month usually staying at a resort. We would only be able to afford a 100 or so points with the initial cost and monthly HOA fees. That means we probably would only be able to use the DVC once or twice a year. Does anyone out there have a similar issue, any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

If you're going every other month, you'll want to use the DVC points at 11 months to book ahead, and book other stays using AP rates for cash. Not sure what the big issue is?

 

[kniquy]

So a few things i would like clarification on and would like to comment on:

That means we probably would only be able to use the DVC once or twice a year.

DVC takes planning months in advance- this may be one negative for you if you tend to plan last minute, which in the DVC world is anything less than 7 months. To secure your time frame and room type you need to plan at least 7 months and definitely 11 months if you are looking at a busy DVC time (Sept - Jan).

It can save you money if you always stay at deluxe resorts, it can save you a little money or might be the same cost if you usually stay at moderate resorts and it will not save at all if you usually do values or stay off site. With that said - SSR typically is the best bang for your buck with a lower price per point and low yearly maintenance fees.

go at least once every month or other month usually staying at a resort.

If you mention which resorts it can probably give a better assessment of whether or not it is a good investment.

my girlfriend

If you are not married i would be hesitant to get into a legally, financially binding contract such as this. It can make for a messy situation if in the future things do not work out for you. Of course it is hopeful that your relationship last. but as we all know sometimes things don't go as planned.

There is a lot to research and learn about DVC - there is some flexibility in DVC ownership, but it comes with the necessity to plan ahead. If you tend to change your trips last minute for some reason then DVC is not a good fit -- there are some restrictions if you are canceling within 30 or 60 days of your trip. Make sure you research this topic. It may make the decision for you.

Many people buy in with a smaller contract and then add on whether it be direct of resale so it isn't bad to start small and see how it works.

The positive of DVC is that it does have a good resale value, so if you did buy in and realized it doesn't really work for you, you could sell. But certainly best to research, learn about the product, play out the numbers and see if it would work for your needs all while saving you a little money.

Ask lots of questions here -- it can help to receive some different input and perspectives that you may not have even thought of.

 

[MrInfinity]

We have decided that if we do decide to buy we will do so on the resale market because the extras are not really worth it to us and we can always purchase a small stake later from Disney if we change our minds. The problem is that we go to Disney too much, lol. We live in Florida and go at least once every month or other month usually staying at a resort. We would only be able to afford a 100 or so points with the initial cost and monthly HOA fees. That means we probably would only be able to use the DVC once or twice a year. Does anyone out there have a similar issue.

That's how we use DVC -- we'll use it for some of our trips, but then we'll also stay hotel-side too. This gives us the option to use DVC when we want to, but doesn't force us to buy more points than we'll want in the long run, or to always have to stay DVC and plan so far out. If that's what you're thinking, it's definitely a good option.

I wonder tho, if it's just you and your girlfriend why buy in at all? It's not really going to save you money when you can otherwise stay in any room on property without the booking hassles. We never bought DVC when we were a couple and could fit in a regular room, or when flexibility of small trips was more important than the predictability of larger family vacations. If you do want to buy in, I would get something small (like you are), 100 pts or less. Just so you can play with it over the years w/o a big investment. It's fun to own, so there's nothing wrong w jumping in if you start small and experiment.

 

[Marionnette]

Hello, I know this has been gone over and over in different threads but my girlfriend and I have been going over and over the pros and cons of owning and need outside help. We have decided that if we do decide to buy we will do so on the resale market because the extras are not really worth it to us and we can always purchase a small stake later from Disney if we change our minds. The problem is that we go to Disney too much, lol. We live in Florida and go at least once every month or other month usually staying at a resort. We would only be able to afford a 100 or so points with the initial cost and monthly HOA fees. That means we probably would only be able to use the DVC once or twice a year. Does anyone out there have a similar issue, any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

How many nights do you think those 100 points will get you? Assuming that you make your reservations at least 7 months in advance, you're likely to get maybe 5 or 6 nights total, depending on the resort that you book and the time of year that you're traveling. You could save those points for special trips and continue to pay cash for the other trips, but is that your goal?

Everyone has to crunch the numbers for themselves but if you consider the initial buy-in and then MFs ($560-$811 on 100 points in 2017), would it be more economical to just set the cash aside in a vacation savings account and pay as you go? You might be better off NOT owning DVC, renting points when you can get a good deal and continuing to pay cash for your stays.

 

[amccu18007]

Where do you usually like to stay while onsite? Traveling during low season can get you more nights per year. AKL, SSR seem to be fairly low for a large part of the year. You could possibly get 9 or 10 nights per year with a 100 point contract.