How is buying a timeshare EVER a good idea?

[minnie1928]

Now I don't have to worry about finding a discount code.

This was key in our decision to buy DVC! We bought in 2005 when discount codes were becoming VERY hard to get and they weren't that deep when you could get them. This ensured a good price, every time AND we were able to get deluxe accommodations with laundry & kitchen, which helps cut our other costs.

 

[Happy Mom2]

I went to Disney for the first time a couple months ago, and I can't wait to go back. I kept seeing DVC information booths, but never had time to stop. Since I've been home I've been reading up on DVC.

Please bare with me. I want to make sure I understand this. If I purchase into DVC, I pay my purchase price, plus there are yearly maintenance fees. For the sake of argument, let's just say the total averages out to $7/point over the 50 years. If I choose, I can rent my ponts for $9 to $10 a point, and put that money towards maintenance fees, etc. Am I correct on my thinking?

It seems to me for those who stay at value resorts, it really wouldn't work, but for those who want a more deluxe vacation, it would be. It's personal preference. The same reason I enjoy my designer handbags while my co-worker chooses to purchase less expensive ones.

Dang it! I looked at this thread hoping to convince myself that buying into DVC wouldn't be good for us, but now I REALLY WANT TO BUY!

 

[Happy Mom2]

Oops! Double post.

 

[crisi]

We've owned DVC for about ten years. Our cost per point is also around $6.

We control our reservation, you don't do that with a DVC rental.

We get multiple rooms. I call it the "nookie perk."

But it IS a luxury expense - as in "if you are doing this to SAVE money - you are doing it for the wrong reasons." Not as in "DVC rooms are SO nice" (they are nice, I just don't think they are WONDERFUL).

We are doing it because its one way to stay on property, in a multiroom unit for - what to us is - a reasonable amount of money.

And honestly, for us, the $10k buyin isn't (and wasn't) that much money. My husband got an unexpected bonus. We used part of it for DVC. And you find a lot of DVC owners are not cash strained (although many are). As someone upthread said, I can buy a timeshare, or a LV wallet or a luxury car if I want. (I drive Prius and carry a Target purse, myself - but I have other expensive vices - one is expensive vacations).

If I were doing it now, I'd probably buy a cheaper timeshare resale that would allow tradein via RCI to DVC - but I'm not really a timeshare person. We simply knew we were going to take regular Disney trips and felt having the kids sleep in their own bedroom would make those trips more pleasant. Neither of us want to drive on vacation - so onsite is important. Hence, DVC makes sense.

 

[crisi]

I went to Disney for the first time a couple months ago, and I can't wait to go back. I kept seeing DVC information booths, but never had time to stop. Since I've been home I've been reading up on DVC.

Please bare with me. I want to make sure I understand this. If I purchase into DVC, I pay my purchase price, plus there are yearly maintenance fees. For the sake of argument, let's just say the total averages out to $7/point over the 50 years. If I choose, I can rent my ponts for $9 to $10 a point, and put that money towards maintenance fees, etc. Am I correct on my thinking?

It seems to me for those who stay at value resorts, it really wouldn't work, but for those who want a more deluxe vacation, it would be. It's personal preference. The same reason I enjoy my designer handbags while my co-worker chooses to purchase less expensive ones.

Dang it! I looked at this thread hoping to convince myself that buying into DVC wouldn't be good for us, but now I REALLY WANT TO BUY!

Keep in mind a few things. While many DVC resorts are attached to Deluxe resorts, they themselves are TIMESHARES. You don't get daily cleaning. Room layout is different. You don't get to take advantage of "free dining" or other Disney promotions. Room refresh (remodel) is on a slightly more lax schedule (our dues pay for it). Cancellation policies are not the same. DVC resorts tend to book pretty full - it isn't good for last minute trips - unless you are willing to be flexible.

Do not buy DVC thinking you are prepaying Deluxe vacations. Understand it well. Read the DVC board here religiously for a few months - including the gripes and complaints. There are MANY of them. Make sure you are content with what DVC IS, not with what you want it to be.

It CAN be a good choice for people - its been a good choice for us. It CAN be something that is not really a good idea. Do not let it be an emotional choice.

 

[walkdmc]

We bought DVC this past Summer (resale). We're not budget-minded people and so, in 7 months, spent over $20,000 on two Disney trips. ($5000 for a week at the Poly, MK-view (I told you we don't budget well, LOL) then 7 months later, $15000 for 10 nights in a 2BR BLT Lake View (but that price included DxDP for 6 and MYW PH for 10-days...the room alone would've been about $1000/night). For both our BLT and Poly stays, we paid cash...they were pre-DVC. We just returned from yet another trip in Nov. 2010, our third trip in a year. That trip would've cost us another $5000 had we not stayed on points.

If you like Deluxe Villas, esp. with more than one room (bigger than a studio), and you visit Disney at least once a year, it's a good decision. I like having a greater choice in resorts. With renting, you're sometimes limited to certain resorts. I also enjoy the perks of DVC, discounted APs, Tables in Wonderland, etc. I love planning long-term for trips with family and friends, getting a Grand Villa to accommodate everyone. If I had to pay/point/trip, I would think long and hard about whom I'd invite on the trip.

If you can swing the full purchase price and the annual maintenance fees, without financing, I'm a fan of DVC. This hasn't been popular on other threads but I think if you need to finance a DVC purchase, it's a bad idea, almost always.

I want to add you can pass your DVC points onto your kids. Who knows what DVC will look like in 20 years, when my kids will have young families of their own, but I know they will be able to stay on property, in nice accommodations. That fact tugs my emotional strings but I like the thought of that.

 

[claytonsmama]

We stayed at Westgate (won't ever do that again! The other places we have stayed were great, but Westgate is NOT on my list to ever book again) and paid $149 for the week including taxes through SkyAuction.com.

While there we met several people (usually on our nightly hot tub runs....sat and talked to others there) who were owners. NONE of them were glad they bought. They pay over $700 per year for maintainence fees for just one week PLUS the buy in. We paid $149 for the week with no buy ins.

Mousesavers.com has a breakdown of when DVC might be a benefit, but for most of us (particularly those of us budgeters!) it is not a good idea.

Dawn

i second never staying at westgate!!! they could pay me to stay there and i still would not!!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

You can get Wyndham points for free plus closing costs on Ebay and then use them at Bonnet Creek. We did that about 2 years ago...paid $700 total (mostly closing costs) for 203K Wyndham points and have been happily staying at BC ever since.

We've been trading into DVC for years using another cheapie Ebay timeshare (paid a few hundred for it), and now that they switched to RCI we can get OUTSTANDING DVC trades for it. We do own 250 DVC points and I am working on my DH to agree to sell them. We can trade in so much more cheaply! As soon as they start depositing BLT I think he'll agree to sell DVC (hope so anyways).

Yeah, buying a timeshare can be VERY worthwhile if you do your research and buy dirt-cheap resales Www.tug2.com is a great resource to learn all about timeshare trading.

 

[eliza61]

We've owned DVC for about ten years. Our cost per point is also around $6.

We control our reservation, you don't do that with a DVC rental.

We get multiple rooms. I call it the "nookie perk."
But it IS a luxury expense - as in "if you are doing this to SAVE money - you are doing it for the wrong reasons." Not as in "DVC rooms are SO nice" (they are nice, I just don't think they are WONDERFUL).

We are doing it because its one way to stay on property, in a multiroom unit for - what to us is - a reasonable amount of money.

.

I think the first time we didn't have to sleep with our kids we were hooked. LOL.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Time shares are luxury, discretionary purchases. Do the research to see if they fit your lifestyle and know what you are getting into.

 

[DCLbrideSept2009]

DH and I met 2 1/2 years ago and merged our two families...his 2 kids and my 2 kids. Our first trip as a new family was in August 2009 and we got 2 rooms at the Pop. Our oldest always takes a friend also, so that's 7 people. Then DH and I went back to WDW in September 2009 for our honeymoon and decided to do the DVC tour (just wanted the free gift cards they were giving out ) After really thinking about it, we decided DVC was definitely for us! Traveling with 7 of us, the 2-bedroom villas make MUCH more sense! That August trip we got free dining, but we have never been able to take advantage of free dining since then for the times we can actually go now. Oldest is a junior in HS, so we won't pull out of school. That limits us to pretty much spring break and summer. Our first DVC trip was March 2010 (spring break) in a 2-bedroom savanna view at Kidani. It was SO nice having a separate bedroom for US, separate bedroom for the teenagers and 3 bathrooms (granted, not all DVC 2-bedrooms have 3 bathrooms and we're actually staying at BWV in June, which will only be 2 bathrooms, but that's okay). We totally take advantage of the kitchen also and save on meals that way. This trip we plan on going to Costco to get family sized ready-made meals (frozen lasagna, frozen pizzas, Costco's ready-made refrigerated meals, etc.) and doing mostly those for our in-room meals. We will do probably one meal "out" a day and the other 2 in the villa each day.

when we stayed at the 2 rooms in Pop, there was really no way to get away from each other while in the rooms. At the deluxe resorts, we have the separate bedrooms and we also have the balconies that we can sit out on (which we fully take advantage of also! sitting out on the balcony with a glass of wine at the end of a park day is heaven to me!)

If we only had 2 kids, we would probably not do DVC. Maybe, maybe not. But for our larger family, we definitely prefer it this way and it works out really well for us. We usually go at least once a year also.

 

[crisi]

I think you hit the nail on the head. Time shares are luxury, discretionary purchases. Do the research to see if they fit your lifestyle and know what you are getting into.

Vacations in general are a luxury, discretionary purchase. We are really just quibbling over how much money is appropriate to throw towards such a thing. And THAT is completely situational.

 

[n2mm]

DVC is not for everyone, but it's the best thing I ever did (and wish I had done it earlier). I visit WDW 4-6 trips a year and often for 1 to 2 weeks each trip. When it's just us, we get a studio. When it's the family we get a 1 or 2 bedroom. We spend over 6 weeks a year in WDW. My dues (HOA and property taxes) are not cheap ($3,000) a year ($700 of this is property taxes which we claim on our taxes). We spent 4 nights in a 2 bedroom at BLT in November and had we paid cash for that reservation alone, that would have been close to what our dues are. That doesn't count the 10 days in January at BWV, the 5 nights at BCV in March, the 13 days at BWV in May (studio and 1 bd), and the 5 nights at BCV in November. We cut back for 2011 to only 2 weeks in Jan, 2 weeks in May (2 studios), 1 week in Aug (1bd), and 2 weeks in Oct (2 studios). I'm cutting back so that I can use a few of my points for a cruise in 2012. I compare my DVC buy in to us purchasing our last Explorer. It cost us as much as our biggest contract (450pts @ SSR) and now 5 years later, our DVC is just a valuable to us as the day we bought it, but we can't say that about our 5 yo explorer with over 100,000 miles on it. And the maintenance fees on my DVC compares to the gas, oil, tires, and upkeep of our explorer. Buying DVC is a luxury, but with no house payments, and the fact that my initial buy in was paid off before I retired (3 months ago), there are not alot of expenses in our family...unless I'm shopping for the grandkids (but I'm working on that.)

Just wanted to add that while we didn't buy because of the perks, we do love them too. We save $600 a year on the AP discount, free internet, love the fact that we can now add the dining plan to our reservations (without buying tickets) and now can add the dining plan a la carte, which means I can now add the dining for a couple of days instead of the entire reservation -- you can add ddp for part of your stay and switch to delux ddp for another part of your stay (they are currently working the bugs out of this new process, but it is being used. Heck I added the delux ddp to the first night of my stay in January for one night and no ddp for the other 12 nights). Only with DVC can you now do this. My family enjoys the free DVD rental when the little ones travel with us. Then there are the dining discounts, but since we are AP holders, we just have a TiW card too. Perks come and go, but we do love the ones we get currently. But as always, a DVC purchase should not be determined by the perks.

 

[cjnix29]

We own timeshare, but not DVC. We own with bluegreen. We went into it knowing we weren't making a financial investment, but rather an investment in our family. We like to travel. We would love to take extended family with us. we financed, but then put on a Home Equity line when we bought a house we had instant equity in. Just sold that house, so the timeshare is paid. Still have the maintenance fees. But at this point, it's the cost for our vacations. We can take probably about three weeks a year if we plan it right. We like it a lot. I like having a condo rather than a hotel room.

When we were on our honeymoon, we took a DVC tour. Looking back, I wish we had bought then. But we couldn't afford it. We have talked about doing it now, but honestly, it doesn't make sense for us. With the discount codes, etc. we can go when we want, rather than having to to go get our money's worth. Worst case, if we want to go and use our points, we can trade into DVC, or we can stay at The Fountains, a beautiful resort on International Drive.

All that being said, it's a luxury. To some it is worth it, to some it is not. DVC is worth more than other timeshares, as their values have held and you can usually sell for close to what you paid for it. Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman would probably always say NEVER, but to us, it has been worth it.

 

[TSM1993]

You got an unbelieveable price on your points then. I've yet to find them anywhere close to that! How long is the life of your contract to get points at $2 each? I assume most of them are 15 year contracts...so $30/point. The cheapest I've been able to find in the $50 range!

DVC you get for 40 to 50 years

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

For us--I want the guarantee and flexibility to plan my own vacations. I Also don't trust complete strangers (i.e. those that are not affiliated with Disney) with my information to book my vacations. It works for some folks but not for me.

I also wanted to stay in the fancier hotels (deluxe ) and it was getting more and more difficult booking it on discount.

Our contract had 49 years, as the first use year we could not use (they were predevelopment points on AKL).

At $15,000 (roughly--actually a little bit more)...I'm okay with that spread out over nearly 50 years.

If it is not for you, that is fine--but sometimes, decisions are not dependent on pinching the most pennies possible. We just preferred to have our own. Doesn't get much more complicated than that.

ETA: We own 160 points at AKL, it is doubtful that we would ever consider a non-Disney timeshare. We bought DVC for deluxe on WDW property at our convenience.

 

[chalee94]

I want to make sure I understand this. If I purchase into DVC, I pay my purchase price, plus there are yearly maintenance fees. For the sake of argument, let's just say the total averages out to $7/point over the 50 years. If I choose, I can rent my ponts for $9 to $10 a point, and put that money towards maintenance fees, etc. Am I correct on my thinking?

It seems to me for those who stay at value resorts, it really wouldn't work, but for those who want a more deluxe vacation, it would be. It's personal preference. The same reason I enjoy my designer handbags while my co-worker chooses to purchase less expensive ones.

this is basically it.

definitely don't think of DVC in terms of being a member of a club - do the math and think about it as a real estate purchase or a long term lease.

it can be a lot of money upfront - it's not for everyone - but there are some really nice things about DVC. i have enjoyed the last 4 years of ownership greatly.

i would add that you should be cautious since you are new to wdw. DVC points can be used outside of DVC resorts but the best financial value is in using them to stay onsite at wdw. so if you think you might get burned out on wdw if you go every year, take some more time to think about whether to spend the money to buy in...

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

You got an unbelieveable price on your points then. I've yet to find them anywhere close to that! How long is the life of your contract to get points at $2 each? I assume most of them are 15 year contracts...so $30/point. The cheapest I've been able to find in the $50 range!

She is doing her purchase price, divided by the number of years in the contract, divided by the number of points....

I don't recall my initial purchase price....and we do have it on a loan...

However, I just did $17000, divided by 49 years, divided by 160 points and came to a little over $2 per point. The annual dues, right now, are $689.40, divided by 160 points, makes it $4.30 per point....

So my contract (right now) before an increase in dues, is less than $8 per point over the life of the contract.

And we are Disney loving and do intend to use it for the life of the contract.

YMMV based on vacationing style to determine if this is "worth it" or not. Sometimes it is more than just the $$$$.

 

[Colleen27]

There is a certain amount of trust required to rent points that is hard to attach a dollar value to. The member is in control of the reservation, not you, and there's always the possibility (slim perhaps, if a contract is used and you get references) of being ripped off. Plus rentals are generally non-refundable, so if something comes up between the time you book and the time you travel you're just out the money you spent.

It also takes a certain travel pattern to make DVC worthwhile, of course. We've been talking about buying in for years but until Disney started building properties where a 1 bedroom sleeps 5 we came to the conclusion that it just wasn't practical. For what enough points for a 2 bedroom would cost there are a lot of other, more attractive options for a family of 5, but a 1 bedroom is price competitive and offers advantages over the alternatives. So now, we do plan to buy into AKV once we have the money saved for a cash purchase.

 

[chalee94]

So educate me....what am I missing? Why do people buy timeshares? I have several family members who have...and I just can't see how this is ever a good financial decision.

in many cases nowadays, it is cheaper to rent. but in some cases, it costs less to own than to rent - that is when it is a good decision to buy.

DVC costs quite a bit upfront but it is scalable - you can buy a 50 pt resale contract for around $4000 - won't get you much but for some, it is a good place to start. and as stated, the contracts do last for 30 to 50 years depending on the resort.

if i can rent for $10 per pt but as an owner, i'm only paying $5 or so for annual dues, then even at $2-3 per pt upfront, it's a better deal to own than rent IMO. (i also want to be able to control my own reservation - so that is worth something to me.)

i also bought another timeshare besides DVC - a $1 resort on ebay after doing quite a bit of research. including trading costs, i can trade my resort for 7 nights in a 2BR villa for $72 per night, tax included. that's a pretty good rate for a nice marriott 2BR on the coast of hilton head or southern california (both of which i have traded for) - a better rate than i could get as a renter. so it was worthwhile to buy in my case.

but you are correct that in many cases, timeshares are not worth it. you have to do some research and figure out if it works in your situation. there is a commitment involved and the dollars can add up...so as somebody smart once said "if you act in haste, you may repent at leisure."

if it sounds interesting, take your time to read up and do the math. don't feel badly if it doesn't seem to be for you.

 

[HM]

We don't own DVC, but do own with Marriott. We bought in 11 yr ago, and use our week at the timeshare we bought into every year, and don't have plans to trade somewhere else anytime soon. We love the place, on the beach and set up like a resort with multiple pools, a seaside bar, loads of activities, and huge two bedroom place to stay. If we were rent a week there each year it would cost us about $2500-$2800, and we'd be lucky to find a unit available, as its very popular. We pay maintenance fees of around $1000 each year the last few years (originally it was closer to $800). So we get a great vacation spot guaranteed every year for well less than 1/2 the going rate and that's what's mattered to us. Sure it cost a large amount to buy in , but it's been worth it to us and we've never regretted doing it.