How is buying a timeshare EVER a good idea?

[Jenny-momof3]

I was looking into DVC points ( resale only!) and I just can't see why anyone would buy points vs. just renting them. In addition to the astronomical cost of buying them...you have to pay maintenance fees on them for life! I can just rent points and come out ahead!

Also looked at resale points at another timeshare...Bonnet Creek. 200K points get you roughly a week at the resort ( depending on the season). Maintenance fees are approx $125/month, taxes $225 annually. $1,725 a year for that week...plus the initial cost of buying the points. Again....I can just rent the points for cheaper.

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.

 

[01spirit750]

We looked at DVC for the GCH and came to the same conclusion as you did.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I am with ya! I worked out the math and it just didn't make sense. We travel when discounts are offered.

 

[ekatiel]

I'm with you. It's the maintenece fees I just can't get over! --Kaite

 

[DawnM]

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

 

[pearlieq]

Point rental ranges from $8-$14 each, with an average around $10 (I'm told).

My DVC points cost me $6.00 each ($2.00/point purchase price over the life of the contract, plus $4.00/point annual maintenance.

$10 > $6. Owning my points is cheaper than renting.

Plus I get to stay exactly when/where I choose, I retain complete control over my reservations, and I don't have to trust a stranger with my reservation and cash.

To look at it another way, here's the breakdown for our October trip.

5 nights (Sat - Thurs) at BLT in a 2 Bedroom Lake View.
222 points

DVC Owner Cost - $1332
DVC Rental Cost - $2200
Reservation through Disney w/40% discount - $3010.15

There are a zillion conditions (Do you prefer deluxe resorts? Do you go to WDW annually? Can you buy without financing?), and (IMO) a lot of people buy who probably really shouldn't. But if DVC is the right fit and you can afford to buy it outright, it's one of the cheapest ways to get a deluxe resort stay.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

I own a timeshare and I honestly don't get why people do it! I know someone who owns at Marriott Grande Vista. Besides paying $15-$20k for the timeshare, her fees are well over $1k a year.

In my case I own a studio at a small resort in PA that used to belong to my grandmother. Because it is an older resort and my unit is a studio I have lousy trading power, but we only go to Disney off-season so I can always get a 2 bedroom in a Marriott 59 days out. I paid under $3k for the timeshare back in 1999, fees were always $245 a year and just went up for the first time to $290. My parents pay the yearly Interval fee since they always travel with me- plus the split the $130 exchange fee. The resorts I stay in typically would go for $290+ a night (plus tax), so I have definitely gotten my money's worth. But- if I ever wanted to travel during peak season I am limited...

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

My DVC points cost me $6.00 each ($2.00/point purchase price over the life of the contract, plus $4.00/point annual maintenance.

$10 > $6. Owning my points is cheaper than renting.

If you include the annual maintenance, which you should as this is the actual cost of each point:

$10=$10 per point !

How much was your buy in? What are the other annual/monthly fees?

I have stayed at Westgate and we have looked into DVC, but I don't see any benefit when I can easily rent weeks for the same cost (or even way less w/ Westgate) than being an owner. Check the resale market on these places if you think they are such a "deal"

 

[Jenny-momof3]

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!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I was looking into DVC points ( resale only!) and I just can't see why anyone would buy points vs. just renting them. In addition to the astronomical cost of buying them...you have to pay maintenance fees on them for life! I can just rent points and come out ahead!

Also looked at resale points at another timeshare...Bonnet Creek. 200K points get you roughly a week at the resort ( depending on the season). Maintenance fees are approx $125/month, taxes $225 annually. $1,725 a year for that week...plus the initial cost of buying the points. Again....I can just rent the points for cheaper.

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.

We've looked into this several times as well, both with DVC and other time shares. I always think to myself "it must be a good deal if so many people do it" but the math never comes out right for us either. It would cost less to go on an annual trip than to pay the annual fees and maint. fees.

 

[brittsmum1998]

Pearl said it well. We own at the Boardwalk along w/ a second home. With dd in school its hard to take as much vacation time and I wasn't sure we could swing both timewise. We contemplated selling and dh said no .

If you really want to know why people buy timeshares (which I think are somewhat diff then DVC...you may not) you may get better information from the DVC boards. The budget boards are the last place I'd come to for luxury vacation information

 

[pearlieq]

If you include the annual maintenance, which you should as this is the actual cost of each point:

$10=$10 per point !

No, you must have missed it when reading my post, but $6/point includes my buy in and my maintenance. It says that right in the bit you quoted.

$6 is the total annual cost of each point.

 

[pearlieq]

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!

For BLT, I bought 100 points at $98/point over a 50 year contract.

100 points * 50 yearly allotments of points = 5000 points over the life of the contract.

I paid $9800 for the contract.

5000 points / $9800 = $1.96/point over the life of the contract. I round up to $2 to make the numbers cleaner.

 

[kamik86]

No, you must have missed it when reading my post, but $6/point includes my buy in and my maintenance.

$6 is the total annual cost of each point.

I agree my points were $7.50 last year but we just recently bought and bought direct. (Maybe not the best idea but I wasn't completely trusting of how resale so wasn't comfortable doing that for my first purchase, I would now though so really its just me.)

If you rent you need even more trust that the person REALLY made your reservation. Also can you get the dining plan (I know not everyone likes it, but I do) without a huge hassle now that you need to pay for it at time of purchase?

 

[Disneywedding2010]

I bought a timeshare because I like going to Disney every year, sometimes twice a year. Plus I can afford it. So, there is no issue over the $$ end of it. If I couldn't afford it I wouldn't of bought it. I also like staying in Deluxe villas and having more room when I am there for anywhere from 7 to 10 nights.

 

[Disneywedding2010]

Pearl said it well. We own at the Boardwalk along w/ a second home. With dd in school its hard to take as much vacation time and I wasn't sure we could swing both timewise. We contemplated selling and dh said no .

If you really want to know why people buy timeshares (which I think are somewhat diff then DVC...you may not) you may get better information from the DVC boards. The budget boards are the last place I'd come to for luxury vacation information

I contemplated selling as well but then realized it would be stupid. The only place I go for vacation is Disney and/or Orlando area.

 

[kt_mom]

We just bought DVC points this year for BLT. We go to Disney every year and prefer to stay in the deluxe resorts. We bought 160 points for $108/pt.

We origonally financed through DVC but did a 5 year home equity line through our local credit union for 5% interest instead of Disney's 10% 10 year loan. We actually plan to have this paid off in 3 years.

We are doing a 2 bedroom with friends for our first trip since we have double points the first year. They are renting half the points from us and that will go directly onto our loan.

After that we will do studios for 7 nights and bank points and maybe do a 1 bedroom every other year. The studio would be about $3700 with no discount and roughly $2200 with a 40% discount. The 1 bedroom would be about $4500 for the same 7 nights or roughly $2700 with a 40% discount code. If you can get a discount code.

I figure we break even in about 5 years. The maintenace fees are roughly $600 a year right now. That's just a little over the cost of a 1 bedroom for 1 night only I'm going to go for 7 nights. I don't know much about other time shares, but I see the value in this one for people who go every year and like to stay deluxe. Now I don't have to worry about finding a discount code. If I plan my trips right I can also do annual passes at a discount and save on my tickets too.

 

[MommaSnowwhite]

I love DVC because we can invite friends along and no one has to feel like they have to pay for it.

We also LOVE having a bedroom door! Privacy makes vacation so nice!

 

[LuLuO]

My husband bought a timeshare through RCI and it was already paid off before we met so I'm not sure how much he paid for it. We own a 3BR red week at Kings Creek in VA. We pay $550 in maintenance costs per year and it costs us $150 to trade our week (7 days) for a week at another RCI resort or DVC resort.

As far as Disney is concerned, we are going to try to trade for DVC and to the best of my knowledge, when you add the $550 and the trade in fee $150 plus the cost of adding Disney transportation which is $95, 7 days for a 1BR AKL would cost us $795. Of course you have to add passes and food to that but that is still better than any other deal I've found. Just from playing around on WDW website, I've seen AKL for close to $3100 without park passes and WL for just under $3000 without park passes. So to me that is a darn good deal.

However, if it wasn't something that DH had already owned we would not be shelling out the money to be owners in any timeshare. Now that we're kind of stuck with it, we are going to use it to the full advantage. This year we have traded for a 2BR condo in Kauai, HI. Next year we hope to do a 1BR at AKL or something at WL.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

OK....see if I am getting this right

How many points do you use to stay for 7 nights?

Using the numbers from KT, the total cost of the points was $17,280.00 and you want to pay it off in 3 years @ 5% interest ($1,364.28 in interest over 3 years) for a total of $18,644.28 and then add $600 a year for maintenance, over 10 years, the total cost is $24,644 ($2464 a year). That does not sound too bad for 7 nights each year, but what happens if you ever want out or you get tired of Disney or something else? Putting up $24 K in advance is a lot of faith in a single destination. I sure hope you don't ever tire of MCO, as there is a lot of the country to see and enjoy