How is buying a timeshare EVER a good idea?

[LoveBWVVBR]

Our TS also trades into RCI through a corporate account so we never have to worry about "1 in 4" rules, no dupes of the same city or any other nonsense.




You do have the advantage of getting a fairly reasonable return on your money when you go to sell as opposed to many timeshares that go down to near zero. Will you be able as a DVC owner to trade into BLT? I know RCI can't so that may be another advantage of owning DVC vs RCI.

The only resorts that the 1-in-4 bothers me about are HGVC (Hilton). I would trade into HGVC outside of Sea World annually if it weren't for the 1-in-4. As it is, I got a great trade into Marriott Lakeshore Reserve instead, though (through II), so I can't complain. DVC isn't even a 1-in-4...yet another head-scratcher.

BLT isn't being deposited into RCI yet. I assume that it will eventually start being deposited just like AKV did last year. DH wants me to wait until BLT is being deposited before he'll agree to sell DVC. I really don't care one way or the other about BLT, but he does. For me, I'd rather stay at Boardwalk, VWL, SSR or OKW. Also, I love trading into Vero!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I have 3 DVC contracts, spent about +/- $50,000 on them, paid cash, have annual dues of a little over $2500. I could easily afford it, that's never been the issue. I bought 3 contracts (2 at BCV and one at Saratoga at 175 points each because I just knew my 3 children would want them some day).

Still, it's the Biggest financial mistake I've ever made. 50 years is a long time to vacation at the same place. I've only been in about 15 years and I'm tired of it. Our children are tired of it and would prefer to go to Maui or Jamaica or Fiji or Costa Rica.... LOL The DVC villas are only considered deluxe accommodations at Disney; anywhere else they would probably be about a 3 star.

Many people love it; I'm not sure how long they have all owned. I've been to WDW on 22 vacations as an adult and I still enjoy going there on occasion but now I feel like I have to go there to burn through the points. Now my husband and I prefer nicer vacations than DVC provides. The first 10 years of ownership were great but the honeymoon is over now and I'm ready to move on.

I've been flamed here on the dis before from the loyal DVC owners but I think it's important to view all sides before making such a huge decision.

You'll get your initial investment plus some back out, though, when you sell so hopefully it won't really be a financial mistake. It's not like you bought Wyndham points retail or something

If you want more luxury and you vacation annually you should consider a cheapo trader that you can pick up on Ebay for closing costs. I've got one that trades insanely well on II and can pull loads of Marriotts and Westins (Starwood). It even pulls Harborside Atlantis. We traded for a 2 bedroom at Marriott Lakeshore Reserve for 4th of July week this summer...can't wait!!! That is the new timeshare on the grounds of the JWMarriott and the Ritz in Orlando. I loooove that resort.

I agree with you that DVC is not exactly luxury in terms of accomodations. I prefer to stay at Bonnet Creek on our (resale) Wyndham points but DH prefers DVC I find the accomodations at Bonnet Creek to be nicer than DVC personally. Also, Marriott Vacation Club has it all over DVC. DVC has the location going for it, though.

I totally agree about the Disney food. What happened to Disney food? It used to be at least semi-decent! Now I don't even like dining at some of the signature places. We ate at one last week that was barely palatable. Did the dining plan cause this to happen somehow? Anyways, we mostly cook when we go to Disney, or we stick to non-Disney owned places like Wolfgang Puck and TRex.

 

[nunzia]

I have 3 DVC contracts, spent about +/- $50,000 on them, paid cash, have annual dues of a little over $2500. I could easily afford it, that's never been the issue. I bought 3 contracts (2 at BCV and one at Saratoga at 175 points each because I just knew my 3 children would want them some day).

Still, it's the Biggest financial mistake I've ever made. 50 years is a long time to vacation at the same place. I've only been in about 15 years and I'm tired of it. Our children are tired of it and would prefer to go to Maui or Jamaica or Fiji or Costa Rica.... LOL The DVC villas are only considered deluxe accommodations at Disney; anywhere else they would probably be about a 3 star.

Many people love it; I'm not sure how long they have all owned. I've been to WDW on 22 vacations as an adult and I still enjoy going there on occasion but now I feel like I have to go there to burn through the points. Now my husband and I prefer nicer vacations than DVC provides. The first 10 years of ownership were great but the honeymoon is over now and I'm ready to move on.

I've been flamed here on the dis before from the loyal DVC owners but I think it's important to view all sides before making such a huge decision.

I can totally understand how you'd feel this way..it sounds like your kids are growing and that can certainly change vacation habits..one day maybe the grandkids will come along and you'll feel different, but I'm curious as to why you don't sell your points, congratulate yourself on 10 great years of memories and move on?

 

[cm8]

I have 3 DVC contracts, spent about +/- $50,000 on them, paid cash, have annual dues of a little over $2500. I could easily afford it, that's never been the issue. I bought 3 contracts (2 at BCV and one at Saratoga at 175 points each because I just knew my 3 children would want them some day).

Still, it's the Biggest financial mistake I've ever made. 50 years is a long time to vacation at the same place. I've only been in about 15 years and I'm tired of it. Our children are tired of it and would prefer to go to Maui or Jamaica or Fiji or Costa Rica.... LOL The DVC villas are only considered deluxe accommodations at Disney; anywhere else they would probably be about a 3 star.

Many people love it; I'm not sure how long they have all owned. I've been to WDW on 22 vacations as an adult and I still enjoy going there on occasion but now I feel like I have to go there to burn through the points. Now my husband and I prefer nicer vacations than DVC provides. The first 10 years of ownership were great but the honeymoon is over now and I'm ready to move on.

I've been flamed here on the dis before from the loyal DVC owners but I think it's important to view all sides before making such a huge decision.

Thanks for keeping it real Pakey

 

[Ericandjenng]

We have looked at it a little differently. Although my BFF tried and tried to convince DH & I to buy much earlier, I just couldn't justify it in my mind because I didn't think we'd go that often. Since our honeymoon trip, we've been once more before kids and 7 times with the kiddo(s) in the last 10 years and have our next one coming up in 28 days (my ticker is off because I changed our dates). When we finally went to the DVC sales office, I guessimated that we had spend about $4000 on our first 8 trips just for the resort costs alone--4 value, 3 moderate & 1 deluxe stays.

We could have bought on our honeymoon and put that $4000 since then toward the purchase price and paid alot less than the $100+ per point that we'd ended up paying for BLT. Plus now that's been 10 years, the financing would be paid off too.

And yes we financed but we're comfortable with that payment. But even with the costs of financing included in the overall costs, less than $250 per night for a deluxe room doesn't seem unreasonable when moderates go for around $150 per night. Also, there is not always a sale or pin code to get a discount and in order to get free dining, you have to pay rack rates.

I figured it this way:

$220/month X 120 payments= $26400 paid over 10 years.

$26400 + ($500 per year for MF x 10) = $31400.

For this we have 160 BLT points that currently cost less than $500 per year on MF and we've already rented out points to the tune of almost $2400. We became members in late 2008/early 2009 and gave all of our developer points (BLT wasn't ready) to friends and family. Between the 3 separate trips, a total 12 nights was used. In addition, we have been able to take a trip ourselves and bank a few points into 2011. I can easily get at least 12-15 nights from 160 points being flexible where I stay.

So my 10 year total is $31400 - $2400 (rented out points) = $29000.

$29000/ (10 years x 12 nights per year) = $241.67 per night.

Then the remaining 40 years is about $50 per night and that's provided I never rent them out again which I probably will.

~~Oh, and currently I could sell my BLT points for approx $100+ per point so I would at least break even on what I owe plus the sales commission. And still gave away 3 vacations, taken 1 for a net cost of $3570 in deluxe accommodations.

 

[ChisJo]

My parents own a timeshare, and honestly, I just cannot understand why. They are paying for, in my opinion, the biggest inconvenience. They thought it was wonderful the first couple of years, but honestly, after 5 years of going to the same place over and over (its not DVC), they realized that they wanted to just change it up and do some switching. Well, lo and behold, they couldn't switch for the places they wanted to go, so they went back to the timeshare a couple more years, and kept hoping for a trade.

They finally got one, and went to Phoenix. The timeshare they switched for was run down and awful. Not impressed, especially for the amount that they pay in annual fees.

What irks them the most, is when we travel, we do vacation rentals by owners, and have found some wonderful deals out there, and have paid less for these places then my parents are paying for their timeshare per year. We are seeing the world, and they are stuck with their timeshare.

Not saying that some don't like their timeshare, I just think people should really think long and hard about their decision about buying a timeshare. I believe my parents were in a high pressure situation, and just caved. I feel sorry for them, because I believe they are stuck. If they sell, they lose. If they keep, they feel like they are losing.

 

[Tiger926]

Maintenance fees - just want to remind people, as I'm not sure if people are reading all of this thread, that maintenance fees usually go up each year. So, using today's figures for maintenance fees in 50 years is totally incorrect, and will make for a very low end figure. I think Crisi or someone else figured it out correctly, a few pages back.

People considering DVC or other timeshares, need to realize that maintenance fees will be the highest cost associated with owing. It will far surpass the original buy-in by a considerable amount of money.

For example, if your buy-in for DVC was $30,000, your maintenance fees associated with that will be welll over $100,000, and that's just a low estimate.

Something else to keep in mind, is that those of us who are international, will pay exchange rates as well, and this will also add to the cost of the product.

Tiger

 

[ssawka]

I have 3 DVC contracts, spent about +/- $50,000 on them, paid cash, have annual dues of a little over $2500. I could easily afford it, that's never been the issue. I bought 3 contracts (2 at BCV and one at Saratoga at 175 points each because I just knew my 3 children would want them some day).

Still, it's the Biggest financial mistake I've ever made. 50 years is a long time to vacation at the same place. I've only been in about 15 years and I'm tired of it. Our children are tired of it and would prefer to go to Maui or Jamaica or Fiji or Costa Rica.... LOL The DVC villas are only considered deluxe accommodations at Disney; anywhere else they would probably be about a 3 star.

Many people love it; I'm not sure how long they have all owned. I've been to WDW on 22 vacations as an adult and I still enjoy going there on occasion but now I feel like I have to go there to burn through the points. Now my husband and I prefer nicer vacations than DVC provides. The first 10 years of ownership were great but the honeymoon is over now and I'm ready to move on.

I've been flamed here on the dis before from the loyal DVC owners but I think it's important to view all sides before making such a huge decision.

Why not sell some or all of your contracts, or rent points and use the cash to book other vacations?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Maintenance fees - just want to remind people, as I'm not sure if people are reading all of this thread, that maintenance fees usually go up each year. So, using today's figures for maintenance fees in 50 years is totally incorrect, and will make for a very low end figure. I think Crisi or someone else figured it out correctly, a few pages back.

People considering DVC or other timeshares, need to realize that maintenance fees will be the highest cost associated with owing. It will far surpass the original buy-in by a considerable amount of money.

For example, if your buy-in was $30,000, your maintenance fees associated with that will be welll over $100,000, and that's just a low estimate.

Something else to keep in mind, is that those of us who are international, will pay exchange rates as well, and this will also add to the cost of the product.

Tiger

Something else to keep in mind is that noone claimed that they would not rise.

For the cost of the timeshare to be a waste though, rental rates per point and hotel rates would have to remain stable.

Unfortunately, those are not stable either. Hotel rates have risen (even with sales/pin codes/special deals) and for now, the cost per point exceeds the present lifetime cost per point of a DVC contract. Folks get $10, b/c it is worth $10--over time, when they cannot take that cash and get a corresponding vacation out of it, the cost per point to rent will likely rise as well.

My mom got Polynesian concierge for us in 1992 for what by today's standards would be considered a steal. It is more than twice the price today before considering inflation.


(I am speaking solely of Disney, b/c we bought for being able to stay at Disney and not for the purpose of trading. The logics of what I can get elsewhere were irrelevant when we seriously pursued the purchase.)

 

[ILUVPOOH1]

We bought DVC because we go to WDW about 3-4 times a year! It comes out much cheaper in the end for us. Add to that our discount for annual passes, which in turn allows us to get Tables in Wonderland (we eat at mostly signature places and we almost always have wine, so that 20% discount is great).
For us it's a no brainer. Now, if you just go once per year, I can see how it could be a waste. We use our points wisely, signed on when we got a ton of bonus points, banked some the 1st year, so we have enough to spread out to allow us to visit so often.

With our build up of airline miles, we get at least 2 of those trips free. So we don't have to worry about tix, flights or a place to stay. We just pay for food and shopping.

Wouldn't trade my DVC for all the world!

 

[MrsPete]

We bought primarily to make sure we got a vacation each year.

I suspect this is a key element in most people's decision, and that it has nothing to do with saving money -- it's more about making a promise to yourself that you won't overlook vacations.

This isn't a problem in our family. My husband is ALWAYS up for a vacation, and we take 3-5/year. We already have several "big" vacations planned over the course of the next couple years, and we'll add in some long-weekend type things as good deals appear. Forcing ourselves isn't an issue!

Don't make the decision on cost alone. Think about how you really travel. What do you normally do? stay? eat? what are things that are important to you that you can't put a $$$ sign on. For example, comfort is a big one for me. my sons and dh are all over 6 ft tall, so no matter how cheap I could get a value resort, we would be miserable and a homicide would probably occur after day 5. So that is not an realistic argument in my life because I would never go to wdw if the only place I had to stay was a value...
How do you think you will travel say in the next 5, 10 years. will you still get value from a time share when your 2 oldest are 25 and 21?

Good advice. Don't buy into a fantasy about what you expect you will do if you buy a timeshare -- buy based upon your real habits and what you expect will happen as your children grow older. For example, I'm not going to cook at Disney no matter how much money I might save, so why should I pay for a kitchen?

For example, if your buy-in was $30,000, your maintenance fees associated with that will be welll over $100,000, and that's just a low estimate.

$100,000 in maintenance fees? If you assume 30 year ownership, that'd be over $3000/year in maintenance fees. Are people really paying that much? On top of a hefty buy-in fee?

Prime-season non-DVC timeshares are available on the resale market for $2000-3000 and maintenance fees of $600-1000. That makes your yearly cost (over 30 years) much more reasonable, and if you get a two-bedroom lock out unit, you can have two weeks in a two-bedroom condo for that.

(I am speaking solely of Disney, b/c we bought for being able to stay at Disney and not for the purpose of trading. The logics of what I can get elsewhere were irrelevant when we seriously pursued the purchase.)

And that's why it's sensible to consider YOUR FAMILY'S HABITS when buying. You wanted only Disney properties. They aren't going to come cheaply. They're really in a different category -- a much more expensive category -- than other timeshares.

 

[VWLMember]

I did not read all the posts so this may have been covered already.

I bought my VWL points years ago at $56 per point. They are now worth ~$74 per point. If I sold it now I would pay for all my costs for all my vacations since I purchased them. That includes airfare, rental cars, and maintenance fees. I do not count food as we have to eat anyways and it evens out.

I also rented two years worth of points to take a Mediterranean cruise.

Try doing that with a non-DVC timeshare. Not possible.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I can exchange mine through RCI so at least I can stay at WDW. With out that I couldnt go due to the cost. We dont need the dining plan. So our worst cost is travel fare. Our maint fee are a litte over 400 a yr. I am happy with ours it covers the 2 places where we go quite often.

 

[Tiger926]

Something else to keep in mind is that noone claimed that they would not rise.

For the cost of the timeshare to be a waste though, rental rates per point and hotel rates would have to remain stable.

Unfortunately, those are not stable either. Hotel rates have risen (even with sales/pin codes/special deals) and for now, the cost per point exceeds the present lifetime cost per point of a DVC contract. Folks get $10, b/c it is worth $10--over time, when they cannot take that cash and get a corresponding vacation out of it, the cost per point to rent will likely rise as well.

My mom got Polynesian concierge for us in 1992 for what by today's standards would be considered a steal. It is more than twice the price today before considering inflation.


(I am speaking solely of Disney, b/c we bought for being able to stay at Disney and not for the purpose of trading. The logics of what I can get elsewhere were irrelevant when we seriously pursued the purchase.)

No one needs to not say they would rise, but several posters have used today's maintenance fee costs for the remaining years of their contracts. If you do this, you will be grossly under what your fees will actually be. We have between 43-46 years left on our contracts, so we won't know the actual costs, until the last year of ownership.

I suspect this is a key element in most people's decision, and that it has nothing to do with saving money -- it's more about making a promise to yourself that you won't overlook vacations.

This isn't a problem in our family. My husband is ALWAYS up for a vacation, and we take 3-5/year. We already have several "big" vacations planned over the course of the next couple years, and we'll add in some long-weekend type things as good deals appear. Forcing ourselves isn't an issue! Good advice. Don't buy into a fantasy about what you expect you will do if you buy a timeshare -- buy based upon your real habits and what you expect will happen as your children grow older. For example, I'm not going to cook at Disney no matter how much money I might save, so why should I pay for a kitchen? $100,000 in maintenance fees? If you assume 30 year ownership, that'd be over $3000/year in maintenance fees. Are people really paying that much? On top of a hefty buy-in fee?

Why would you assume 30 year ownership? As I mentioned, we have between 43 - 46 more years left on our contracts before they expire. So, in that time, maintenance fees are going to keep rising each year. Even if we used this year's dues at $1725.00 x 46 years, it's close to $80,000. We all know that maintenance fees go up each year, and will continue to rise. Our maintenance fees will be a grossly higher figure than our initial buy-in.

For example, for our 360 points, it cost us approx. $40,000 (CDN exchange), so that's approx. $800.00/year. Our maintenance fees are way more than that, and over the lifetime of our contracts, they will be way higher than our initial buy-in costs.

Hope this helps, Tiger

 

[Ashlotte]

We love our timeshare so much we bought more. Of course, we don't have DVC, so I can't give opinions on that specifically. We have WorldMark (www.worldmarktheclub.com). We always thought timeshares were huge wastes of money, but we borrowed my sister's to go to Hawaii. We stayed across the street from the beach in Maui in a two-bedroom for $400 for the week. We loved it and looked into buying a resale membership. The cheapest memberships through WM are less than $3000 resale and dues at that level of ownership are around $500 a year. When we wanted to go to WDW, we saved our points up (in WM you own a number of points, rather than a week somewhere specific) and traded them through Interval International to stay at the BWV in a two-bedroom. The cost of our dues for that amount of points, II dues, and transfer fee got us that room for $700 for the week. I looked and Disney was renting out the same size room the same week for $6,500 . I felt like that was an awesome deal. Other than that, we can take last minute vacations with II for 4000 points, which ends up being about $300 for a week vacation somewhere. I sent my friend to Kauai for that price for a week for her honeymoon. Lastly, the real reason we have it, is because we live in Oregon and they have three nice resorts at the beach here, plus one in Central Oregon in a resort that we love. We go several times a year to all fo them using "bonus time" (using cash at a discount for owners, rather than points). We get to stay in those places for about $80 a night for a two-bedroom. We have loved being able to go so often. It is great for the kids and we have brough many friends and relatives with us, which is a great thing to be able to share with people. Oh, they also have a nice, new resort through WorldMark in Anaheim, so now we go there every year. It is SO nice to have a full kitchen, and eat what my family likes. I have a very picky eater in my family, and I'm happy to feed him healthy food on vacation. Okay, that's all I can think of, but we absolutely LOVE our timeshare . Several of my husband's friends have bought it, and one said his "only regret is not doing it sooner."

Edited to add: Since we bought our memberships resale and figured we could resell them for a similar price, we consider the true cost of the timeshare more in the maintenance dues and the cost to buy it just a place to put the money. It definitely won't go up in value, but since it was used, it shouldn't go down TOO much more. I would never buy a timeshare full price through the developer!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

.And that's why it's sensible to consider YOUR FAMILY'S HABITS when buying. You wanted only Disney properties. They aren't going to come cheaply. They're really in a different category -- a much more expensive category -- than other timeshares.

I didn't suggest other wise. I simply added the disclaimer since I mentioned the Polynesian rates as folks will suggest of property alternatives that are MUCH cheaper than DVC.

Also--in mentioning the maintenance fees, they don't exist in a vacuum. We won't know what we will spend in the future on them. We also don't know what hotels will cost in the future.

The only thing that we do know is that with inflation and COL increases, over time--both categories will increase over time, so it almost doesn't matter.

However--out of a timeshare, you can just decide to no longer vacation while with a timeshare, you are contractually/legally committed to those maintenance fees. Should your income drop for whatever reason--you are still stuck paying them which is why folks give them away on ebay for literally pennies to escape the ball and chain of hundreds in maintenance fees per year for something they don't want to use or can no longer use.

But I never indicated that DVC was the bee's knees and the only way to go. I just mentioned--as I said--the disclaimer b/c I was only referring to the cost of a Disney hotel.

 

[ssawka]

We bought for an "investment" of sorts. DD has special needs and will never be able to support herself. We wanted to ensure that she will always know the joy of taking a yearly vacation, even if DW and I are no longer here. It's true that the maintenance fees will need to be paid for the length of the contract, but if we are not here that long, the dues will be paid out of DD's trust. Also, since she is our only child, I am actually glad that DVC expires, then her trust manager will not need to worry about disposal, assuming she outlives the contract.

Our other justification was to pay for vacations now, while we can afford it, because as this economy has shown all of us, you just never know. People make the argument all the time of "why should we spend all that money now rather than just pay for our vacations yearly", well most people live up to (if not over) their means. That means that the money may not be there when they really need a vacation. Yes, DVC (or any timeshare) is a luxury, as is any vacation, but it's all about your own personal priorities. Growing up, my parents always made sure that we had an annual vacation, and I plan to provide the same to my DD.

 

[Kathi OD]

I suspect this is a key element in most people's decision, and that it has nothing to do with saving money -- it's more about making a promise to yourself that you won't overlook vacations.

You're absolutely right! When we bought, we didn't think about as much about saving money as we did about that promise to ourselves to go somewhere every. single. year. In the 11 years since we bought, we have only missed going on vacation in one of those years, but we've more than made up for it in the years that we've taken multiple vacations. Before DVC we were lucky to get one vacation per year, now we are more likely to take more than one. The fact that we've ended up paying less for accommodations over the long haul is just an added benefit for us.

This isn't a problem in our family. My husband is ALWAYS up for a vacation, and we take 3-5/year. We already have several "big" vacations planned over the course of the next couple years, and we'll add in some long-weekend type things as good deals appear. Forcing ourselves isn't an issue! Good advice. Don't buy into a fantasy about what you expect you will do if you buy a timeshare -- buy based upon your real habits and what you expect will happen as your children grow older. For example, I'm not going to cook at Disney no matter how much money I might save, so why should I pay for a kitchen? $100,000 in maintenance fees? If you assume 30 year ownership, that'd be over $3000/year in maintenance fees. Are people really paying that much? On top of a hefty buy-in fee?

You're lucky you get to take that many vacations over the course of a year. Don't I wish.

As for maintenance fees, I have no idea where that $100,000 figure came from. None of us have no idea how much they will be at the end of our contract. This coming year they will be $818.29 for a 150 point contract (and we own @BWV, which has the highest fees of the onsite DVCs). That's nowhere near $3,000. My feeling is that if the annual fees ever get to the point where I think they are prohibitive, I'll sell. I think we've got quite a few more years before that happens. People who are paying upwards of $3000/year in fees must own a boatload of points.

 

[Tiger926]

As for maintenance fees, I have no idea where that $100,000 figure came from. None of us have no idea how much they will be at the end of our contract. This coming year they will be $818.29 for a 150 point contract (and we own @BWV, which has the highest fees of the onsite DVCs). That's nowhere near $3,000. My feeling is that if the annual fees ever get to the point where I think they are prohibitive, I'll sell. I think we've got quite a few more years before that happens. People who are paying upwards of $3000/year in fees must own a boatload of points[/B].

I already cleared up the misunderstanding on the part of the other poster, but we'll try again.

She assumed a 30 year expiry on contracts, divided by $100,000.00 and got $3,000/year. She didn't understand my $100,000.00 based on this 30 year expiry, which was incorrect, as my contracts expire in approx. 43 - 46 years:

360 points = $1725.00/dues in 2010
$1725.00 x 46 years (left on my contract) = $79,350.00

So, just by using today's dues, I will pay $79,350.00, but this is incorrect though, as dues will be way more, could be double or triple, so $100,000.00 in dues over the life of my contracts is a low estimate. Although we don't know for sure, I'm pretty sure I'll pay way more than $100,000.00 in dues over the 46 years of my contracts. Remember, dues go up at least 2-4% each year, and that's on the low side.

Hubby is a banker, and just used his inflation estimate calculators:

Using our dues of $1725.00 with a 2% annual price increase, our dues in 46 years, will be approx. $4413.00/annually. So, as you can see, that is 2.5 times what we currently pay for dues, and that is just using a low estimate of 2% increase. So, $100,000.00 in dues is actually a very low estimate. Now, this is just for my example of 360 points, and the maintenance fees will vary according to how many points you own, and the amount of years left.

Disney's says their average contract amounts are approx. 200-300 points (according to my guide and on these boards). I am using 43-50 year expiries for the newest DVC properties: SSR, AKV, BLT and Aulani. Anyone who owns at the older properties, especially OKW, will have a varying maintenance fee figure.

There are some DVC members on our boards who have come up with some great spreadsheets with these estimated amounts in them, so you can look over there for more accurate dues estimates.

Hope this clears it up, Tiger

Edited to add:

Hubby just plugged your dues into his calculator for $818.29 until 2042 when your contract expires, at a 2%/annual increase = $1511.00. So that shows that your dues will more than likely double.

 

[Kathi OD]

I already cleared up the misunderstanding on the part of the other poster, but we'll try again.

She assumed a 30 year expiry on contracts, divided by $100,000.00 and got $3,000/year. She didn't understand my $100,000.00 based on this 30 year expiry, which was incorrect, as my contracts expire in approx. 43 - 46 years:

360 points = $1725.00/dues in 2010
$1725.00 x 46 years (left on my contract) = $79,350.00

So, just by using today's dues, I will pay $79,350.00, but this is incorrect though, as dues will be way more, could be double or triple, so $100,000.00 in dues over the life of my contracts is a low estimate. Although we don't know for sure, I'm pretty sure I'll pay way more than $100,000.00 in dues over the 46 years of my contracts. Remember, dues go up at least 2-4% each year, and that's on the low side.

Hubby is a banker, and just used his inflation estimate calculators:

Using our dues of $1725.00 with a 2% annual price increase, our dues in 46 years, will be approx. $4413.00/annually. So, as you can see, that is 2.5 times what we currently pay for dues, and that is just using a low estimate of 2% increase. So, $100,000.00 in dues is actually a very low estimate. Now, this is just for my example of 360 points, and the maintenance fees will vary according to how many points you own, and the amount of years left.

Disney's says their average contract amounts are approx. 200-300 points (according to my guide and on these boards). I am using 43-50 year expiries for the newest DVC properties: SSR, AKV, BLT and Aulani. Anyone who owns at the older properties, especially OKW, will have a varying maintenance fee figure.

There are some DVC members on our boards who have come up with some great spreadsheets with these estimated amounts in them, so you can look over there for more accurate dues estimates.

Hope this clears it up, Tiger

Edited to add:

Hubby just plugged your dues into his calculator for $818.29 until 2042 when your contract expires, at a 2%/annual increase = $1511.00. So that shows that your dues will more than likely double.

Ah...thanks. I figured the 100,000 figure came from somewhere, I just missed it.

I fully expect my dues to double by the time my contract is up, however, I also expect that the prices of other accommodations will do the same. Many people pay more than $1500 on accommodations when they vacation now. In 30 years, I expect $1500 to be considered a super deal! And...well if it's not, at least I had some pretty good vacations in the meantime.