Is Buying DVC worth it vs. Renting?

[WLodgeLizard]

I was in your boat too. We had rented 3 times before and it was a tough decision whether to just keep renting or to buy. We just bought 100 WLV points.

Here's how we looked at it:
We paid $85 per point
We get 34 years (from 2008 to 2042) of points
That works out to about $2.50 per point (85/34)
Add in maintenance fees and it works out to about $7.50 per point
Renting is about $10 per point, but I know that people are always pushing to charge more. Now that I am an owner, I really think they should. Making $2.50 a point on a rental doesn't seem worth the hassle.
One last factor was that we want to visit early Dec, which could be tricky renting.

WLL

 

[thumpermom]

I was in your boat too. We had rented 3 times before and it was a tough decision whether to just keep renting or to buy. We just bought 100 WLV points.

Here's how we looked at it:
We paid $85 per point
We get 34 years (from 2008 to 2042) of points
That works out to about $2.50 per point (85/34)
Add in maintenance fees and it works out to about $7.50 per point
Renting is about $10 per point, but I know that people are always pushing to charge more. Now that I am an owner, I really think they should. Making $2.50 a point on a rental doesn't seem worth the hassle.
One last factor was that we want to visit early Dec, which could be tricky renting.

WLL

Our situation is almost exactly the same! We rented 3 times before we bought. Had 3 GREAT experiences renting and loved the villas. Used your exact calculations when deciding to purchase (purchase price plus total maintenance fees divided by total # of points purchased for the life of the property) and came up with roughly the same $7.50ish/point number (in today’s dollars.)

Anyway, what it eventually came down to for us was one thing: Control. It is so hard to not know what units are available and to have to go through an owner to get that information. Also, VWL is our favorite and we knew we wanted to be able to stay in December, so we HAD to book at the 11 month window. That was hard to find an owner who had points available at the 11 month mark, with VWL for their home resort, for a reasonable price. Whew! I knew we had to get that control. We bought in April.

It’s a very personal decision. It’s a lot of money, but if you can afford it, it is comforting to have the control. If that doesn’t work for you, keep renting. I think renting is an excellent alternative.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Tbella]

Well this will be our third time renting. That seems to be the lucky number. Maybe by the time we go to Disney next May there will be more out about the Contemporary DVC's. If we don't like the contract they have to offer for that than I will seriously start looking into BCV or BWV resale. I haven't stayed at the VWL or heard much about it. Is it a very small resort? Does it have easy access to the Magic Kingdom is that why you guys love it?

 

[thumpermom]

I haven't stayed at the VWL or heard much about it. Is it a very small resort? Does it have easy access to the Magic Kingdom is that why you guys love it?

Yes, it is small – the smallest DVC actually. It has access to MK via boat, which we do enjoy. However, that’s not why we love it.

IMO, the resort itself is beautiful - it’s warm and comfortable the lobby is spectacular! We enjoy spending time at the resort as well as the parks so the ambience is important to us. And at Christmas, it’s simply awesome! We stayed at WL multiple times before discovering the points renting thing.

Sorry to gush, but we absolutely LOVE VWL/WL, and there was never any question that if we would join DVC, that is where we wanted to be.