Is Your DVC Now Worthless?

[dcfromva]

I am not happy about the latest development, but I don't feel the sky is falling, yet.

I believe the benefits that Disney is taking back from resales are benefits that can be withdrawn from the whole DVC membership--there is no guarantee from year to year. I have used the Disney collection to stay at the Grand Californian and the Disney Hotel. I felt it was a pretty fair use of the points from our perpective.

Beyond that, I haven't seen much value in the exchanges--whether a perspective (resale) buyer would feel the same way is another story.

 

[chalee94]

But with the new rules I am thinking that my $130 a point would become $30 a point since my contract now only has some of the offerings that it use to have.

the perk that is being taken is not a big deal. the price hit probably won't be very much.

but it does suggest that more changes - and potentially more price hits - will be coming in the future. and if you didn't realize before that putting money into a timeshare and expecting to get more than vacations out of it...or putting money into a timeshare at all if your financial situation is the least bit iffy...it's good that you are figuring it out now.

 

[hcortesis]

Don't you think that in a few months with the new rules that your DVC will be worth very little?/QUOTE]

Why don't you check back and see?

 

[bumbershoot]

Don't you think that in a few months with the new rules that your DVC will be worth very little?

Absolutely not! I will still be able to use my membership in the way I had planned; to stay at WDW villas (and maybe the occasional Grand Cal villa stay, even though I don't particularly love that resort). The only thing I can see that's being lost to my eyes, should I buy resale in the future, is the ability to stay at PPH or DLH on points, but that's a bad use of points anyway, and there are plenty of hotels around Disneyland that are perfectly acceptable.

I can see paying $20k to buy DVC knowing that if the week after I lose my job and had to sell that I could get $80 a point for the $130 I paid and move on.

I just think you aren't putting ANY value on the use you have or will get from it. Don't your vacations mean ANYTHING to you? Just the value of our first WDW trip alone makes up quite a bit of our value!

But with the new rules I am thinking that my $130 a point would become $30 a point since my contract now only has some of the offerings that it use to have.

Those offerings were never truly part of the ownership experience though. They are extras. As everyone here says, the extras could go away at a moment's notice. Just months after we used some "extra" points on a Disneyland Hotel stay on the concierge level, they took away the ability to stay concierge on points there. Plenty of people here lost their valuable-to-them perk of free valet parking. But those who kept in mind the fact that ownership gives them vacations at DVC resorts didn't let those things bother them on a fundamental level...those were perks.

And limiting resale points so they are used at DVC resorts just means you get pure value, no perks that come and go. Not horrible to me... But I didn't buy to stay elsewhere, since it was told to me VERY early on that those places aren't a value! I enjoyed the concierge DLH stay (and we also had a Grand Cal Hotel-room stay just before they stopped booking that withpoints), but the loss of those things didn't devastate me. Because I value the actual, real, specific use of the DVC points too much!

 

[maminnie]

We are contemplating selling for a variety of reasons one of the biggest being the net effect this change may have on resale prices and the net effect if DVC announces more negative changes down the road for resale buyers. Too many unknowns at this point.

We are also taking into consideration the high cost of park tickets and food at this point. Unfortunately we have never been able to take advantage of the annual pass as we cannot go to DW more then once in a year. A park hopper is so expensive and when you have to buy four it adds up. We are also disappointed that Disney has done little building lately of new attractions. It really is getting old doing the same thing over and over again.

When we do go to DW, we also love to go to all the different restaurants but the prices of food and alcohol are getting absolutely rediculous....$38 to 44 filets and fish, expensive pizzas, expensive Mexican and Chinese food, etc. and $10.00 drinks by the pool. With a family it certainly adds up. Our latest trips we have had to cut back on this which takes away from the fun as we all love to eat. We are not interested in running around off-site.

Having to calculate the booking/reservations to insure availability is also getting a bit more difficult for us now that our children our teens and our lives more complicated. We would also love to try someplace new. I have tried to get RCI for busy travel times and of course no luck without going on waitlists. Makes shopping for airfare impossible.

Recently we rented a condo with family at a beach, golf, and tennis community and had a wonderful stay. The pool was steps away from our unit, the unit was huge and beautiful (3 bedrooms and 3 baths) with a big screened in porch overlooking the pool and it was less money then the two bedroom exchange property through DVC nearby if we had used points (plus I probably would not have been able to get it and could only book so many months in advance). The kitchen, living, and dining in our condo were enormous and we enjoyed cooking in or getting take-out some nights. The beach was breathtaking. All this for less money then the condo fee associated with the points I would have used at an exchange property that I probably would not even be able to get. No park tickets to get on a beautiful beach and food reasonable at nearby restaurants (lots of competition and lots to choose from).

So all in all, it may be time for us to move on rather then have money tied up and lots of condo fees to pay and not to know what the net effect could be to our resale prices if there are more DVC announcements and changes down the road that could possibly have a negative impact. It is purely a financial decision we are making and one we would not be even thinking about if this change had not been announced or if we continued to have confidence in DVC looking out for the well-being of its members. I am so glad my kids are older because if I had to make this decision when they were totally taken by Mickey, Minnie, Buzz, Woody, the Princesses etc, it would have broken my heart. It still does sting a bit thinking about possibly not having our DVC down the road as we have had some of our best times at Disney with our kids. Time will tell......

 

[Disney Todd]

Let's be honest, what Disney is taking away in resales is practically meaningless. The ability to blow 60 pts and $95 ( essentially $700 when you look at renting out pts) for a $250 hotel room with tons of restrictions and calendar limitations is not anything in my mind that would significantly detract from the value of DVC pts. Also, no one is paying $130 now anyways. I'm guessing most owners never use the concierge collection. I certainly don't intend to.

 

[Anjelica]

I have been out of town for a bit on vacation so I obviously missed some announcement. I did a quick scan of the current threads and nothing popped out at me - anyone care to enlighten me on this change?

 

[CMOORE185]

Maminnie, Sorry you feel so strongly about a change that really does not affect your DVC in any significant way other than it may sell for a little less than you thought it would. I guess one should never buy a timeshare if the resale value of it is as important as it seems to be to you.

 

[patsal]

I have been out of town for a bit on vacation so I obviously missed some announcement. I did a quick scan of the current threads and nothing popped out at me - anyone care to enlighten me on this change?

The short answer: Contracts bought on the resale market, not directly from Disney will no longer be eligiable for trade outs... II, Cruises, Adventures by Disney.

 

[Jason@dvcstore]

The big issue I see is that the second you sign up and buy DVC now with Disney, it is almost instantly worthless.

If you had to sell your DVC for whatever reason, job loss, etc. you just lost some amazing amount of money because now you are reselling it on the resell market and the buyer can not get the benefits the original contract had. Your $130 a point that you paid seconds ago probably just dropped to $50 or less before the ink dried on the paper you just signed.

Basically the $20k I spent on DVC is going to be worth very little if I ever have to sell due to a future hardship or just because my lifestyle and vacation preferences might have changed years down the road.

For those owners who are waiting to buy after 3/21/11 from the resale market are probably hoping you are correct. Those that feel they don't need the Concierge Collection, Adventurer Collection or the Disney Collection will have a field day if the prices drop as far as you think.

Jason

 

[maminnie]

Maminnie, Sorry you feel so strongly about a change that really does not affect your DVC in any significant way other than it may sell for a little less than you thought it would. I guess one should never buy a timeshare if the resale value of it is as important as it seems to be to you.

How do you know if will be a little less...anything is possible at this point with this announcement.

I have owned for many years. I have always felt confident in the resale values and have diligently watched it over the years. This latest change by DVC could have a major effect. You may be underestimating what might happen. I am glad I own at the per point prices that I do.

 

[dj~merlin]

only if wdw closes or they moved the parks to a new location.

or they change everthing over to a marvel land.

 

[dizfan]

For those owners who are waiting to buy after 3/21/11 from the resale market are probably hoping you are correct. Those that feel they don't need the Concierge Collection, Adventurer Collection or the Disney Collection will have a field day if the prices drop as far as you think.

Jason

Jason
If prices fall as far as some think, your phone will be ringing off the hook.

 

[princessfionasmom]

Jason
If prices fall as far as some think, your phone will be ringing off the hook.

I second that! I know for certain I'd be all over adding some points. I have never thought using pts anywhere but WDW is a good use of them so these changest don't affect me at all. Plus I have no interest in selling my contract any time soon, I have way too many years of enjoyment to come

 

[Sandisw]

only if wdw closes or they moved the parks to a new location.

or they change everthing over to a marvel land.

Same here. I bought my DVC contract to use it at WDW. I was not concerned about the resale value. Sure, its nice to see that if we, for some reason, changed our minds tomorrow, might be able to get some of our money back.

But, if I woke up tomorrow and found that you could buy DVC for next to nothing, I would be fine with that--matter of fact, if that actually happened, I would be on the phone with the TSS to add on more points!!!

 

[CMOORE185]

How do you know if will be a little less...anything is possible at this point with this announcement.

I have owned for many years. I have always felt confident in the resale values and have diligently watched it over the years. This latest change by DVC could have a major effect. You may be underestimating what might happen. I am glad I own at the per point prices that I do.

Even if it does sell for alot less does not change the fact that you should not buy a timeshare based on its resale value. The value of a timeshare is in its use. You seem to put too much value on what it is worth in resale.

 

[paeskie]

When we chose to purchase DVC, we could have put that money in the stock market.
We chose to consider it an "investment" in family time. We knew having those points would force us to schedule, save for, and take vacation time to go and have a trip to WDW regularly. We don't go as often as some owners, but we got our money's worth, and DVC is working for us exactly like we needed it to.
If you are looking for an investment with a high resale value, this is not going to be the right choice.
It's all in how you look at it.

 

[keishashadow]

When we chose to purchase DVC, we could have put that money in the stock market.
We chose to consider it an "investment" in family time. We knew having those points would force us to schedule, save for, and take vacation time to go and have a trip to WDW regularly. We don't go as often as some owners, but we got our money's worth, and DVC is working for us exactly like we needed it to.
If you are looking for an investment with a high resale value, this is not going to be the right choice.
It's all in how you look at it.

DVC is part of our retirement investment, the part that makes me happy right now.

my DH & I admit a TS is a want, not a true need, accordingly we've managed to pay cash for our holdings while still saving for our future.

we did the same as you seeing that the market started to tank few years ago due to bank fallout. We took the extra money we'd have stuffed into our main retirement stock plan and bought 1 of our contracts. Naturally, we kept our normal savings in place (reallocated that years normal savings into bond fund & CDs @ locked rate for few years).

The market is healthier and we're back to investing, but we'd still not have recouped the cost of the additional TS purchase vs investment in the traditional retirement account so I feel that, even monetarily, we've come out ahead and had a ton of fun in the process.. Some things you just can't put a value on imo

 

[BEASLYBOO]

I bought a resale in 2000, 210 points at OKW for $60 p/point, with the intention of using those points to stay at the DVC resorts. Though I'm happy to be "Grandfathered In", if I buy more points it will still be resale, DVC's current moves don't affect me since I never planned to sell my points, and I only use them at the local resorts.

I've had 2 friends (both who got me interested in OKW) sell the 600-1000 points they bought in the early 90's directly from DVC. Their circumstances did change, their children grew up and away and they sold. They sold certainly for much less than they bought but they enjoyed it, had use of it and in their words, "We never expected to recoup the price we paid, we expected to get market value when it was our time to get out of the timeshare business."

I think they had the right idea, they profited for 15+/- years from the many vacations and fun times they shared with friends and family, DVC met their expectations and then they sold and were done. They (and I for that matter) never considered it an investment , investments appreciate (at least they did before 2009) but timeshares never do and never will.

DVC's marketing team excells at promoting it's product, unfortunately it sometimes takes the end user a little while to get all of that pixie dust out of their eyes before they see the product for just what it is, a timeshare, subject to change, read the docs!

I don't know if DVC's current ploy will work out the way they anticipated but I'm sure if it doesn't, there are more changes yet to come! For me, there's nothing that would convince me to pay $130 a point direct verses resale price.

 

[JJ721]

...I think these changes are immaterial. The forbidden options were already foolish choices financially. Not allowing resale buyers to partake in them does such buyers a favor. You are better off renting your points out and using the cash for the non-DVC options you desire.

Let's be honest, what Disney is taking away in resales is practically meaningless. The ability to blow 60 pts and $95 ( essentially $700 when you look at renting out pts) for a $250 hotel room with tons of restrictions and calendar limitations is not anything in my mind that would significantly detract from the value of DVC pts. Also, no one is paying $130 now anyways. I'm guessing most owners never use the concierge collection. I certainly don't intend to.

Totally agree. Using DVC points for non DVC options has always been a marketing feature, not a true option whose value is equal to DVC resort use value. I have been thinking about adding on points. If there is any initial softness in the resale market after March, I will jump in and buy, as the removal of alternative usage of points has no meaning for me.