Purchase DVC or property in Orlando?

[JJ2017]

as we dig deeper and deeper into the possibility of a DVC purchase we are also considering the purchase of property in Orlando. Fully aware of the DVC perks, but would love to hear opinions from people who decided on buying property instead of DVC. I work in a school and have time off in the summer to "live there." If there is already a link for this, please let me know. Thank you.

 

[bwvBound]

Link to related thread: https://www.disboards.com/threads/dvc-vs-vacation-home.1374808/

My post, even across the years, stands "as is" except that I've been living full time from the "vacation home" for the past couple years. Love the "vacation home" ... and yes, we eventually got over the strange, nagging feeling that every trip needs to be about the vacation home. We are back to cruising, traveling on timeshare exchanges to new locations, etc.

 

[JJ2017]

Link to related thread: https://www.disboards.com/threads/dvc-vs-vacation-home.1374808/

My post, even across the years, stands "as is" except that I've been living full time from the "vacation home" for the past couple years. Love the "vacation home" ... and yes, we eventually got over the strange, nagging feeling that every trip needs to be about the vacation home. We are back to cruising, traveling on timeshare exchanges to new locations, etc.

Thank you so much. Some good reading to do this winter break!

 

[Ben E N]

Thank you so much. Some good reading to do this winter break!

Enjoy your well-deserved break. Coming from another teacher who just started as well.

 

[Dean]

as we dig deeper and deeper into the possibility of a DVC purchase we are also considering the purchase of property in Orlando. Fully aware of the DVC perks, but would love to hear opinions from people who decided on buying property instead of DVC. I work in a school and have time off in the summer to "live there." If there is already a link for this, please let me know. Thank you.

It comes down to preferences and cost. It's unlikely you'd use a condo or home sufficient to justify the costs and risk, certainly not looking at it as an investment. I wouldn't buy a condo or home to rent out part of the year and use for part. One thing you might consider would be a different timeshare option. To stay for 2-3 months I'd either rent for the time as a single rental or do a timeshare that worked well for that period. If one were OK with moving a few times during the summer, a cheaper timeshare and exchanging could be the best option. If it were I personally I'd likely look at a cheaper Marriott with lockoff options, esp if a 1 BR or smaller would do the trick. $10K up front and $6K yearly could easily cover 8 weeks at Grande Vista. And with a little effort one could likely upgrade to all 2 BR at GV or Cypress Harbour consistently. And the principles apply somewhat to other timeshares as well. The other advantage to this type of option is it'd give more options for non Orlando travels as well. I've put together a 3 week trip to HI next year mostly with exchanges with a 1 BR on Maui, two 2BR + a 1BR on Oahu and three 2BR on Kauai. This using two years of exchanges from 2 lockoff's and one additional deposit from a 2 BR deposit. I'm not aware of a fractional ownership option in Orlando that would fit well into this goal but it's possible there is one.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

An interesting way to look at this question is to consider what your DVC resort would cost if you had enough points to stay there year round. When I looked at VGF, I figured they were charging at a rate of about $1,500,000 for a studio. So you can get a pretty nice house in Orlando for that price.

 

[Bing Showei]

When I looked at VGF, I figured they were charging at a rate of about $1,500,000 for a studio. So you can get a pretty nice house in Orlando for that price.

But could you overpay for a Dole Whip at your next door neighbor's... TIM?

[drops mic]

 

[JJ2017]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. We haven't explored other timeshare opportunities. Will look into.

 

[Dean]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. We haven't explored other timeshare opportunities. Will look into.

Assuming a 1 BR would be sufficient, four 2BR weeks at Marriott's Grande Vista can be locked off into four each 1 BR & studios and reserved consecutively. One could join II and almost certainly upgrade those studios to a 1 BR if they wanted. Total cost going in at or under $10K ($2000 per 2BR week plus closing) and yearly fees for 2018 under $5500. If ones joins II and upgrades them, that adds another $1000 to the cost yearly between membership, exchange and upgrades fees. Or if a 2 BR is needed, buy 3 BR or combo of 2 & 3 BR villas and use the same principles though obviously more expensive but likely only by about $6K additional going in and another $1400 yearly for all 3 BR options. The points systems aren't going to be very efficient for this situation but would be very flexible. It's likely that just a house or condo rental will be cheaper but might have less amenities and options. I was able to find evidence of 2 fractionals but they don't appear to link to timeshare exchange options and I don't know if any of them will fit your needs though worth finding out.

One thing owning at Marriott's GV (and not all weeks there or any of the other Orlando Marriott's, would be the ability to use Marriott's Florida Club (Grande Vista, Ocean Pointe, Legend's Edge, Beachplace Towers, Doral). Theoretically you could own several of them and use to reserve at GV just as I described above but you'd also have other locations you could reserve.

The advantages of doing the timeshares are flexibility, options, cleaning and amenities. IF you can find a private owner to rent a condo or home from, I suspect you could get a nice place for cheaper than the Marriott maint fees. Wyndham points could put you effectively on property but would be more yearly, but you could reserve directly for the entire time and have direct access to their other options for other locations. Bluegreen would be cheaper to buy in but only 2 BR so maybe $2-4K going in but yearly fees of $8K roughly to reserve directly. One option for the gambler would be to buy less Bluegreen points based at the Fountains and try to get bonus time at 48 days out. If one is OK moving periodically, owning elsewhere and exchanging in for all of the needed time might be cheaper still but more aggravating and the risk of having to move. And even possibly own and exchange through RCI to DVC, esp at SSR.

Lots of options, just exploring them to help you think about the various options, costs and risks involved.

 

[JJ2017]

Assuming a 1 BR would be sufficient, four 2BR weeks at Marriott's Grande Vista can be locked off into four each 1 BR & studios and reserved consecutively. One could join II and almost certainly upgrade those studios to a 1 BR if they wanted. Total cost going in at or under $10K ($2000 per 2BR week plus closing) and yearly fees for 2018 under $5500. If ones joins II and upgrades them, that adds another $1000 to the cost yearly between membership, exchange and upgrades fees. Or if a 2 BR is needed, buy 3 BR or combo of 2 & 3 BR villas and use the same principles though obviously more expensive but likely only by about $6K additional going in and another $1400 yearly for all 3 BR options. The points systems aren't going to be very efficient for this situation but would be very flexible. It's likely that just a house or condo rental will be cheaper but might have less amenities and options. I was able to find evidence of 2 fractionals but they don't appear to link to timeshare exchange options and I don't know if any of them will fit your needs though worth finding out.

One thing owning at Marriott's GV (and not all weeks there or any of the other Orlando Marriott's, would be the ability to use Marriott's Florida Club (Grande Vista, Ocean Pointe, Legend's Edge, Beachplace Towers, Doral). Theoretically you could own several of them and use to reserve at GV just as I described above but you'd also have other locations you could reserve.

The advantages of doing the timeshares are flexibility, options, cleaning and amenities. IF you can find a private owner to rent a condo or home from, I suspect you could get a nice place for cheaper than the Marriott maint fees. Wyndham points could put you effectively on property but would be more yearly, but you could reserve directly for the entire time and have direct access to their other options for other locations. Bluegreen would be cheaper to buy in but only 2 BR so maybe $2-4K going in but yearly fees of $8K roughly to reserve directly. One option for the gambler would be to buy less Bluegreen points based at the Fountains and try to get bonus time at 48 days out. If one is OK moving periodically, owning elsewhere and exchanging in for all of the needed time might be cheaper still but more aggravating and the risk of having to move. And even possibly own and exchange through RCI to DVC, esp at SSR.

Lots of options, just exploring them to help you think about the various options, costs and risks involved.

Thanks - a lot of terminology in here that I'm not yet familiar with. Hubby and I are heading down in April for a long weekend without the kids. Any recommendation of where to go to learn more about Marriott? Thanks!

 

[Dean]

There is a lot to learn about here and a number of variables. If the Marriott option is appealing and you're serious about using this trip as a fact finding mission, you might see if you can stay at one of the Marriott's on a preview tour or do a private rental and stay at one with Grande Vista likely being the best one and do a timeshare tour (DON'T BUY THEN). In the interim you can start to make some preliminary decisions and start you investigation. TUG (Timeshare Users Group) will be a good place to start for Marriott as well as other timeshare options. The simplest is going to be the condo/home rental and for this volume it might indeed be the best as well depending on the other variables. Considerations would include budget, villa size needed, non Orlando vacation needs, your tolerance for moving a time or 2, resort vs residential preference, how far in advance you can plan and your tolerance for risk both financially and for the rentals as a starting point, (the list of variables is large). What's right for one person might be totally wrong for another and vice versa. In reality this is not necessarily a single decision but more of an evolution over time. You could start one way and end up another. In reality it should take you a couple of years or more to figure out what's best for you and to find the right options even if you're actively moving forward, a decade if you just ease into it. For me personally and putting myself in your shoes but starting from scratch, it'd be Marriott and likely a combination of Grande Vista and other options to trade back in. But that's because I'm comfortable with Marriott and II/RCI exchanging, would use it for non Orlando options and prefer to resort feel to a more residential feel in this situation. There would come a point where volume would make owning reasonable, I'm guessing that's around 5-6 months of the year unless one could find a deal on one of the fractionals.

 

[starry_solo]

Whatever you do, don't buy direct from other timeshares. You can usually but points for very cheap elsewhere.

 

[portcityw]

We also have looked at a property purchase. We went ahead and bought DVC points for now, thinking that we could always sell. Condos can be had around seaworld for 70k-150k easily. That's only a 15-20 drive to WDW. An acquaintance of mine has purchased a home in the area. He is into rentals, so has a management team renting his out short term, paying the majority of the cost in it. Says he should have it paid off by retirement time, to move to the area. That is another idea we are floating around.

 

[Shellyred8]

And even possibly own and exchange through RCI to DVC, esp at SSR.

Over the past couple of years, I've seen less and less availability in the RCI exchange for DVC locations (even SSR). So, I would be cautious about setting your expectations too high for this option.

 

[Shellyred8]

We just got back from our first stay at Marriott's Cypress Harbour. It was fantastic! I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. It was clean. The units were huge. The staff was friendly. The grounds were beautiful.

We own Marriott and exchange through II. We also own a second timeshare and exchange through RCI. If I were to do it all over again, knowing what I know now, I would have only bought Marriott. The quality of their properties is much better than our other timeshare.

 

[Dean]

Over the past couple of years, I've seen less and less availability in the RCI exchange for DVC locations (even SSR). So, I would be cautious about setting your expectations too high for this option.

It's certainly a higher risk option and I'd only want to try it for DVC if one could do with a 1 BR but what one sees on just doing instant searches is not a good indication of the chance of success for exchanging to DVC, esp if one is realistic which currently means OK with SSR. I also wouldn't want to count on it as the only use of a timeshare exchange plan. But during the summer I'm comfortable I could like a 6-8 week 1 BR stay on property. That may change or it may get easier at some point, you never know.

We just got back from our first stay at Marriott's Cypress Harbour. It was fantastic! I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. It was clean. The units were huge. The staff was friendly. The grounds were beautiful.

We own Marriott and exchange through II. We also own a second timeshare and exchange through RCI. If I were to do it all over again, knowing what I know now, I would have only bought Marriott. The quality of their properties is much better than our other timeshare.

If I were only going to do one it would be Marriott. IMO the quality is better than DVC in many ways at most of their resorts. DVC has location and theming but otherwise they lag behind in both service and quality IMO. CH seems to have the biggest "cult" following of the Orlando Marriott's We prefer Grande Vista and Lakeshore depending on our actual group. CH is also likely the easiest to consistently upgrade to 2 BR through II but it's not the best option to own in the situation being discussed because it's only 2 BR, no lockoff's. GV has the 2BR lockoff's and 3BR lockoff's as well as most of it's villas being in the FL club.

 

[PSUDinsey]

There is a lot to learn about here and a number of variables. If the Marriott option is appealing and you're serious about using this trip as a fact finding mission, you might see if you can stay at one of the Marriott's on a preview tour or do a private rental and stay at one with Grande Vista likely being the best one and do a timeshare tour (DON'T BUY THEN). In the interim you can start to make some preliminary decisions and start you investigation. TUG (Timeshare Users Group) will be a good place to start for Marriott as well as other timeshare options. The simplest is going to be the condo/home rental and for this volume it might indeed be the best as well depending on the other variables. Considerations would include budget, villa size needed, non Orlando vacation needs, your tolerance for moving a time or 2, resort vs residential preference, how far in advance you can plan and your tolerance for risk both financially and for the rentals as a starting point, (the list of variables is large). What's right for one person might be totally wrong for another and vice versa. In reality this is not necessarily a single decision but more of an evolution over time. You could start one way and end up another. In reality it should take you a couple of years or more to figure out what's best for you and to find the right options even if you're actively moving forward, a decade if you just ease into it. For me personally and putting myself in your shoes but starting from scratch, it'd be Marriott and likely a combination of Grande Vista and other options to trade back in. But that's because I'm comfortable with Marriott and II/RCI exchanging, would use it for non Orlando options and prefer to resort feel to a more residential feel in this situation. There would come a point where volume would make owning reasonable, I'm guessing that's around 5-6 months of the year unless one could find a deal on one of the fractionals.

Dean do you get better trades owning Marriot with II? My other timeshare traded into II and I rarely see anything I would give up marriot points/week to trade for.

 

[Dean]

Dean do you get better trades owning Marriot with II? My other timeshare traded into II and I rarely see anything I would give up marriot points/week to trade for.

I think one of the mistakes people make evaluating exchange availability is that what you see when looking around is reflective of what you can get with an ongoing search, IMO it definitely is not. But Marriott and timeshares in general are similar to DVC looking at the top and bottom. You can own VGF and stay there or you can own SSR and stay everyone at some point. Owning Marriott, there are resorts to own and resorts to trade. I own high end Marriott's to use and I would never trade them, simply rent when I don't use them. Then I own cheaper resorts to trade though all of what I own is platinum season. I've always gotten what I was looking for on exchanges but I am educated and realistic, I don't expect to get a VGF standard studio at 7 months out during the busiest week of the year using SSR points. I also have a third grouping, one that I take Destination Points on that are in between. I have a 3 week trip to HI for 2018. I secured it all using Marriott exchange weeks. I used 3 weeks owned total and 2 years worth of deposits from 2 of them to end up with three 2BR deposits, two studios and two 1 BR deposits. I've gotten 2 BR with the 2 BR deposits at Waiohai Beach Club on Kauai (X2) and a 2 BR at the Marriott Ko Olina, 1 BR to get a 1BR on Maui at MOC (Marriott), 1BR to get a 1BR at the Marriott in Ko Olina and two studios to get studios for Oahu as well. I've since retraded one of the studios to a 1BR and fully expect to upgrade further then likely retrade 1 or 2 villas to Aruba in 2019. Keep in mind all of the deposits except one 2BR deposit would have a lower trade power than the Grande Vista in question if one got a good week there to use to trade. I've done this with a similar trip to HI a few years ago and Aruba EOY for 3 trips and to HH 4th of July several times.

In this situation it could easily be both a good resort to own & use as well as a good one to trade which fairly unusual with Marriott IMO. Of course this assumes Marriott to Marriott which is my goal though for Orlando, it's not a requirement, for HI & Aruba it likely is.

 

[a742246]

Thank you Dean for your generous insight on the Marriott system and how it works for you. In a couple of years when my wife and I are retired our plans are to spend 6-8 weeks a year time sharing. We already have about 2-3 weeks worth of points in the DVC system. For the other weeks we will be looking at other systems (Marriott and HGVC) at first we were looking at just the HGVC but now after reading your comments we will be looking at Marriott. Again, thank you!

 

[MommaBerd]

@Dean - how do I sign up for your Timeshare Purchasing and Ownership class?