Question for those who stay a few weeks at a time...

[Mai Ku Tiki]

Anyone else? More ideas???

 

[Happydinks]

Anyone else? More ideas???

I would think the biggest thing is the flexibility that you have with DVC - so you don't HAVE to go to FLA in the winter - exchange the points out for another warm place totally different. There's great places to visit that we wouldn't normally spend the $$ on to stay but did use our points (specifically The Grove Park Inn, Asheville). We too have always talked about a "place at the beach" - but the reality of time, maintenance, and cost - then always feeling like "we have to use it" - stops us from buying at the beach. Friends of ours used their points last year and did exchanges and stayed in Germany and France - and said that the entire experience was fabulous. All the properties they stayed at were first class - and again - said that they wouldn't have normally stayed there because of the cost - but with points - it was all good. We never bought into DVC as an investment - they tell you up front (at least our guide did) it's not for appreciation - it's for the vacation experience. The longest we've stayed at Disney was two weeks - and while I could have stayed longer - I was not unhappy to go home just knowing that I could go back anytime with my points!

Just my 2 cents and humble opinion.

 

[Three60guy]

We couldn't agree more with Happydinks.

 

[TEK224]

My friends constantly ask me why I don't just buy a place near WDW. But I, too, don't want the worry of what happens if there's a storm and I'm not there, having to maintain property, worry about any problems with renters (if I took that route), etc.

My retirement plans are to keep my current home as a home base and then travel to other locations for about 2 weeks at a time. I have DVC points and another ts that I can exchange through Interval International (and also purchase getaways through them). I've also rented places through VRBO and have had nice experiences with that.

I look at my DVC as my time to relax and enjoy myself. I have a nice unit, pool, exercise facilities, in some cases spa on site, nice grounds, get housekeeping 2x week (one tidy up and one full cleaning), an abundance of restaurants, if I don't want to cook, transportation around the resorts, shopping at DtD, entertainment at the parks. What more would I need?

But I probably wouldn't snowbird long term. I think I'd do about 10 days in Feb. or March and another week in Nov. or Dec. Then I can mix in other destinations and never get tired of the same spot. Barring any unforeseen financial calamities, upon retirment, I'd like to take a trip about every 3 months, staying at a location approximately 10-14 days.

Dreaming about that right now!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Wow, who brought up this Methusela? I see my post above from last year, and my plans are intact for Hawaii next February, but they have changed a bit. Instead of renting out our points, we booked Aulani for a week and then used the proceeds from the rental we did last year to pay for a week in a condo on the Big Island. Kona, here we come!

 

[Pig Pen]

We had considered doing this, but ended up buying a foreclosure doublewide MH in a gated 55 plus community approximately 35 minutes from the gate of MK.

We paid $12,900 for a 1900 sq ft home and our lot rent/fees/taxes/expenses run about $600 monthly. If we were so inclined, we could rent our home for $2500 per month to snowbirds during the winter season, or we could get about $1200 monthly for a year-round rental.

We have 2 community pools, fitness center, sauna, jacuzzi, a restaurant/bar, golf course, salon, billiards, tennis, pickleball (a big thing down here), and an on-site bank.

We hop over to WDW maybe once a week. There are lots of other things to do in FL!

 

[sleepydog25]

No, we don't rent it out. There are a lot of people that do and there is a company in Celebration that will manage that for you. It is in the covenants that the unit needs to be checked on if not lived in regularly. We have a local lady that stops in once a week to look around, check the mailbox and make sure all is ok. We are usually down there every two to three months. We spend either most of June or July and then a couple of weeks in August before school starts, a long weekend in October, Thanksgiving weekend, the week before and after Christmas, a week at Spring Break and the long Easter Weekend. The best part is - I don't need to make a reservation! And I can sleep in my own bed. And I don't pack much because I leave clothes there.

We've thought of going this route, too, at some point in the not too distant future. However, I don't know that we could make that drive so frequently (we live within an hour of you). How do you manage? lol

 

[bakerworld]

Don't want to own my vacation spot - been there & done that. As soon as it becomes a maintainable home all the vacation glamor is lost.

Then we're stuck with this need to USE it ENOUGH to make the COST worth it. Never do I feel this stress owning DVC. If anything, we use it so much that currently we are booked and borrowed a year out. Now we're trying to NOT use it so we don't feel a need to buy more pts rotfl.

Upon retiring, we do plan to stay for weeks at a time but we'll see how that shakes out 10 years down the road. Too far away to accurately predict how we'll feel then.

 

[going/again]

Our original plan was to spend Jan & Feb in WDW with our points and we finally got enough points to pull it off. BUT, one trip we went out and looked at homes in gated retirement (55+) communities and purchased a home in one (Solivita). Got a nice little 6 year old home, 2 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage overlooking a good sized pond with a pool just a few doors away for less than $90,000. So, we sold most of our DVC points (still have 210 @ OKW) and will used the remainder for little holiday stays at WDW. Our new home is only 30 -40 minutes to WDW.

We do not rent out our home and the HOA takes care of the lawn and outside plants. We have wonderful neighbors there who check on the home for us. Can't wait to get back down there.

As a Brit can i ask what HOA is and what it covers.

 

[starry_solo]

As a Brit can i ask what HOA is and what it covers.

HOA = Homeowners Association. What it covers is entirely dependent upon the CC&Rs (conditions, covenants & restrictions) - not sure if I have the two Cs in the correct order.

 

[DougEMG]

We're planning to spend 5-8 weeks a year staying at DVC once we retire. We'll probably break this between two trips a year. I don't want the hassle of owning a vacation house and i don't really want to be away from our primary residence for more than a month at a time. Living in Victoria, our winters aren't that bad, so don't have any need to escape for the entire winter.

 

[going/again]

HOA = Homeowners Association. What it covers is entirely dependent upon the CC&Rs (conditions, covenants & restrictions) - not sure if I have the two Cs in the correct order.

Thanks

 

[SamSam]

We're planning to spend 5-8 weeks a year staying at DVC once we retire. We'll probably break this between two trips a year. I don't want the hassle of owning a vacation house and i don't really want to be away from our primary residence for more than a month at a time. Living in Victoria, our winters aren't that bad, so don't have any need to escape for the entire winter.

This! We researched buying a vacation home, but the hassle of maintenance, etc. just isn't what we want to deal with. So we're looking at 3 weeks in October, then another 3 weeks in either January or February. Yes, we could do more in a studio, but we really love being in a 1 bedroom.

That may change when we actually retire, and aren't sitting up an office in our villa. But for now, the one -bedroom is almost a necessity.