renting vs buying

[kathyg]

This board has been so helpful and yet has given me much to think about.

I posted a while back about renting points for two weeks next August (2003) a 2 br at BCV. The responses I got started me thinking that an investment that size could go a long way toward buying into DVC.

Here's my question: If I buy into DVC now (or as soon as Disney will allow), how can I have enough points by next August (last two weeks) for a 2br at BCV? Next summer is important as my son (and his girlfriend) will be graduating college and this is their gift.

Also, both of my kids love Disney (as do their parents), and would love to vacation there more often, but not more than once every two years. Is this worth the investment?

Thanks, in advance, to all the knowledgeable and helpful people on this board.

Kathy

 

[Cinderella]

You need to work out how many points you would need for your requirements. Then if you are visiting every two years, divide by two. Buy that amount of points now and you will have enough points for next August trip and to do the same trip every other year. It is worth it definitely. We plan to visit every other year at the moment and it is definitely worth having a villa for your family rather than having to fork out for two rooms as your kids get older - especially if you prefer staying in the deluxe resorts.

I hope to add points in the future, so we have the option of visiting yearly or doing an exchange every other year. Not all exchanges are great value but, we just came back from a brilliant one and would love to have the option of doing it more frequently. Plus, if we have points for vacations each year, our vacation costs are taken care of until I am 74!

 

[Terry S]

If I remember right you needed 628 points for that trip. If you would always want to stay in a 2 bedroom for 2 weeks every other year, you would need that many points. If you purchased right now, lets say 315 points, you would get 315 2002 points, you could bank those points and you would have 630 available for 2003. You would would then get 315 points in 2004 and could bank those and have 630 available for 2005.

If you don't think you would always need the 2 bedroom for 2 weeks you could cut that number of points down a bit based on what type of accomidations and how long you think you might "normally" vacation.

You could go as little as 210 points and bank your 210 2002 points and borrow your 210 2004 points for a 2003 trip that totals 630 points.

 

[^^^ SnowBunny ^^^]

This probably boils down to a "to each his own" thing, but for our family, we've found that renting has really been the beneficial way to go for us. We basically do not go to Disney every year, of course would love to, but sometimes just can't. And if you can rent your points for $7 or $8 or even maybe $9 you are doing pretty good considering the type of accommodations you will receive. And then there's always the bonus if you can do some last minute planning and snag some points that about to expire at even lower say $4 or $5.

We just feel that the long term (40 year) deal might not be for us, so based on the fact that right now the dues are over $3.00, we are very comfortable keeping the down payment or the full purchase price (which is steep) and just renting when we want to whether that will be every year or every other year or every couple of years.

That's our view. TO each his Own.

 

[Caskbill]

You need to understand the DVC point structures a little better to have a feeling what's right for you.

Quite awhile ago I wrote a spreadsheet that will calculate points for any vacation plan you might want, between now and the year 2010. It does require microsoft Excel to use it, however.

From my planner, for your BCV 2-B/R unit, I see that August 2003 is split into 2 different seasons, Magic and Dream. So it depends on when you'd want to vacation as to the total points required.

For a full 2-weeks (14 days, which includes two full weekends), it would be 700 points Aug 1-14 (checkout on 15)

It would be 697 for Aug 3-16

It would be 661 points for Aug 10-23

It would be 628 points for Aug 17-30


Note also that points requirements are higher on weekend nights (Fri-Sat), so if you shortened your 14 days by 2 days for a 12 day trip (10 weekday nights and 2 weekend nights) your point requirements can drop dramatically.

For example Aug 3-14 is 550 points

Aug 10 - 21 is 514 points

Aug 17 -28 is 484 points

And if you want to move it back a little, and catch September which is Adventure season, you could go 12 days Aug 31-Sep 11 for 424 points.

So if you really wanted to conserve points, you could have your 12 days in early September, every other year for a purchase of 212 points.

If you only wanted to go every 3rd year you could get by with only 141-1/3 points (or in other words, the 150 point minimum. This would allow you your 2-B/R in August 2003 by banking your 150 2002 points into 2003, borrowing your 150 2004 points into 2003, and combining these with your regular 2003 points for a total of 450 points to make your 424 point reservation.

From that point on, if you wanted you could do several things with your 150 points, for example a 1-B/R unit evey 2 years (depending on seasons), or a 2-B/R every 3 years.

If you were seriously thinking about renting anywhere from 628 to 700 points at up to $10/point, then that's a long way toward the $12,000 minimum purchase of 150 points that just might fit your needs.

You would need to verify what use years you'd get and make sure you'd be able to have triple points available (banking and borrowing) for September 2003.



If you have microsoft Excel, you can download for free the spreadsheet I created, and play with points anyway you'd like.

Whatever you do, be sure to have a great time.

The link below will take you to the post about the spreadsheet and from there you can link to the download page...

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=178940

 

[Richyams]

And I thought I was the most helpful member of the DIS......

 

[Caskbill]

Rich, you are definitely the most colorful.....

 

[eva]

Excellent spreadsheet Caskbill! I'm actually a Training Manager at a computer training facility. Want a job teaching applications? Just joking, but your skills at Excel are very impressive.

 

[kathyg]

Thanks for all your replys. Thanks especially to Caskbill...I can't wait to try out the spreadsheet.

I will have some serious thinking to do about all that was said, but I'm already excited about the possibility of DVC.

One more question, though....where does one get info on resales that are available?

Thanks again. You guys are great!

 

[dianeschlicht]

A timeshare store listed on this sight has the most resales available.

 

[Cruelladeville]

I don't want to muddle the waters here, but you may want to consider paying the cash discount for the weekends, so you wouldn't have to buy quite so many points. Depending on the time of year, I have gotten a two bedroom for $250 per night. It is more expensive in the longer run, of course, to do things this way, but finances sometimes dictate that you have to go the more expensive way. For example, you could buy 210 pts now, pay cash for those high point nights, and buy an add-on in a couple of years, when finances are better.