Tell Me the DOWN side of this

[DenLo]

See this link at DVC News.com: http://dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-program/owning-dvc/faqs?task=view&id=51

BTW, some here on the DisBoards will tell you that the annual dues at BLT are subsidized by Disney and that will cause an increase later. The dues were subsidized the first five months after opening in 2009. Effective with 2010 the subsidy went away and the dues increased a small amount like all of the other resorts. As far as I know only part of the contracts at VB are currently subsidized and they were grandfathered in and will continue to be subsidized.

 

[michaelangelo]

We love our Disney points and up until we bought, my husband "didn't trust" timeshares! We originally bought 160 points and then added on 160 more...and right now I have a balance of 0!

We bought in 2003 and have primarily used our points at WDW or Vero Beach. We did use our points this past fall for a lovely weekend in Vermont with the Concierge Collection. Some say that this is not a good use of points because you could rent your points for $10 a point and then use cash to go where you want. We have 3 children and both work full-time, so for use and ease (our points are already paid for) we just loved going to Vermont and not having a bill at the end of the weekend. We have not traded before, but last summer I put in for a trade for this coming April 2011 for Southern California. My husband wanted to try somewhere new. We got our trade so time will tell if it is as nice as Disney. My expectations aren't high.

We actually just put in for a Marriott resale contract in Aruba. My understanding is that Disney doesn't trade well in the islands. I am a teacher and have no flexibility for which week I can use, so we thought that if we want to go to Aruba in February when school is out, we should buy there. In speaking with the real estate agent I am working with, she told me that "typical" timeshares lose at least 50% when bought retail and sell resale, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF DISNEY! Because Disney exercises its Right of First Refusal (they will buy it back, if it will sell below value) it keeps resales from tanking. Of course with the economy the past few years I am not so sure. We bought at $79 for SSR and to my knowledge it isn't at $40 yet. So I feel comfortable with what I bought.

I would recommend:

BUY WHERE YOU WANT TO STAY

BUY IN SMALLER CONTRACTS IN CASE YOU WANT TO DOWNSIZE. I WOULD BY IN INCREMENTS OF 50 AS THEY SEEM TO RESELL THE BEST

BUY RESALE

Good luck with everything! I still feel as though buying Disney was the best thing we did. I only wish I have bought sooner!

 

[crisi]

People talk about "upgrading" your accomodations.

Its a timeshare. Unless you go for a multiroom unit (which will NOT save you money over an ordinary hotel room), I wouldn't consider a DVC studio an upgrade over many DTD hotels. You get a queen bed and a full pullout in most of the studios. You do not get daily housekeeping. I like the Hilton as a hotel a LOT better than I like DVC resorts.

 

[crisi]

Oh, another downside.

You'll tie up capital into your DVC purchase and be making a long term committment to it. So if in two years you suddenly get ill, loose your job, end your marriage, or just plain old decide you want to sit home - you have DVC points that you have to pay for in dues. This really hit a lot of members in the past few years hard, and some who financed ended up needing to sell out at a pretty large loss.

There is no guarentee you'll "break even" - but if you were going to "break even" you'll need to plan on owning for maybe five years or so. Think long term.

 

[cseca]

If you like to stay on property and don't have your own car I think DVC resorts are a great option. We never have a rental when we go to WDW, always relying on disney transportation. By staying on dvc resorts you have transportation options and dining options. Plus at a minimum you'll get a mini fridge and microwave. More than enough to keep some drinks and breakfast stuff to save a bit of $.

Now if you don't care a whit about the hotel as long as it has a bed and a shower, then don't even think about DVC. It's expensive as heck.

As far as trading outside of dvc resorts, phew ... it's even worse.
But at least there's an option to use them outside the property

If you do end up buying in, there seems to be a steady market for rental. In case there are certain years you can't use your points for whatever reason.

 

[Snurk71]

Unless you go for a multiroom unit (which will NOT save you money over an ordinary hotel room), I wouldn't consider a DVC studio an upgrade over many DTD hotels.

Sorry, Crisi. But my numbers differed in my analysis comparing the GF cash room we normally stayed at to a 1BR at BLT. Our breakeven time period was a little longer on the 1BR instead of a studio (I think 10-12 years vs. 6-7 for the studio). Even when I assumed a 40% cash room discount every other year (which we had not gotten for a few years), I think the 1BR at BLT still won out in under 20 years (and yes, I did include the time value of money cost on the up front point payment and an equivalent inflation factor on both maintenance fees and cash room rates).

So according to my analysis, deluxe stayers will still save money in a 1BR instead of a "regular" hotel room.

 

[crisi]

Sorry, Crisi. But my numbers differed in my analysis comparing the GF cash room we normally stayed at to a 1BR at BLT. Our breakeven time period was a little longer on the 1BR instead of a studio (I think 10-12 years vs. 6-7 for the studio). Even when I assumed a 40% cash room discount every other year (which we had not gotten for a few years), I think the 1BR at BLT still won out in under 20 years (and yes, I did include the time value of money cost on the up front point payment and an equivalent inflation factor on both maintenance fees and cash room rates).

So according to my analysis, deluxe stayers will still save money in a 1BR instead of a "regular" hotel room.

You are one of the few people that's been able to make that work. We didn't - and we bought at $63 a point. It costs us a LOT more to own DVC than to stay in a regular Deluxe resort. Not that it isn't a value, I've just never been able to get the numbers to work in anything other than a studio.

Here is the Mousesaver's analysis, which I think is pretty good: http://www.mousesavers.com/dvc.html#dvc Its a little dated, if I recall, but a lot of us helped pull this together when Mary did it.

 

[kamik86]

I don't understand those that say it doesn't save you money.

I bought my points this year for $112. I have AKV so i have 47 years of points. That is $2.39 per year. Annual dues this year are $4.95 so this years points cost me $7.34.

Now I week at a VALUE STANDARD room from Sept 19th - 26th just priced with the current room only discount was $470. Dividing that by my $7.34 it would cost the same as 64 points to stay there.

AKV value studios are 73 points for this year for that same week. so its only costing $66 extra for the WEEK to upgrade to AKV over a VALUE!! Now if you normally stay in deluxe hotel you would be saving money!


As the poster above said yes for a 1 bedroom you probably didn't save money but you got to stay in a 1BR then! That has an extra room and a full kitchen so of course its going to cost more. In that case how many rooms are in the family value studios? Price that with the comparable DVC number of rooms.

 

[Disneypubgal]

Disclosure... I am a financial person by trade and have been a member since 1997 and have added on 4 times since my initial purchase...I am also a former Disney cast member (10+years)

Here is my bottom line, having my DVC membership ensures that I can continue to have fabulous vacations with my family and friends at deluxe accomodations at WDW and DL. The convenience of having a partial/full kitchen and laundry is fantastic, I have a little one and being able to give her breakfast in the room when she first wakes up is priceless!! Being able to sit on the balcony and have a cocktail with my husband when it is time for her to go to bed rather than in a dark room while she is falling asleep is also priceless For me having my DVC forces (and I mean this in a good way) to make sure that I take time off each year and it eliminates the need to commando my vacations as I know I will be back..... most importantly I am making memories with my child.... None of the above can be measured in a present value calculation or in a spreadsheet.... Mind you I don't think anyone should take this purchase lightly, but I don't think all the pluses (and some minuses) can easily be measured... In the end you need to figure out what is best for your family and take an educated guess what your vacation needs will be in the future... Good Luck!

 

[magicron]

I think it's important to consider the 'asset' value in the analysis. Say one only stays with DVC for ten years. At the end of that time a DVC member could get some cash back by selling. One can look at how much points were selling for 10 years ago for a particular property, and look on these boards to see what they have been selling for now. We could probably assume similar rates for the next 10 years.

If one rents a hotel room for each stay over the next five years, or ten years, etc, they have no cash value at the end of that time.

I also agree that owning motivates you to take a vacation regularly, and at accomodations better than a hotel room.

p.s. I think I'll now have to find some actual data to make my own spreadsheet analysis making some assumption about resale value, etc.

 

[ccgirl]

Also note that you cannot take advantage of a lot of the promotions. For example, free dining, 40% off room, kids stay and play free. Figure out what your maintenance/taxes would be. Lets use $1200 a year. How much is a full rack rate room at a deluxe? Don't forget to add in your monthly payment. I own an off site timeshare that costs me a fraction of what DVC costs and my taxes/maintenance are only $500 a year. I use it to trade in to DVC and elsewhere. Of course, I don't get DVC perks like the discounted AP's etc. Just do a lot of research.

 

[Malaguti Ball Clan]

Put this in your spreadsheet.....I am staying in a Grand Villa with a frekin pool table in it that over looks a savanna full of animals I would never see in my woods with balconies bigger than some value resorts entire room!! And all I have to do to get this is pay maintenance fees each year....yeah, tough choice for me..not. If I was to owe DVC 10-20k come 2060 whenever, something tells me the time and memories spent with my family, friends, children's children are going to be BEYOND worth the cost. Good bless DVC

 

[adminjedi]

Put this in your spreadsheet.....I am staying in a Grand Villa with a frekin pool table in it that over looks a savanna full of animals I would never see in my woods with balconies bigger than some value resorts entire room!! And all I have to do to get this is pay maintenance fees each year....yeah, tough choice for me..not. If I was to owe DVC 10-20k come 2060 whenever, something tells me the time and memories spent with my family, friends, children's children are going to be BEYOND worth the cost. Good bless DVC

 

[Dean]

I don't understand those that say it doesn't save you money.

I bought my points this year for $112. I have AKV so i have 47 years of points. That is $2.39 per year. Annual dues this year are $4.95 so this years points cost me $7.34.

Now I week at a VALUE STANDARD room from Sept 19th - 26th just priced with the current room only discount was $470. Dividing that by my $7.34 it would cost the same as 64 points to stay there.

AKV value studios are 73 points for this year for that same week. so its only costing $66 extra for the WEEK to upgrade to AKV over a VALUE!! Now if you normally stay in deluxe hotel you would be saving money!


As the poster above said yes for a 1 bedroom you probably didn't save money but you got to stay in a 1BR then! That has an extra room and a full kitchen so of course its going to cost more. In that case how many rooms are in the family value studios? Price that with the comparable DVC number of rooms.

DVC will not save most people money for several reasons. They miss out on specials, they wouldn't spend the type of money involved otherwise, they spend the extra money on other things, they buy more/longer passes, they make more trips, they get larger/more expensive rooms etc. It may add extra value but it will not save money. Some try to justify this by using the rack rate for DVC, there are few people that is applicable to that paid cash routinely for DVC or suites. Thus my feeling is that using the DVC rack rate in any of the equations for most people is a fool's comparison.

 

[Disneypubgal]

DVC will not save most people money for several reasons. They miss out on specials, they wouldn't spend the type of money involved otherwise, they spend the extra money on other things, they buy more/longer passes, they make more trips, they get larger/more expensive rooms etc. It may add extra value but it will not save money. Some try to justify this by using the rack rate for DVC, there are few people that is applicable to that paid cash routinely for DVC or suites. Thus my feeling is that using the DVC rack rate in any of the equations for most people is a fool's comparison.

I am sorry I have to completely disagree with your comments about specials. DVC ownership is for a long period of time...I have had my DVC since 1997 and for most of the specials those 13 years the specials that Disney is curently offering just did not exist... I suspect when the economy rebounds A LOT of those discounts will go away...If you are a dvc member and have your heart set on taking advantage of the specials then rent your pts out and pay cash to take advantage of current promotions

 

[klfosborne]

Wow! Thanks for all the replies. We are now aware of the downs and ups of buying Disney. We are going to buy direct with Disney at BLT, 3 separate contracts. We have Sept UY and we are going in Sept anyway. Our guide was able to get us a 1 bedroom and studio (for other family) for this Sept. We know several people who own DVC, all purchased direct through Disney, no one has any complaints, unlike this board, LOL! We haven't signed the contracts yet, they are being mailed. Any last comments, we can still change our minds!

 

[kamik86]

DVC will not save most people money for several reasons. They miss out on specials, they wouldn't spend the type of money involved otherwise, they spend the extra money on other things, they buy more/longer passes, they make more trips, they get larger/more expensive rooms etc. It may add extra value but it will not save money. Some try to justify this by using the rack rate for DVC, there are few people that is applicable to that paid cash routinely for DVC or suites. Thus my feeling is that using the DVC rack rate in any of the equations for most people is a fool's comparison.

But I didn't USE DVC rack rate!! That is my point I showed you numbers for a room at a value resort vrs a DVC studio (with a kitchette and in a deluxe resort) and it was CHEAPER.

Oh and promotions I used the room only promotion which is what alot of people HAVE because free dining is blacked out or they have APs or the other special was sold out etc. So that was with a promotion.

There is also the point that the promotions could go away at any time but DVC can't up the total number of points, just reallocate (and my comparison would be even better next year as the points for that week I was talking about will be LESS next year).

Your right that if you go more with DVC your not really saving money because your going more. So yeah really I'm not since I still have the same vacation budget per year... I just go longer and do more extras instead of spending it on my hotel room, while getting a better room. So if you want to split hairs and call that just adding value and not saving money fine... either way its still better.

 

[Disneypubgal]

Wow! Thanks for all the replies. We are now aware of the downs and ups of buying Disney. We are going to buy direct with Disney at BLT, 3 separate contracts. We have Sept UY and we are going in Sept anyway. Our guide was able to get us a 1 bedroom and studio (for other family) for this Sept. We know several people who own DVC, all purchased direct through Disney, no one has any complaints, unlike this board, LOL! We haven't signed the contracts yet, they are being mailed. Any last comments, we can still change our minds!

Best of luck to you!!

 

[mpfett]

I'm very new here and have done what I though was a good deal of research on DVC and resale, but this was very helpful to hear a lot of different sides to the equation.

 

[yekcoh_99]

We bought a year ago and have taken 2 trips to date. We've always done Value resorts and once at a moderate. Although the upfront cost of $12,600 on a BCV resale was steep, we were able to pay it in full and now have 150 points a year to use. We're going back next May and can't wait. We figure we'll re-coup the initial buy in within a 7 year time frame. Yes, we have maintenance fees, but had we not bought in, we would never have been able to take all the wonderful WDW trips we're going to be taking or be able to stay on property at beautiful deluxe resorts. Having two toddlers, we have many more years of magic left to experience. The next 16 to 20 years (and probably beyond that) will be filled with priceless memories, at wonderful Deluxe WDW resorts with large rooms. Accomodations in all liklihood we would not have been able to afford had we not bought into DVC. Yes it's expensive up front. But if you look at the complete package you can't put a price tag on it in the end. Staying off site takes so much of the magic away. We've done it before and it's just not the same Disney vacation. We love immersing ourselves in the magic and never leaving it for an entire week. Staying off site is like leaving the magic at the end of each day. It just doesn't work for us. Best of luck in your purchase. May you and your family have many magical memories!!!