Value "pay's for itself" question

[3DisneyNUTS]

Has anyone figured out when it "pays for itself" really? I have tried and I came up with about 8 years. What I did was figure the studio is equivilent to a moderate resort room. I took what I have paid in the past and figured for myself it would be about 8 years. But that is an estimate.
Ironically because of when I travel (we are definitely taking the kid out of school for trips) we can get 2 six day vacations out of our 150 points by staying on low point nights/season at our home resort, slightly more if we stayed at OKW, Vero or HHI.
Before this vacation club we stayed at Riverside for about $800 for the week (6 nights) so double the 800 for 2 6 nightvacation and we have 1600 figure the cost of the vac club for those points are 13350 and that is about 8 years.

I did not figure in room taxes or rate increases nor am I figuring in maitenance of taxes for the vacation club.

We also took out a 5 year loan so after those 5 years we will be done paying for the points and just have the taxes and maint. Which in 5 years who knows what the room prices will be .....(unless you guys have the percentage rates for that figuresd out too lol)

Well what do you all think of my "math" and let me know if I am correct or totally out of the water with this LOL

 

[rocketriter]

You'll have lots of people chime in with different ways to do the math. Some will also remind you of secondary costs. For example, you might wind up losing money because you go to WDW more often and spend more than you would have otherwise! Others will take issue with you comparing a DVC studio with a moderate resort, since it's possible to pay $300 a night for a smaller room at the Yacht Club, which is certainly a deluxe resort.

Bottom line: if DVC leads to many happy and affordable trips, then it's a bargain no matter what it costs. Enjoy!

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

Yes you are so right!!! Part of the reason we are not going with more points right now is because it is an exact match to how we vacation now But you are so right it is so worth just the memories.

 

[JimC]

Many of us have been down this road. We did the analysis when we bought in 2002. We looked back at how we vacationed at WDW over the past decade (combination of moderate and deluxe as well as a combination of peak and off peak times with AP discounts), then compared that travel pattern to DVC using studios or 1 bedrooms. Our most conservative projection showed a significantly better than average nightly rate and 10 years breakeven on cash flow.

For us it came down to having 1 bedroom units at less than moderate prices at our favorite vacation destination.

Hope you enjoy it as much.

 

[wtpclc]

My DH and I have some geek-like tendencies. So, we figured what times of yesr we usually go (September), how often we would go, price of buying tickets separate, instead of in a package (w/10% DVC discount on Ultimate Park Hopper), and maintenance fees. We figured everything with 2004 costs and increased maintenance, tickets hotel by 3.5% a year. Even if we only went every other year, we'd break even in about 12 years. That also counts us selling our points in between (but we're not counting on it).

The kicker is that we would not likely cough up the cash to stay at Boarwalk again and without DVC we would go every 3 to 4 years.

With DVC we can go more often, save $, and stay in better resorts. We can also go to many of the other palces around the world and have the comfort that comes with knowing Disney gives a sort of "stamp of approval" to these foreign places.

Back to your question, though. We will brek even in about 12 years, sooner if we traveled durign the more peak seasons. The bottom line is, teh more you go, the quicker it pays for itself!

 

[princess&tig]

We were avid fans of the Contemporary resort. An avg cost stay there for 5 weekday nights is about $1500. We would go twice per year ($3000). With 150 Points we stay at least twice per year with points to spare. So with a cost of 12K + 600* 5 (tax) = 15K. Our breakeven is 5 years (3k *5).

I like to look at the investment very non-conservitive (It makes me feel even happier). I know that that we are now staying in 1 BR/ 2 BR all the time. I know we are bringing the whole family and nieghborhood with us (park passes and food are way up). I know that we had to buy another 100 points to cover our future dreams.

All expensive of buying are past (sunk costs).

Think about a future trip as this:

Hotel Free (DVC)
Food Free (You would eat at home anyway)
Park Passes Free (If you buy annual park passes every other trip that year is free)
Transportation Free (Take the family car, ignore the gas charges)
= Lots of fun and family memories for Free!!!

The non-conservitive approach make me feel so happy!!! Time to plan another trip!!!!

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

I'd be more conservative approach. I wouldn't include the amount spent on your second trip to offset the cost of DVC because it sounds like you'd take one trip per year without DVC. To my mind that's all you can allocate.

For me I don't think I'll ever break even on DVC. If I hadn't purchased it I wouldn't stay on property more than once every 4 or 5 years. However what I've gained from it is the ability to go to more locations using my other timeshare. That aspect is absolutely fabulous. I use Westgate every other year to go to Universal and then otherwise use it to go skiiing. Considering the cost of ski accomodations its great. But if I didn't have DVC the ski trips would be only once every 4 or 5 years (because I belong to a club that has a ski house). Sooner or later I'll use it to go to Hawaii.

 

[crisi]

It depends on how you figure it.

If we figure we would have paid rack rates plus tax for that two bedroom BWV room we had last year, we are well to our way to paying for it in less than four trips. But we wouldn't have ever paid rack rates for a BWV two bedroom.

If we figure we would have had two rooms at the WL vs a two bedroom at BWV, its more like six trips. This is the likely scenario.

If we figure we would have never paid for my mother in law without DVC and put four of us in a room at the Poly at $250 a night vs. a two bedroom - its more like twelve trips. Also likely.

Versus four of us in a single moderate with codes or other specials, we are spending MORE to get the two bedroom. Not likely, we had stopped using moderates. However, four of us in a DVC studio (which is more of an apples to apples comparison) and you are back to something around eight trips.

If you want, you can figure savings for light cooking (or heavy cooking) in the room. Or you can figure added expenses of having more cash on hand during your trip, so you choose expensive things to do or have you wouldn't have otherwise (Cirque, more souvieniers, an expensive dinner or two). You can figure added expenses for guests (our last trip was mucho bucks because we had my mother in law and her sister, and picked up the tab for everything for them - wouldn't have done that without DVC), or you can figure added income from renting extra points. You can worry about the interest income you are losing from not having invested that money in a stock that really takes off over 40 years and you can worry about the increased hotel rates. You can worry about all those "extra" vacation you wouldn't take without DVC, or you can figure the "value" of having regular vacation time with your family.

 

[crisi]

Don't forget as well that when you travel will have an impact. If you primarily take long weekend vacations, DVC will take a lot longer to break even than if you travel midweek. If you own at OKW you will break even faster than if you own BCVs.

 

[southtown]

Something I heard is that other timeshares lose about 50% of there value once you buy it. But if you look at DVC it really holds its value. I have 150 BCV points I bought last year for $74 point. When I look at the resale market the points are still around $74 and some for $75, which people could probably get more since BCV contracts seem to sell within hours of being put up. Granted if I wanted to sell I wouldnt make anything but I wouldnt lose anything either and I have already gone on 2 vacations in excellent accomadations with it. If I bought 10 years ago at OKW and wanted to sell I would definitely make money and have gone on countless trips hotel cost free. I dont care if my break even point was 15 or 20 years. The time you keep trying to figure out if its a good deal or not, the point cost is going to keep going up and it wont be as good of a deal as it was. Would you rather pay $14,000 today and stay in deluxe accomadations for the next 50 years,or take your chances,keep staying in value or moderates not knowing what the future brings? We have stayed in value and moderates before and to us DVC just blows them away. Staying in the BCV and being able to walk to Epcot to get something to eat.,lounging around SAB,looking at Spaceship Earth from our patio was just awesome and we dont want to stay anywhere else. We dont regret buying DVC one bit because we would never be able to afford to stay in a 1br BCV without it. We couldnt afford a studio at BCV for that matter. For us DVC definately pays for itself no matter how many years it takes.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

I don't think you can assume DVC will hold its value. That value is artificially supported by Disney's right of first refusal. Without it you'd probably be looking at a 50% discount when you sell.

 

[Disney Doll]

We kind of figured once we got the initial loan paid off that it would really start to pay for itself from a financial standpoint.

The moment we bought it, it had paid for itself from an emotional, relaxation, vacation standpoint.

 

[lillasmom]

I have owned DVC since about 2001. I added on last year and because of the upcoming vacation we have planned, I think I will break even next year. I have banked and borrowed and am planning a Disney cruise (rented out points to pay for this) for 8 (three cabins, catagory 6) and 5 nights in a grand villa at my home resort, OKW. Also getting a studio at BWV for friends that are coming to join us. We have had other short vacations, sent my parents down, and gave friends time at DL with some points that were going to expire. Our big vacation coming up is really spendy and took a lot of planning, so as far as breaking even, I guess it's about what you plan. I bought to have extended family vacations, others buy for other reasons. Whatever the reason, I have never regretted the purchase! Also, I know that it will hold it's value and if something were to happen, I could easily get my money out of it. Can't say that about much today.

 

[pmcpmc]

have paid $200/300 per night for a place to sleep but having bought dvc we don't any longer look at cost and have enjoyed everything which has come with it .
Most importantly sharing with friends and family

 

[disneycrazed139]

I guess it really depends on a personal analysis. No one else can do it for you. Personally, I could say that I am shelling out a lot of money for DVC, considering that I could easily save money by staying off-site or at a moderate resort.

BUT...the way I like to look at it (and the way I can say it's paying for itself already) is to compare the cost of DVC to the cost of paying cash for the same resort/room or any deluxe. In June we will be at DVC for 9 nights in rooms that I figures would cost about 4,000-4,500 had I paid on a cash basis. In my mind, I'm about a third of the way there already, and we haven't even taken a trip yet.

 

[Mickmse2002]

In my mind it "paid for itself" the moment we inked our names on our first 200 points. Now that we are up to 400 points it continues to "pay for itself" in the quality family vacations it enables.....almost "forces"... us to take. Prior to DVC I always thought of "good" reasons not to invest in family time/vacations but that paradigm shifted when we bought DVC.

 

[OneMoreTry]

Here is what I came up with when I did my analysis. (I bought at approx $60 per point.)

Compared to paying for a 2BR (which we would do anyway) and using points for weekdays only at OKW, the break even would be about 4 to 5 years. At other resorts add a couple of years (more points but higher cash price too). Using points for weekends and weekdays the breakeven was about six or seven years at OKW and 8 or 9 at other DVC's.

Renting at a Disney hotel vs using points for the same hotel would never break even.

I didn't compare a 2BR to renting 2 hotel rooms. If discount codes are available, I think it might be hard to break even with a moderate if you consider investment potential ("present value of money").


We bought DVC because we wanted a "home away from home" at WDW and because we need a 2BR. The financial aspect was a secondary consideration. It didn't convince me to buy, but didn't dissuade me. The option of resale in the future was also nice.

 

[paulh]

when we signed up we used to stay in moderate range hotels at disney we bought 200 points in 1999 we worked out that it would pay for itself after 4 trips ( we stay 2 weeks at a time usaly im may) but if we did not have dvc we would not have been on a cruise or stayed at xmas time or trveled to hillton head so now we stay in delux hotels for the price of our dues ( as we have been more than 4 times on dvc now)it is goood value to me and DVC has given us the chance to have some memorable holidays( vacation to you)
Paulh

 

[studog]

with 150 pts, I can get 3... 6 day trips in one year


It's possible

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

Yeah I have figured it that way too That is how we will take the inlaws. We will stay during the week and get two rooms which will be still under points for studios