What would you do?

[Donald Duck 57]

Hi Gang,
We were asked a very interesting question, if for some reason you are faced with a unforeseen financial problem and had to cut back would you consider selling your DVC membership or would you try and save money some other way. We pray none of us are ever faced with this but it did pose a very interesting question.

 

[SOBDOSNV]

We have been faced with that decision, and chose DVC. Take everything, but leave my DVC alone!!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Well, I suppose it might be different if things were truly disasterous, but we've recently encountered similar problems, and selling any portion of DVC is not an option. I was recently unexpectedly laid off from my job and we have had to make some cut backs in our life style. However, don't mess with my Disney!

 

[spiceycat]

I agree - my brother had some troubles - lay off for the second time in 3 years - so I suggested that I sell OKW and give him half - "NO WAY" - however I did get rid of VB.

We really enjoy our DVC vacations.

 

[Granny]

We would definitely hang on to DVC.

Most financial problems are relatively short term (couple of years?) and if times were tough then I'd just rent my points for that period. So there would be no "out of pocket" DVC costs for that time period.

I'd have to be sleeping under a highway overpass before considering the sale of my DVC!!

 

[cheyita]

I think it would depend on the level of financial difficulty we're talking about. If things were really bad, I would have to sell and switch to cheap vacations (like camping). We would've never considered DVC back when our finances were tight, and we do consider it a luxury not a necessity. However, if it was a borderline problem - and an end was in sight - I like Granny's solution of renting points.

 

[wdwstar]

we paid cash for our dvc, so that would leave us to worry about dues, and i would have to say, we would eat peanut butter/jelly sandwiches if we have to, to save for our dues, and then maybe rent out a few points,so we can take a shorter vacation.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by Granny
We would definitely hang on to DVC.

Most financial problems are relatively short term (couple of years?) and if times were tough then I'd just rent my points for that period. So there would be no "out of pocket" DVC costs for that time period.

I'd have to be sleeping under a highway overpass before considering the sale of my DVC!!

I agree with Granny. The above statement echos my thoughts exactly.

Good luck...

 

[tinkgrl]

Hi,

I think we'd rent before selling. I'm with a lot of people here, DON'T TOUCH our Disney!!!

Allison an associate

 

[bombero]

I myself agree with granny,
I would rent my points for the time I can't afford.
but once you had it paid for in full , from there on out is
maint. fees which if you trim on luxuries like :three way calling,
HBO, buying soda at restaraunts instead of water: just little
things can add up to, depending on pts, maybe $50 month which over a yr would be enough for maint..
Hope no one has to test this.
corey

 

[mouseclick1]

I would also try to rent before selling. Luckily, our points are spread out over 4 contracts (you know how that add-on bug goes!), so it would be possible for us to trim down our DVC points by selling a small contract if we absolutely had to, without giving up DVC completely.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

I'd rather give up my car and take public transportation for a year; I'd rather not buy myself another new pair of shoes or a new piece of clothing for a year; I'd rather go on a very strict budget for all aspects of my life; but I could NEVER give up my DVC or Disney. DVC & Disney keeps me sane and keeps me going with the rough times ahead -- DH is back to school full time until '07 and I am the sole income. We'd kill one another (figuratively speaking, of course) if we didn't have these vacations to look forward to.

 

[goldilocks_63]

Since we paid for the contracts, we just have to worry about the maint. dues....

I handled it instead of buying XMAS presents, we went to Disney instead with that money, and took extended family along.

Nobody, and I mean Nobody, bought the adults anything - save it for Disney! and the kids got to pick out something while we there.

We had such a good time, that everyone wants to do it again. And, we didn't have to return gifts that we expensive, thoughtful, and more stuff we didn't need.

IMHO, the less you have, the more precious is what remains, and for me, that will be my timeshare.

 

[Lisa P.]

LOL!!! That is so funny! I can just see y'all sharing a meal out of aluminum take-out containers, comparing notes on scraps of paper under the highway overpass. No car, no computer, no furniture, no home... but keeping your good ol' DVC!!! LOL!

 

[Lesley]

Everything else that is not a necessity would go first....if we had to I'd even go back to having only one car. But we do have a lot that could be trimmed....cable and internet, extra activities we all do, eating at restaurants, (phone, electric..LOL..just kidding! Though we could certainly economize more on those too) etc.... And I don't work outside the home or for pay right now...so that would be an option too...finding a way for me to bring in some extra money whether dh and I would work split shifts like we have in the past, or I'd work parttime, or find something that would allow me to bring the kids to work. Granted though, we would only be willing to do that for a limited time...if it was sell DVC or do that permanently, we'd sell.

Plus, we own our DVC outright and only pay the dues. If there were a loan the story might be different. As someone else said though, our vacations do help to keep us sane (particularly dh) so they are a very high priority.

Or maybe we could live in our van? LOL!

 

[Robert - CO]

It really comes down to transaction costs. Renting out points to solve a short term problem is very easy and efficient. Generally, rent them for $10/point, and you don't have to pay anyone commissions.

But to sell the time, you have to pay broker fees, and it takes time. I don't know the going fee, but you could end up losing 10-20% of the sale price.

Granny is right. Rent the points first. Then, look at other assets to sell that may not have the high transaction costs associated with them. You might even be better off trying to get a loan on the timeshare rather than selling outright.

 

[pwoodham]

My DH just got laid off. We're done paying on our first contract, but still paying on the second. Unless we've totally run out of options, we won't be selling DVC. It's kind of like hanging onto hope. If we sell DVC, it would sort of be like admitting that we won't be going on vacation anymore. That would be too sad to comtemplate. We need to be able to anticipate that things will get better, that our financial problems are just for a season. Hanging on to DVC helps remind us of that. OTOH, if we couldn't feed our kids, DVC would go.