When does a condo make more sense than DVC?

[HappyDisneyWife]

So, my hubby & I discussed this a lot prior to our first DVC purchase… and we revisit the thought occasionally as we add on. I’m very curious if/when others ever sell DVC to buy a condo/vacay home ??

Past- We jointly owned a condo on Ft. Myers Beach (overlooking the ocean & Estero Bay) with my siblings for several years. I know firsthand how astronomical HOA fees can be (plus we still paid for maintenance, upkeep, improvements, property tax, property manager, etc). When our kids were little, we could stay for 1-2 months at a time… which made it all worth it! We have some of our best family memories there, and it’s why we love BLT (lake view) so much!!

Current status- We own just over 800 points, and plan to add on more at some point. Current dues are ~$6K.

Goals- We are a family of 8 (our kids are 10-20yo), and we are looking at the future more than our current family situation. I will “need” to escape brutal northern winters due to health issues, but bc of our family we don’t want to truly be snowbirds (& be gone so long).

Plan- Obviously, we decided it would be better to own DVC when we first bought in. The nicer condos/homes in Orlando (with close proximity to the parks) are very expensive, +annual property tax, +HOA, +property management, +cleaning service, +upkeep (maintenance & replacement costs), and we like the flexibility of going solo/as a couple -or- bringing the whole fam (ie. not locked into a 1-bedroom condo or a large home)… but is there a turning point? If so, where is it (for you?) ?? I mean, the dues for 1000 points are already ~$7,500 & that would give me ~8-10wks in a studio, but only ~4-5wks in a 1-bedroom in Jan/Feb.

Backup- if DVC dues become unreasonable, and owning a 2nd home still doesn’t make sense- we would rent offsite. But! I don’t see us doing that near Disney… I think we’d head back to the Ft. Myers Beach area… which takes us back full to circle to the original Q of just owning DVC vs owning a condo/home ??

 

[Brian Noble]

My gut feeling: owning would make sense if I were snowbirding at least half the year. For something that was in the 3 month range, a long-term vacation rental is probably a better bet. For 4-6 weeks, timeshare is fine, especially spread out over the year. The "grey areas" (1.5-3 months; 4-6 months) aren't as obvious.

The other thing that occurs to me: The more time I'm spending in Florida each year, the smaller share of that time I'd likely be in the theme parks. If I'm only there a week or two each year? I'd be in the parks every day. Six months? Most days--and probably the vast majority--would not be spent in the Parks. So, long-term rentals and snowbird homes don't need to be quite so close to the parks.

I know a couple of people who have bought vacation homes with the plan of staying in them for up to three months a year (or less) and renting them out the rest of the year. Both of them sold within 5-6 years, and say they'd never do it again.

 

[stwaldman]

So, my hubby & I discussed this a lot prior to our first DVC purchase… and we revisit the thought occasionally as we add on. I’m very curious if/when others ever sell DVC to buy a condo/vacay home ??

Past- We jointly owned a condo on Ft. Myers Beach (overlooking the ocean & Estero Bay) with my siblings for several years. I know firsthand how astronomical HOA fees can be (plus we still paid for maintenance, upkeep, improvements, property tax, property manager, etc). When our kids were little, we could stay for 1-2 months at a time… which made it all worth it! We have some of our best family memories there, and it’s why we love BLT (lake view) so much!!

Current status- We own just over 800 points, and plan to add on more at some point. Current dues are ~$6K.

Goals- We are a family of 8 (our kids are 10-20yo), and we are looking at the future more than our current family situation. I will “need” to escape brutal northern winters due to health issues, but bc of our family we don’t want to truly be snowbirds (& be gone so long).

Plan- Obviously, we decided it would be better to own DVC when we first bought in. The nicer condos/homes in Orlando (with close proximity to the parks) are very expensive, +annual property tax, +HOA, +property management, +cleaning service, +upkeep (maintenance & replacement costs), and we like the flexibility of going solo/as a couple -or- bringing the whole fam (ie. not locked into a 1-bedroom condo or a large home)… but is there a turning point? If so, where is it (for you?) ?? I mean, the dues for 1000 points are already ~$7,500 & that would give me ~8-10wks in a studio, but only ~4-5wks in a 1-bedroom in Jan/Feb.

Backup- if DVC dues become unreasonable, and owning a 2nd home still doesn’t make sense- we would rent offsite. But! I don’t see us doing that near Disney… I think we’d head back to the Ft. Myers Beach area… which takes us back full to circle to the original Q of just owning DVC vs owning a condo/home ??

It sounds like a notable missing piece here is a) when do your contracts expire and b) would you ever pass them down to the kids/GCs?

If you have LT plans in Florida but have 2042 contracts, there is a financial consideration of maximizing the value of resale while maybe retaining a few points for weekend/short stays on property or the disney beach resorts. If you own the 2060s (give or take) resorts and have kids interested in keeping the membership, then maybe the equity in those contracts isn't worth it if your kids will want to use those 20 years of vacations (and lord knows what a hotel might cost in 2038 or something).

 

[stwaldman]

My gut feeling: owning would make sense if I were snowbirding at least half the year. For something that was in the 3 month range, a long-term vacation rental is probably a better bet. For 4-6 weeks, timeshare is fine, especially spread out over the year. The "grey areas" (1.5-3 months; 4-6 months) aren't as obvious.

The other thing that occurs to me: The more time I'm spending in Florida each year, the smaller share of that time I'd likely be in the theme parks. If I'm only there a week or two each year? I'd be in the parks every day. Six months? Most days--and probably the vast majority--would not be spent in the Parks. So, long-term rentals and snowbird homes don't need to be quite so close to the parks.

I know a couple of people who have bought vacation homes with the plan of staying in them for up to three months a year (or less) and renting them out the rest of the year. Both of them sold within 5-6 years, and say they'd never do it again.

Not to be too specific, but if you offloaded 600 points (and we jus assumed for kicks they sold at $120ppt for OKW or something), we're looking at a pretty hefty down payment on a new property, plus you have 200+ points which still a good few nights in studios/1BRs.

 

[Brian Noble]

True, but I'm also thinking about the ongoing costs (and, more importantly attention) that owning a place requires.

The neat thing about timeshares/rentals is that someone else deals with the things that go wrong.

 

[Sandisw]

We have discussed but I would only buy in FL to be near Disney. But DH isn’t really that interested in that so we think about SC beach area if we decide to buy a condo to vacation in…and rent out when we are not there.

But, even if we did buy a condo near Disney, we would still keep points,,,,just not many so when we could Spend the night here and there…and Not have to Uber or drive when we wanted to visit Epcot for a festival, etc.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

My gut feeling: owning would make sense if I were snowbirding at least half the year. For something that was in the 3 month range, a long-term vacation rental is probably a better bet. For 4-6 weeks, timeshare is fine, especially spread out over the year. The "grey areas" (1.5-3 months; 4-6 months) aren't as obvious.

I think we fall pretty squarely into your “gray area” (the story of my life!)

ETA- I’m envisioning 6-10 weeks total, spread out over 2-3 trips… but who knows for sure?!

I know a couple of people who have bought vacation homes with the plan of staying in them for up to three months a year (or less) and renting them out the rest of the year. Both of them sold within 5-6 years, and say they'd never do it again.

We talked about doing exactly this, but ultimately decided it wouldn’t be worth it (we’d want to use it ourselves during peak season times- plus we’d go 2-4 times, needing renters to “fill in the gaps”- not ideal!). We knew it wouldn’t be worth it in Ft. Myers Beach & assumed the same here… but having multiple theme parks around was a bit of a wild card for us.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

It sounds like a notable missing piece here is a) when do your contracts expire and b) would you ever pass them down to the kids/GCs?

True! We do own 200 at BCV (2042), but the rest have longer lives- AKV, BLT, Poly & RIV. (Any additions would also likely be at newer resorts.)

We are not planning to pass them down, but if (as we age) our children are interested, & could readily afford the dues- we would consider it.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

We have discussed but I would only buy in FL to be near Disney. But DH isn’t really that interested in that …

This sounds very familiar

 

[chalee94]

For 4-6 weeks, timeshare is fine, especially spread out over the year.

Agree.

With Orlando as overbuilt with timeshares as it is, it would be no problem to trade into Orlando and use getaways in Interval International to spend 6-8 weeks there with little up front cost. The cost per week would be fairly reasonable for staying in Marriotts/Sheraton 2BR/2BA villas (assuming you stay away from holiday weeks).

That is one of my potential retirement scenarios...I would like to be near the action in warmer weather in the winter but not go to the parks enough to need to be onsite with DVC.

 

[RoseGold]

I don’t say this lightly, but you might be a good candidate to check out some of the other timeshare systems. They all have stuff all over Florida that might meet your and/or husband’s needs. Go somewhere else next time, or heck next week. You can snow bird a few weeks like that.

if you’re snowbirding for months, then yea, maybe it’s time to make some choices and buy something.

 

[RivShore]

I know a couple of people who have bought vacation homes with the plan of staying in them for up to three months a year (or less) and renting them out the rest of the year. Both of them sold within 5-6 years, and say they'd never do it again.

Can I ask why they gave up on them? Also was this before Air B&B (and others like it) became very popular?

 

[CarolMN]

We would not buy a condo unless we planned to actually live in it most of the year (i.e., change our residence to Florida). Being an absentee landlord can come with a lot of hassles. Not worth it to us.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

I don’t say this lightly, but you might be a good candidate to check out some of the other timeshare systems. They all have stuff all over Florida that might meet your and/or husband’s needs.
…

I have looked into a few other ones, but my hubby appreciates that DVC consistently holds its value … I just really love going to Disney & our kids do too!

Is there a specific one you would recommend (preferably one that holds value & is close to Disney?)?

 

[RoseGold]

Is there a specific one you would recommend (preferably one that holds value & is close to Disney?)?

You're in the wrong forum for this, but all the big/reputable ones have properties near Disney, except Hyatt. There are plenty of other properties that have (historically) held their value.

I would argue timeshares in general are a dated way to travel and are on the decline. There are only a couple companies I would even consider, and I decided against it recently after looking into the math carefully on another timeshare company. There are other people on these boards who own other timeshares, like Wyndham or Marriott. Orlando area and Florida in general certainly has plenty of choices.

 

[Stargazer65]

Owning a condo makes more sense than DVC when you hit 8000 points and you're not allowed to purchase any more DVC. Then you should consider adding on a condo, unless you just want to rent some more points instead.

 

[RoseGold]

Owning a condo makes more sense than DVC when you hit 8000 points and you're not allowed to purchase any more DVC. Then you should consider adding on a condo, unless you just want to rent some more points instead.

LOL. guess you need to make a trust.

 

[a742246]

We are doing the timeshare route! Where we will spend 3 weeks in Nov/Dec ( 2 weeks in the St Pete beach area and 10 days at Disney, and 3 weeks in March/Apr ( 1 week St Pete beach area and 10-14 days at Disney). MF's are a little under $6,000.

 

[Brian Noble]

Can I ask why they gave up on them? Also was this before Air B&B (and others like it) became very popular?

The costs were higher, rental revenues were lower, and the hassle more significant than they expected. One of them was post-Internet; same story. On paper it looks like a great idea, but it seems as though in practice it's not quite so great.

my hubby appreciates that DVC consistently holds its value

If you pay next to nothing for it, it's pretty easy for it to hold its value. That's been true of all of mine, all bought on the secondary market. And, in general, things you buy resale tend to stay pretty close to where you bought them---even for e.g. Marriott which will cost real money no matter how you do it.

This was the view from the lanai of the timeshare we own on Kauai; we just got back this past weekend. We own two 2BR/2BA oceanview weeks here, for which we paid only closing costs--and got one free year of use. It's not a name-brand place, but we like it. A lot.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

You're in the wrong forum for this, but all the big/reputable ones have properties near Disney, except Hyatt. There are plenty of other properties that have (historically) held their value.

But to be fair, my original Q was:

I’m very curious if/when others ever sell DVC to buy a condo/vacay home ??

& you suggested other timeshares-

I don’t say this lightly, but you might be a good candidate to check out some of the other timeshare systems.

Sooo…

but then you make me very curious…

There are only a couple companies I would even consider, and I decided against it recently after looking into the math carefully on another timeshare company.

I guess I’m just unsure how I should respond
Sorry if I’m doing it all wrong.