Why Dont you do DVC??

[bakenatj]

You know the whole "buy low, sell high" idea.....so is now a "low" time to buy......???? It seems like there has been a dip in price per point lately? Am I wrong? (I am not looking for any "financial" advice - just wondering if there has been a noticeable drop in price per point with the economy....)

Not that I would ever want to sell......

Resale is a good market right now for certain resorts. If you see yourself doing WDW vacations in the deluxe accommodations then now is the time to buy. Every time you go visit and pay cash is money that could have went to buying your DVC.

Here is a little perspective on how inflation works over a 50 year period or so. In 1952 the average price of a home was $9,300.00, and today the average is $181,000.00. Today the average price of a 1 bed room at BLT is $500.00 a night. Just think of what that will be in say 20 - 30. Scary isn't it??

 

[LaDonna]

If Value or even Mod are fine with you and you don't need the condo type room then you are right, the math will never work out to make DVC a wise decision. It is for those that want the 1 or 2 bed room condo while staying on Disney property that it becomes a deal.

My suggestion to you, don't ever stay at a Deluxe Villa then, because you will never want to go back to the small rooms

JK but it does spoil a person.

my thinking is while debating this, we will have to stay moderate from now on with there being 5 of us, it was looking like the DVC membership might be a little bit more than we would normally spend since we'd be doing moderates or possibly offsite, but is that bit more worth the room we end up getting!? I'm thinking if we can get a resale and not finance it might be.

 

[Magic3forme]

We just bought BLT this summer and went last week for our first time. Wow, our 1bedroom was soo much bigger than a regular room. Having 2 bathrooms was an added bonus too. In the normal hotel rooms I feel the 5 of us were always tripping over each other... now, it was nice to have soo much space. and for me a washer/dryer.. BONUS!!

We spent years looking into DVC before we finally bought. Dh is an engineer and analyzes everything! yes it isnt for everyone, but for us it works!

We called 3 months ago and were able to get BLT, so dont let availibility scare you. BLT is booked in Feb, but we are going to stay at AK. we like to try new places!

 

[bakenatj]

I think it just depends how you live. Our apartment is 900 square feet. To us, the rooms at the Grand Floridian are enormous.

Wow, I would go insane! 900 square feet?!? My bed room is almost that big! And I thought my 3500 square foot home was small.

 

[TinkBride]

Wow, I would go insane! 900 square feet?!? My bed room is almost that big! And I thought my 3500 square foot home was small.

Yeah - that makes me feel like a hoarder.

We have been in our 2900 square feet since May and I already feel cramped.......maybe I have too much crap.....

 

[bakenatj]

Yeah - that makes me feel like a hoarder.

We have been in our 2900 square feet since May and I already feel cramped.......maybe I have too much crap.....

To much crap.....nah...not possible

I take that back, after picking up the play room our kids have to much crap!

When we first moved in it seemed big, but we have added two kids, an office, a workout room, and pretty soon all that storage space I had is shrinking fast!

 

[TinkBride]

Okay am I missing something??

I just did some quick math - apples to apples year 2010.

Let's say DH and I buy resale and buy 222 points at $15,984.00 (a current listing on a resale site) at BWV. Over 40 years that averages to $399.60 per year.

Maintenance Fees @ BWV are currently $5.36 per point. @ 222 points = $1,189.92.

Add in the 399.60 per year = $1589.52 per year.

In Nov. we are renting a BLT Lake View studio @ $1,331.00 per week.

1589.52 - 1331.00 = $258.52. Considering that with 222 points we could rent a 1 BR villa (significantly nicer than a studio)......The $258.52 seems small for the difference in room.....

Am I missing anything?

 

[Kay1]

PolynesianAlex, if I had $17k lying around, there would be other things that would come before DVC membership.

Now you mention it, I read on the DVC board that a whole lot of people don't put that much down, but finance through Disney. What they charge in interest, I don't know.

 

[TinkBride]

AND!

If we rented 222 points at an average of $11.00 per point that would equal $2442.00.

$2442.00 - $1589.52 = $852.48 that we could save on the same room by owning - right?

 

[bakenatj]

Okay am I missing something??

I just did some quick math - apples to apples year 2010.

Let's say DH and I buy resale and buy 222 points at $15,984.00 (a current listing on a resale site) at BWV. Over 40 years that averages to $399.60 per year.

Maintenance Fees @ BWV are currently $5.36 per point. @ 222 points = $1,189.92.

Add in the 399.60 per year = $1589.52 per year.

In Nov. we are renting a BLT Lake View studio @ $1,331.00 per week.

1589.52 - 1331.00 = $258.52. Considering that with 222 points we could rent a 1 BR villa (significantly nicer than a studio)......The $258.52 seems small for the difference in room.....

Am I missing anything?

You're right, there is a big difference in a studio vs 1 BR villa. You didn't add the increase in maintenance fees but there would also be a price increase in renting those points over the years which would be a wash. Renting always doesn't go as smoothly as you would expect. Not everyone out there is Honest Joe.....something to consider.

You could probably do better if you went SSR for your home resort. I have seen some for sale 200 points for $13,500.00 and the maintenance fees are $4.46. Remember the larger the contract on the resale market usually the less per point they are.

 

[bakenatj]

Now you mention it, I read on the DVC board that a whole lot of people don't put that much down, but finance through Disney. What they charge in interest, I don't know.

10.5 to 12.5 depending on your credit rating.

 

[bakenatj]

You're right, there is a big difference in a studio vs 1 BR villa. You didn't add the increase in maintenance fees but there would also be a price increase in renting those points over the years which would be a wash. Renting always doesn't go as smoothly as you would expect. Not everyone out there is Honest Joe.....something to consider.

You could probably do better if you went SSR for your home resort. I have seen some for sale 200 points for $13,500.00 and the maintenance fees are $4.46. Remember the larger the contract on the resale market usually the less per point they are.

Another thing to note too, BWV expires in 2042 where as SSR expires in 2053. That is an additional 11 years to consider.

 

[canopynut66]

DVC is just way too expensive for us. We mostly stay value - though do split stays each trip with a night or two at various deluxes or mods. We like taking advantage of deals that come out.
Lately we've been going to WDW 3 times a year - 2010 is going to be 4 times. Looks like next year and then on will cut back to 2 trips per year as kids getting tougher to take out of school, and older (more expensive on dining plan!)
For us... to buy into enough points for the amount of trips we want, just woudl be too expensive.
Even if did only 1 trip per year - we still are coming out ahead, especially since bulk of stay is at value resorts.

AGREE!!!!! with this as we go more than once a year also and to us it is cheaper to do the promotions and we have stayed at Deluxe down to value and really happy with the values.POP being our favorite. We like to shop (a lot) and we justify this by staying at values also

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

175 points @ OKW, 2BR, Value season, Sun-Sat (6 nights)

Paid $11500 (approx.)

$11500/42 years = $274 per year (rounded)
current maintenance = $840 per year
Total per year = $1114

If I were to book this same 2BR at OKW for January 2011 value season, with a 40% AP discount:
$571 - 40% = $343
12.5% room tax = $43
Internet per day = $10
SubTotal per day = $396
Total for 6 days = $2376
My annual cost = $1114
Savings = $1262

Other savings:
$100 per annual pass x five adults = $500

My Total annual savings = $1762

Is DVC for everyone? No
Does it work for us? Yes

 

[Colleen27]

I'm not sure what your point is. My point was that, when all is said and done, DVC makes no financial sense, whether you stay Deluxe, Mod or Value. DVC is THAT much more expensive, for not a lot of extra perks.

It isn't, though. So far, in room rates alone (not counting tix or dining), we've spent close to $7K since 2005, and that's with a discount on every single trip. Our planned DVC buy-in will be in the neighborhood of 15K. We don't finance, so this is just what-if thinking for us, but in just 5 years we'd be halfway to making it pay off for us with 30+ years left of vacations to come.

There are good reasons not to buy DVC (ours right now is that we don't finance luxuries), but if you're going every year and staying mod/deluxe, and especially if, like us, you often have two rooms for extra space/privacy, it is a good value.

 

[TiffinyKC]

This has been really informative for me. Thanks so much to everyone for sharing.

 

[ntsammy5]

Is DVC for everyone? No
Does it work for us? Yes

Ain't that the truth.

It doesn't work for us - I wish I had bought in a long time ago - it would have made sense then.....

Now we're in our 60s and can get timeshares for $350/week (Bonnet Creek is one choice). Even though we've averaged 2.5 trips per year the last 12 years, that won't continue much longer........

 

[pickles]

You know the whole "buy low, sell high" idea.....so is now a "low" time to buy......???? It seems like there has been a dip in price per point lately? Am I wrong? (I am not looking for any "financial" advice - just wondering if there has been a noticeable drop in price per point with the economy....)

Not that I would ever want to sell......

Now is an excellent time to buy resale..some GREAT deals out there!!

I want to say I have bought and sold a couple times now.
I bought sight unseen OKW 190 pts, we used that for a year or 2 and then resold , we resold it for at least as much as we had paid. So, we got like 3 week long family trips out of it. The only reason we resold that one was money crisis.
Then I got to missing my DVC so bought a 50 pt resale OKW paid about $3500 cash for it. With that contract , I was able to buy 2 more AKV contracts direct from disney(financed them), I got banked points and my overall deal with no closing costs was better than what the resale market was doing.
I used up the OKW contract, stripped it of its points and then resold it at least a break even, would need to re look the math I think I may have made a small profit on it.(so all trips using those points cost me nothing but the Mfees)
Still have my 2 akv..which i wish I could pay off right now and make that a sweeter deal for me.
If I was going to rebuy I would buy SSR, a couple small contracts..low MFees, low buy in, and I have since stayed there and dont mind it. I rarely book more than 7 months out and even if I do i usually change my ressie several times anyways

as a family of 5(originally when we bought OKW) staying in a 5 bedroom, we figured our break even was around 5-7 yr point. However, my exp so far has shown me that i got several trips in and they didnt cost me a dime beyond the yearly Mfees since I resold the contracts at a break even point.

To say you loose money doing DVC suggest you either dont have the cash so need to finance or cant afford to buy in, or you simply enjoy the values and the hunt for discounts.
There is no reason a person cant at least break even when buying DVC unless they simply use their points in a less thrifty manner.(I tend to book the less expensive rooms (like value AKV)and go the less point times of year)

DVC is an emotional purchase, but it can also be a good and wise purchase IF you vacation reg at disney AND you dont stay at values

 

[poohj80]

Am I missing anything?

Nope, you nailed it! Now you understand why those who say DVC is absurd may need to work on their math skills.

 

[Shir Kahn]

When we went to the presentation, we figured out that the maintenance fees actually cost more than what we were already spending for our vacations! We absolutely love Pop Century, although we'd like to try AKL at some point. If the maintenance fees were toned down a bit, we'd look at it again. We can afford the moderates and the deluxes but we're at the parks from open to close, so we could be staying in a camper for all we cared! As long as it was considered on-site.