Considering resale About This Page:

[phoebec]

I am mulling buying a dvc resale at Saratoga or animal kingdom. We would pay cash for 160 points and plan on going every other year at first. I'm just trying to determine if it really makes financial sense. We have three kids who as they get older more space will be nice. We can get by in one room right now however. The initial investment is t what is hanging me up. It's fixed and when you spread it out over 18 or more vacations (the life of the contract) it's a good deal. The maintenance fees are what's bugging me. They seem to go up every year and when you add them to the initial cost the price of the room per trip isn't as great. Am I doing the math wrong or missing something? I really want this to make sense for us. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated!!!!!!

[PatV]

I think your instinct is spot-on.

I'm curious to hear the dvc experiences. We do alot of traveling, but in lots of different directions.

[LLaffinPlace]

I think a major criterion is whether or not you would tend to stay at Deluxe Resorts or not. If a resort room at Disney is primarily a place to 'sleep and shower' for you, then DVC may not be well suited for you. That said, having more space over time for your family may make DVC increasingly attractive.

I think at this point a plug for the Passporter DVC guide is in order. There's a ton of good information there. I used it and the Mouseowners web site to do research prior to my DVC purchase (it was shortly before Bay Lake Tower opened and that was my initial Home Resort), and then posed some specific questions here to the experienced folks, who were of course very helpful as Passporters tend to be. In my own case, over time I had very definitely moved from staying at Moderates to Deluxes, with the resort, its theming and its amenities becoming increasingly important. Last month's Consumer Reports also had a good article on Timeshare ownership, and used Disney as an example.

You are certainly correct that the maintenance fees over the life of a contract become a real cost driver. The purchase price, whether or not you finance the purchase, coupled with what level resort you would have been staying in over the years help determine at what point you will cover the upfront costs. Then the question is if the yearly fee keeps you under what you have to pay out of pocket for regular resort rooms. Those rates also go up.

One thing to ask yourself is whether or not as your children get older, will you end up wanting two regular resort rooms for the space, privacy, and to have multiple baths? Some of the factors may be less objective and more subjective. I appreciate having the laundry, the separate living area (well, pullout couches and Murphy beds notwithstanding), and the multiple baths. I am less than happy about having to, in general, reserve a 2 BR villa to get more than one "real" bed.

Good luck with your decision!

[DVC_Don]

Yes the maintenance fees go up, but not as fast as the cost of a cash room. Resale is the smart way to go.

[HollyH]

Larry has given some good advice. I would add that DVC villas offer amenities that are very useful for a family, such as free laundry (1BR and up, in your room) a full kitchen, a living room and dining space and some privacy for the parents (1BR and up). If you are not sure if this is how your family would like to vacation, I would suggest renting points for a stay to see if it suits you.

As Don stated, dues do go up, but not as much as the cost of a cash stay.

Another couple of things to consider: some of your dues may be tax deductible (the real estate tax portion). Also, with the exception of Aulani, you do not pay a hotel tax on your stay. You pay your dues, book with your points - no additional room costs. Finally, there is resale value in your contract. If you decide in 10, 15, 20 years that DVC no longer suits your needs, you can sell it and recoup at least some of your initial purchase costs. I bought AKV 5 years ago and similar contracts on the resale market are selling for about 90% of what I paid. Obviously, the more years that remain on your contract, the higher the value.

And while this should never be counted on (i.e. don't buy based on perks as they can and do change and are not part of your contract), there are discounts and other perks offered to DVC members, things such as dining and shopping discounts, tour discounts, ticket discounts, special events, etc.

DVC may or may not be for you, just wanted to give you some food for thought.

[tjkraz]

I would really like to hear the exact room comparison you're making. Buying 160 points and going every other year gives you 320 points per trip to work with. At Animal Kingdom Villas, 320 points can be utilized many different ways depending on the size of the room or season.

That number of points would get you a full week in a 1200 sq ft Two Bedroom Villa during Dream Season. Or they could be used for 18 nights during that same season in a Deluxe Studio villa, which is comparable to a traditional hotel room in terms of layout and amenities.

So what exactly is the plan? How do you plan to spend the points and if you didn't buy into DVC, what alternate accommodations would you be spending money toward every-other-year?

[Happymommy]

We bought 10 years ago.....I thought it was a great investment. For the first 10 years we went once a year and with the exception of a few trips have stayed in studio villas (we have 150 points)....now that my oldest is in high school and we can't take trips during the school year, we are switching to every other year for a while (I like our beach trip in the summer too so we are going to alternate because my husband can't take two vacations over a summer)...now we'll have enough for a one bedroom in the summer if we go every other year.We just stayed in a two bedroom and it was soooo nice. I'm figuring once they are both in college we can switch to December or January and go back to every year. I hope to start adding on points in the next few years and will probably do so resale. I haven't found the maintenance fees to go up THAT much in the past 10 years....a little , but not very much. Totally worth it because I like staying in deluxe resorts. The studios were nice but I'm so happy we'll be in one bedrooms from now on....the few times we have stayed in a one or two bedroom have been soooo nice. I love having a little privacy, the washer and dryer and dishwasher. We get a big grocery delivery and have breakfast and coffee in the villa...it's just much more relaxing vacation. We love the grounds and many of the dvc resorts...love the pools. I have not found that DVC saves me money. I'm sure I can stay at a value or moderate for close to the amount I spend on the annual dues, but it has given us a much more enjoyable vacation. Even in the studios...the kitchenette was great, and the laundry was still free could just walk over....I would do that while the kids were swimming or before everyone was up

[HiddenMickey]

Isn't there a cap on how much dues can go up each year? That's a good thing.

We own another timeshare elsewhere and our original dues of around $800 a year are now over $1200 a year 17 years later. (It's ridiculous....they refurbish the interiors every five years, which I think is overkill. But we love the place and go every year.)

[tjkraz]

Originally Posted by HiddenMickey

Isn't there a cap on how much dues can go up each year? That's a good thing.

We own another timeshare elsewhere and our original dues of around $800 a year are now over $1200 a year 17 years later. (It's ridiculous....they refurbish the interiors every five years, which I think is overkill. But we love the place and go every year.)

There is a stated limit of 20% increase per year on the dues.

Honestly your other timeshare going from $800 to $1200 in 17 years is pretty darn economical. That's less than a 3% annual increase. Dues cover everything from utilities to staff salaries & benefits to taxes. All of those costs are constantly on the rise (particularly employee benefits like health insurance and property taxes).

The annual rate of increase for DVC dues is higher than 3%.

At the end of the day, all timeshare owners need to have faith in the management company. Owners have essentially zero say in the day-to-day operations of the facility. We cannot dictate the frequency of refurbishments, type & quality of decor, housekeeping schedules, staffing levels, etc.

Disney recently accelerated the refurbishment schedule for DVC villas. The original projections (and budgeting) had them waiting 25 years before a resort would receive a full "hard goods" renovation with new tile, furniture, countertops, etc. Now that full renovation will occur every 14 years, with smaller scale "soft goods" refurbs every 7 years.

[HiddenMickey]

Originally Posted by tjkraz

There is a stated limit of 20% increase per year on the dues.

Honestly your other timeshare going from $800 to $1200 in 17 years is pretty darn economical. That's less than a 3% annual increase. Dues cover everything from utilities to staff salaries & benefits to taxes. All of those costs are constantly on the rise (particularly employee benefits like health insurance and property taxes).

The annual rate of increase for DVC dues is higher than 3%.

At the end of the day, all timeshare owners need to have faith in the management company. Owners have essentially zero say in the day-to-day operations of the facility. We cannot dictate the frequency of refurbishments, type & quality of decor, housekeeping schedules, staffing levels, etc.

Disney recently accelerated the refurbishment schedule for DVC villas. The original projections (and budgeting) had them waiting 25 years before a resort would receive a full "hard goods" renovation with new tile, furniture, countertops, etc. Now that full renovation will occur every 14 years, with smaller scale "soft goods" refurbs every 7 years.

Thanks for this, Tim. You do make me feel better. Really the big jump in dues was about 10 years ago, and it's gone up a bit each year for various reasons since then. Some parts go down and others go up. The big part is we put in over $220 a year for refurbs.

[tjkraz]

Originally Posted by HiddenMickey

Thanks for this, Tim. You do make me feel better. Really the big jump in dues was about 10 years ago, and it's gone up a bit each year for various reasons since then. Some parts go down and others go up. The big part is we put in over $220 a year for refurbs.

Disney is comparable.

At BoardWalk, 2016 dues are $6.17 per point. Of that, $.91 goes toward capital improvements (refurbs.) An owner with 200 points will pay $1234 in total dues, of which $182 is set aside for long-term renovation projects.

(Another $248 of those BWV dues would go toward property taxes, which could be far higher than your other timeshare unless it's in a prime vacation destination with high land values or high tax rates.)