DVC: Why own when you can rent?

[Ben E N]

We had our first experience with renting DVC points last year. It was a very easy and positive experience and we saved so much money!

We've gone back and forth about owning DVC. We have a 3 year old and a 5 year old. We are big WDW fans, but we typically only go once every 1-2 years, because that's what we can afford. I love the WDW deluxe resorts. On one hand, it seems like a great investment for a family. On the other hand though, from what I've read it would be an extra monthly payment to our lives and there are additional yearly maintenance fees.

We were so happily surprised by our renting experience and it was so much cheaper than paying WDW to stay in a resort....we couldn't believe it was legal! We just booked our next WDW vacation for next year and we are renting points through David's. Staying at BLT for $16 per point. Pretty easy & quick to book.
Just wondering why people decide to own DVC as opposed to just renting points?

You literally line up perfectly with me, with the exception of I had only stayed in moderates going into renting last year. 3 and 5 year old, trips every 1-2 years,and loving renting and considering buying were all the exact same for me, though.
My wife and I made a spreadsheet of cost of rental vs buying. It balanced out in favor of buying within 17 years. Yes, that's a long time, but with a 43 year contract, it's only about 1/3 of the way in. This summer, we will be staying at the Polynesian for about $207 per night, considering it cost per year to buy in plus the yearly MFs on those points. It would have cost me $368 per night to rent them through David's, and a considerable amount more to book a hotel room there. I'm already "saving" money. As Bill points out in other discussions (he hasn't posted here), you will end up spending more with DVC ownership. It's no longer "how much will this trip cost?", it's now "how many points will that take?", leading to more trips and more money spent, but also memories made.

Renting is a fine option, though, you get all the flexibility you want in terms of how much money you want to spend on each trip. If I had rented points for this upcoming trip, it would have only cost me about $600 more over four nights than owning them costs. The absolute most important factor that my wife and I looked at when we decided to buy was "can we afford to pay cash for this?". We had the money sitting around. If you don't, I would recommend just renting until you do.

 

[robinb]

Point rental prices have gone up too. 10 years ago they were $10 per point and now they are $16 per point. My dues have gone from about $5 per point to $6.50 per point.

Consider this: Resale DVC is about $100 per point now. If you bought DVC you would essentially break even (not counting the time value of money) after 10 yearly visits. Of the $16 per point you would allocate to renting, $6.50 would go to your dues and $9.50 would go to your DVC membership. In another 10 years the "going rate" for rentals is certain to be even higher and you'll be spending $20+ per point to rent so you may even break even sooner.

Plus, when you're done with it you can sell it. I bought BWV for $65 back in 2002. It's now selling for $120 per point.

 

[adelaster]

It seems like many of the posts in favor of owning are from those who bought a long time ago for much less than it costs now. Is there anyone who has just bought or is planning to buy in the next six months that has positive feedback? Anyone who like the OP, will be paying monthly on a contract and not cash/upfront? Unfortunately, I doubt OP has a time machine or a windfall of cash coming.

 

[robinb]

It seems like many of the posts in favor of owning are from those who bought a long time ago for much less than it costs now. Is there anyone who has just bought or is planning to buy in the next six months that has positive feedback? Anyone who like the OP, will be paying monthly on a contract and not cash/upfront? Unfortunately, I doubt OP has a time machine or a windfall of cash coming.

Right, but I would say that most of us asked the same kinds of questions when we did buy in. I know I compared resort rates with DVC when I first bought OKW in 1997. My spreadsheet covered the life of the contract from 1997 to 2045. We actually ended up selling that OKW contract in 2007 for a nice profit and our cost of using 230 points per year was $2.32 per point.

 

[georgina]

I looked into buying DVC in 2000 when our kids were little, but I'm glad we didn't because our kids weren't that into Disney after 2006. I was hesitant at the time about making the commitment, which worked out fine for us. DH and I rented DVC points last year at BWV and enjoyed the stay very much, but my DH isn't really into Disney either so most of my trips now are solo. If I was going to buy DVC now I would certainly look at the resale market instead of through Disney.

 

[Sanchez]

I think that very few people can make timeshares work in the sense that they are saving money. The equation for DVC can be somewhat different because there has been a thriving resale market. Many timeshares become valueless at the time of purchase because there is no resale market. Also, with DVC many find value on an emotional level (which makes no sense to me.) As to flexibility, any claim that a timeshare is more flexible that other ways of securing a room is a fallacy.

As someone said earlier, owning DVC will likely lead you to spend more money overall but since DVC is a room only scheme the comparison should start and stop there (I realize that there are other incentives/perks but those come and go and cannot be counted on.) Those who claim to save are likely measuring the cost of DVC against renting Disney deluxe rooms at rack rate. If you stay at value resorts and then switch to DVC you likely will not save anything. Of course, buying resale and/or owning for a significant time period make the numbers look better as opposed to buying direct and financing.

The bolded in the original post jumped out at me.

We've gone back and forth about owning DVC. We have a 3 year old and a 5 year old. We are big WDW fans, but we typically only go once every 1-2 years, because that's what we can afford. I love the WDW deluxe resorts. On one hand, it seems like a great investment for a family. On the other hand though, from what I've read it would be an extra monthly payment to our lives and there are additional yearly maintenance fees.

This indicates that that the OP intends to buy direct and finance the purchase at Disney's exorbitant interest rates. This is such a bad idea for many reasons and will certainly destroy any attempt to save money. If you have to finance a timeshare, you probably cannot afford it. And always remember, there is a reason why all timeshares sales pitches involve free stuff and high pressure/lengthy presentations.

 

[alldiz]

Well let’s just say I was happy I bought DVC after my 1st “family” trip in 2006. Resale WLV pd $88 per point with an extra year points at time.

If you go once a year or every other David’s rental might be perfect. I actually had my points rented out within 24 hours. As an owner there is zero risk! As a renter always slight risk.
Happy planning
Kerri

 

[Hopscotch]

We thought about this years ago but are so glad we didn’t. We used to go multiple times a year. We’d stay wherever we could afoord at the time. Some deluxe hotels and sometimes the all-stars. Realized we don’t care that much where we stay as we are ripe drop to closing people. Also, our last trip was 3 years ago. Two of our kids are now teens and they have little interest in going back. We’ve started visiting other areas of the country and other amusement parks and they love it. They have so many great Disney memories but there is so much to see in the US and in the rest of the world!

 

[robinb]

As someone said earlier, owning DVC will likely lead you to spend more money overall but since DVC is a room only scheme the comparison should start and stop there (I realize that there are other incentives/perks but those come and go and cannot be counted on.) Those who claim to save are likely measuring the cost of DVC against renting Disney deluxe rooms at rack rate. If you stay at value resorts and then switch to DVC you likely will not save anything. Of course, buying resale and/or owning for a significant time period make the numbers look better as opposed to buying direct and financing.

My analysis from 20 years ago actually compared the price of DVC to CBR. I dug out my spreadsheet and I compared to CBR's (rack rate) which was $126.52 with tax in 2007. I figured it would be up to $235 with tax in 2018 ($202 pre-tax). That was LOW, rack rate is about $225 ($254 with tax) this year. So rack rate has even outstripped the analysis I used to buy DVC. Of course I used rack rate because that is constant. Discounts come and go, rack rate is always rack rate.

This indicates that that the OP intends to buy direct and finance the purchase at Disney's exorbitant interest rates. This is such a bad idea for many reasons and will certainly destroy any attempt to save money. If you have to finance a timeshare, you probably cannot afford it. And always remember, there is a reason why all timeshares sales pitches involve free stuff and high pressure/lengthy presentations.

I did buy all three of my DVC contracts with cash and I agree that's best. However, the fact that she needs to finance doesn't mean that she's buying direct. There are companies who will finance DVC resales so she might be looking at one of those. The "free stuff" for DVC presentations is Fast Passes that still can't be used for FOP and 7DMT, the presentation is short and the pressure is low. I've been to high pressure timeshare presentations and DVCs was not like them at all.

 

[fab1976]

We bought at the Poly just last September. We had the intention of going every other year with those points. I’m already looking for a resale contract to add on because we will so not be going every other year . When we bought, the points were somewhere around $175 a point. Disney is now selling them for around $225 and resale is about $160-170. Those number will just keep going up. If we ever do decide to sell we would likely make a profit. Which is crazy for a timeshare. Someone above said it would take about 17 years to break even which I agree with. However, factoring in the discounts on food and merchandise it probably won’t actually take that long. We went in April not using points but sill used the discounts for food. We saved a few hundred right there. Our first trip home will be February and man am I looking forward to staying at the Polynesian! It’s not a great fit for everyone but if Disney is your vacation destination and you enjoy staying deluxe, it’s worth it.

To rent, don’t you basically give up the ability to cancel? That would be a chunk of change to lose.

 

[OhMari]

If you buy resale, Disney took away the discount perks about a year ago. The only way you can get DVC perks is by buying new.

 

[AnnaS]

We go often. Love it with or without "kids". "kids" are all adults and love Disney more than I do . Two sons also DVC members. DD getting married in Disney. Notice a pattern here lol.

We like to have control/it's ours. We can go to Vero, HH, Aulani, CA, DCL cruises, some discounts here and there....another pattern..lol. It's not for everyone. If renting works for you, go for it for as long as you want, when you want. You are not tied to it/obligated to go all the time. You can also purchase a small resale contract (or should I dare say direct), and go every other year.

Most important, Enjoy Disney!!! Where there is always something new.

 

[diznygirl]

My analysis from 20 years ago actually compared the price of DVC to CBR. I dug out my spreadsheet and I compared to CBR's (rack rate) which was $126.52 with tax in 2007. I figured it would be up to $235 with tax in 2018 ($202 pre-tax). That was LOW, rack rate is about $225 ($254 with tax) this year. So rack rate has even outstripped the analysis I used to buy DVC. Of course I used rack rate because that is constant. Discounts come and go, rack rate is always rack rate.


I did buy all three of my DVC contracts with cash and I agree that's best. However, the fact that she needs to finance doesn't mean that she's buying direct. There are companies who will finance DVC resales so she might be looking at one of those. The "free stuff" for DVC presentations is Fast Passes that still can't be used for FOP and 7DMT, the presentation is short and the pressure is low. I've been to high pressure timeshare presentations and DVCs was not like them at all.

Our analysis didn't use rack rate either - who pays rack rate? We compared it to a moderate price that we would be willing to pay when we vacation. The big disclaimer is we got a bargain paying cash buying Vero Beach (lowest points) during a promotion and getting a cast member discount. So yes, totally worked for us.

The take-away here is that everyone's situations are different - make the decision that works for you.

 

[robinb]

Our analysis didn't use rack rate either - who pays rack rate? We compared it to a moderate price that we would be willing to pay when we vacation. The big disclaimer is we got a bargain paying cash buying Vero Beach (lowest points) during a promotion and getting a cast member discount. So yes, totally worked for us.

The take-away here is that everyone's situations are different - make the decision that works for you.

Because rack rate is always rack rate. What discount do I use to compare? The 40% off that was popular back after 9/11? Or the 20% that is popular now? Or maybe free dining? Which free dining? The original one back in 2006 that included tax and tip at value resorts? Of the one now that only includes the QS plan at values and mods?

Discounts come and go and you can't rely on one discount to be available in the future.

 

[Ben E N]

The whole hotel discount issue is why I used the price of rental per point to figure out what I should be paying via the resale market. It's much more apples to apples that way. Yes, rentals will increase in price, but so will MFs.

I just have to thrown in that DVC ownership has completely changed the way I view Disney World in just the past 10 months that I have had it. I now see going to Florida as an excuse to just pop by Disney for a couple of days. If I was still renting, I would plan ahead and book a week or so at a particular resort. Now that I own, I am booking 3 days here, 4 days there, a week over the summer, etc, as my plans change. I just found out that I am going to a wedding in Florida this spring, so why not throw on 3 days at an OKW studio? To get those extra points, I just need to change a planned 1 BR stay into a studio one next summer. I'm not sure if that different approach to vacationing at WDW is a good thing or bad, but I certainly see how it is different than it used to be.

 

[mefordis]

We thought about this years ago but are so glad we didn’t. We used to go multiple times a year. We’d stay wherever we could afoord at the time. Some deluxe hotels and sometimes the all-stars. Realized we don’t care that much where we stay as we are ripe drop to closing people. Also, our last trip was 3 years ago. Two of our kids are now teens and they have little interest in going back. We’ve started visiting other areas of the country and other amusement parks and they love it. They have so many great Disney memories but there is so much to see in the US and in the rest of the world!

My kids want to take trips out of the country now. I will always try to get them to go back to WDW though.

 

[longboard55]

Its is a luxury and not a necessity so you should not buy if you can not afford it, but if you can its an incredibly good deal I kept thinking their must be a catch, there isn't

 

[msjprincess]

I paid cash for 2 small resale contracts. With maintenance fees it comes out to about $8 a point, so cheaper renting.

 

[Axel]

I own rather than rent because I try to go whenever my schedule allows for it, which if I'm lucky can be up to 4 times a year. I'm lucky enough to have inherited my share of the points from my mom, and I currently share them with my numbers-crunching dad. When we first bought in, he did the math very closely. His math worked out that after 12 trips at our usual cost of going, the original contract would pay for itself.

Also, given that the contract is for 50 years (so I will be able to use points to stay at WDW deluxe resorts up to the 6 times per year until 2054 if I use them wisely), I can get up to 300 trips out of my points. As it is, my dad spends 5 days every month from November to February at a WDW resort to escape the New England winter, and we still have enough points for me to take a week or two over school breaks.

Couple the fact that, aside from my share of the yearly maintenance fees and dues, I basically don't pay to stay after the first week or so per year since we've already recouped the cost of our contracts. I add on an annual pass that pays for itself after 10 days in the parks and a southwest credit card to equal some really cheap trips for me. I usually end up only paying out of pocket for food and souvenirs.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

For me it is a control thing, and a planning thing.

If I want to look at planning a trip with my DVC, I can hop on to DVCmember.com at any time and see how many points it will take, what the availability is, etc.

I don't want to have to wait until the morning, call a rental company, try to narrow down my choices of dates, resorts, room size, etc. and then wait to see if there is availability, if they have a member with points available, etc.

So, being a control freak with instant gratification issues, it works for me.

I own 1 original contracts and 2 add-ons at SSR direct, and just closed on an SSR resale contract. If the kids want them when they die, they can have them, if not, I will have enjoyed them for 50 years (hopefully).