Time Share purchase?

[Litem&Hyde]

I'm sorry if this is in the wrong spot, but I have been looking for info regarding the purchase of DVC timeshares from veteran Disney fans. Are there any good sites/threads specific to Disney with property reviews, resale values, tips etc? I'm totally new to the timeshare game. Thanks

 

[BigRedDad]

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/forums/disney-vacation-club.81/

 

[BigRedDad]

My only advice is to look at resales. You can save a ton vs buying from Disney. The other thing is buy into the resort you want to stay at. Its not easy getting reservations at other resorts at the 7-month window when DVC members get it at the 11-month for their home resort.

 

[Phonedave]

My only advice is to look at resales. You can save a ton vs buying from Disney. The other thing is buy into the resort you want to stay at. Its not easy getting reservations at other resorts at the 7-month window when DVC members get it at the 11-month for their home resort.

Depends where and when you want to stay. I have only been blocked out of my non-home resort once or twice that I can remember. I am in my home resort right now for F&W (SSR). Come April we will see if I can swing it over to BWV or BCV - That one may be tough.

-dave

 

[SMS55]

Be very careful buying into one. As someone that does real estate in South Florida I can tell you that almost daily I see a few come through the foreclosure sale. People don't want them anymore, they can't get rid of them so they just stop paying them and the time share has to foreclose on them much like a bank to take over ownership. I've never seen anyone buy one.

 

[stichrules]

If you are considering buying resale go thru the timeshare store, I believe they are a sponsor on this site. We just recently purchased from them and it was so simple and they were very helpful. Everything occurred when they said it would or earlier. We could not be any happier with them. We paid cash for ours, if you our financing it, you may want to rethink it as poster SMS55 states.

 

[Phonedave]

Be very careful buying into one. As someone that does real estate in South Florida I can tell you that almost daily I see a few come through the foreclosure sale. People don't want them anymore, they can't get rid of them so they just stop paying them and the time share has to foreclose on them much like a bank to take over ownership. I've never seen anyone buy one.

That is one of the differences of DVC that caused me to buy into it. I know people who have other timeshares who would like to get rid of them, and they can't. Nobody wants to buy them, the timeshare company does not want them back because then they are on the hook for maintence, so the owner is stuck (or goes into foreclosure)

DVC, partly because of the Right of First Refusal that Disney has (and uses) has a very robust resale market. Selling an unwated DVC time share is not a problem. You may (will not) get back what you paid, but you will be able to get out of the contract.

-dave

 

[dreamfinder]

Be very careful buying into one. As someone that does real estate in South Florida I can tell you that almost daily I see a few come through the foreclosure sale. People don't want them anymore, they can't get rid of them so they just stop paying them and the time share has to foreclose on them much like a bank to take over ownership. I've never seen anyone buy one.

Be careful, but not necessarily for the reason here. You will be on the hook for the upfront cost, as well as the yearly dues. There are several threads in the DVC section of the board discussing this topic. If you can pay cash, then you end up breaking even much quicker. If you need to take out a loan, it takes a fair amount longer to break even.

And from looking at the DVC resale specialists, I'm actually seeing less options now then there had been 6 months ago, or a few years back. This is despite a greater number of units available.

 

[ugotzme]

I have tried for years to justify a dvc purchase as a Florida resident. Still seams to be high cost with the yearly dues. Can someone please convince me. And I still don't understand why they charge to clean your room that has to be figured into the overall cost.

 

[dreamfinder]

I have tried for years to justify a dvc purchase as a Florida resident. Still seams to be high cost with the yearly dues. Can someone please convince me. And I still don't understand why they charge to clean your room that has to be figured into the overall cost.

What do you mean by the charge to clean you room? While using your points, the reduced schedule housekeeping is included. However, if you want daily housekeeping, then you need to pay for that out of pocket. If having daily housekeeping is important to you, then yes, you would want to add the cost of that to your calculations. However, I think most DVC owners are happy with the current housekeeping schedule.

If you are a FL res, and have looked at it, and still need convincing, then it may not be for you. Look at the current point charts to figure out how many points you would need to stay at the resort/room/days you want, and the cost you would be paying for those points (either direct or resale). Throw in the $4-7 per point for yearly dues (will most likely continue to increase yearly). Then compare to what you would be paying for whatever hotel room you would use. If the numbers work out, awesome. If not, then it may not be for you. For instance, if you normally stay at a value, then you will never hit the break even point if you compare it to a 1 br DVC villa. But if you normally stay at the GF, then you may easily end up saving money with that same 1 br DVC villa. My strongest suggestion, don't look at the cash DVC prices. Ever. Unless you would actually pay those to stay there, as I feel they are seriously inflated to help make DVC owners feel like they broke even earlier.

For more, check out the DVC subforum. Lots of thread in there on if its worth it.

 

[ugotzme]

thanks for the info

 

[GoofGoof]

I'm sorry if this is in the wrong spot, but I have been looking for info regarding the purchase of DVC timeshares from veteran Disney fans. Are there any good sites/threads specific to Disney with property reviews, resale values, tips etc? I'm totally new to the timeshare game. Thanks

I have tried for years to justify a dvc purchase as a Florida resident. Still seams to be high cost with the yearly dues. Can someone please convince me. And I still don't understand why they charge to clean your room that has to be figured into the overall cost.

You have to dig a few pages into the DVC section. This is a pretty good thread but there are others too:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/crunching-the-numbers.851451/

Here's a link with a basic overview of DVC:
http://www.mousesavers.com/other-disney-vacations/disney-vacation-club/

My personal rules of thumb for DVC to work for you economically:
1) You visit annually or at least once every 2 years
2) You generally stay at deluxe resorts most of the time when you visit WDW
3) You are willing and able to book trips at least 7 months in advance (11 months for busy times)
4) You have the cash to buy in upfront (no need to finance)

These are my personal general guidelines not absolutes, but if most don't apply to you DVC probably won't work economically.

I agree with others that resale makes the most sense. The only major drawback to resale is that you cant use points for a cruise or to stay in a regular Disney hotel room. The upside is you can save thousands of dollars. For example BLT currently sells direct from Disney for $165 per point. Resale can be found for the low $90s. Saving $75 per point on a 160 point contract saves you $12,000. There are several good options to do this, just search for DVC resale. We bought ours through Timeshare Store which was a very smoothe and simple process.

 

[GoofGoof]

Be very careful buying into one. As someone that does real estate in South Florida I can tell you that almost daily I see a few come through the foreclosure sale. People don't want them anymore, they can't get rid of them so they just stop paying them and the time share has to foreclose on them much like a bank to take over ownership. I've never seen anyone buy one.

I assume you mean non-DVC timeshares? The resale market for timeshares in general is pretty bad if you are a seller. This is not good for an owner looking to sell, but can present a value for someone looking to buy a timeshare cheap. I have a family friend who has picked up several timeshare weeks for very little through foreclosure sales. If you are looking for a less expensive alternative to DVC there are some pretty nice options around WDW. I have stayed at the Hilton Vacation Club resort next to Sea World and it's pretty nice. I ended up buying DVC instead because we preferred to stay on property, but the off property options are generally cheaper. The downside is that if you want to get out, good luck. With DVC the resale market is decent and with Disney having the right of first refusal the prices seem to remain somewhat propped up.

 

[luv]

My lawyer and accountant both said it was a bad idea, so I didn't get into it. But it sounded like it might be fun!

You can stay at those resorts without buying into time-share. You just rent them like any other room...and you get housekeeping that way, too.

They are supposed to be terribly hard to sell, so you should be able to get a much better price buying from someone other than Disney...just get a lawyer to help you.

Best of luck with your decision!

 

[Lindy475]

It's not the greatest idea, but if you still want to buy a timeshare get one from the resale market, do not buy from the developer, you can get the same thing for a lower price. Or even ever: rent from an owner! anyway, i hope you consider all this options, a timeshare is a HUGE financial commitment. You should read this article about timeshares: http://www.timesharescam.com/blog/58-is-timeshare-a-good-investment/ good luck with your decision!!!