Which DVC resort to choose?

[Jim Chandler]

Foreclosing on a DVC is a great deal ....

For Disney.

Disney can foreclose on a DVC they sold at $100/point a few years ago, reclaim it via "warranty deed-in-lieu of foreclosure" for a nominal $100 total fee, and then sell it tomorrow as "new" at $130/point. Meanwhile, as a resell, it might be worth only half that.

It makes me wonder if Disney actually prefers selling DVCs to people who cannot afford them.

I don't see how selling DVC to those who can not afford them. Yes they can make out on them but the bad publicity would not be good for business and future sales. The issue I see is people who buy and realize coming to Disney does not get cheaper except in your room.

These are just examples
$25000 for 250 points
$3000 yearly maint. fee or $147,000 for 49 yrs. total

So your over all investment is $172000 minimally

That is $3500 per year you need to have spent on a room at Disney just to break even over the 49 year contract
BTW $3500 is a higher end Grand Floridian $1000 per night for 4 nights
Or a moderate room $100 per night for 35 nights



Based upon what you paid up front and main. fees and how you vacation will depend when you actually see a positive return on your investment

 

[GoofGoof]

I don't see how selling DVC to those who can not afford them. Yes they can make out on them but the bad publicity would not be good for business and future sales. The issue I see is people who buy and realize coming to Disney does not get cheaper except in your room.

These are just examples
$25000 for 250 points
$3000 yearly maint. fee or $147,000 for 49 yrs. total

So your over all investment is $172000 minimally

That is $3500 per year you need to have spent on a room at Disney just to break even over the 49 year contract
BTW $3500 is a higher end Grand Floridian $1000 per night for 4 nights
Or a moderate room $100 per night for 35 nights



Based upon what you paid up front and main. fees and how you vacation will depend when you actually see a positive return on your investment

The big advantage is a portion of your room is locked at a fixed rate. In your example if you divide your $25,000 by your 49 years you paid $510 per year fixed. That portion never goes up or down. The fees do go up. Not sure how you got to $3,000 per year. For 250 points at BLT ($4.50 per point) it's $1,125. In year 1 you paid the equivalent of $1,635 for your 250 points. If you assume the rate goes up 3.2% per year (the historic average) you will pay about $129,000 in fees over 49 years. If you want to average the total ($129,000 + $25,000) over 49 years that's roughly $3,100 a year for your 250 points. 250 points gets you 2 weeks in a studio most times of year at BLT or 1 week in a 1 bedroom. Rack rate for a week at CR today is over $3,000 for a week. If you assume the same 3.2% rate increase on hotel rooms your average stay over 49 years would cost $7,000 for a week or $14,000 for 2 weeks.

I know this doesn't factor in time value of money on your initial investment, but if you know you will go back for 49 years every year it's really a no brainer.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I know this doesn't factor in time value of money on your initial investment, but if you know you will go back for 49 years every year it's really a no brainer.

I'd be happy just knowing I was going to be alive in 49 years. Heck, at my age, I'll take 29 years.

Hopefully the grandkids (assuming I ever have any) will enjoy DVC. We're planning to give them to our kids when they marry and that's already got them fighting over who gets which one.

 

[GoofGoof]

I'd be happy just knowing I was going to be alive in 49 years. Heck, at my age, I'll take 29 years.

Hopefully the grandkids (assuming I ever have any) will enjoy DVC. We're planning to give them to our kids when they marry and that's already got them fighting over who gets which one.

You never know, you could cruise the parks on an electric scooter type thing and preach to all the young folks about how grand WDW was in its prime.

For most people I think the break-even is a lot sooner than 49 years. If I thought it would really take me that long I wouldn't have bought in. I'd be happy to use it for 10 to 15 years and then see how things are going. If we still want to go back to WDW by then I'll probably keep it. If the Orlando scene isn't our thing anymore I'll dump it on the resale market or give it to my kids or something. Either way I will most likely have long broken even so it's a win-win.

 

[PlutoFan10]

Something to keep in mind...you may want to consider buying more than one resort (same use year is best), splitting the total points you want to buy. We own at BLT and BCV. We either do a split stay (few days at one home resort and few days at the other) or alternate staying at one resort one year and the other the next by banking and borrowing points from other years. When we do a split stay at our home resorts, we do Epcot and The Studios while at BCV, then do MK when we stay at BLT. Just food for thought. I agree with those saying to buy where you like to stay. That way, you won't be disappointed if your home resort booked at 11 months is the one you end up at, if another choice is unavailable at the 7-month window. Have fun! We love DVC!

 

[ParentsOf4]

Something to keep in mind...you may want to consider buying more than one resort (same use year is best), splitting the total points you want to buy. We own at BLT and BCV. We either do a split stay (few days at one home resort and few days at the other) or alternate staying at one resort one year and the other the next by banking and borrowing points from other years. When we do a split stay at our home resorts, we do Epcot and The Studios while at BCV, then do MK when we stay at BLT. Just food for thought. I agree with those saying to buy where you like to stay. That way, you won't be disappointed if your home resort booked at 11 months is the one you end up at, if another choice is unavailable at the 7-month window. Have fun! We love DVC!

Welcome to wdwmagic.com and thanks for writing your first post!

 

[dvcnut]

Buy the resort you want to stay at. Or will at least be happy staying at. Thats the best advice.

This is valuable advice that I wish that we had heard before we bought into DVC. We bought GCV points because we had honeymooned there and the points were cheap...and have regretted it ever since. On three different occasions we have booked trips to WDW and have not been able to get the location that we want on the first day of the 7 month window and (on top of that) have had to split our stay between 2 resorts every time. Don't get me wrong...our family and us had a great time during those stays but it was/is disappointing to spend so much money on DVC and not get what we want.

We will end up buying additional points in the future and will be very picky about which resort we choose at WDW.

 

[GoofGoof]

This is valuable advice that I wish that we had heard before we bought into DVC. We bought GCV points because we had honeymooned there and the points were cheap...and have regretted it ever since. On three different occasions we have booked trips to WDW and have not been able to get the location that we want on the first day of the 7 month window and (on top of that) have had to split our stay between 2 resorts every time. Don't get me wrong...our family and us had a great time during those stays but it was/is disappointing to spend so much money on DVC and not get what we want.

We will end up buying additional points in the future and will be very picky about which resort we choose at WDW.

You should seriously consider posting on this or another board that you would be interested in a swap. I hear a lot of people saying they want to go to DLR and stay at GCV but they can't get rooms at the 7 month window. Especially now with Carsland. If you could find an owner who owns where you want to stay and is willing to swap with you they could book a room for you at 11 months and you could book a room for them. Kinda like a zero gain renting of points. My kids are still a little young to make the 6 hour flight to CA but in a few years I would be interested in doing a BLT for GCV swap out.

 

[dreamfinder]

This is valuable advice that I wish that we had heard before we bought into DVC. We bought GCV points because we had honeymooned there and the points were cheap...and have regretted it ever since. On three different occasions we have booked trips to WDW and have not been able to get the location that we want on the first day of the 7 month window and (on top of that) have had to split our stay between 2 resorts every time. Don't get me wrong...our family and us had a great time during those stays but it was/is disappointing to spend so much money on DVC and not get what we want.

We will end up buying additional points in the future and will be very picky about which resort we choose at WDW.

GCV has a fairly large demand. Definitely suggest looking into a swap as GoofGoof said.

 

[dvcnut]

You should seriously consider posting on this or another board that you would be interested in a swap.

I've heard of "renting" points, but not swapping them. It sounds like that is the way for us to go in the future. What website(s) would you recommend using?

 

[GoofGoof]

I've heard of "renting" points, but not swapping them. It sounds like that is the way for us to go in the future. What website(s) would you recommend using?

I've never actually done it myself, but Disboards has a rent/trade section for DVC. If you post something on there you may get a bite. You could also try contacting one of the companies that rents points and see if they would be interested in swapping points for you. They may have someone interested in GCV and be willing to rent you points for a WDW resort in exchange for your points. I don't know if there would be a fee associated with it, but it never hurts to ask.

 

[Tommye1078]

I've heard of "renting" points, but not swapping them. It sounds like that is the way for us to go in the future. What website(s) would you recommend using?

I would try out mouseowners.com. I've rented there and it seems to have lots of activity.

 

[Ralphlaw]

In my experience, the hardest resorts to book at 7 months are Baylake, Beach Club, and Boardwalk, in that order. I just booked a trip from December 21st through the 26th at Boardwalk, Standard View 1 bedroom, but I was extremely lucky (and I pulled some shenanigans to get it). We're then going on the Dream for 3 days, and coming back for one night at the Wilderness, a Studio.

Here's the thing, 7 month often fills up fast. if you call at 6 months and 28 days, you may be out of luck. You'll probably be able to stay somewhere at that time, but it may not be where you want to be.

Also, look at the points. I believe the cheapest points are a Boardwalk Standard view (Value and standard level at Animal Kingdom Jambo are sometimes cheaper, and Old Key West is sometimes cheaper too), but the Boardwalk is considered more popular because of it's handy location.

I own at Baylake, but for the same money I could have bought about 20% more points at Boardwalk, which also would have gotten me the 11 month window for a handy place for a lower price (fewer points per night). In short, I can stay at Boardwalk Standard view for 7 days for the same number of points that it would take to stay at the Beach Club or Baylake for 5 days. To me, that's important.