Is a DVC purchase worth it - or is it better to rent?

[longtimer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close longtimer]

I think RCI points is the most economical way into DVC, if you have some flexibility in travel dates. I have no idea how many DVC points I would need for the week we used, but I'm quite sure that renting them would cost much more than our exchange. One could lease their RCI points ownership for three years and use the points for this purpose.

Sad to say I belong to II rather than RCI, so that's no longer an option. We can only travel during the summer because my DH is a teacher. So, based on the points charts, it look like we would need at least 200 to 225 points, depending upon where we stay. So, if I have this firgured correctly, by banking one year and borrowing from the next, we could potentially go every three years with about 70 points. From what I've read on other sites, MFs are roughly $5 a point. Are there other annuals costs or assessments I need to be aware of?

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

DVC fees per point

AKV- $4.8554 (expires 1/31/2057)
BLT- $3.6709 (expires 1/31/2060)
BC- $5.0007 (expires 1/31/2042)
BW- $5.3119 (expires 1/31/2042)
HH- $5.3639 (expires 1/31/2042)
OKW- $4.734 (expires 1/31/2042 or if extended 1/31/57)
SS- $4.3353 (expires 1/31/2054)
WL- $5.0137 (expires 1/31/2042)
VB- $6.4085 (expires 1/31/2042)

Property taxes are estimated by Disney and included in the above numbers, then adjusted next year.

[longtimer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close longtimer]

So there are no other hidden fees or assessments? What would you consider a decent price for DVC resale?

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

The only issue with "every three years" is that you have to hit the right number *exactly*, or you'll be wasting points. Every other year gives you a little more wiggle room from one trip to the next.

[longtimer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close longtimer]

The only issue with "every three years" is that you have to hit the right number *exactly*, or you'll be wasting points. Every other year gives you a little more wiggle room from one trip to the next.

Must I borrow all my points from the next year? In other words, could I work it out to vary the intervals, going first every three years, then two years, then back to three years. Yes, I know it could get quite confusing unless I keep track of the points, but I currently have to do that with the TS I now own. I always have a small number of points to carry over.
One other question that has come to mind. I noticed that the DVC points seem to all be attached to a specific resort. Does that mean I must stay there, or can I go anywhere within the DVC system? Do points at any particular resorts have more value than others?
Sorry for all the questions - it's a lot of money to spend and I'm really not sure I'm ready to make the plunge just yet!

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

Like most point systems, there may come a day when you find you can't use all your points by the deadline. Most likely, with Disney most likely you'll find you never have as many as you want, regardless of how many you buy!.. You can bank or borrow as few as 1 point- but you can only move points to a different use year once!

With DVC, you're home resort gives you an increased reservation window (11 months out for your home base, 7 months out for other resorts). If you had a specific resort you wanted to stay at most often, you'd buy that as your home resort. If you like staying a different sites- then simply look for the best deal. Pay attention to the annual fees if you are buying a large allotment, as that can be quite a bit different from resort to resort.

I generally recommend buyers pay little attention to the differences in the leasehold years remaining. (I edited the earlier post with m. fees to show the expiration dates of the leaseholds)..

Chances are most will sell again long before the expiration. I think many people are realizing that timeshares aren't necessarily a "gift" to be passed on to the next generation, so the main issue is the buyers own usage.

As I stated, DVC seems to be a resort where owners consistently add to their portfolio until the kids or grandkids outgrow it. Then members seem to either rent the points consistently, or they sell them and buy into another timeshare system.

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

You can borrow any number of points. It is not all or nothing.

The thing to remember though is that a particular years' worth of points can only be in its prior year, its year, or the next year. So, if you are only going every three years, you can only use each UY's worth of points for one single trip---so that trip has to consume exactly 3x your annual allocation.

If you stagger (3 then 2 then 3), the "2-year" trip will have a lot fewer points to work with. That could be okay---depends on you.

In DVC, you can book your home resort at 11 months, and any resort at 7. The windows can change, and it is even possible to have the ability to book "foreign" resorts revoked entirely (though I consder the latter is very unlikely). The 7-month window can be very hit or miss---depends on where you want to go, and when, and in what size unit and view. You should not assume that any specific 7-month booking will be easy or even possible, though if you are flexible, you should find it useful.

This does influence the resale value of the different resorts. Different resorts also have different expiration dates (OKW has two different dates) but that seems to have less of an impact on resale value---a few dollars per point.