DVC: Why own when you can rent?

Jennasis · Jun 20, 2018

Let us also not forget the discounts! We got a fantastic discount on AP's...a little over $550 each for Platinum passes with the sale they had for members last year.

Ben E N · Jun 20, 2018

Jennasis said:
Let us also not forget the discounts! We got a fantastic discount on AP's...a little over $550 each for Platinum passes with the sale they had for members last year.

I loved that as well, and will be making great use of it, and other discounts, starting with the first of 4 trips within a years time at the end of July. However, those who got that discount were lucky for two reasons. 1. It was exceptionally good. Discounts that nice should not be anticipated every year. 2. If you were in the timeframe of being able to get it, that means you were either able to get it using all resale points, or having bought in with only 25 direct points. The direct minimum being 75 points now makes it harder to justify spending all that much for the occasional awesome discount of a couple hundred dollars per annual pass.

lisaviolet · Jun 20, 2018

Control.

Making change after change, whenever my heart desires.

I find stalking the website fun! :rotfl:

I have rented out my points when that was the best decision. Great option.

Taking family and friends multiple times, often in their own suite. A joy that I simply could not do if it was straight money paid for those reservations.

And that ability in turn provided some wonderful memories with family, a few that are no longer with us. That means a lot to me.

_______________________________________

The question about now versus then ---

I waited ten years to buy because I wanted to pay upfront. Didn't mind the waiting. The dreaming years were precious too - remember looking up at the Boardwalk rooms just after they were built and thinking one day. Delayed gratification is an underrated experience. :goodvibes

But I bought a long time ago. At today's prices, not sure I would buy. Hard decision to even think about since it has been and was a dream come true. And I am saying that I am unsure today even though I have sold a contract for higher than I purchased it for years ago.

(EDIT: If I had a ton of disposable income for any reason - I would buy today despite the price. Even if the math didn't really work - knowing how much I have enjoyed my ownership and because of some of the reasons for ownership that I listed earlier. But if renting works for any family, renting works!)

Jennasis · Jun 20, 2018

Ben E N said:
I loved that as well, and will be making great use of it, and other discounts, starting with the first of 4 trips within a years time at the end of July. However, those who got that discount were lucky for two reasons. 1. It was exceptionally good. Discounts that nice should not be anticipated every year. 2. If you were in the timeframe of being able to get it, that means you were either able to get it using all resale points, or having bought in with only 25 direct points. The direct minimum being 75 points now makes it harder to justify spending all that much for the occasional awesome discount of a couple hundred dollars per annual pass.

We bought resale in 2014 so are grandfathered in for the stuff that matters to us. We like the food and merch discounts, the use of the lounges too. We do now suggest our family members rent points instead of booking through Disney and if we weren't owners we would rent.

bobbiwoz · Jun 21, 2018

If I pay more to have control over my reservation, so be it!

We have had 15 years of wonderful DVC ownership. :thumbsup2

aristocatz · Jun 21, 2018

Ben E N said:
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.

Thanks! That was a really helpful post. We definitely don't have the money lying around to buy....at least not until both of our kids are in grammar school and we are no longer paying for preschool. I'm leaning toward just continuing to rent for now.

Just out of curiosity, on average, how much % less does it end of costing when you compare cost of renting points vs cost of using points? Meaning, if Davids or a Dis member charges $16 per point, how much per point does it work out to be if you owned those points?

robinb · Jun 21, 2018

aristocatz said:
Just out of curiosity, on average, how much % less does it end of costing when you compare cost of renting points vs cost of using points? Meaning, if Davids or a Dis member charges $16 per point, how much per point does it work out to be if you owned those points?

For me, my yearly cost per point is just maintenance fees. I paid in cash for my membership and I know I can get back my "investment" when I sell it. I know there is a whole "time value of money" component to the cost of paying cash instead of inventing it but I ignore it. My maintenance fees average to $6.62 per point. If I were in the middle of a loan, I would include the yearly loan payment divided by the number of points I have to the yearly cost of my points since it is an ongoing expense for my point ownership.

Dancind · Jun 21, 2018

Because in years you don't have a WDW trip planned, you can rent the points and use the money to go somewhere else! Or did someone already say that?

Ben E N · Jun 21, 2018

aristocatz said:
Thanks! That was a really helpful post. We definitely don't have the money lying around to buy....at least not until both of our kids are in grammar school and we are no longer paying for preschool. I'm leaning toward just continuing to rent for now.

Just out of curiosity, on average, how much % less does it end of costing when you compare cost of renting points vs cost of using points? Meaning, if Davids or a Dis member charges $16 per point, how much per point does it work out to be if you owned those points?

For me, right now, owning costs 60.5% of renting. That is built in with buying 160 points at $121 a point resale and 25 points at $185 direct for BLT, then adding in MFs, which are comparatively low there. It came out to $9.68 per point if I did my math correctly. Luckily I got in when resale was lower than it is now, and got the direct benefits for only 25 points, so the benefit of owning is probably less to you. Most likely closer to 70% of just renting.
The most important thing I reccomend is to make sure any money you put up front I to DVC is "burnable". Since we bought in last summer, we bought 4 annual passes and paid the MFs for an added cost of over $3000. Our roof got messed up by a hail storm on the night that we signed our contract. Then my wife's car is showing that it's going to need replacing. Because we bought with "burnable" money that was just chilling none of these developments hurt too much because we had a normal savings to help cover them. I am grateful to my wife for having the foresight to anticipate these issues when I wanted to add on more than 25 direct points. That's why I'm sharing it here. If I got caught up in the pixie dust of ownership, anyone can be, and it can be difficult to anticipate future financial issues. If you just rent, you can cover these issues by just skipping or downgrading a trip.

Hopefully · Jun 21, 2018

We too waited and saved for 10 years. We paid cash so annual member fees cost us just over $1000 annually for our BCV contract. We own 185 points. DH and I go yearly for F & W Fest. If it is just the 2 of us we will stay in a studio. If we bring others we get a 1 or 2 BR Villa. If we paid rack rate for that Villa it would be over $900/ night. Some years we tack a week stay on At Vero Beach as well. We love it, have long ago recouped our investment and could sell for a healthy profit.
Rental point demand currently exceeds supply at any properties during much of the year.
Being able to book at 11 months and walk to Epcot is priceless to us.

LYSE · Jun 21, 2018

aristocatz said:
Just out of curiosity, on average, how much % less does it end of costing when you compare cost of renting points vs cost of using points? Meaning, if Davids or a Dis member charges $16 per point, how much per point does it work out to be if you owned those points?

Most contracts I was looking at including the one we bought put us in the 9 dollar range per point per year

We just bought, I know earlier buyers are sitting much lower than that.

Deb & Bill · Jun 21, 2018

We have owned for 21 years. We bought our first points direct from Disney for $50 a point. We never paid more than $72 for points direct. I'd never buy points direct now for the price they are charging. Our initial dues were less than $3 a point and now they are closer to $7 a point. We go multiple times a year, especially since we have moved to SW Florida and are only three hours away. We used to do 7-14 days at a time, twice a year. Now we do from two to five nights at a time, about five times a year.

DVC: Why own when you can rent?

Jennasis

DIS life goes on

Ben E N

DIS Veteran

lisaviolet

DIS Veteran

Jennasis

DIS life goes on

bobbiwoz

I'm happy to dance with you!

aristocatz

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robinb

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Dancind

Tinkerbell's Mom

Ben E N

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Hopefully

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LYSE

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Deb & Bill

DVC-Trivia Contest, Apr-2006: Honorable Mention

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