daytondisney
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2008
If someone is onsite only, goes every year, intends to continue going every year for another decade or so, usually stays deluxe, and pays for the points with cash upfront, DVC can make financial sense. If someone normally goes only at peak times when it's tough to find discounts, even more so. I also know people who've paid off their DVC purchase by renting it out part time; DVC is one of the rare timeshares that rent for more than the yearly fees.
Of course, buying DVC is gambling on the future -- unhappy DVC owners I've seen are people who borrowed to pay but miscalculated on their future finances and are now trapped with a Timeshare that they owe more on than they can sell it for; or people who lost interest in going to the parks sooner than expected; or people with unexpected health issues or some other problem keeping them home; a few rare individuals who have discovered that they like some (much cheaper) offsite resorts just as well; and one person who was outraged to discover they could have traded in cheaper with another Timeshare and now resents their purchase.
DVC keeps its resale value a lot better than most Timeshares, so aside from those in the first category, most unhappy owners have the opportunity to sell and recoup their money. I think I crunched the numbers once and it even made financial sense for people who stay in mods and (maybe) values, if they normally need two rooms for their family as we do, and if they'd end up using the kitchen for some of their meals (which not every one does, of course).
IMHO, doesn't make any financial sense to buy DVC unless you're onsite only. (Or if you already have a TS rental biz and want to rent the points, I suppose, although I don't expect there are many who can pull that off.) But if people are going to be paying deluxe onsite prices anyhow, DVC will likely save them money, and until and unless Disney decides to quit selling DVC (which seems unlikely), Disney's motivated to keep it that way.
I agree.