Advantages/disadvantages to becoming members About This Page:

[dkfajr1]

I want the down and dirty. I am a little nervous about becoming members. It's a lot of money, but if I do numbers with our family of 6 it will save us in the future. I am just not sure about this whole deed thing and the contract ending after so many years after we've spent the money.

Thanks so much

[Kynna]

I'm sure there are people who can get down to the numbers much better than I.
As far as the expiration of the deed. I will be in my late 80's so I figure I will get my $$s worth in memories by then. We bought 200 points in '07 and have already been able to take both my and my DH's parents, and have a trip with the 4 of us, and are taking friends in Jan. We could not have done that without DVC. For us it was a big investment but also a committment to have a family vacation every year and make it a priority. We have had to slow down on improvements to the house and other things but we both know we made the right decision for our family.

If we were travelling without DVC it would be much less frequent and we wouldn't have nearly the quality of the accomodations. We do go out less at home, have cut down on holiday spending, and don't make big purchases on a whim but after 3 years we still think it's worth it.

[tjkraz]

IMO, DVC is best viewed as a prepaid vacation plan. Look at the amount you are paying up-front as being a commitment to vacation for the next 40-50 years.

Some people get really hung up on the ending aspect of it and prefer to have a timeshare that is owned in perpetuity. Honestly that can be a blessing or a curse, depending upon many factors. With the DVC ending dates, you know that your obligation to the resort will end at some point in the future. You (or your heirs) won't have to deal with the escalating maintenance costs involved with owning a structure that is 50-100 years old.

For some it will also mean that their heirs won't have to deal with getting rid of another piece of property after your passing. DVC timeshares have thus far held their value pretty well. But the same cannot be said for other timeshares. Inheriting a timeshare in an unpopular area of the country, or one that has been mismanaged by the developer could prove to be more of a headache than anything else.

You could certainly look into other timeshare programs which do not have stated ending dates. But that's just not an option with DVC. It's an aspect you either need to be comfortable with or simply walk away.

[chezp]

To be honest, the end of the lease is something I've never thought of - not until you asked your original question anyway! I'll be 70 by then and DH will be in his late 70s. Yes, we may still be travelling by then, but who knows? By then, we'll more than have had our money's worth from our points. We became members seven years ago now and have taken so many wonderful vacations that we'd never have done otherwise that I feel that we've already had our money's worth.

Buying in was truly one of the best decisions we ever made and I'm willing to bet that you'll find a lot of people saying the same thing.

[dkfajr1]

Thanks everyone! I'll let you know our decision

[lukeandbrookesmom]

The lease time was something we thought about - in a postive way though. I'll be 96 years old BUT, with it being something that can be willed, my children will only be 54 and 55 years old and will more than likely have their own children. That's a lot of Disney vacation memories in my book