DVC - How Did You Do It?

[SeptemberGirl]

Hi. My husband and I have seriously considered buying a DVC. We know about resale, thanks to these great boards, and we have talked to a guide, also. We don't have any other questions other than the trickiest one of all - money!

My question is this, for all your owners: It's a big investment - how did you do it?

Did you finance? Take a home eq? Use an inheritance or super big bonus? Save up? Buy small and add on? SAHM got a part time job? How did you make the money work?

This is obviously personal and none of my business, but it's also the sort of thing you can't ask people face to face. Any candor is appreciated!

[Inkmahm]

We used part of my annual bonus for the intial purchase at BWV. Then we just added on VWL because we wanted it, and had the money in savings. Bonus money again for the AKV add on this year. I wouldn't buy DVC if I had to finance it, personally.

[mrs pooky]

We used home equity, but actually paid for the DVC with 2 credit cards, one Starwood for a few free hotel rooms(we usually stay over at the airport the night before a Disney trip), and the rest on our Disney Visa, so Disney ended up giving us $ for buying the DVC.

Then we paid off the cards with out home equity credit line.

And should be going on our first DVC trip in January!

[ktbugsmom]

We bought a re-sale with 100 points to start and then added on 50 points from Disney last year. I don't do "debt" - so both were big checks. But, I work full time and teach part time to support my Disney habit. My teaching money paid for the 100 points. When we did the add on, I got a small inheritance and used some of that to do the add-on.

I hope that helps. We have never regretted our purchase... and if I ever get another inheritance (or win the lottery) - I will be adding on more points! :) Hubby says the teaching money now has to go into retirement accounts and college funds... probably a wise decision. :rolleyes1

[byoung]

We where lucky enought to be able to pay in full.

[ACDSNY]

We paid over half in full and financed the balance. Disney was getting our money every year anyway, now I just don't feel as quilty about it.

[tiggerrr]

We didn't have the option of doing the deal from home or over the phone - we had to do the deal while we were at Disney. So we accepted Disney financing, went home, paid off with Credit Card for the reward points and then used a home equity loan to pay the Credit Card. A little convoluted, plus we paid a small fee for the Disney Financing. (On the plus side we made it all back and more on the foreign currency exchange between the time we bought it and when we paid it off.)

[LocustPoint]

I financed my initial purchase. I was young and single at the time and had no other debt.

[ChelleinNC]

We financed with Disney. After thinking long and hard and doing all the numbers we realized we were spending more for our vacations by not having DVC. Then I realized my car loan is about to be paid off and will more than cover the monthly payment for dvc, so we went ahead and did it. As much as I liked to think the car payment money was going to pay off other things, I knew that in reality it would likely disappear on other things so it might as well pay for my Disney addiction.

[MrsNick]

I have a "holiday club" account and a "vacation club" account ($$ gets deducted from each paycheck and is deposited automatically to these accounts). Much to my chagrin, the money in the "vacation club" account always got used for financial crises that always seemed to occur right around the time that it matured :headache: so although over the years I probably saved enough to buy a membership outright, that isn't how it worked out.

So, two and a half years ago, I took the amount from my "vacation club" account and used that as a down payment, and financed the balance. The amount we pay per year on the loan is less than I have paid for past vacations, and it is deducted monthly from our checking account, so I don't really miss the money. For the first two years, the money to pay the loan (and dues) came from my personal individual savings account. At the beginning of the year, I switched to have the payments come from our joint checking account. The family uses the membership so, I figured it was a family expense and not a personal expense :rotfl:

My monthly loan is about $120 per month (about $1440 per year), or less than $28 a week. My DH p****es away at least double that amount on lunches out at work each week (:sad2: no matter how hard I've tried to break him of that habit).

Our dues run slightly over $600 annually, or about $50/month (less than $12 a week).

So for a total of slightly more than $2000/year (or $40/week :teacher: ), we have had some quite lovely vacations via DVC.

Basically, I just made a concrete commitment to having an annual vacation, so that we would take some down time. Before DVC, we often talked ourselves out of vacations because of the cost. Additionally, I don't stress out over money if we have a few nice dinners out on vacation since I'm not concerned with paying a hotel bill.

Now, we are forced to take one good vacation a year, and that is very important since both DH and I work at highly demanding jobs and have a very real need to be able to take a step back. In addition, vacation is the only time I really have an opportunity to see DH since I work first shift and he works second shift.

The responsible side of me (doh! :confused3 ) has made the decision not to do any add-ons until the loan is paid off. DVC points will be there for us when we are ready :goodvibes .

[Donald is #1]

I used for savings for my initial contract. But when I added on 1.5 months later, I ended up financing the add-on through Disney. I financed it over 5 years, but hopefully I will pay it off eariler.

[chalee94]

i started very small, with a resale contract for 40 pts. i figure 5 nights a year at OKW in a studio will give me an idea of whether to buy more down the road...probably at AKV or CRV.

that way it's not a huge commitment: $3800 for the contract and $14.66 a month in maintenance fees.

you may want to check the thread below also...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1532408

[Goofyzgurl]

We financed and I'm going to pay it off this year. It's a big investment in your vacation, but I've never regretted the decision. Like a lot of others you'll probably hear, I only regret not buying earlier and more points.

[wildernessDad]

I've been using my extra teaching money to pay for it. I took a Disney 10-year loan and paid it off in less than 2 years with the school money.

[mbhoxsie]

Back when we bought, you could "rent" half your first year's point balance back to Disney for about $10 a point...

It wasn't a bad promotion since normally people first got into the club while vacation down in WDW anyways and most people only went once a year anyways...

That money went against the down payment so we didn't have to put as much down...

I'm fairly suprised Disney hasn't bought it back, but they seem to be doing well selling points at $100+ per...

When we bought, points were between $62 and $67...

[DisDaydreamer]

I have a "holiday club" account and a "vacation club" account ($$ gets deducted from each paycheck and is deposited automatically to these accounts). Much to my chagrin, the money in the "vacation club" account always got used for financial crises that always seemed to occur right around the time that it matured :headache: so although over the years I probably saved enough to buy a membership outright, that isn't how it worked out.

So, two and a half years ago, I took the amount from my "vacation club" account and used that as a down payment, and financed the balance. The amount we pay per year on the loan is less than I have paid for past vacations, and it is deducted monthly from our checking account, so I don't really miss the money. For the first two years, the money to pay the loan (and dues) came from my personal individual savings account. At the beginning of the year, I switched to have the payments come from our joint checking account. The family uses the membership so, I figured it was a family expense and not a personal expense :rotfl:

My monthly loan is about $120 per month (about $1440 per year), or less than $28 a week. My DH p****es away at least double that amount on lunches out at work each week (:sad2: no matter how hard I've tried to break him of that habit).

Our dues run slightly over $600 annually, or about $50/month (less than $12 a week).

So for a total of slightly more than $2000/year (or $40/week :teacher: ), we have had some quite lovely vacations via DVC.

Basically, I just made a concrete commitment to having an annual vacation, so that we would take some down time. Before DVC, we often talked ourselves out of vacations because of the cost. Additionally, I don't stress out over money if we have a few nice dinners out on vacation since I'm not concerned with paying a hotel bill.

Now, we are forced to take one good vacation a year, and that is very important since both DH and I work at highly demanding jobs and have a very real need to be able to take a step back. In addition, vacation is the only time I really have an opportunity to see DH since I work first shift and he works second shift.

The responsible side of me (doh! :confused3 ) has made the decision not to do any add-ons until the loan is paid off. DVC points will be there for us when we are ready :goodvibes .

Very nice post.. very much on target...

[MrsNick]

Very nice post.. very much on target...

:flower3: Aww, shucks!

["Got Disney"]

we finaced also 400 pts for 10 years. Will pay off on 5 years or less. At least all the interest can be writen off so it is not as big of an ouch:thumbsup2

[Amy5000]

Since you want candor:

We recently purchased a small 100 pt (fully loaded) resale contract at SSR. We anticipate staying in studios. We paid cash out of our savings. I would have been uncomfortable financing a vacation purchase like this. B/t/w, I don't have a problem with those who would choose to finance it. I just know I would have a harder time enjoying it if I was worried about paying for it. Since I'm a worrier...that knocked out financing for me.

Financial concerns (or just $$) played a significant role in considering our purchase. Although I think BCV, BWV and VWL are lovely resorts, they are generally more points for a week than SSR (other than BWV SV) and their points are more costly. Many cost more per point for fewer years. Basically, I thought they were great resorts, but was not willing to pay additional amounts for the pleasure of owning there vs SSR. OKW was a close 2nd, but SSR had more years, lower dues, and was closer to DTD. I figured SSR might do better if we have to sell it down the road since it has more years.

Basically, we paid cash...and we also were somewhat conservative in our purchase. (That's our personality...many will do otherwise and enjoy their DVC just as much). Hopefully, if we really end up enjoying DVC and we can afford to, we'll add on more points in the future.

Good luck. Amy

[bnlbebes]

DW and I took out the 10 year Disney loan after the first year of marriage. Although many posters here will disagree, we looked at DVC as an investment. :cloud9: We have never been sorry for our decision having used the points toward a vacation at least once a year, and we had only 150 points for awhile, 202 now. We have never made an attempt to pay ahead, just paid as we went, and we are now less than a year from the end of the loan.

Now it's time to figure out how we're going to pay for the GCV add-on. :scared1:

[SeptemberGirl]

I'm loving your responses, and I can't thank you enough for replying to this thread. :goodvibes

It's really nice that you are willing to share your experiences with us!

[alldiz]

Lets see......

I really wanted DVC.....DH...wanted me to save 1st:lmao:

I told him...no way could I give up my Disney vaca to save for
DVC....I'll find a betta way...

So I called Timeshare store....by the end of that day I wanted
150 WLV points....for 13,200...

I figured with 10% interest through them I could pay it off
in 5 yrs.....for about 250 a month....

Told DH about it......BTW he was sick in bed with pneumonia....
Gotta get em while their down:goodvibes

DH said.....no way....I don't want to take on any additional debt....:sad1:

Within 10 minutes....he says....FORGET IT I'LL JUST WRITE YOU
THE CHECK AND YOU CAN PAY ME BACK:yay: :cheer2:

I knew I loved him:love:
So now I give him 240 a month....and it will be paid in 5yrs:goodvibes
I took on an extra day at work to pay for it:)
Kerri

[justjudy]

We bought both our VWL and OKW points resale, paying cash from an inheritance. When AKV was announced, we sold our VWL points and used some of the money to purchase AKV.

[mom2rb]

We paid off both cars early. Our DVC payment is about the same as two car notes. We have five year loans though Disney. All of the interest is written off our taxes. We will pay the loans off early. The rule is no new cars until DVC is paid off. That didn't seem to bad until AKV. If the do have Contemporary DVC, DH and I will be driving the same cars for 20 years.:lmao:

[crisi]

Did you finance? Take a home eq? Use an inheritance or super big bonus? Save up? Buy small and add on? SAHM got a part time job? How did you make the money work?

Bonus. What to us is a ordinary bonus. We did have a home equity loan in place for a few days between closing and the bonus hitting the account. We could have also sold stock or stock options. And we bought a small contract (150 points) resale that was a pretty good deal several years ago when points were much cheaper. I can't say I'd buy at today's prices, even though we could pay for a contract out of savings.

[KyleRayner]

I financed my initial purchase. I was young and single at the time and had no other debt.

Same here!!!!

[Disney Doll]

We financed it through DVC. We took out the 10 year loan because it had the lowest monthly payment. Our theory was that we could allways pay more and pay it off faster, but if we had a month where money was a little "tight" (like around Christmas) all we had to pay was the low monthly payment. We did, in fact, have it paid off in about 3.5-4 years.

I have known people who have paid cash.

I have known people who have charged it to their Disney VISA to get the Rewards, then paid it off the next month with cash.

I have known people who have charged it to their Disney VISA to get the Rewards and then paid it off the next month using home equity loan or line of credit. Then they get the Rewards plus the tax benefit of the home equity thing.

I have known people who have just paid it with a home equity loan or line of credit.

I have known people who have refinanced their home and added enough into the refinance amount to afford DVC, although I wouldn't recommend this option.

You will always have people that will tell you that until you can pay cash for it, you shouldn't do it. I don't necessarily agree with that. What I will advise is that if it is going to create a financial hardship then you shouldn't do it. For DH & I, the monthly payments worked pretty easily into our budget, so it wasn't a big issue, nor was it a hardship.

[squirrlygirl]

We paid 1/3 in cash(okay, charged it to Disney VISA and then paid it off) and financed the rest through DVC. We'll pay 1/2 the financed amount in February with tax return money and what's left the following year with our tax return. We have 4 kids, a home mortgage, and high taxes so no matter what we do we get alot back every year:yay:

We almost didn't do it now but the "force us to spend money on downtime" thing was important. We never would've set aside the money from the tax returns for DVC, but now that it's debt, we'll have to!

DH is currently working lots of OT so we're thinking of using that extra $$ to pay cash for an add-on in the next few months.

Dues are insignificant in the scheme of things <for us>- we already pay dues for our homeowner's association, so I'll just set aside enough extra every year to pay them at once.

[SEC]

We financed our WLV purchase over 3 years with Disney. It was much more important for me to able to take a Disney vacation every year then have a newer car, so I just kept driving my 9 year old Nissan until the DVC loan was paid off. Buying DVC was a no-brainer for us, because we go for 2 weeks evey year during F & W. We bought DVC through the mail and when we pulled out our last 6 years of hotel bills, it was pretty obvious we would be better off buying DVC. It is such a nice feeling to know that we can go every year (sometimes two or three times), especially in January when it is cold and dreary it always helps to pull out the DVC book and dream about exchanging to other places. I used to wait for AP rates to come and spend lots of time trying to find a good deal to see if we could afford it. It really has saved me time! My husband loves F & W, but the deal was we had to go somewhere else every year too.

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

We just purchased a small (50pts) resale contract at VWL with cash and plan to add on as we have the money - we are not financing our DVC. It's a great feeling to have it without payments but then again we are waiting longer to get our ideal number of points. I would be comfortable with financing a purchase but DH is totally against it so this worked for us.

I paid cash for our DVC by selling some stock I own. DH gave me some stock for my first Mother's Day and DS is turning 11 in a few weeks. I held it all that time until there was something I really wanted - DVC!

We will probably pay for future purchases the same way, with some investments we are ready to cash in, when the time is right. We are fortunate that Dh gets bonuses and stock options from his company so I'm sure some of those will turn into DVC in the future!

Good luck!

[eyeheartgoofy]

We took $8500 from our emergency fund to buy 100 points at VWL. Not quite an emergency, I realize :rolleyes1 .

Four weeks later, we sold our house and replaced the $8500 with money from the sale. So, I guess we bought DVC with home equity in a round about way.

[vwlvette]

We paid for our 300 VWL points from our good furtunes. DW (36) has been very sucessful in the Health Care Industry for years. I (46) am currently in my 3rd Career, First two were extremely sucessful, Athlete, then Owned & Sold my business for a great profit. Now work in the public secture, lots of time off, great benefits. Money is not an issue, career's 1 & 2 took care of that. With that being said we purchased our points w/cash. Going to add on with Tax return, unlike careers 1 & 2, now I love tax time!! lol.

For those who finance, As long as you are comfortable with the payments, and the end buy in price, Then just enjoy your DVC Vacations!!!

[eliza61]

We did a combo. We used part of our savings and then financed the rest.

[SeptemberGirl]

Again, thank you, all of you, for replying to this post with candor! I really appreciate being able to hear how other people did DVC.:goodvibes

[beccasmom]

We financed it for the first 6 months or so. Then we decided to use DH's bonus and some savings to pay it off. We have 230 points at OKW and joined DVC early on. We have not purchased additional points because we really don't need them. We do visit every year at least once, sometimes twice, but almost always during slower times and we try to use our points judiciously. So far - for 15 years! :love: - this has worked well for us. We pay our maintenance fees on a monthly basis - it is taken directly out of our checking account.

[Sully]

We waited until our son was out of college. Financed our first contract thru Disney. Paid it off quickly. Have done several add-ons that we could afford.

[henri + katie's mum]

I bought a small re-sale of 70 points. With closing fees and all, it was just about $6,000. I will add on in the coming years when I have money to purchase in cash. (Probably after I'm doing paying daycare for my kids! :goodvibes )

My father passed away of 8 years ago and the rest of his estate will be settled this year, so I took money out of my savings and I will pay myself back with final estate pay out.

(I was very lucky to have a dad who saved money for his children and very lucky that it did not get wasted in a nursing home. Thank you Dad! Before my mom died, the three of us went on a Disney vacation and they loved it.:sad1: My dad wouldn't have made an investment in DVC, but my mom would have. Sorry, that's TMI, but I had to share.)

[robinb]

We paid cash for our OKW resale, borrowed on the HEC and paid off quickly for our BWV resale, borrowed on the HEC (should have taken Disney's financing in retrospect) for AKV and will pay off when the sale of OKW closes.

[dianeschlicht]

We paid in full for 1 contract and used Home Equity for the second one. The third one was small enough to not worry about.

[RLRDA]

Our original contract (SSR) & add-on (AKV) were both paid for using bonus $ from DH's job....want to add on a few more points and are going to use some of my (DW) st.options. Thankfully we didn't need to finance....we "paid" with credit cards to take advantage of cash back & Disney Visa points.:)

[Cruelladeville]

We financed our first contract with Disney for 10 years, and paid extra so it was paid off in 3 years.
Immediately, we bought the second contract and paid it off in 1 1/2 years, financed. Bought 25 pts, then 50 pts, then 100, and paid cash with them.
Bought 270 more pts resale, and paid cash. The financed contracts were during the years we were paying for college for 3 of us. After college was done we were able to pay cash.:)

[Mr.Monk]

We used bonus money. I'd have considered financing if it hadn't been for the bonus.

DVC was the best decision we'd made regarding vacations. It has changed our outlook and expectations when we travel.

[flyerron]

We charged it all to our air miles credit card & paid that off with a home equity loan. Got mucho miles & the financing interest is tax deductable. You can call your credit card company & get a temporary increase in your credit line for the purchase if necessary. Lots of folks use their Disney CC for the purchase.

[3DisneyKids]

Reading these boards convinced me not to finance, so I knew that we would pay cash upfront. Then the question became how...

I did this on my own as a surprise for DH..so no way to use Home Equity, etc. (it was all very clandestine...it felt like I was having an affair with my Guide!)

So, first I got a Disney card in just my name (so I could get the points). Then, since I am a WAHM, and I do contract work, I picked up a contract that just happened to be in the same amount at a 150-point SSR contract! Hmmm...fancy that! :rotfl:

I should also mention that I purchased during Friends & Family (a great discount a year or two back), plus they let me stack a CM discount on top of that (my brother works for ABC and since we are immediately family, we can use his discount). So, we were able to buy in for about $74/point and this was only 18 months ago or so.

Anyway, once my contract money came, I paid off the Visa in full (within the month, so no interest), and viola--DVC is ours!

Then, I had to sit on the news until surprising him with it (at the airport on the way to our first adults-only Disney trip!).



We started with a 150-point contract, btw, for the exact reason of paying for it in full.

[stingmom]

we bought in small, utilizing Timeshare Store and a small "vacation" loan from the bank (cheaper than CC%). most recently we added on direct through DVC at AKV, another small amount on a CC this time (to get some reward points) and then paid it off immediately. you won't regret your purchase! leaves money when you do go for the *extras* like Cirque, character meals daily and spa treatments! (these were hard to justify when we were already paying almost $1,000 for a room, plus tickets! for a stay!)

[brandip22]

We paid about 30% down in cash from my bonus. Then, we financed the rest for 5 years. Comes out of my checking and I have 3 years left. We only have 150 points, but no more until these are paid off. If we do not pay off early, we will get this paid off and our two cars at the same time. I expect at that time, we will do an add-on with the extra cash. However, I plan to do 25 point add-ons at a time with cash. Should only take a couple of months each time. I'd like 300 points total, but we'll see.

[MouseHouse71]

We just bought in at SSR through Disney. Although we could have gotten the same points for a lower price (resale), I was comfortable buying from Disney. I did not want to buy a stripped contract through resale and not be able to use it for 8-12 months. The double points incentive made sense to us. The incentive points will come in useful for a cruise or extended vacation. Kind of lets you start out a little ahead!!!

We did finance through Disney. Although a bit pricey (10.75%). It was extremely simple. I am sure that we will pay it off in the next couple of years.

Enjoy and Good Luck!!!

JP

[Chester's Mum]

I've just started by buying a small 60 pt contract at BWV. I don't sleep well over debt, I couldn't afford to put out upwards of $16,000 in advance, and I don't want to wait to save that much money. I bought what I could afford, with the intention of adding on every couple of years until I get to "enough" points. You should be aware though that the much discussed "adonitis" is extremely contagious. I haven't even had a stay at my new home and already I'm trying to figure out how to buy more points. I really have to talk myself down from this, I think its an addiction, sort of like gambling. Yikes! I thought I was so sensible.

[naf917]

Both my DW and I work so we used our bonuses and tax return and paid cash for our resale contract. Now we need to save some more before I try to get her to let me add on some more points.

[flyerron]

There are a bunch of great creative ideas on this thread. Our ingenuity never ceases. We charged everything on our air miles charg card then paid it off with home equity loan.

[disneydenisel]

After renting points at BCV and loving it, I came home and found a resale contract. I ended up selling my piano to pay for it! It was very sad for me, and I still miss the piano, but am happy to own the DVC points!

Timeshare vacations are addictive. We purchased our first timeshare using a mileage credit card and then transferring the balance to 0% credit cards every 11-12 months.

[dsneygirl]

We used our HELOC. The interest is less than what we were paying to stay moderate or value for a week so we figured it was worth it in the long run.