22 to young to own DVC ??

[Buddy888]

Hey all

My girlfriend and I are both turning 22 later on this year. We have been debating about buying into DVC for the past week and I have finally convinced her into agreeing. The only thing i'm having second thoughts about is are we too young to be owning DVC? We are both still attending college. However, both have steady jobs. We have enough saved up to purchase a small 75 point contract which would be enough for us to vacation once a year for a week or once every 2 years for 2 weeks...
Any thoughts or opinions would be gladly appreciated, thanks.

 

[Buddy888]

oh at BTW we are looking into DVC resale not direct and wanting our home resort to be AKL.

 

[mum2threemonsters]

People may disagree but to me if you are old enough to look into the contracts and pros and cons of DVC seriously and have a degree of certainty over your future employment then I dont think you can say you are too young.

Many people will have bought houses at a far earlier age which is a much bigger commitment. I was 20 when I bought my first house and had the responsibility of a mortgage.

The only advice I would give is not to jump into anything straight away. Give yourself some time away to think about it and ensure it is still something you would consider possibly 3-6 months down the line.

And at 22 Im sure you can enjoy 75 points for many years time with the knowledge that as you grow or have a family you can add on.

Finally without seeming condescending ensure you have a plan in place if you should split up. At 22 I was married with children and thought he was the nicest man in history and I was settled for life. At 25 I was getting divorced! If a plan has been agreed before hand then you will not have to argue this out if the situation arises.

 

[a742246]

At 22, there are so many places to explore in this world.. I would say hold off on Disney (at least for a while) and take this opportunity to explore at least some of them. Disney will always be there, but your dreams may not.

 

[nunzia]

Some people are too young to own Disney at 44..or ever..if they don't think it through or are not financially responsible. If you understand all the ins and outs, can afford it and the MF and think you want to give it a go, then I say go for it. It could be one of the best purchases you'll ever make, or it could be a mistake and the worse that will happen is you'll decide to sell. Good luck on your decision

 

[ELMC]

Typically it's not the purchase price that's the problem, it's the ongoing maintenance fees. So if you are comfortable with a $400 maintenance fee bill in your current situation, then that shouldn't hold you back. I don't think age has anything to do with it, it's more about financial stability (which is often tied to age). If this is all of your savings, or if you have to really stretch to make this happen, then perhaps you should hold off. It is my belief that AKV resale prices are only going to fall within the next year or two, so I don't think that you will be hurt by waiting.

That said...this is life and you've got to live it. So if this makes sense for you financially and it's something that you want to do, I say why not. But I will respectfully echo a previous poster when I say that buying permanent things that cannot be split (houses, timeshares, pets, etc.) with a girlfriend can be potentially tricky. Along the same lines, talking to the current love of your life about what to do with the above mentioned things should the two of you split up can be equally tricky. Only you know your situation and how this would go over. All I can say is...be careful.

Good luck on your decision!

 

[disneynutz]

Buying a DVC interest locks you into Disney vacations and Disney isn't cheap. You need to consider the total cost, purchase price, and the other costs that increase each year, dues, admission tickets, food, transportation, and of course all of the Disney extras.

We spend around $1500 per person each WDW vacation, not including dues.

Bill

 

[AllieV]

Purely my opinion as I don't know either of you personally -- I would buy the DVC individually instead of as a couple. Much less tricky. When people "own" things, there can be an ugly side that comes out when making decisions or paying fees. There can be resentment eventually.

I've been with my husband for 16 years but when I got these documents to sign, I seriously debated putting it just in my name. I'm the main breadwinner anyway and I do all the planning. He'd never even know we owned a contract, since we've rented so many times. It's not that we're going to split up, but things like death can make it tricky to sell. People die in car accidents all the time, even at young ages.

If you or your girlfriend gets into any sort of debt or gets sued by someone, your contract will end up on the table.

I don't think such a small purchase (5k-6k?) is a bad idea at a young age. But legally linking yourself to someone that you aren't otherwise legally linked to can be a bad idea.

 

[vicki_c]

I agree with those who said the purchase isn't the issue, it's the "girlfriend & I" that's the problem.

Unless you are permanently connected already by marriage, I don't think purchasing any kind of real estate interest with another person is ever a good idea.

I went through this when purchasing my first home. My (now) DH and I had been living together for 4 years or so in an apartment and I wanted a house. I put everything in my name since we weren't married, and I had enough income to qualify and pay on my own, and we didn't change that until after we were married.

 

[mco65]

You should probably get a marriage contract before you get a real estate contract but that's just me..

Your certainly not too young..

 

[dtauer]

You should probably get a marriage contract before you get a real estate contract but that's just me..

Your certainly not too young..

I wanted to respond with a similar comment but was too concerned what the reaction would be. I'm glad to see there are others that feel the same as I do.

Never enter a real estate transaction as single individuals. You may have the greatest relationship ever, and may be together for 60 years, but doing this is just a bad idea. There are too many variables and estate and tax implications to do this together.

On the other hand, I love that you stated that you saved up the money to do it. We financed our DVC, and looking back, now see the error of our ways. We paid it off quickly, but I've moved to the side that DVC is a luxury, and luxuries shouldn't be financed.

If one of you can buy the ownership individually you can still enjoy it together. It would worry me to commit to paying dues together until 2054 (or whatever date is on your chosen resort) as singles.

 

[Brian Noble]

Unless you are permanently connected already by marriage, I don't think purchasing any kind of real estate interest with another person is ever a good idea.

This comes to mind, but so do some other considerations. For example, do you have a 3-6 month cushion of savings? If not, what happens if one of you loses your job or has to take a cut in pay or hours? Do you have a downpayment set aside for a home purchase? Have you started saving for retirement?

In other words, have you taken care of your "needs"? If not, it's too early to think about "wants".

Another question: are you sure that your vacation habits won't change over the next decade or more? (Hint: if you are like most people in their early 20s, the answer is "probably not.") A DVC purchase really only makes sense if you are fairly sure you won't tire of Disney for at least that long.

 

[rainynight]

I think it would make more financial sense to hold off until you own a house and are debt free before purchasing a vacation timeshare deal. Especially since you are not married, and yes, that does matter from a legal standpoint.

My opinion is that there are much wiser financial investments to make at such a young age.

 

[rainynight]

One more thing. I'm only 5 years older than you, but let me tell you, the past 5 years I have changed a lot. My boyfriend (now husband) and I have gone through an unplanned pregnancy (best accident of our lives of course) and I quit work to be a stay at home mom. Our plan was to focus on careers and savings until our mid-30's and then become parents. But at 23 I had a baby and that majorly changed our plans. Luckily my husband has a much higer than average income so we can afford my not working, but there's no denying that losing my income is a huge financial loss every year.

I always said I would be a working mom and career woman but the moment we first saw our son we both knew we wanted him to have a stay at home mom. Suddenly my career didn't seem so important.

You never know what life is going to bring your way, but anything can happen in a second that changes everything.

 

[jennypenny]

At 22 I already owned a house. Hubby and I went to WDW at 23 and have been going ever since. Would have been a great deal if they had DVC back then

As long as you realize it will be harder to break up if you own real estate together, go ahead and enjoy.

 

[cfw213]

Age and financial responsibility don't always go hand in hand!

My DH & I will be DVC owners shorty (waiting to close!).

I am 24 and more financially responsible than some people twice my age. We have no debt (besides cars) and have a down payment saved for a house as soon as our lease is up (December). We did finance a portion of our DVC ($7000), so that we can own for 5 years before we have children. We have the disposible income now and the monthly payments of $175 or so are not a burden.

If you have the cash, I would do it, as long as you know you are going to want to go to Disney for the next 40+ years and know you can afford the dues.

However, I agree that I would buy it in your name only, just in case something happens with you and your GF. I wouldn't have bought if my DH wasn't my DH...and even when we signed the paperwork I considered just putting my name on it - just in case. You never know what can happen.

Good luck!

 

[AJA]

Will you be willing to give your vacation dollars to Disney/Orlando every 2-3 years? If you are than I say go for it. Just remember flying will always be expensive.

Remember you can stay onsite at Disney and not go in the parks. You could rent a car, drive to either/both coasts for the day, visit other Orlando area sites.

75 points is not a huge commitment. You can always rent your points to cover your yearly mf's or just sell the points if you find you don't use them.

As far as age goes...DH and I got married at 20 & 21 so no you're not too young to commit to 75 points in a timeshare.

 

[crisi]

Probably.

1. The marriage thing. If you aren't ready to create a permanent relationship with someone, you shouldn't own a real estate contract with them that will last decades.

2. The maturity cycle. As someone said, most people's habits aren't really set at 22. Yours may be, but they may not be. At 22 my sister had been to Disney every year since she was eighteen and thought she'd continue that. At 24 she was burned out, and spent her vacation dollars in Hawaii, traveling Europe, cruising, going to Mexico. At 38 she had kids and Disney became a regular destination again - but after four years, they are going to Hawaii this year instead.

3. Financial responsibility - its rare, though not impossible, for you to be in a wise financial place to buy a luxury. At your age, usual financial priorities that would come before DVC could be paying off student loans, saving for a downpayment for a home, establishing a six month emergency fund, saving for a wedding, furnishing a home, maxing out 401k contributions.

Its possible that you are the rare 22 year old who is "truly committed but not married" and who is set in your vacationing ways and has all those preliminary financial priorities taken care of - in which case, go for it. I've known a few 22 year old millionaires for whom DVC, even if they never used it, wouldn't have been much of a mistake.

 

[Buddy888]

Thank you all for the kind comments and thoughtful opinions.

Just to answer a few of the questions. I've been with the GF now for almost 6 years. The other day when we were talking about purchasing DVC, she said to me "If we go through with this and purchase the DVC contract you know you will be stuck with me forever". I thought that was pretty funny but also very true. I bought my first house when I was 19 and have been finacially resposible for the mortgage for the past 2 years so the DVC annual MF don't really worry me for the small 75 point contract we are interested in. The GF has also agreed she would chime in and pay half the MF every year. After much deliberation and number crunching we've decided purchasing the 75 point DVC contract will not hurt us financially at all. The amount of money we spent this year at Disney all together adds up to be about the same amount the DVC contract costs. So in theory if we bought into DVC this year, we would skip our Disney vacation next year, bank our points and go for a big trip in 2014. Overall, the gf and I are in no hurry to purchase into DVC there's still lots of research to be done. We also have yet to find the right resale contract, which i'm guessing is going to take a while since all the sites I've been looking at don't seem to have many small point contracts.

 

[AllieV]

Wow, sounds like you really have your stuff together. Nice to know some parents are still doing a good job with their kids and the kids are listening. Gives me hope for this country again.

It seems the best buys are gotten around the holidays, after summer. Everyone has spent their tax refund and bonuses, and summer vacations are over and they're saving for christmas.

75 is not a huge commitment, you're right, and if you buy at a coveted resort, you could easily unload if necessary. Happy hunting!