22 to young to own DVC ??

[nikknyc]

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.

Hi! I am 24 and an owner at AKL. Sure, it's my only home and my only other asset besides my car, but it's mine. I read through the contract, I met with my sales person on the cruise I bought it on, and I'm good to go. I was fortunate enough to pay in full, so I basically just bought my future family and myself vacations for at least my lifetime.

I say go for it. It's a great way for our generation to see the world at Deluxe places. Next step with my points? Hawaii.

 

[Tunseeker1]

I bought at 19 when there were way less options to purchase.

I have still gone all over the world on vacation, I wasn't stuck with disney for all my vacations.

I have sent my siblings and nieces/nephews to disney as gifts when they wanted to go for very little cost.

When I look at the price I paid is less then a lot of resale prices and I have been using my points for 18 years it feels pretty good

Now when people talk about marriage and purchases it is very simple. Go to a lawyer or just jump on the computer and get an agreement written on what to do if you guys have problems in the future.
If you aren't together anymore there are 3 options
1. If neither wants it then sell it and split the money according to the original percentages.
2. If one of you want it then the other pays out the ORIGINAL percentage of the other.
3. If you both want it then sell it and split the money according to the original percentages.

Don't get hung up on the marriage thing too awful much. If you have been a couple that feels committed to each other then the marriage is just a legal contract. People have been deciding they are married for eons without judge or priests involved.

 

[kamik86]

I bought in at 23. I dont' regret it at all. I may want to take a year off of DVC (when I have kids as I wouldn't want to take a really tiny baby, or if I want to take a different trip) but then I can just bank the points or even rent them out so I'm not worried about that happening.

Many would say I should have saved for a house first but to be honest I'm still not sure I want to stay where I am living now. So there is really no point in owning a house until I'm fairly certain I want to stay in the same place for at least 5 years.

I wasn't worried about the whole breaking up thing at all though since we were already married at that time.

 

[ELMC]

When I look at the price I paid is less then a lot of resale prices and I have been using my points for 18 years it feels pretty good

You do realize that the $60 spent on a direct purchase 18 years ago is the same value as the $120 they are asking for now, right? It's called inflation. So all the people who are buying direct now for $120 per point will most likely be able to sell their contracts on the resale market for $120 per point because the direct prices are going to be in the $240 per point range. Sixty 1992 dollars have the same value as one hundred twenty 2012 dollars. It's the same thing.

 

[DenLo]

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 have to agree with sentiment. I really don't think it's wise for non married individuals to own together. Even when parents and an adult child own together it makes me nervous, unless it's an only child. Otherwise, when the parents pass away the other children can demand that the contract be sold for inheritance purposes.

Also since you are college students, you probably do not have your final permanent job. I really think that you might want to wait until you have an idea of your college loan payments before committing to a contract because the annual dues might be to hard to manage while in college or when you first start paying for those college loans.

For now you could rent points for a vacation or even spend less and stay at a value resort.

 

[jennypenny]

I have to agree with sentiment. I really don't think it's wise for non married individuals to own together.

That sounds a little dated. We know lots of couples that are together (live together, own property together, raise kids together) that aren't married. In Europe it's common.

 

[dunnhorn]

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 totally agree. I think until you are married, you should not have the contract in both names. There are contracts out there that are split - I have bought a 50 point contract that is split 25/25 - if you can find one like that, then one can have one and the other can have the other. Or, one person can buy the contract and you can have a deal where the other person pays for the meal plan when you are there, or buys the annual passes each year - something like that.

I think you are not too young for DVC, but I think you should look for a smaller contract. 75 is nice, but again, it might be too much financially for your first time out. Once you are in the DVC system as a member, you can then purchase contracts directly from DVC in any amount (I think 25 points is the min) that match your use year, and those points would not have any use restrictions, and in time (lets say if you guys get married and have kids) you may want to do that to use the points for the cruise or other ways. You can purchase any home resort from DVC because it always has inventory becuase of ROFR. Plus, DVC constantly has great add on promotions. For example, right now they are having "buy 100 get 20 free" promotion.

My best advice would be to skip on AKV and purchase a 50 point contract at OKW that has been extended. It will have lower maint fees overall, lower cost and you are younger - this will last longer. Then - if you guys get married later, you can always purchase more points at another resort.

For example.... we went on a cruise last week, and we purchased our 6th add on contract. We started with 75 points and now we have around 450. But we have built this over time...

Another good thing about purchasing a small contract is that you can also unload it fairly easily if you ever need to.

Hope this helps... and hope it works out

 

[Splashboat]

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.

You don't really seem to need advice but I would agree with all of those people who seem to suggest you just put it in your name. There doesn't seem to be a down side to doing this for you. Whether or not her name is on the deed does not have to make any difference in your future vacation plans. If you stay together, you have no issues - just vacation like you would regardless of who's name is on it. You might very well want to add on more points eventually anyway and she can put those points in her name if it makes both of you more comfortable. If you don't stay together, it is one less thing to argue about - This applies to any couple that splits up regardless of age or marital status.

BTW, The reason I suggest 'your name' is because you said you needed to convince her... This leads me to believe you want it more than she does so you should take on the responsibility.

 

[dunnhorn]

I would also say to make sure you want AKV as home resort priority. It is the 2nd largest resort on property behind SSR, and to be honest we don't own there and never had a problem getting savanna view rooms ever ( we have stayed there 4-5 times and have ALWAYS had a savanna view room.) The only advantage at this point to buying AKV resale is to have access to concierge. If you don't see yourself wanting that, seriously - I would look at other purchase options like OKW extended contract or even BLT like I suggested before... or even the smaller ones like VWL or BCV... because at the end of the day, you'll always be able to get savanna at AKV.

Just my $.02

 

[dunnhorn]

I bought in at 23. I dont' regret it at all. I may want to take a year off of DVC (when I have kids as I wouldn't want to take a really tiny baby...QUOTE]


Just as a FYI, some of my most cherished vacations were when we took our kids when they were tiny babies. They are now 8 and 10 years old, and both had their first Disney trips at 3 months, then again at 6 months. You just do the parks differentlly... It's a lot of people watching, and if you go around Christmas the babies love to look at the twinkling lights. Both kids ate their first sold rice cereal in a 1 bedroom at Old Key West. It's a great resort for babies because you can take the boat to DTD, it's a lot of fun and it is easy to get around and walk the stroller. Anyway - just had to chime in.

I have a great picture of mickey feeding my then 6 month old daughter a bottle at Chef Mickey (She is almost 9 now... fun times)

 

[Tunseeker1]

You do realize that the $60 spent on a direct purchase 18 years ago is the same value as the $120 they are asking for now, right? It's called inflation. So all the people who are buying direct now for $120 per point will most likely be able to sell their contracts on the resale market for $120 per point because the direct prices are going to be in the $240 per point range. Sixty 1992 dollars have the same value as one hundred twenty 2012 dollars. It's the same thing.

I think you are trying to help me make my point

If you buy in today and use your points for vacations and sell at close to what you paid its a good thing.

Only difference is I bought with about 50 yrs left and then bought another 15 yrs. Now contracts are ending in 30. (and inflation has only been about 2.5% so $60=$94)

 

[ELMC]

I think you are trying to help me make my point

If you buy in today and use your points for vacations and sell at close to what you paid its a good thing.

Only difference is I bought with about 50 yrs left and then bought another 15 yrs. Now contracts are ending in 30. (and inflation has only been about 2.5% so $60=$94)

I was using rounded number to illustrate a point, which it seems was not taken. My mistake. So I'll use your inflation numbers (which are accurate) to try to make the point in a different way.

Although you are getting the same number of physical dollars back if you were to sell now, you are not getting the same value. So you are not getting back what you paid for it. In order to get equal value back (and thus get "free" use of the points for the past 18 years) you would have to sell your OKW resale for $93 per point net of all expenses. So saying that the price you paid is less than most resale prices is actually a misleading statement because it does not account for the decreased purchasing power of the dollar over time. Technically, the only resales that are more than what you paid for your contract are the ones listed at $94 per point or higher.

I'm not trying to take away from direct purchasers, you, your experiences or the value of having DVC for the past 18 years. I'm simply addressing a point I've seen made on here often when people say they get back what they paid 20 years ago. It's not exactly true.

 

[DougEMG]

I took a look at the annual inflation rate in the US since 1991, when OKW opened till now and the total compounded increase in inflation has been rough 72%. OKW originally opened in 1991 at a price of $51/point, today that equivalent would be roughly $88/point.

Looks to me like DVC has done a lot better with their price increase than just inflation, what with BLT going for over $150/point now.

Buying direct in 1991 was the only option since there wasn't a resale market and I think that buying OKW direct back then has turned out to be a good deal for those original owners.

I wish I could of afforded to buy back then.

 

[PirateLife4Me:)]

I got my vacation club when I was 21 in 2008 and started with 200 points, I currently have grown to 620 points so it is very possible to do it as long as you plan accordingly