Could have bought DVC twice by now!

[Greg K.]

I live across the river, in Queens (Forest Hills)...egad, the real estate prices around here are out of control. Thank God, we bought our co-op when we did (1998) because we couldn't begin to afford it now. I don't know how people do it these days.

 

[DznyLvr2005]

I live across the river, in Queens (Forest Hills)...egad, the real estate prices around here are out of control. Thank God, we bought our co-op when we did (1998) because we couldn't begin to afford it now. I don't know how people do it these days.

THey are SOOOO out of control!! I grew up in NJ and prices are so much more reasonable! My friends just bought a house in Sayreville for $300K with a HUGE, I mean HUGE back yard! I'm so jealous! Same house in SI would easily be over 1/2 a million
And coming from NJ, I had no idea that semi attached houses are actually HOUSES that you buy! To me in NJ, that's called an apartment, not a house!

 

[Judique]

THanks for all the replies. My only concern right now is the fact that I've already plopped down practically 1/2 of what it costs in 2 years to go twice, so I feel like I've wasted a huge chunk of money. If I buy DVC now, just feels to me like I've already spent so much that I can't possibly 'afford' it at the moment. When we went to the meeting at Saratoga Springs, There was a great deal (I'm sure they tell that to everyone) But I think it was a low interest rate and something where I could take last years points that I didn't have and add it on to this years. Then the yearly fee. If it was $200 a year I'd probably do it... But $500?? to go for a week (If I go a week a year) It's $500 in maintnence? I'm so in between. ...........snip.......UGH!! I LOVE DISNEY, but I don't know what to do still!!! Hubby doesn't nearly love DW as much as me, and even though he wanted to do this, he doesn't anymore because all he keeps saying to me is "we don't have a house" And houses in Staten Island for the most part are around $600,000!! (So I don't see us getting one of those Until he retires (He's NYPD and has to live in the city) and we can move to New Jersey and buy a house for 1/2 that price with much more land
Thanks for listening, sorry I was rambling...

You sound so much like I did before I bought!!!! For 3 years I thought about it and crunched the numbers. During those three years I made 4 or 5 trips to Disney, staying at the Poly, Coronado Springs, Swan, Wilderness Lodge and the All Stars. I spent from 3-4k per vacation.

For me, I truly like villa accomodations much better then the regular hotel rooms. I plan my vacations usually in advance, with a bit of occasional spur of the moment. I LOVE going to Disney and after 20 years (since first visit) I'm not tired of it. I don't do parks every single day, since my dvc discounted annual pass gives me such good value, I don't feel guilty about wasting 'days'. DVC is a club as someone mentioned. The person also mentioned that it is not exclusive, and it isn't - not in the way he stated, but it is in many meaningful ways that I don't think that poster fully recognizes - the value is always in the eye of the beholder.

To me, you sound like someone who needs to try it out, possibly by renting from an owner or even doing a CRO rental and see how you like the dvc resorts versus the regular hotels. And, there is also the resale market (www.dvc-resales.com -the Timeshare Store)where you could look for a much smaller amount of points then the minimum 150 that Disney sells direct. If you were to buy 50 or 75, you could bank and borrow to have a vacation every 2-3 years.

It's a personal decision and not for everybody, and it isn't cheap. I will throw in one final thought about maintenance fees - all timeshares have them. I've wanted to buy a few other TS's and 'their' maintenance fees hold me back! For some reason I can deal with them for my dvc, but not for a Marriott week - go figure!

 

[dairyou]

We love our DVC and truely use every bit of it. We cook most of the times so we can save money and stay longer. We use some of the discounts. We've kicked ourselves as we have spent more than you before purchasing our DVC. BUT, we are early 40's have a house, boat, kids, dog ect...We would never consider buying at the stage you're at now. You're young and still building your life together. Save that money and purchase your house. As much as we love our DVC, it doesn't build equity like a house. Many would tell you not to even consider buying into DVC for investment purposes.

Good luck in your decision

Deb

 

[MonkeyPants]

I love Disney and have had famly members who have been part of the DVC since the year it started...bought in myself so I have an excuse to go "well I guess I have to go again...cant waste the points'

 

[Boston5602]

Thanks for responding....
What I should have done is purchased this pre-honeymoon, because then it would have been worth it for me. I feel like if I buy it now, i've already wasted seven thousand dollars and now I'm adding another 15 thousand on. Yes, that's another thing... Tickets you have to buy, food, plane tickets. Sometimes getting a package will be worth it more.. for me anyway. You can't beat 2 adults with free dining for 8 days at Coronado Springs for $1800!! I remember when I was little it cost more money to go to DW than it does now!

This is exactly why it took me YEARS to buy I kept saying BUT I already gave Disney $so and so much money, I'm not wasting any more. After 10 years renting rooms I bought. I finally got smart and it was about time!!!!! Is this next trip gonna be your last. Cause in two more trips you'll be saying if I bought before my honeymoon that would have been 3 trips or 2/3 of the payment .


Good luck

 

[Disney Doll]

They were building the DVC in 1991, when DH & I were there on our honeymoon. I said to him at the time "We should buy that". Mr.Practical thought we should save to buy a house first, before we bought a vacation thing.

So we went to WDW at least once per year (and sometimes twice) every year for the next 6 years, usually staying in a moderate or a deluxe, and then bought in 1997. In those 6 years, we probably spent on "regular" hotels what we would have had we bought in 1991.

For the record, I do mention this to him on occasion, just to keep him on his toes!!!!

 

[eliza61]

That's what pretty much sealed the deal for us. We realized every time we went to Disney world we were dropping 3-4K on deluxe accomadations and we were going about every 16 months. After the 3rd year we decided to purchase

 

[AnnaS]

I LOVE DISNEY, but I don't know what to do still!!! Hubby doesn't nearly love DW as much as me, and even though he wanted to do this, he doesn't anymore because all he keeps saying to me is "we don't have a house" And houses in Staten Island for the most part are around $600,000!! (So I don't see us getting one of those Until he retires (He's NYPD and has to live in the city) and we can move to New Jersey and buy a house for 1/2 that price with much more land
Thanks for listening, sorry I was rambling...[/QUOTE]



Don't forget the taxes in NJ are a lot more.

My sister-in-law was in your shoes not too long ago. My brother was the one against purchasing for many reasons - they do own a home and have two girls. (They finally bought recently). I am sure you will be going back over and over again especially once the "children" come. One day you will purchase and you will say - like almost all of us have - that you should have purchased sooner (like at this time). My opinion/my two cents, I would first try to purchase a small home. You can always rent dvc points or visit WDW whenever the mood strikes you. You can also try purchasing a smaller (100) contract via resale. Like I told my sister-in-law - her dues are about $600 a year (150 points) and if she keeps going during dream/magic season, she can stay more than 7 nights in a studio (more like 10).

This is something you need to really think about and see if it is best for you at this time. Good luck with your decision. It can drive you crazy thinking about it - I know.

 

[buck4568]

Just bite the bullet and get it over with!

Look at the fees as your tax bill for having your own deeded interest in your vacation home and go with the tide and enjoy the ride.

 

[Candace]

"And, there is also the resale market (www.dvc-resales.com -the Timeshare Store."


You could buy a small amount of points (at least less than the 150 required for buy-in with Disney), and bank and borrow with them. You could have your vacation every other year, or every three years. Dues would be less, and when you get your other things going (like your home), you could add on. The Timeshare store recently announced an offer for financing, if you need to. Their link is at the top of the page. Often, however, the smaller point contracts don't make it to the website, so you might want to call directly. Play with the calculator on this site to see what your point needs are. Figure different size units during different seasons. Then you can figure just how "small" you can go and still have a vacation (with banking and borrowing).

 

[gchiker]

Has anyone ever thought how much they've spent with all their Disney vacations that they literally could have been in Disney Vacation Club for years now?! I'm sorta upset, we spent more than $5k on our honeymoon to Disney and that's 1/3 of the total cost of DVC!!!
I didn't know much about DVC until we went to Saratoga Springs for a meeting on it (And disney gave us $100 just for going!!!!)
Now were going again in October (free dining! But spending another $2k) so now that's almost 1/2 of the DVC! ARGH! I don't know what to do, I don't like the fact that you have to spend $500 a year in fees, because $500 a year for 49 years adds another $25,000 on to your $15,000 DVC. And we don't own a house, so we really should be thinking about that first, but the fact is that if we keep going I don't know if it's worth it
You can only get the good low points on certain days, then you wind up buying more points. It's something I don't want to bother with.. points... But I love DW and I'd love to own a piece of it. We were so close to buying it last year at the meeting, but we both said we should go home and discuss.

Stop thinking about the past and start planning from today on. Have you ever read an article in a financial magazine about why people keep hanging on to losing investments? The advice is always the same: Size up the stock you own at this point in time and determine whether it pays to hang onto it or sell it now. Never look back on what you originally paid for it and how much you lost. If you do, you will be paralyzed and never sell it. The same holds true for you. You spent money on vacations which you enjoyed. That was money well spent. Now move on. Plan your future according to your current financial situation, and your current and future needs and desires.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Well I look at this way. You don't have a house and you have to live somewhere in the city. You just bought a car with no money down and if you buy DVC you'll probably do it that way too.

It really sounds to me like you should prep for that day when you buy a house not buy DVC. Who knows...you might figure something out like renting a room for him in the city and buying a house for you in jersey (i'm sure that's not a option...rather its a loop hole they mustve already closed).

Wetblanket suggestions like that aside...wait until your next trip to Disney and then use the money you would have used on accomodations to pay down your DVC purchase. But even better perhaps you should visit www.clarkhoward.com He has good advice that will help you save up money for your future financial endeavors. And no he doesn't approve of timeshares...let me add that I have a DVC but I bought it after house and car.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Like so many others, we thought about DVC way back in '91 when we first heard about it on the WDW TV. We didn't really look into it until '94 and then didn't purchase until '97 because we wanted to be able to pay for it without financing. While the price per point didn't increase THAT much during that time, it did increase, and in the meantime, we were spending $3-5000 a trip at deluxes. After finally biting the bullet and joining DVC, we are really kicking ourselves over all those trips we took and "wasted" that money with nothing to show for it but a bill for the trip! Now, we pay our annual maintenance fee and get a much larger room (actually like a 3 room suite), and we are paying less than if we stayed in a cramped little All Stars room!

I'd say it is DEFINITELY worth it! Our only regret is not buying back in '91 when we could have saved park admissions for 9 years too!

 

[Inkmahm]

I don't even want to think about how many thousands of dollars I've paid to Disney over the years for hotel rooms at Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Contemporary. It probably would kill me to add it up and see how much I could have saved if I'd bought DVC years ago.

We bought 330 points this year and I already have 2 vacations per year planned for the next 3 years. Family will go with us each Christmas and my husband and I will go alone each Spring. I really, really, really wish we'd bought years ago.

On the other hand, we have a paid for home and no car loans. We could afford to pay the DVC purchase price out of discretionary funds. If I didn't have a house yet, I'd probably use the money for that and take fewer vacations to be able to afford a nicer home.