Why and whose business is it how people pay for anything? Personally, if people want to finance through DVC that is their choice. Not everyone has stellar credit, and even people with FICO scores above 650 have problems now getting credit for things thanks to the economy. People may look at the interest as a waste of cash, but I think if you are having great vacation and memories with family, that is priceless. Life is too short and you can't take the money with you when you go. And thinking that people who can't afford to buy it with cash don't deserve it is just silly. The family that makes $40,000 a year deserve it just as much as the family that makes $200,000. And sorry, with the banks being bought out and FDIC running out of money, the bank is the last place to think your money is safe right now. I would put any money I have in a foregin bank. Or better yet, like my granny use to do and put it under a mattress. LOL. It is sad when your mattress is safer than an FDIC insured bank.
I guess that's why I was wondering what people really do -- we live in Canada and our banks (at least the major banks) are safe.
It seems that most of the people who finance through DVC that responded to this thread pay it down faster so not only can they afford the high rates, they can pay more than that.
But I can't help but think that DVC could offer better rates, especially when I look at your mortgage rates down there, and knowing that they have the security of being able to take back the points if people default. Unlike a house in an area where property values have fallen, DVC can turn around and sell those points at full price, or rent the units that have suddenly become available -- so it's better security than most banks have on residential mortgages.
And with ROFR, if somebody can't make a payment they do have the option of selling their points on the resale market and getting a decent price. So, I would still try to finance them at a lower rate even if it was through a home equity loan. But, as you point out, things are different down there right now.
BTW, I bought our RV 2 years ago on my CC at 10.5 % (I got airmiles, which we used to travel to Orlando this year) and then payed this $30,000 off with a margin account loan ie. against my stocks at 2.9 %, which was payed off when I sold my stocks throughout the next year. But I knew that we were getting to the top of the market for the things I trade and that I would be getting out of the market for a while.
I have no idea exactly how we'll pay for our points yet. I didn't start this thread to criticize anyone -- we're planning to buy into DVC and I genuinely wanted to know what people do.