DVC dues and retirement thoughts....

[muppets3d]

I really don’t know! I just know that Florida has notably timeshare owner friendly laws. DVC might treat all locations the same. But if it isn’t in law, they don’t have to.

It’s quite likely California also has owner friendly laws, but I’m less familiar with them. If they do, then I’d consider owning there. I of course don’t plan to ever deal with this but it’s nice to know what the worst possible outcome is.

What are some examples of timeshare ownership laws that are more owner-friendly in Florida versus say South Carolina? Just curious.

I don't know if I would bank on this long term. Florida has moved in a very pro business direction which leans towards less protections for consumers.

What are some examples of new laws that affect us as timeshare owners in a negative way? Just curious.

 

[fabricmage]

My story: I bought 18 years ago. I too was concerned about paying for dues in retirement. So when I could afford it, I put money in Certificate of Deposits (CDs) and Money markets so I could afford dues for about 10 years in retirement. It's worked out for me - interest rates for CDs and stocks have ABOUT kept up with inflation. (Actually, I'm not sure about that; but the money has increased.) I'm 68 years old now and was thinking of selling as my kids aren't interested anymore in spending money at Disney. However, I've discovered Aulani and Hilton Head so will keep my points until I can't travel anymore.

 

[muppets3d]

My story: I bought 18 years ago. I too was concerned about paying for dues in retirement. So when I could afford it, I put money in Certificate of Deposits (CDs) and Money markets so I could afford dues for about 10 years in retirement. It's worked out for me - interest rates for CDs and stocks have ABOUT kept up with inflation. (Actually, I'm not sure about that; but the money has increased.) I'm 68 years old now and was thinking of selling as my kids aren't interested anymore in spending money at Disney. However, I've discovered Aulani and Hilton Head so will keep my points until I can't travel anymore.

If the amount of money in your accounts increases even as you withdraw, then you've done very well.

 

[sndral]

…
PS - you folks with 800+ pts talking about retirement scares the crap out of me, the dues on those points keeps me up at night right now and I can't even imagine it when I'm in retirement. That's not an insignificant amount of money per year when I have no income.

Sorry for the rambling post......

If you plan & start investing now, at age 46, you will likely have income when you retire.
When I was around 40 years old a co-worker took the time to educate me about investing. My employer had a deferred compensation plan, so I researched which mutual funds I wanted in that plan & started investing. If your employer doesn’t offer such a plan, then you can create your own by opening an IRA account. It’s because I started living w/in my means & consistently & conservatively ‘paying myself’ by investing a set % of my then income each month that I can comfortably pay things like my DVC MFs now that I am retired.
There are a zillion retirement/investment calculators on the internet where you can run calculations on likely income at retirement based on how much you’re able to save/invest each month - here’s a simple one https://investor.vanguard.com/tools-calculators/retirement-income-calculator.
When I reflect back on how I ended up w/ a healthy portfolio in retirement, it wasn’t luck or being some investment genius, I was a tortoise, plodding along, putting the same amount in each month in the same boring mutual funds & not reacting to whether the market was frothy or in the doldrums, increasing my contributions as my income grew &/or expenses fell. But mostly I treated my retirement contribution like a bill & paid it every single month - just like I paid my mortgage & utilities.

 

[Mommb]

When I reflect back on how I ended up w/ a healthy portfolio in retirement, it wasn’t luck or being some investment genius, I was a tortoise, plodding along, putting the same amount in each month in the same boring mutual funds & not reacting to whether the market was frothy or in the doldrums, increasing my contributions as my income grew &/or expenses fell. But mostly I treated my retirement contribution like a bill & paid it every single month - just like I paid my mortgage & utilities.

That's a great way to do it. I set up a 401K so that a percentage comes out of my paycheck before I even see it. A few years ago I also set the percentage to increases by 1% each year (which is, so far, less than my annual raise). I don't pay close attention to my annual salary, just the take-home amount after taxes, insurance, and 401K. That way I'm not tempted to spend more than I know I have.

 

[Brian Noble]

When I was around 40 years old a co-worker took the time to educate me about investing.

A colleague uses part of his final lecture of the semester to show the students how they can easily become millionaires through the magic of compund interest.

These are college students, so they should already know this, but inevitably their minds are blown.

 

[atthebeachclub]

A colleague uses part of his final lecture of the semester to show the students how they can easily become millionaires through the magic of compund interest.

These are college students, so they shiould already know this, but inevitably their minds are blown.

I commend your colleague for doing that. But am shocked they haven't been told that yet!

 

[Brian Noble]

I think they have been, but I don't think they "get it" the first few times. I'm not sure I did. It is pretty abstract until something makes it visceral.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

A colleague uses part of his final lecture of the semester to show the students how they can easily become millionaires through the magic of compund interest.

These are college students, so they should already know this, but inevitably their minds are blown.

My last semester of college, one of my professors took the last 10 minutes of each class to give us life advice. Walked us (future educators) through ways to avoid pitfalls with parents, administrators, and students, told us to stay out of the teacher's lounge, and talked to us about money. Once he even brought in a financial advisor to talk to us and answer any questions. In one semester, I gained more practical advice than all the rest combined. Bless him.

 

[poohnpiglet3]

This is a really incredible and thoughtful thread. I'm 50 now and have been a owner since my twins were one year old! They're turning 23 soon and I have (sadly) only 17 years left on my BCV contract. I don't consider the dues terribly expensive and vacationing is my one and only luxury. I wouldn't have it any other way. But setting aside a specific "dues fund" in case of emergency is a great idea. My children would absolutely use the points if I weren't here. Now I need to see about putting their names on the deed I suppose.

Thank you all for the sage advice on this thread.

 

[Mouseforward]

stay out of the teacher's lounge

Same advice I give new male nurses - stay out of the nurses lounge, and make friends that are not coworkers.

My father was a career PS teacher and always said the same - "nothing worse than a room full of people smoking and complaining."

 

[mkatsy]

I’ve been thinking about this more as DVC dues upon death (morbid, I know). For us, even though we have wills, Florida property needs to go through probate. I need to talk to my attorney about an addendum requiring the executor of the estate to pay MFs until my daughter is of age to decide if she will sell.

This just happened to my husband. His father passed away owning 300 points at VB. However, the executor (sibling) not only didn’t pay the dues they are dragging their feet on probate. DVC requires a supplemental probate to be file in Indian River county after the primary probate is settled in their home state. My husband is only heir to part of the 300 points and we all know you can’t split the contract. So … in order to save my husband’s points I would have to pay an attorney to force the out of state probate, then we would have to file the Florida probate, then we would have to square up with Disney for all the dues. We’re just going to let it go … which is super sad because my FIL loved his points. I’m sure it will go to auction but it’s just not worth dealing with the toxic family members. This is my public service announcement to split your contracts.

 

[MyDogTink]

This just happened to my husband. His father passed away owning 300 points at VB. However, the executor (sibling) not only didn’t pay the dues they are dragging their feet on probate. DVC requires a supplemental probate to be file in Indian River county after the primary probate is settled in their home state. My husband is only heir to part of the 300 points and we all know you can’t split the contract. So … in order to save my husband’s points I would have to pay an attorney to force the out of state probate, then we would have to file the Florida probate, then we would have to square up with Disney for all the dues. We’re just going to let it go … which is super sad because my FIL loved his points. I’m sure it will go to auction but it’s just not worth dealing with the toxic family members. This is my public service announcement to split your contracts.

Sorrry to hear that and thanks for posting. Very informative.

If you spent the time and money on probate, what would that look like? You spend the money for lawyers and to settle the dues and then the contract is owned by your husband and siblings?

 

[mkatsy]

Sorrry to hear that and thanks for posting. Very informative.

If you spent the time and money on probate, what would that look like? You spend the money for lawyers and to settle the dues and then the contract is owned by your husband and siblings?

Exactly, we would pay the entire bill and the sibling and my husband would both own the contract equally. Right now, 300 VB points is about $4,000 a year and I would most likely never see a penny from the other party. I can’t even bail it out and sell it without the other parties consent. It’s direct points so they would maintain their direct status when inherited so I wouldn’t be entirely opposed to saving it if the other party was capable of acting like a responsible adult. Prior to Indian River County probate my husband is not a legal owner, just a “potential heir”. If we pay to get through the two probates then, as a legal owner, he would be responsible for the maintenance fees even if she blows through all the points that she claims she has no interest in. Had my father in law bought two 150 point contracts we could save my husband’s points and let hers go.