DVC members: Household annual income

[tasha99]

I bought my first DVC as a single mom with a medium level income for my area. Eventually had 3 contracts, all are sold now.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

DVC has never been affordable for us. Not even close and we don’t even have a mortgage. We live in Ohio and have always been just barely middle class.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

Buying/Affording a timeshare is all about priorities.

If it is a priority and has always been a priority it will fit into the budget.

My neighbors are always commenting on how many vacations we take, how can we afford so many?

They own boats, jet skis, campers, trucks to pull the campers, etc. Those are their priorities so they can afford them.

Vacations are my priority so I can afford them.

I always caution people looking at a timeshare to remember that they not only need money to pay for the timeshare but money each year to use the timeshare. Money to get to the timeshare either by plane, train, or auto. Money to enjoy the timeshare each year. It's not just about can I afford the monthly payment and annual maintenance fees.

This is perfectly stated.

I still remember someone calling one of my vacations a "once in a lifetime trip" at a previous employer. I was really puzzled because the person who said that made similar money to me and it wasn't a super expensive trip (maybe $2,500 all in). Then I realized they had a bigger house, new car, etc. so they probably did not have the disposable income that I did. Nothing wrong with that, just different priorities.

Used to be part of the initial questions.

Why are people so shocked? Literally every loan has income requirements or at least they used to, is this not a thing anymore? Maybe things got a bit loosey goosey over the years, would explain some things in the banking industry I suppose.
Now I am very curious.
Do these businesses do their own financing these days?

Many who buy DVC pay for it in full which would bypass any questions about household income or qualifying for financing.

 

[disneychrista]

I have no use for a timeshare at Disney (DVC) or any other place. My income does not play a part in this.

 

[Allison]

Used to be part of the initial questions.

Why are people so shocked? Literally every loan has income requirements or at least they used to, is this not a thing anymore? Maybe things got a bit loosey goosey over the years, would explain some things in the banking industry I suppose.
Now I am very curious.
Do these businesses do their own financing these days?

You are talking about financing a purchase with a loan. That is much different than a desired income level to be a part of dvc.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I have no use for a timeshare at Disney (DVC) or any other place. My income does not play a part in this.

This. I've never looked into it, but I have no doubt we could do if it that's what we wanted. We are absolutely not interested in DVC or any other timeshare type property.

 

[_19disnA]

Have never owned DVC, but I think your survey would go over better if placed in the DVC area and the title was clearer about what you are asking. My impression from other DVC threads on here is that some do pay cash while others choose to finance it. Clearly if you finance a purchase, the lender will likely run a credit check to see what level of risk might be involved in providing you a loan. Posting it in the community area and based on the title, it reads like one of those daily random questions people like to ask.

 

[fab1976]

We own DVC. Credit check was not something that was done because we didn’t finance it. We also bought when the minimum number of points to buy an initial contract was quite low, I want to say 50 or 75 points. That can make a difference in the poll too. Some bought when you had to buy over 100 initially. I think at this moment it is back to minimum 100 again. We have a scant 90. It makes it affordable to pay the annual dues having a lower amount. I have serious addonitis after every trip, and every so often I go looking for a small resale contract, but the low annual cost is quite nice!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Used to be part of the initial questions.

Why are people so shocked? Literally every loan has income requirements or at least they used to, is this not a thing anymore? Maybe things got a bit loosey goosey over the years, would explain some things in the banking industry I suppose.
Now I am very curious.
Do these businesses do their own financing these days?

Never recall them asking for income, or checking credit.

 

[GAN]

Just curious about income levels, back when we were looking they wanted a certain income to qualify, good to know that is gone now.

Wow…I’ve never heard of that. Was it to qualify for financing through DVC?

 

[tvguy]

I still remember someone calling one of my vacations a "once in a lifetime trip" at a previous employer. I was really puzzled because the person who said that made similar money to me and it wasn't a super expensive trip (maybe $2,500 all in). Then I realized they had a bigger house, new car, etc. so they probably did not have the disposable income that I did. Nothing wrong with that, just different priorities.

We got a bit of that in the 1980's when we first got married and did 3 cruises in 4 years. But at that time cruises WERE generally a once in a lifetime trip that retired people did before they died.
Over on the Cruise Line forum, when the Disney Wish had it's made voyage last year, at one of the shows passengers were asked how many Disney cruises they had been on and there were several people who had been on 100 or more Disney cruises. Disney has only been cruising 25 years, so that averages out to 4 cruises a year.
Even if those are only 3 day cruises, those are currently running $1600 per person double occupancy. So well over $300,000. That's more that I paid for my house and all 9 cars my wife have purchased over the last 41 years combined.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I don’t know…. I responded earlier, but this seems like a question for prospective Golden Oaks or Club 33 applicants.

DVC is for the working stiff.

 

[TLSnell1981]

We never bought more points than we could pay cash for. I’d never go into debt for a vacation. So our yearly income is irrelevant.

 

[mumto3girls]

We are DVC owners and no where near the upper end of your ranges. We bought our initial contract in 1998 when it was far more affordable. We did a few small add ons after that, but not directly through Disney. I think it has been at least 10 years since we added on. I highly doubt we would buy in at today’s prices.

I already answered above, but I do not recall an income threshold. We did not finance— DVC was far more affordable in the early years.

 

[china mom]

Used to be part of the initial questions.

Why are people so shocked? Literally every loan has income requirements or at least they used to, is this not a thing anymore? Maybe things got a bit loosey goosey over the years, would explain some things in the banking industry I suppose.
Now I am very curious.
Do these businesses do their own financing these days?

That's assuming that the person is planning on financing the purchase. When we looked (didn't end up buying), we would have paid cash.

 

[Cadiewampus]

Is anybody really a DVC "owner" seeing how they are just contracts that have an expiration date? Granted you can renew but you really never own anything. Or am i missing something?

 

[RamblingMad]

Is anybody really a DVC "owner" seeing how they are just contracts that have an expiration date? Granted you can renew but you really never own anything. Or am i missing something?

They’re real estate contracts.

I would think that the more you make the less likely you are to buy a time share. If you want to buy, you’ll get a second home near the parks or buy in Golden Oaks. You wouldn’t buy a timeshare.

 

[MillauFr]

I think a more appropriate question would be how long you like to plan your trips in advance.

 

[leahgoogle]

We don't own DVC, but I am kicking myself for not purchasing it when we were pondering it back in 2000. I think it is way overpriced now and it doesn't make sense for us. If I were young again, I may feel differently.

 

[china mom]

They’re real estate contracts.

I would think that the more you make the less likely you are to buy a time share. If you want to buy, you’ll get a second home near the parks or buy in Golden Oaks. You wouldn’t buy a timeshare.

We did the math 7 ways to Sunday and found that DVC would cost us more annually in dues (assuming that we paid cash for the membership) than out typical Pop Century vacations. We eventually ended up buying a vacation home minutes from Disney and rent it our. It ended up being a way better deal than DVC. And we have an owners closet where we can keep our belongings.