Filled Paperwork Now Really Nervous!

[Blazedad]

Newbie Here.....

Just filled out all of the paperwork to purchase 150 points at BCV...Just don't know if it is the right thing to do...I am a Disney-holic....I have gone in Oct '94, Oct'95, Oct'96, April 2000, Sept 2000, April 2001, and just came back from a glorious 8 days in May 2003!!! So I do go pretty often; I guess...

I have a DS (11) and a DD (5).I love it there but am worried about Disney burn-out and not being able to make trades for other locations in the future....I am also worried about financially being able to go on vacation every year/other year..It seems like a large financial obligation....with the cost of the points and dues every year it could be about a $40,000 proposition! I don't know about many of you out there; I don't have over $10,000 in the bank, so I have to finance the purchase.....

PS...Are the yearly dues/fees tax deductable??

Need some advice....Thanks...

 

[mrsdon]

if you go every year and have children then it is a good idea.
If you can afford it.
The price of the rooms will keep going up. The rooms are much larger than regular hotel rooms. You dont have to go every year.
You can bank your points for a year and take a really long trip. or get a bigger room and bring friends or family.
Dont worry about burn-out. once you start going to WDW and staying at any DVC, you'll be like thr rest of us and need more points,
Hope this helps ease your mind,

 

[Mrs. Snowgod]

Hi there.... know what you mean, committing to that kind of expenditure for a "non-necessity" can be a bit disconcerting, but after a few years, hopefully you will pat yourself on the back and realize what a necessity quality time to relax with your family really is.

Though you need to check with a tax advisor for a final answer, generally for many DVC owners the mortgage interest and the property tax portion of your dues IS tax-deductable.

And... now for the fun part:

[size=huge][color=orange=red]WELCOME HOME & CONGRATULATIONS!!![/size][/color]

 

[InstImpres]

Blazedad -

Relax and think of all the wonderful trips to come. It sounds like I am in a similiar financial situation to you. I am now a single mom with a DD7. Yes, it is a big commitment but we always vacation. I find the more we go to Disney the more often we want to go back. We use to go once every 1 1/2 to 2 1/2. Now we have 4 trips in a 13 month period and we still do parks all the time. There are many DVC owners I know that enjoy just the resort life and lounging at the pool knowing they will always have courtesy CM's and a great resort.

Good luck
Sandy

 

[Disney1fan2002]

We were nervous at first also. It is a HUGE financial commitment. But I really like how they compare it to buying a car. You put that much money on a car, and where is the car in 15 years? This is a one time price for 39 years! As for Disney burn out, I don't think there is such a thing, and if going every year does end up getting old, you can always bank your points and go every 2-3 years. And, if the parks are what get's old to you, then maybe you can just go for a "relaxing" vacation ,and hang out at the resort pool, or go to Hilton Head Island or Vero Beach. There is so much more to Disney than just the parks, and Disney is constantly changing, every time we have gone, something new is there.

You made a good decision! When the loan is paid off, think of all the years you will have to go "free". LOL

Also, I believe all the apprehension will disappear as soon as you arrive "home" for the first time! I know when we signed on the dotted line, I walked out of there with a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. "What did we just do????" Then we went right from the sit-down to Magic Kingdom, and I was on Splash Mountain, telling the people in front of me that we just bought DVC, and I could NOT contain my excitement!!!! I wanted to SQUEAL with delight, and that feeling just overcame me out of the blue. That was when I knew we had made the right decision. We just signed a contract TODAY for a 300 point add on ( resale at OKW) and again, that funny feeling came over me, but then when I came here, and as I am typing this, I am finding it hard to control my excitement!!!! We are going to have 470 points a year!!!! WOOHOO!

I know you will love it, if you didn't love Disney already, I don't think you would of even looked into purchasing, am I right? So you will be fine and you will enjoy it, trust me!!!

 

[Granny]

Originally posted by Blazedad


Just filled out all of the paperwork to purchase 150 points at BCV...Just don't know if it is the right thing to do...I am a Disney-holic....I have gone in Oct '94, Oct'95, Oct'96, April 2000, Sept 2000, April 2001, and just came back from a glorious 8 days in May 2003!!! So I do go pretty often; I guess...

I have a DS (11) and a DD (5).I love it there but am worried about Disney burn-out and not being able to make trades for other locations in the future....

Seven trips in 9 years....are you burned out yet??

Obviously not.


I guess my only question is....do you see WDW as only a kids place to go? Most members enjoy WDW and seem to enjoy it with or without the children. I know my DW and I are looking forward to some trips as a couple in a few years when we are empty-nested.

As for trades to other locations....I don't see that as a problem, but if you bought DVC primarily to trade out, then I understand there are other, cheaper timeshares that might do this better.


But my guess is that you will have no qualms about your purchase at all. I know that we have already been well rewarded with just two trips....which just happen to be the two best family vacations we've ever had!

Enjoy!

 

[DebbieB]

I bought in the fall of 1999, I'm single and wanted to use it for me and my mom and sometimes my nieces or friends. It is a big financial committment but I looked at it that I could always sell it. With the Disney name it wouldn't be too difficult I figured. Last month was our 7th DVC trip (2 per year since then) and I have no regrets! I figure even if I had to sell it now I got my money's worth! I bought at $65 per point, look how much it has gone up in less than 4 years!

Welcome Home!

 

[poj7]

If you can afford it and you love Disney it's a no-brainer. If it is a financial hardship, don't do that to yourself. Use the money to pay off any debt with high interest rates first. If you have disposable income left over, that's a different story.

 

[JimC]

Congratulations and welcome home!

We had those same feelings when we first looked in 1992 and decided we could not afford it. Looking back, we made the correct decision then because we had other budget priorities and we did not want to have fixed obligations for vacations. Our mistake was taking a decade to seriously revisit the proposition. We should have done it 5 years ago!

We enjoy the tremendous variety that WDW offers and even though exchanges are probably not the best use of points, it is there is we occaisionally want to try something different. Then there is Vero Beach and Hilton Head for a complete change of pace.

We bought because it is our favorite vacation destination, filled with great CMs and now we go for less money and better lodgings than we had when we were paying cash.

Best of luck.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

<font face="comic sans ms">CONGRATULATIONS & WELCOME HOME!</font face>

You seem to be a regular Disney vacationer, so I wouldn't be overly concerned on whether you made the right choice.

PS- Welcome to the DIS!

 

[Blazedad]

Thank you all for your replies! I really liked the comparison to buying a car...I definitely agree with the value of buying into DVC. I just paid about $2500 for 8 nights in Disney World; that is a little less than about 1/4 of the total cost of the DVC points!

I guess it is just the "getting deeper into debt" part of me..We did use a loan to buy into DVC and pay off our non-tax deductable debt. Originally the loan was intended to pay off just the other debt; but DW and I decided to just take out more and get the DVC points.....

We will just have to tighten our belts for some years to come....I work for 50 weeks a year...I do value vacation time with my family! It is something we can enjoy for many years, pass down to our children, and DisneyWorld is our favorite place to go...Based on your input, I should feel alot better after our first trip "HOME" Thanx!

 

[Lizardbeth61]

Just signed up ourselves on May 19th and were very nervous, but all the positives that I got from these boards have me extremely excited about our first trip to Vero Beach in August. We have gone to Disney once a year for the last 4 years and see it continuing. We worry about burn out too, but as everyone will tell you, there are lots of other things to do if you need a park break, plus there's Vero and Hilton Head.

Yes, I was nervous, but I'm just plain excited now. You can analyze the cost to death, but here's the way I see it. We just arranged a nice trip to Vero for the cost of airfare and a car for less than we were going to spend going to a tacky northern East coast beach. The price for our room had we booked it directly would have been $220.00/night. We've pretty much gotten our return on our maintainance fee for the year already. I know, I know. The mortgage deal, but you only live once and if it's for the good of the family it's worth it.

I know I've oversimplified, but if you're going to vacation, you're going to spend the money. Might as well get the most for your dollars.

Hope your nervousness leaves soon like mine did.

 

[Lizardbeth61]

I forgot. See the thread, "Nervous about purchase . . . help!" Everyone helped me a lot and I sounded very much like you on some of the issues. Good luck.

 

[trishy]

It can seem overwhelming at first, but you realize once you're there how grateful you are that you signed "your life away".

 

[Merilyn]

I know you made the right decision with 2 small children. You will have so many wonderful years with them and your grandchildren one day. The family time is so important. With a DVC membership, trades to other locations are much easier than with most timeshares. It is considered the best and there are usually people that want to trade in. We have traded several times and still go mostly to WDW. We will never burn out on WDW and my children were 17 and 21 when we joined. They still like to go on vacation there, and have gone alone a couple of times. We joined in 1994.

WELCOME HOME

 

[WolfpackFan]

I had similar concerns when I first started looking at DVC. Here is how I justified it. We're within 2-4 years of retiring. Even in our mid-50's we still love WDW. I remember once reading here that someone said you are basically paying now for discounted vacations in the future. After we retire we will have less disposible income, but at least 1 or 2 weeks out of the year, I will know we can have a very nice vacation. If money is really tight then, heck we'll just go down to BCV and relax around the pools for a week and not even hit a park. Then in 20 years when we are in our 70's and might not want to go as often (I am having a hard time even seeing that happen, I'll have to be put in a home before I won't want to go ); we'll just turn our points over to our daughter and let her have 19 more years of Disney fun off our one time purchase.

 

[Coach Rick]

As said, you could analyze this purchase to death. I think most everyone who has purchased any big ticket item is in fear, and wondering if we have done the right thing. Life is waaay toooo short, and just enjoy it. We all come into the world the same way, and the final outcome is also the same, it's what you do in between that counts. As a timeshare owner for 22 years we have stayed off property a few times in very nice villa's, but after our first stay on property at one of the All Star resorts, and then a return stay at the Polly, I can tell you there is nothing like staying on property. I love Disney so much that I want to share it with everyone I love, and now I can do that. Our plan is to return every two years, and next August we will be taking my mom for the very first time, and I can't wait for her to see it. My dad was there with me in 75 when I went with the high school band, but that was the last time he was there. There have been a few addtions since. You get my drift... Enjoy it, you obviously sound like a Disney Lover, so it will work for you.

 

[jodifla]

We joined in '96 at 150 points and were uneasy at first. But it didn't take us long to realize it was one of the best things we ever did. In fact, we just added on a small amount of points at BCV.

Once your mortgage is paid off, you really start to realize the benefits. We stayed about 10 nights last year in incredible accommodations ranging from 2 bedrooms to studios for just our dues of about $40 a month. Since we're now a one income family, it's been a true blessing. We would never vacation like this without DVC.

If you like Disney at all, you will LOVE belonging to DVC.

Welcome home!