First Time Buyer @ 25 y/o

[BarlowFamily]

@IsamarV14 you have received some great feedback here! I wanted to share our experience and goals with you as well.

We purchased Marriott Vacation Club back when I was 26 years old. DH is a few years older That was a huge purchase for us, we financed and paid it off very quickly. And are very glad we did. We have enjoyed our vacations for years now and don't regret it. We move frequently for work, so we've been able to travel the world near and far along the way. It sounds like you have a good relationship with your parents, they might be able to give you a better perspective than us on the boards.

We are now settled on the East Coast for a little longer, but not forever. After a few trips to WDW, we are also thinking of purchasing DVC. This time we will definitely be paying cash for a smaller contract. We rented points to stay at AKV, during our trips we've wandered around BCV, BWV, Poly, CR, GFV and BRV/CCV, but we have not taken the tour yet. We have done lots of research online. We've narrowed it down to an OKW direct purchase or BLT/SSR resale. For a small contract (50 points?), OKW direct is a closer value to resale - small contracts are rarely the longer contract term and prices per point are high (compared to direct and larger contracts). We like the Resort grounds and locations of OKW, BLT and SSR....and the value of BLT and SSR resale is pretty good. Our plan to to keep checking the resales and if the perfect OKW pops up we'll go for it, and we might go for a good BLT or SSR as well.

Best of luck to you!! Come back down the road to let us know how it goes!

 

[Deb & Bill]

...
Buy slightly less points than you think you'll need; I have found it is even easier to transfer points in than I thought it would be originally, and as the current situation shows apparently borrowing is better than banking for getting the most out of your points. ....

You are limited to one transfer in or out each UY. Plus, with the changes to borrowing being limited to 50% of your points, those plans need to be reconsidered as well.

 

[IsamarV14]

@IsamarV14 you have received some great feedback here! I wanted to share our experience and goals with you as well.

We purchased Marriott Vacation Club back when I was 26 years old. DH is a few years older That was a huge purchase for us, we financed and paid it off very quickly. And are very glad we did. We have enjoyed our vacations for years now and don't regret it. We move frequently for work, so we've been able to travel the world near and far along the way. It sounds like you have a good relationship with your parents, they might be able to give you a better perspective than us on the boards.

We are now settled on the East Coast for a little longer, but not forever. After a few trips to WDW, we are also thinking of purchasing DVC. This time we will definitely be paying cash for a smaller contract. We rented points to stay at AKV, during our trips we've wandered around BCV, BWV, Poly, CR, GFV and BRV/CCV, but we have not taken the tour yet. We have done lots of research online. We've narrowed it down to an OKW direct purchase or BLT/SSR resale. For a small contract (50 points?), OKW direct is a closer value to resale - small contracts are rarely the longer contract term and prices per point are high (compared to direct and larger contracts). We like the Resort grounds and locations of OKW, BLT and SSR....and the value of BLT and SSR resale is pretty good. Our plan to to keep checking the resales and if the perfect OKW pops up we'll go for it, and we might go for a good BLT or SSR as well.

Best of luck to you!! Come back down the road to let us know how it goes!

Thank you for sharing! We have settled on a small contract (50-60 points) so that we don't have to finance and test the waters as well. We also love to travel around so it is important for us to have time for those travels as well. Also, due to the pandemic and seeing that my spouse is in the medical field, we might rent first due to the unknown being a very important thing right now, if we don't find the perfect small contract.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thank you for sharing! We have settled on a small contract (50-60 points) so that we don't have to finance and test the waters as well. We also love to travel around so it is important for us to have time for those travels as well. Also, due to the pandemic and seeing that my spouse is in the medical field, we might rent first due to the unknown being a very important thing right now, if we don't find the perfect small contract.

Be aware that DVC has changed the borrowing rules so that you cannot borrow more than 50% of your next year's points. And they haven't said when that change will end.

 

[SL6827]

Thank you for sharing! We have settled on a small contract (50-60 points) so that we don't have to finance and test the waters as well. We also love to travel around so it is important for us to have time for those travels as well. Also, due to the pandemic and seeing that my spouse is in the medical field, we might rent first due to the unknown being a very important thing right now, if we don't find the perfect small contract.

I think you are making the right choice. Get a "get your feet wet" contract. If you need to use two years worth of points, bank one years and use them the next. But I would try to get one at a location that I really loved.

 

[Travel60]

Disclaimer: This is my first time on the boards, however I've been watching DIS unplugged and other Disney YT channels for about 3 years now. I am also a person that has been to Disney almost every year since I was about 11/12, I was a cheerleader who would compete at Disney almost every year. I am going to be 25 years old soon and I'm very interested in buying DVC. I recently took the tour last September and then returned Jan 2020 for a quick trip as my parents live in FL, so I'm very interested in purchasing in about 6-8 months (I want as much DVC info, as possible)

My main question would be: What would be probably the best value to buy into? If I can purchase a good contract, I would hope to go more than once a year, at least twice. If it better to have a dollar amount budget or a points budget?

Thank you for any responses and your inputs!

You have received a lot of good advice here. The mom (and CPA) in me wants to ask (1) are your school loans paid off? (2) how about dh med school? (3) how old are your cars? When will you need to replace? (4) are you maxing out contributions to 401k or other retirement plans? (5) do you have the recommended 6 months expenses saved in a ready access form (apparently a lot of folks forgot this financial planning rule hence the long lines at food banks) and finally (6) how secure are your jobs?

 

[SL6827]

You have received a lot of good advice here. The mom (and CPA) in me wants to ask (1) are your school loans paid off? (2) how about dh med school? (3) how old are your cars? When will you need to replace? (4) are you maxing out contributions to 401k or other retirement plans? (5) do you have the recommended 6 months expenses saved in a ready access form (apparently a lot of folks forgot this financial planning rule hence the long lines at food banks) and finally (6) how secure are your jobs?

Maybe she could pay in full for a small 50 point contract and that would be good. Not going into debt for one.

 

[IsamarV14]

Maybe she could pay in full for a small 50 point contract and that would be good. Not going into debt for one.

This is our scenario. Looking to purchase cash and get a "get our feet wet" contract and add points later on in life since there are only two of us, we don't need much for right now.