Future DVC Owners!

[nicolej92]

We are getting married in 2018 and are purchasing DVC points probably sometime this year to use for our hotel for the wedding week. A few questions:

- I know everyone says financing is not the way to do DVC, but with paying for the wedding, we are going to finance at first and pay it off much quicker than we would have to since the wedding will be paid for. For those who did finance- did you do so through Disney?

- Is buying resale worth it? We have a Disney Visa, so we do get the discounts from using that, but we don't know if special member events are worth it (or even what they are). We are between doing resale and direct, leaning more towards direct.

 

[Axelskater]

First and foremost: Congratulations!

I strongly advise against borrowing to purchase DVC. Vacations should be considered a frill and there will be other priorities that will come up as you get started in your new lives. You don't want to be hamstrung with a loan. DVC has an active market and there will always be opportunity to purchase in the future when you can pay cash.

You will save considerable money when buying resale. If the DVC perks that are not available from resale contracts are important, then you can always purchase a small 25-point add-on contract direct from Disney and that will get you the perks plus savings overall. When shopping for a resale contract look for one that is loaded with points. These tend to undervalue available points when compared to stripped contracts.

If you need points before you can purchase, consider renting points.

Best wishes!

 

[disneynutz]

Buying DVC has a pretty big learning curve. Rules, policies, UY's, availability, home resort preference, What Disney does and what they don't do. I suggest that you study up on the different DVC resorts and rent a reservation from an owner. Later when you have more knowledge and money, you will be better prepared to make an educated business decision.

Bill

 

[a742246]

I second Bill's comment on renting someone's points before purchasing.

 

[MrInfinity]

Hi,
We are new owners. Just bought in 2 mo ago and love having all the new options! I don't generally recommend buying with financing, but if it is in your financial plan and you can pay it off in a short time, then I'm a fan of doing fun things for yourself and your family first. You won't have the same savings since you'll be paying interest, but you're also spending money early in your life for vacations that will last a long time. If you want to finance, you'll have to go thru Disney, right? I haven't looked into those 3rd party resale finance companies. Financing used timeshares has got to cost a fortune. I suppose if you're refinancing a house you could consider that financing thru other means... Resale is cheaper. But you'll want to make at least a portion of your purchase direct to get the perks... And the perks to me, are not really the special member events. Those are only on very select days, and we don't plan our trips around Disney's schedule so I don't happen to make any of them. To me the most valuable perks are the AP discount and the store / dining discounts (which you also get via AP, but w/o the AP discount we wouldn't get the discount via AP, so to us DVC drives this perk). Where do you want to buy? It looks like from your sig that you've only stayed in OKW.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The AP isn't a perk for all buyers, thiough. If you aren't going multiple times in a year, it s no value. If you have to finance points, the AP is probably not a concern. We go every other year, and not on a schedule that would support a13 month AP.

You can finance resale, and at rates similar to Disney rates. Any timeshare you will pay 8-15% interest, which is nuts. I also would never recommend taking money out of a primary residence for any vacation or timeshare purchase.

 

[kniquy]

If you have haven't already I would strongly consider renting DVC points for your honeymoon -- this will save you a ton compared to a hotel room though Disney. Book this 11 months out to ensure you get the resort you want.

On your honeymoon do a dvc tour, but do not to buy in when you go. There are no incentives offered that are better buying when you are there than you would get after you get home. This will provide you with some time to thoroughly research DVC and all the aspects of it -- where to buy, what UY works for you etc. It will allow you some time to save up all if not most of your purchase price. I would also suggest you start looking at the resale market and those costs compared to a direct purchase -- generally you will save 40% buying resale. If you need any perks then once you are an owner then you can add on a small 25 point contract. A lot goes into the decision to buy.

If you and your future partner are debt free (maybe aside from a mortgage) meaning no car loans, college loans or credit card debt, then financing could be an option -- with the plan to payoff with in a year or two. It is just the two of you now but you need to plan for the future too -What if you become pregnant after getting married - can you afford your yearly maintenance fees and monthly loan payment on top of diapers and daycare. Our day care is on the cheaper side and for one child we are at $900 per month -- my girlfriend towards Boston cost is $1500 per child!! Just don't get into this and stretch yourself too thin. Read and research everything on this board. DVC is a wonderful thing and most people are very happy with their purchase

 

[Dtw002]

Agree with others. If you have to finance, you can't afford it. I would recommend taking the approach of saving for DVC, if focused it shouldn't take that long. Along the way though you'll see if other priorities like house, kids, college, flexibility if you want someone to stay home with kids, etc. will present themselves. And if not, then you have the cash to jump in. Sure, live for today - but the stress from high interest debt to go on vacation once a year, I would argue, is not a way to live.

 

[disneynutz]

DVC is just a small piece of the Disney vacation cost. I looked at our cost for our 200 point BCV contract, keeping it until it runs out. Adding cost of purchase, dues each year, travel, food, admission, extras, our total cost will be $300,000.

Bill

 

[Dtw002]

Great point. Pricing out our next trip, we are still spending $4-5k on tickets, flights and food - and that's with the room 'paid for' through dvc.

 

[WDWNY]

Will you be able to pay it off within 6 months? Disney visa gives you 0% financing when you buy DVC direct. (Depending on your credit limit of course) If so, that might make sense in my opinion.

 

[Minniesgal]

I couldn't finance a holiday purchase but I especially wouldn't finance at Disney's interest rates talk about daylight robbery.

Seems to me with all major global economies in downwards turn it is quite a bad time to be financing Disney

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I also have to put out there: Which DVCs have you stayed at? Disney will sell you Poly direct, or probably CCV soon. Obviously, no one has stayed at CCV (or even knows what the inventory or room configuration will be).

If you're financing, cost becomes a factor. 10% of $17,000 is more than 10% of $8,500, and that's before you even get into the idea that $17k is twice $8.5k. If you are committed to a resort that is currently not sold through and less common in resale, figuring out how to buy the direct points may be worth the effort. By committed, I mean "likely to stay there 85% of the time, booking at 11 months, tattooing it on a visible body part."

But if you're more, "it would be nice to own DVC! We could try different resorts! We do not have a favorite!" buying that $8,500 contract for Saratoga instead of the $17k contract for Poly would get you the same 7 month rights to try different resorts at, well, roughly half the price** and a cheaper annual dues cost and less total financing charges.



** yes, I know -- I think 100 Poly would be closer to $16.5 or $16.2, but that's still a healthy chuck more than a 100-point Saratoga resale and I haven't kept up on what pricing/incentives are there this particular week/day/month for Poly, because $160+ point makes me itch.

 

[WDWNY]

** yes, I know -- I think 100 Poly would be closer to $16.5 or $16.2, but that's still a healthy chuck more than a 100-point Saratoga resale and I haven't kept up on what pricing/incentives are there this particular week/day/month for Poly, because $160+ point makes me itch.

Points go up to $176 tomorrow too!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Points go up to $176 tomorrow too!

ITCHY

 

[Dean]

We are getting married in 2018 and are purchasing DVC points probably sometime this year to use for our hotel for the wedding week. A few questions:

- I know everyone says financing is not the way to do DVC, but with paying for the wedding, we are going to finance at first and pay it off much quicker than we would have to since the wedding will be paid for. For those who did finance- did you do so through Disney?

- Is buying resale worth it? We have a Disney Visa, so we do get the discounts from using that, but we don't know if special member events are worth it (or even what they are). We are between doing resale and direct, leaning more towards direct.

I'd wait, maybe rent for the wedding trip. I wouldn't buy until married, I'd buy resale and I'd recommend against financing.

 

[ziravan]

You can use Monera Financial for resale financing. They only do DVC so are experts at it.

We used them and were pleased. Not financing DVC is good advice, just not very useful advice. Nobody knows your financial circumstances but you.

Buy resale UNLESS you love Poly and that's where you want to stay. For us, the perks are worth it but you can buy a 25 point add on direct contract after buying resale and get back the perks that count.

Where are you thinking of buying and when is your Honeymoon? It might affect your purchase timeline.

 

[ziravan]

Example.

Say you want 150 BWV points.

1. Buy direct at $160/pt = $24,000.

2. Buy resale at $90/pt = $13,500

3. Buy 125 pts Resale ($11,250) and 25 pts direct ($4000) = $15,250.

Option 3 gives you same points plus perks for $8,750 less than option 1 and only $1750 more than option 2 with no perks.

Now. You can only use the 25 pts for cruises and concierge etc (the resale points can't be used for those) but those are horrible uses of points. That 25 point direct contract will restore discounts, access to member events, AP discount, etc.

 

[Rainman]

We stayed our first time on rental points and learned so much. We are very glad that we did. We took the time to check out some of the other DVC properties. Also you can consider to purchase a small contact from DVC direct and a resale separately. Then you would have the best of both worlds.

 

[ELMC]

I would like to echo a lot of the ideas shared here as well as add my own. With regards to financing, that is a personal decision. While I personally would not finance a timeshare purchase, I'm not going to tell you not to. If you are going to finance, please pay attention to the advice above that says you can finance a resale purchase as well as a direct purchase. With regards to your question about whether buying resale is worth it, that is also a personal decision. The easiest way to answer that for yourself is to take a look at the difference between a direct and resale contract (in the example above it is about $10,000). Then look at the perks you are losing and ask yourself, "Would I pay $10,000 for that stuff?" I'm guessing the answer would be no, especially knowing that most perks can go away at any time.

Beyond that, however, the suggestion to become a member through resale and become a direct member with a 25 point contract is a good one. In addition, taking a tour with a DVC salesperson is also a good idea, but please know that the information provided on the tour should be a basic introduction to the program and should generate more questions than answers, questions that you can take here as you do further research and investigation as to what the best way for you to proceed might be. Good luck!