help! i cant decide whether or not to buy in!!

[misstinkk]

okay, im 23 which may seem young to be interested in a time share, but my boyfriend and i are in a serious relationship and have been for a few years now. He wanted us to go on the DVC tour on our first trip to disney in 05 but i told him we were definitley too young! Now we've planned to go this year between xmas and new years have been seriously considering purchasing it before we go. I've been doing an insane amount of research so i really do not need to wait until i get there, and it would be much more convienient for us to buy in now then it would be to wait. I'm just having a very difficult time deciding if this is a good investment or not. I've gone back and forth for the past 2 weeks and it is making me crazy! I'm not one to just do something without finding out everything i need to first, and i've definitly done my homework, I'm just so indecisive. If anyone can help me with this final decision it would be great!

 

[disneynutz]

It's not an investment, it's a pre-paid hotel room with on going dues.

Buying only makes sense financially if you intend to vacation at WDW and stay at deluxe resort every year for the next several years.

 

[CarolMN]

DVC is not an investment. It is a prepaid vacation plan. It is also a luxury purchase.

Money to purchase DVC should come from discretionary income. You don't give any details about your financial situation (not should you on a public forum), so this is general advice/information for your consideration.

1. Buying DVC with someone who is not your spouse is very risky (even if you are in a serious relationship). Do you know all there is to know about your boyfriend's finances? What if you break up? (Hope you don't, but it is possible and then things could get very messy).

2. Do you have 3 - 6 months' worth of monthly expenses set aside for an emergency fund?

3. Is your job stable? Do you have disability income insurance? Health insurance?

4. Do you have a home? Plan to buy one? Have a down payment saved?

5. Are you saving adequately for your retirement?

6. What about your future plans? Is there a wedding in your future? Children?

7. Do you have other debt to worry about - Credit Card ? Car? Student loans?

8. Do you have enough discretionary income to commit (long term) to the other costs of a Disney vacation - tickets, transportation, food, etc.

23 is not too young, but most 23 year olds are not in a position to make luxury purchases. They have too many higher priorities to take care of first.

 

[fers31]

DVC is not an investment. It is a prepaid vacation plan. It is also a luxury purchase.

Money to purchase DVC should come from discretionary income. You don't give any details about your financial situation (not should you on a public forum), so this is general advice/information for your consideration.

1. Buying DVC with someone who is not your spouse is very risky (even if you are in a serious relationship). Do you know all there is to know about your boyfriend's finances? What if you break up? (Hope you don't, but it is possible and then things could get very messy).

2. Do you have 3 - 6 months' worth of monthly expenses set aside for an emergency fund?

3. Is your job stable? Do you have disability income insurance? Health insurance?

4. Do you have a home? Plan to buy one? Have a down payment saved?

5. Are you saving adequately for your retirement?

6. What about your future plans? Is there a wedding in your future? Children?

7. Do you have other debt to worry about - Credit Card ? Car? Student loans?

8. Do you have enough discretionary income to commit (long term) to the other costs of a Disney vacation - tickets, transportation, food, etc.

23 is not too young, but most 23 year olds are not in a position to make luxury purchases. They have too many higher priorities to take care of first.

Very well said.

 

[Anthony1971]

DVC is not an investment. It is a prepaid vacation plan. It is also a luxury purchase.

1. Buying DVC with someone who is not your spouse is very risky (even if you are in a serious relationship). Do you know all there is to know about your boyfriend's finances? What if you break up? (Hope you don't, but it is possible and then things could get very messy).

If you are able to justify buying now -- not a bad thing if you can-- make sure that either you or he owns this and pays for it on his/her own or you have some kind of contract in place to protect both of you in case of an unlikely event.

Please make sure you think this out before you buy. DVC will be around for a long time and with the deals Disney is offering now you are not saving a lot if anything by owning DVC. Do NOT put DVC ahead of other more important goals in life even though they may not seem more important now.

 

[AnimalPrincess]

Hi there, thought I would tell you my story since it is like yours and a different point of view than most on here.

First off what you are going to find is that most folks on here do not think that you should finance DVC. I can see their point but that is just their opinion, DVC resales are very cheap right now so buying in even if you have to finance might be the right choice for you. Having said that, as someone pointed out, Disney is having amazing deals right now so it might be better to take advantage of that. Also I agree, DVC is not an investment, it will not appreciate over time like a house will, or stocks, it is vacations.

Ok enough rambling here is my story, hope it helps! My husband and I bought when we were 23, at that time we were engaged, I agree with others that you both should have a back up plan incase something happens (I hope it doesn't) We bought in then because we were cast members and we got a really good deal. We knew we would not be CM's forever but we wanted to be able to vacation at WDW for years to come. (Coinsidently you can now by resales for what we bought for ) Also we used the developer points we got to go on a Disney 7 day cruise, we would never have been able to afford it on our own, and the retail value of it was almost half the cost of DVC!

Fast forward three years and we own a house, have lots of other debt and still are paying off our DVC. We are making it work but since we are financing our DVC we will end up paying a lot more for it. I have brought selling up to DH many times and he flat out says no way, we will sacrifice in other ways. Because of our financial situation we would not take any vacations if it were not for our DVC and even though we are financing I truely believe that DVC will end up being worth the money to us, especially since we got that cruise out of it. We are renting our points out next year to help us out, we have more than we need per year.

I hope that helped, but bottom line, only you know what you can afford or what debt you are willing to take on. Good luck!

 

[DenLo]

I would not buy into DVC with anyone on my contract other than a spouse. Otherwise I would have us each buy our own points and have the reservations linked. That way we would each be responsible for the the MF for their own points.

As far as your age, it would be a smart investment as perhaps you would actually get full use from the 50 year contract.

 

[TIGGERmetoo]

Normally I all for buying into DVC as soon as you can but just make sure if you buy in together that you really plan on staying together. My DS and his GF bought a house together and then broke up a year later (they were together for 3 yrs before buying the house). It's been a real financial strain for him to keep the house himself so just be very careful if you do.

 

[ead79]

Can you tell us a little bit about how you typically vacation at Disney World?

Here are a couple of questions that can help you decide if DVC is right for you:
1) How often do you usually go to Disney World?
2) What kind of resort do you typically stay in (value, moderate, deluxe)?
3) Do you plan to vacation at Disney World for the foreseeable future?
4) Do you typically plan your vacations far in advance or at the last minute?

For example, if you typically go every other year and stay in a value resort, then DVC probably wouldn't pay off for you. If you're mostly looking for a place to shower and sleep, then a value resort would save you money over DVC. However, if you think you'd take advantage of the DVC resort amenities, then it makes more sense.

Also, if you want to visit Disney World only occasionally and were planning to trade your DVC points out to use one of DVC's exchange resorts, then DVC might not be the best choice for you. It's real value comes in from using your points to stay at a DVC resort.

Lastly, depending on when you want to visit, DVC resorts can fill up quickly well in advance. For instance, early December is a very popular time for DVC members to go to Disney World. The points required to stay are low at that time of year, so the DVC resorts fill up quickly well in advance. If you're more of a last minute planner, then it can be hard to get the most out of your DVC membership.

I noticed you mentioned that you want to go to Disney World between Christmas and New Years this year. Just to be sure you're aware, the DVC resorts are almost certainly all sold out for that time of year. It's the busiest time of the year at Disney World, and the crowds are insane. So don't feel rushed to buy DVC before this December, as you're not likely to find a DVC unit available for that time frame this close to December anyway. On the plus side, that gives you some more time to think about it.

 

[Donna M]

IMHO I would say put that money into a house for your future together. Shelter is much more important than vacations. Since we have no idea of your financial situation I would think, like many young adults you are just starting out. Do you have money in the bank for emergencies, your loans and credit cards paid off and a retirement plan started?

What do you see in your future in five, ten years; will you have the income to buy it? This is a luxury with yearly maintenance fees and like you have mentioned it does need a lot of thought. Since you probably won't be able to use it this Christmas, you have more time to think about it.

 

[toniosmom]

If you make the decision to definitely buy DVC, my only advice would be that you should each get your own contracts. If you buy one contract, and you break up, would one of you be able to buy the other out? My guess is probably not, so it's best to protect yourselves.

 

[Coach81]

Do you have a real home yet? Are your careers up and running? Are you guys going to buy in together? If so, are you going to get married?? A bunch of things to consider before you commit to such a big financial commitment in my opinion.

Good luck.

 

[gkrykewy]

IMHO I would say put that money into a house for your future together. Shelter is much more important than vacations.

Just as an FYI, it is not necessary to purchase a house before DVC, or before anything else. We still rent an apartment for a variety of reasons, but paid for DVC outright and generally have solid finances all around (i.e., no CC debt). I would not jump into buying a house with a non-spouse at 23 years old. If things break badly, the house will cause a lot more financial hurt than DVC will.

 

[sunsetandgower]

Just as an FYI, it is not necessary to purchase a house before DVC, or before anything else. We still rent an apartment for a variety of reasons, but paid for DVC outright and generally have solid finances all around (i.e., no CC debt). I would not jump into buying a house with a non-spouse at 23 years old. If things break badly, the house will cause a lot more financial hurt than DVC will.

Not to mention, it doesn't make sense for "everyone" to purchase a house. When you live in a large metropolitan city where the housing costs are ridiculous, it can and does make more financial sense to rent.

I have no intention of buying a house, and yet I have bought into DVC.