I think there are two issues. One is the financial and one is the psychological/emotional.
If you would have to finance a large portion of the purchase or would not use it every year, I would say it's not worth it financially, unless you can honestly see yourself going 30 years from now. I don't want to antagonize people who love DVC, but those who say it "pays for itself" in some short period of time (people like to say 7 years) are, imho, looking at it incorrectly. If you wanted to buy 200 points, and you buy them resale, it costs you about $17,500. Over those 7 years, you will pay $5,000 to $6,000 in maintenance fees. If you borrowed some of the $17,500, you will also pay interest. So that's an out of pocket cost of $23,100 to as much as $28,000 that will come out of your pocket in 7 years. For $28,000, you could rent the same 200 points each year for 14 straight years.
Now, the non-financial factors are a whole different story. You own a piece of the magic. You get to always be planning a disney vacation. You feel like you have a home, and not just some rented room. You don't need to deal with rental agreements or people you don't know. Etc. These are real things of considerable value -- maybe even priceless for some.
I guess here is the only advice -- DVC is, at its core, a timeshare. Timeshares are grossly misunderstood and can be really bad choices for some. At a minimum, do not open your checkbook until you are absolutely certain you understand things like use years, renting your points, maintenance fees, ROFR, etc. Only then can you decide whether it's right for you. Then think about things like whether you'll want flexibility in future years to spend your dollars on a monorail resort, etc.
They are a wonderful idea for many, but they are not for everyone. Take your time. Don't feel rushed. Avoid pithy descriptions like "prepaid vacation," which are really salesmen's terms that, while perhaps not misleading, don't actually capture the whole idea. You can easily rent points this year and then decide next year -- while you might view those as dollars you could have spent on DVC, when you realize you didn't need to pay MFs this year, and didn't need to put up a big payment, you'll realize that it's ok to be a penny foolish to be a pound wise. Timeshare sellers make a lot of money from impulse buyers -- just remember that timeshares are like buses -- there's always another one coming down the street.
If you would have to finance a large portion of the purchase or would not use it every year, I would say it's not worth it financially, unless you can honestly see yourself going 30 years from now. I don't want to antagonize people who love DVC, but those who say it "pays for itself" in some short period of time (people like to say 7 years) are, imho, looking at it incorrectly. If you wanted to buy 200 points, and you buy them resale, it costs you about $17,500. Over those 7 years, you will pay $5,000 to $6,000 in maintenance fees. If you borrowed some of the $17,500, you will also pay interest. So that's an out of pocket cost of $23,100 to as much as $28,000 that will come out of your pocket in 7 years. For $28,000, you could rent the same 200 points each year for 14 straight years.
Now, the non-financial factors are a whole different story. You own a piece of the magic. You get to always be planning a disney vacation. You feel like you have a home, and not just some rented room. You don't need to deal with rental agreements or people you don't know. Etc. These are real things of considerable value -- maybe even priceless for some.
I guess here is the only advice -- DVC is, at its core, a timeshare. Timeshares are grossly misunderstood and can be really bad choices for some. At a minimum, do not open your checkbook until you are absolutely certain you understand things like use years, renting your points, maintenance fees, ROFR, etc. Only then can you decide whether it's right for you. Then think about things like whether you'll want flexibility in future years to spend your dollars on a monorail resort, etc.
They are a wonderful idea for many, but they are not for everyone. Take your time. Don't feel rushed. Avoid pithy descriptions like "prepaid vacation," which are really salesmen's terms that, while perhaps not misleading, don't actually capture the whole idea. You can easily rent points this year and then decide next year -- while you might view those as dollars you could have spent on DVC, when you realize you didn't need to pay MFs this year, and didn't need to put up a big payment, you'll realize that it's ok to be a penny foolish to be a pound wise. Timeshare sellers make a lot of money from impulse buyers -- just remember that timeshares are like buses -- there's always another one coming down the street.
