So we are thinking of buying now....

[SeedsLuvDisney]

But money is a bit tight right now because I am only working part time after my company downsized (my wife has a good job).. We have been doing Disney vacations each year but didn't in 2009 because we are redoing our bathroom and kitchen instead..

We are now looking at our June 2010 trip and trying to decide if we should buy/finance our purchase now and sqeeze it into our budget or rent points??? We are to the point that we are going to buy, just a matter of now or within the next 2 years.. Now with the 11 month window approaching, we feel like we should make a decision soon.. Any suggestions???

 

[rentayenta]

It's such a personal decision. First off I would consider how much debt/outgoing monthly payments you have now. I have been thinking about DVC for almost 2 years and during this last trip we finally decided to purchase. Call DVC and get the scoop on what the down payment and monthly payments would amount to. Don't forget the maintenance fee as well which can be paid at once or broken down into monthly payments. What I can tell you is buying DVC was a lot less spendy than I had predicted.

 

[5forDiz]

jmho, figure out what you would spend to rent points for your trip and take that money to buy a small resale contract instead to start off and ease into DVC ownership with a smaller, affordable contract - it's worth the time to study & shop the resale market ( very healthy selection of resale contracts right now & many will save you significant $ over making first purchase through Disney - SSR resales in particular are very attractively priced & SSR has one of the lowest monthly maintenance fees <MFs> & expiration is 2054 ) If you first-time purchase through Disney that will require a buy-in at their minimum of 160 pts - but if you purchase via resale you can buy-in to DVC with less points than 160 and you're membership will not be treated any differently.

And consider buying half amount of points you think you'd need because with banking or borrowing to add to current Use Year's allotment of points you'd be able to travel Every Other Year with purchase of half amount of points ( ie 2009 UY points banked to 2010 UY to travel during 2010 UY or 2010 UY points with points borrowed from 2011 UY to travel during 2010 UY)

~OR even buy as few as 1/3 points you'd need and then with both banking & borrowing along with current Use Year's allotment of points you can travel every third year. Anytime in the future if you want to buy more points you can add-on through Disney for minimum of 25 pts with cash buy or 50 pt min with their financing either at Home Resort your first contract's points are from or you may also purchase additional points at any DVC resort ( and add-ons through Disney do not have closing costs/fees) Add-on's can also be purchased via additional contracts bought on resale market but you'd need to find another resale with same Use Year (month) as your first contract & title it exactly same as first for it to be noted as an add-on contract to your first & there will be closing costs/fees but you may still find that even paying those that it's still possible to save $ ( a resale add-on is a bit more work than adding-on through Disney but definitely do-able).

Upper right hand corner of this page has links to all DVC resort points charts; calculate what size villa you'd need & how many nights you typically vacation & what seasons you'd travel during most to get a better idea what your point needs would be. Click on the Board sponsor's banner above too :
The Timeshare Store is an excellent, knowledgeable resale agency & many here, myself included have purchased contracts through them.

Best wishes & take your time considering all your options & ask lots of questions here, you'll get lots of great advice from posters here

 

[SeedsLuvDisney]

If we rent for this trip and then buy for the following one, are we really going to pay more from a financial standpoint???? Seems to me that if we rent 190 points at $10/pt, over the long run we are going to spend about $1000 more once we deduct the maint. fees we won't pay... Correct?

 

[DisneyWalker44]

If you add the cost of maintence fees plus financing costs (either loan interest or lost interest) for what you pay for the points, it costs at least as much to buy as rent.

 

[5forDiz]

If we rent for this trip and then buy for the following one, are we really going to pay more from a financial standpoint???? Seems to me that if we rent 190 points at $10/pt, over the long run we are going to spend about $1000 more once we deduct the maint. fees we won't pay... Correct?

You have to determine your situation and what works best for you, it is possible that for your travel scenarios renting from time to time makes more sense for you than owning DVC....I look at renting as money "lost" - again, this is just my opinion, but I'd take $2000 or more and put it towards small resale, every year brings a new allotment of points that are yours to do with as you please & even if you start off with small amount of points you have banking &/or borrowing capability that gives you options or you can have additional points transferred to your membership from another DVC member if you find you'd be short on points needed for a trip ( & you'd control those transferred points for that trip - not like when you rent points where you don't control reservation made with rented points at all ).

Although there are monthly MFs at least you'd own the points. Renting just gets you that trip and that's it & also renting involves willingness to take risk with your $ - yes, it seldom happens ( but it does from time to time ) that you may end up dealing with an unscrupulous owner - you're rented reservation is controlled by that owner up until the moment you check in and they can cancel it at any time.

There is alot to consider with both purchase & rental; read & ask as much as you can here and you'll be in a better position to make decision that works for you.

 

[gkrykewy]

If finances are at all tight/questionable, you should not buy now. That down payment and those monthly fees can quickly become an albatross. Wait a year - DVC will still be there.

 

[littlestar]

I would just rent, it's way cheaper than financing through Disney. If you take the purchase price (say $16,000) times almost 11 percent interest, plus the dues, you can rent cheaper.

$16,000 x 11% = $1,760
Dues on 160 points = Roughly $650 to $700
Total = Around $2,400

Renting 160 points X $10.00 a point = $1,600

Or, if you are used to staying in Disney moderates with a good discount, you can probably continue doing that for the price of DVC annual dues alone (much less all that money upfront for 160 DVC points with almost 11 percent interest tacked onto it to boot).

 

[Sandisw]

I don't know what resort you are interested in, but Disney was allowing new members to buy in at SSR or AKV for only 100 points. Not sure they still are but it might be worth checking in to.

Since you wouldn't be using 2009 points anyway, you could end up with 200 points that you would need for your June 2010 trip with a smaller contract. You could also look at going resale for those 100 points.

Then, the almost $2000.00 you are spending on rental would help to offset the cost of the contract.

Of course, only you know how the cost of owning for the extra year will impact your financial situation. But, if you can find a way to make it work, I think it would make sense to do it now.

Good luck!

 

[Crystal_27]

But money is a bit tight right now because I am only working part time after my company downsized (my wife has a good job).. We have been doing Disney vacations each year but didn't in 2009 because we are redoing our bathroom and kitchen instead..

We are now looking at our June 2010 trip and trying to decide if we should buy/finance our purchase now and sqeeze it into our budget or rent points??? We are to the point that we are going to buy, just a matter of now or within the next 2 years.. Now with the 11 month window approaching, we feel like we should make a decision soon.. Any suggestions???

Yeah, I agree with the other posters - only you know what your budget can do in terms of allowing for DVC. If you are planning to finance your purchase, you have to remember that DVC only takes care of the accommodations - - you still have to purchase park tickets, get to the parks, have money for food, etc. Disney vacations are still going to be very expensive. That said, it really might make sense for you to go ahead and pull the trigger rather than rent points - - it's still money that could be going toward your DVC purchase. Remember that if you finance you are going to have to come up with 10% of the full purchase price, and the interest rates will be 10.25% for preferred financing and 14.25% for standard financing. Either way, best of luck.

 

[Dean]

I won't tell you what to do but I will discuss some of the issues you've brought up. In general, when one is living month to month, any luxury purchase is a bad idea. But then that principle applies to a luxury vacation as well. One thought might be downsizing next years vacation in some way (non Disney, off site, 5 days avoiding weekends). If one did Disney in this situation, renting points would likely be a better option because it's not that much difference cost wise but it contains much less long term risk. If one were going to buy in this situation, buying a lot less than what you need and using banking and/or borrowing to make it work. Even if one had to supplement with cash nights or move for weekends, it's be better for many and could actually be cheaper than buying in the long run if you do cash for weekends.

One of the better approaches in this situation is to sacrifice for a year or two (lighter trip, less park days, shorter, off site or none at all), save the money then buy resale.

I hope it works out for you whatever you decide.

 

[ssawka]

As others have said, only you know your finances an whether you can afford the monthly payments or not. That being said, many people on these boards will tell you that you should not finance a "Luxury" purchase, but I can think of several reasons why financing makes sense.

1. It preserves your cash reserves so you are not draining your savings account.
2. If most people wait until they can pay cash, the utility of DVC is diminished. For example, if your children are young, now is the time to be going to Disney.
3. Financing might be tax deductible, so even though you will pay quite a bit in interest it is not quite as bad as it seems. (Check with your tax advisor)

 

[hardhead]

I would not buy DVC unless I could pay for it and not haveto borrow money. I feel the interest will kill any savings you will have. So I would rent until I had the cash to buy DVC. That's what we did and now am in the process of buying a 130 point ssr contract through resale.

 

[arthur06]

I did like many have mentioned. I bought a 30 point BWV resale, with closing and everything it was around $2800. I paid that in cash. Now, I can add on at any pace that works for me. I only want small contracts so that I can easily leave them to my kids (eventhough, I am only 30). Now I am planning on adding on 2, 30 point VGC contracts, and even financed will only run be $88 per month, at most! (Not counting MF's). That gives me enough points for an every other or every 3rd DL trip. Then, I hope to start adding on at BLT and AKL, and possibly in a few years sell BWV, but it at least got me in the door!

 

[5forDiz]

I did like many have mentioned. I bought a 30 point BWV resale, with closing and everything it was around $2800. I paid that in cash. Now, I can add on at any pace that works for me. I only want small contracts so that I can easily leave them to my kids (eventhough, I am only 30). Now I am planning on adding on 2, 30 point VGC contracts, and even financed will only run be $88 per month, at most! (Not counting MF's). That gives me enough points for an every other or every 3rd DL trip. Then, I hope to start adding on at BLT and AKL, and possibly in a few years sell BWV, but it at least got me in the door!

Congrats to you arthur06 !!- sounds like things are going along just like you want

If you don't mind me asking , about VGC financing, $88 month you posted would thatbe the total amount for both 30 pt contracts combined or did you mean $88 per each 30 pt contract ? Thanks ( you can PM me if you'd like )

~Laura

 

[SeedsLuvDisney]

We have decided to wait until a little before the 11 month window, if I have a job we will buy if not we will rent..

I understand the thinking in not financing, but we currently like to do one trip a year and our kids are 3 and 6.. So its a matter of paying cash for a reservation or financing DVC, to us saving up $20K and waiting a few years to buy AND still making trips makes no sense..

 

[Dean]

We have decided to wait until a little before the 11 month window, if I have a job we will buy if not we will rent..

I understand the thinking in not financing, but we currently like to do one trip a year and our kids are 3 and 6.. So its a matter of paying cash for a reservation or financing DVC, to us saving up $20K and waiting a few years to buy AND still making trips makes no sense..

You can get a decent size (150-200 pt) SSR resale for little more than half that cost.

 

[SeedsLuvDisney]

You can get a decent size (150-200 pt) SSR resale for little more than half that cost.

Its a "buy where you want to stay" thing there...

 

[ssawka]

I understand the thinking in not financing, but we currently like to do one trip a year and our kids are 3 and 6.. So its a matter of paying cash for a reservation or financing DVC, to us saving up $20K and waiting a few years to buy AND still making trips makes no sense..

I'm with you on this one. Although it is always better to pay cash than to finance, for some of us it just isn't an option. Young families that can benefit the most out of a DVC membership are usually those most strapped for cash, so financing is the only option. This does not mean that you shouldn't try to get it paid off as quickly as possible, but why should you go years with paying cash when you could be enjoying your DVC membership. I truly believe that the people that say "under no circumstance should you finance" actually have no problem coming up with the cash.

 

[littlestar]

If you need to finance, try to either pay it off quickly or find a lower interest rate (home equity line of credit maybe).

The finance charges can be real budget killers. If you're paying $2,500 in dues and interest charges a year, you could take two to three trips in a moderate or rent DVC points Sunday through Thursday for that amount of cash and double or triple your fun.

If you have your heart set on DVC and money is tight, like the others have suggested, I would probably try to get my foot in the door by buying a small amount of points resale.