Taking the plunge!!!!

[JFox]

During our last trip my boyfriend and I attended the information session. We decided to wait for several reasons; wanted to review numbers, we are not married, he has some credit issues. Well I've decided to go ahead using just my information and only me on the deed. Home resort would be Polynesian and waivering somewhere between 100-120 points. With DVC flexibility I can see us taking at least 1 adult trip and 1 family trip a year. It will be noce not having to worry about room costs. Hoping to close by 12/31 and take first DVC trip the week of Christmas.

Applied for the Disney CC to cover down payment and earn points. Any suggestions for other money making strategies?

Yea me!

Tell me what worked/did not work for you. What do you wish you had done differently?

 

[davper]

Is the Poly where you want to stay most times? If not, the Poly may not be the best choice for you. Have you considered the other DVC resorts. If you would prefer one of them instead, then buying resale is a much better choice financially.

The guide will tell you you can stay at any other resort you wish. What they don't tell you is that you may not have the opportunity to stay when you want. For instance:
You like to go during the Food & Wine Festival and would like to stay nearby at the BCV or BWV. Because PVB is your home resort, you are unlikely to find a room during this time 7 months out. If BCV was your home resort, you would be able to reserve your room at 11 months out at the BCV and have a good chance at getting what you want.

I am not trying to discourage you from buying. I only want you to pause and make sure you understand all the ramifications of your decision. Home resort is a big one.

 

[davper]

Read through these posts
http://www.disboards.com/threads/★-☆-★-the-dvc-information-center-★-☆-★.3436037/

 

[JFox]

Resale is a mystery to me. I would consider buying small resales to have more resort options. If I own several contracts do I still have a home resort? Is it true that resales do not qualify for all program benefits/discounts? Maybe a mix of DVC purchases and resale is an option.

 

[davper]

Is it true that resales do not qualify for all program benefits

Yes it is true. But was is lost is generally considered bad value for your points any way. It is better to rent your points to someone else and pay cash directly.

discounts

All DVC members share in the same discounts no matter if it is bought resale or direct

I would consider buying small resales to have more resort options. If I own several contracts do I still have a home resort?

Having one contract allows you ALL the resorts as an option. The home resort affords you the benefit of reserving your room 4 months before anyone else.
If you have several contracts to different resorts, then each resort is a home resort.
Only points you have to that resort can be used at 11 months. The rest would have to wait for the 7 month mark.

 

[DisDadDVC]

No specific advice, but you must do a lot more reading before you do anything.

 

[davper]

Read through these posts
http://www.disboards.com/threads/★-☆-★-the-dvc-information-center-★-☆-★.3436037/

This is from the above posted link


Are direct and resale purchasers treated the same?

With a few exceptions, once the resale purchase is complete, new members receive the same benefits— including ID cards, website access, discounts, customer service, and travel assistance—provided with purchases directly from Disney.

Restrictions on points purchased via resale

However, there are a few restrictions on the usage of points purchased via the resale market.

DVC announced a policy that limits access to certain Member Getaways exchanges for Ownership Interests purchased on the secondary market (also known as the resale market). Under the policy, Members who purchase from anyone other than Disney Vacation Development, Inc., on or after March 21, 2011, will not be eligible to use those Vacation Points to make reservations for the following two collections:

• "Disney Collection" - Disney Resort Hotels, Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney
• "Concierge Collection" - a prestigious portfolio of resorts and hotels

Points purchased via the resale market will instead be valid only for reservations at:

• Disney Vacation Club resorts
• Exchanges through RCI
• Club Cordial
• Club Intrawest

That said, Members who purchased on the secondary market prior to March 21, 2011, may use those Vacation Points for all Member Getaways.

Bear in mind, however, that you get the most "bang for the buck" using your points to stay at DVC resorts, so many view these options that were removed from resale purchasers as a poor use of DVC points and therefore no great loss. Also bear in mind that these programs are not guaranteed to be around and may be discontinued by DVC in the future.

 

[JFox]

There is a time factor involved in our decision. We have a trip planned for December and want to use of DVC for this trip. If we buy resale we may not be able to do this. Resale allows us more of a selection of resorts, different point values, less cost but it is a long process. I have been watching resale listings, made offers and lost them.

 

[davper]

Direct is the only way you will have points to use for a December trip. But that is only 2 months away. Are there any rooms still available? At 60 days out, I believe Disney starts to sell any open rooms to the general public. Make sure you ask your guide if you can get your reservation as a contingency of purchase.

 

[JFox]

That is an excellent idea! My guide mentioned it but I never thought to ask him to make this a contingency. Awesome.

 

[DisDadDVC]

There is a time factor involved in our decision. We have a trip planned for December and want to use of DVC for this trip. If we buy resale we may not be able to do this. Resale allows us more of a selection of resorts, different point values, less cost but it is a long process. I have been watching resale listings, made offers and lost them.

I would not rush to buy DVC just because of one upcoming vacation. I don't want to make TOO many assumptions, but based on your original post, I am going to say that buying DVC direct is not a great idea for you now. My issues are:

1) Not married. How will this be titled?
2) Credit issues for him.
3) Using CC for down payment. Are you also financing?
4) You need to do more research.

No offense intended by any of the above...

 

[davper]

She did say it would be titled in her name only and his credit won't matter.

I would not rush to buy DVC just because of one upcoming vacation.

4) You need to do more research

I agree 1000%

 

[JFox]

1. This is MY DVC purchase. He will not be on the deed. It will belong to me. Being married was not a requirement for me.

2. This was a reason for him not to buy. My credit is not an issue.

3. Using CC to make down payment and earn points. If I had a Southwest CC I would use that one for the same reason. Haven't decided yet if I will finance.

4. I am reading as much DVC information I can get my hands on.

 

[kniquy]

We are just closing on our first DVC resale contract. We are very happy with paying outright with a resale contract and getting it for almost half of what it would be compared to direct through DVC -- I would strongly consider this. You may not get poly resale but you could get your feet wet with a SSR, AKV, OKW smaller contract and see how you like it and not take such a financial hit. Aside from the monthly loan payments you also have yearly maintenance fees to consider. Those can be paid either the whole amount in January or monthly payments (direct draft from checking account).

One great tip that i learned from the forums is to buy discount target gift cards on raise.com, to then buy Disney gift cards with the target red 5% discount. you can get a combined savings of easily 10-12% and those gift cards can be used to pay yearly Maintenance fees.

A direct 100-200 contract is going to cost between $16500 and $33000 - you could purchase an almost 200 points resale for less than your 100 point direct contract. Many people can make back some money with renting their point, say if you didn't use all your 200 points.

Just as a side note -- there are financing companies that will finance a resale and i think the % rates are close to if not better than Disney direct.

You mention that your BF has credit issues. Hopefully his debt is paid clear and that is no longer an issue. It takes awhile to get your score back up so you would probably get a better financing rate with just yours. You could always have them run the credit with both. Although i think many are secured loans with the timeshare as its collateral, so very possibly that his credit won't be that big of an issue.

Just a word of caution -If you are the only named person on the loan and deed then if the relationship goes south (i'm not saying it will) then you are stuck with the payments yourself- not him.

Also you noted putting the down payment with a credit card. I don't want to sounds like a downer but I would save up your down payment and then take the plunge. If you have the money to pay it right off away then great -- this is a good way to earn some $$ in a Disney gift card.

This is a very exciting purchase to make and sometimes you can get wrapped up in the excitement that the financial reasoning side of your brain just doesn't think clearly. You need to think of your long term goals and financial commitments. This is an entertainment item and for us if we couldn't pay outright we wouldn't do it.

I wouldn't rush to make a direct purchase for your December trip -- December is a high demand month for DVC and likely there aren't many if any DVC rooms available. Maybe on your December trip you can ask to tour some of the other resorts to get a feel of what is available.

 

[DisDadDVC]

1. This is MY DVC purchase. He will not be on the deed. It will belong to me. Being married was not a requirement for me.

2. This was a reason for him not to buy. My credit is not an issue.

3. Using CC to make down payment and earn points. If I had a Southwest CC I would use that one for the same reason. Haven't decided yet if I will finance.

4. I am reading as much DVC information I can get my hands on.

Sorry, I did not read your OP close enough. Is he putting in any money and/or making payments? Just want to make sure "ownership" doesn't get sticky. Re: financing - I do not know of any scenarios where this would make good sense, but it doesn't sound like you HAVE to finance.

 

[jillmc40]

And are sure pvb is where you will almost always want to stay? You are paying a premium for points, so it will only make sense if you love it there. Remember, they only have studios, and if you have a family going forward you are going to be looking elsewhere for a kitchen and separate bedroom to put the babes to sleep

 

[disneynutz]

Your last minute rush to buy and book is going to cost you thousands more than a resale buyer. Financing your purchase is going to cost you even more. Buying at a resort and later finding out that it isn't your favorite is going to also cost you.

Bill

 

[mickeyman]

100 points at poly won't get you 2 trips a year unless it's short trips. I just bought at animal kingdom resale for $75 per point and got 160 points for $12000

 

[mickeyman]

You can also finance for a resale too. The interest is a bit high but so is direct from Disney.