Thinking of Buying DVC, but.......

[Marine Mom]

So DH and I have been thinking about purchasing a DVC but at this point, I am so nervous. My reluctance is due to the economy being so bad, I am worried about the maintenance fee each year. We are thinking of paying cash due to the financing rates through Disney seem so high and I don't want to borrow anymore on my house. What do you think? Is anyone feeling the same as me? It sounds like it would be worth the money but I would love to hear from DVC members for your feedback. Do you love it? Thank you!

 

[anbouk]

I was having the same hesitations....thinking is it worth it each year to shell out for these maintainance fees. In the long run for us it is! We love the accomodations from deluxe hotels and a just a week long stay at one of the villas each year sure covers it for us! If we don't happen to go one year, the following shall be even more splendid with a 2BR. Buy small if you are unsure....you can always add on, then your MF will be less Good Luck with your decision!

 

[dbanzai]

I'm dying to buy more points, either at VGC or BLT. The economy is a major concern though and I don't want and really, really shouldn't borrow any more money from anyone. I feel that it's a great service/product that I love to use, so yes, I guess I love it.

I tend to think the maintenance fees are pretty affordable. I look at those as an afterthought almost because I think they are that low. If I wasn't paying for financing, the cost wouldn't stick in my mind. For the number of trips I've taken, if I were looking at the maintenance fees only as the payment for my trips, I'm making out very well. This use year I've been on I will have been on four trips to DL, twice staying at GCH, once at DLH and once at PPH. Maintenance is about $700 for me, but the GCH stays alone would have cost over $1000.

 

[kjd469]

I would hate to see anybody stressed or worse, cash-strapped, because of a purchase of DVC.... I think if you are thinking that you should be cautious, there must be a reason for thinking that. Perhaps you should listen to your gut instinct at this time and wait for things to settle down...after all, DVC is a "want" and not a "need". Good luck with your decision, whatever you decide!

 

[GranddadTom]

My wife and I came at the decision to purchase at DVC from a different direction than others but watching the stock market’s performance recently, I now see the wisdom in our daughter’s advice to us. My wife retired from teaching a few years ago and the question became what to do with the small investment she had been building up in her retirement account – do we keep it in the stock market or go conservative with it. We discussed how we wanted to use the money and the first thing that popped into our mind was that we wanted to pay for family gatherings at WDW. We have been going to WDW pretty regularly as a family since 1973. At first, just us and the four children and then, as spouses and grandchildren got added, there were more of us until now we are up to 21. We always have stay at a moderate and we loved each of them. Then during our 2003 WDW gathering we went over to the Boardwalk area to eat at the Big River Grille and just fell in love with the area. On a lark, we looked into staying at one of the hotels there but they were way more than we could afford – especially since we needed five rooms. At the time, the model for the BWV was right next to the BRG so we walked in to look around. It was quite a bid different than the room we had at the moderate! It was fun looking but we didn’t seriously consider buying especially since, after a little mental gymnastics, it looked like we would need around 300 points if we were to continue to go to WDW every 18 months (which was our pattern in the past). That was $30k and we definitely didn’t have that lying around. Fast forward a few weeks and, as we were tallying up the damage from that 2003 trip in a moderate, we realized that we had spent well over $5,000 for the rooms at the moderate - which included something like $600 in room taxes. That got us to digging out the literature that we had picked up from DVC. We searched the internet and found two 150 point contracts that we liked (together they were missing around 100 of the 300 current year points) but the price, including closing costs, was just under $25,000. Want to guess where some of the retirement nest egg went. Yep. Our daughter made us to it. So now the cost for the room part of our WDW vacation is fixed each year at the maintenance fee (which was around $1,400 this year) and we stay at the most fabulous resort – a walk to both EPCOT and DHS, i.e. no waits for buses – and by booking at the eleven month mark, we get the room type, size, and view that we want.

 

[Mtnman44]

Here's how I look at it. You are free to disagree but....I don't think Maint Due should really enter into the decison much at all. Why? Because i don't think anyone should spend the money on a DVC contract unless they have at least firm plans for and even better, a solid history of, regular visits to WDW... particularly to WDW resort hotels.

If that is the case, then you already know that you will be spending X amount of dollars on accomodations nearly every year so all you are really doing is swapping that money with a, most likely, smaller amount in DVC dues.

 

[debbiepump]

I hate to see folks wonder if they can 'afford' DVC. To me, the answer is in the question. Disney is NOT cheap. The maintence dues are a fact of life. I'd really recommend if you have any financial concerns at this point, wait until later on to buy. Our economy is in such shambles, I don't think you want to be part of the equation do you? Hang in there, things will get better and when you can make the decision w/o trepidation, go for it! I love DVC, but waited until we were financially sound in life to take the plunge. It's a pleasure for us, not a burden. Hang in there!

 

[Marine Mom]

I appreciate everyone's replies, thank you. I actually feel very lucky because this bad economy hasn't effective me or my family at all. My DH and I have great jobs, we have a great house and a healthy happy family, I just feel really lucky and with all the bad press about the economy I almost feel "spoiled" by purchasing a DVC. My DH and I do take big trips every year (mostly to WDW) so that is why I have been leaning toward the DVC, I just get a little nervous over the maintenance fees.

I appreciate your feedback.

 

[VrBchJ]

This may be slightly off topic. I received a lump sum of money several years ago. With half I bought 150 BWV points. Being a very conservative person I felt somewhat guilty about spending the money instead of investing it. So with the other half I bought shares in a nice, safe, dividend paying stock. That stock was Washington Mutual. I have lost virtually my total investment. But guess what? I still have my Boardwalk view room for Food and Wine every year. Now I could kick myself for my bad judgement in not investing everything in BWV! But who knew?