VGC Potential Purchase – Does my logic make sense?

[judydvc]

I'm so happy to hear all the happy owners of DVC! This seriously flies in the face of so many other time share stories out there but... leave it to WDW to bring magic to the world of time shares! (A financial counselor is someone who works with individuals or families to increase their financial literacy, helping them to live within budgets, plan for the future, put together a remedial plan in the face of a financial crisis and overall, gain a better understanding of all things financial that affect one's life.)

And there is something in it for Disney after all! Actually, I am one of those satisfied owners. I've been very happy with DVC.

 

[ncgator]

Well, I just pulled the trigger and am now in the ROFR waiting game for a small VGC contract. Hope it goes as well as my SSR contract!

 

[CarolMN]

The thing that a lot of u are missing is that u can always resell your contract later on. Things can change but currently prices have held pretty steady. I could sell my VGC contract today and make money on it from when I bought it a year ago and I have taken two vacations on it. If u know I are going to be going to disneyland every other year or want to do that and u want to stay at a disney resort, I think u would be making a mistake not buying a small contract.

Respectfully & IMO, this is one of the risks Dean says many underestimate. We've owned DVC since 1999 and I clearly remember periods when it has been very difficult to sell a DVC contract without giving the buyer a steep discount. There are more than a few members who were foreclosed upon or who sold their contracts but had to PAY MORE out of pocket to complete the sale. Many of those "fantastic" resale prices people post about came to be because someone else bought without thinking through all the financial risks - and as a result, lost a lot of money on the deal.

Any good financial adviser will tell you that timeshare purchases (and vacations in general) should come from discretionary income - that's money that's "left over" after all the bills are paid, (which include retirement savings, college savings & various insurances as appropriate), and after one has a funded emergency reserve (3-6 months' worth of expenses).

Those who buy a timeshare (or any luxury item) who do not have the discretionary income to do so are taking on unnecessary risk. Some are comfortable with doing that. (I'm not). Not everyone has the same risk tolerance.

My hope is that everyone does enough "due diligence" to make an informed decision that is right for their situation.