Who else financed and is happy with the decision?

[Groucho]

One way I justified financing was that I knew that I wouldn't be able to use the first year's points (bought during F&F discount, so the first year was Aug 05-July 06) since we'd just gotten back from there... so I rented the first years for $1,500, which pays for a year's worth of maintainance plus $900 that helps offset any interest we'll accumulate! And I may end up renting some or all of next year's as well, so that'll help too.

Like others, I did the 10-year financing (since the rate was the same) but expect to have it paid off much earlier.

 

[KelNottAt]

We used a 4% fixed-rate home equity loan {{GASP}} to make our 305 point purchase in 2003. Never regretted for a minute. Paid it off in 18 months, deducted the interest. Could have paid cash for many more points, if we wanted to. But chose not to dip into savings.

 

[Luigi's Girl]

We financed our home which we love, we financed our cars which we love, so why not finance our two DVCs which we love. We enjoy all of these life pleasures and guess which one is the only one paid in full now. DVC!!!

 

[psu4glory]

If you're not jeopardizing your family's financial security then go for it and don't feel guilty. Your family will make more memories with DVC than with 0% interest.

well said......unfortunately, these boards have their share of wealthy elitists who can't remember what it was like to be numbered among the majority of americans who simply cannot pay cash for everything they buy....and they seem to take pleasure in somehow trying to convince us that we're not worthy to be staying in a room next to them at a DVC resort.

but we're all entitled to our opinions......

my DW and i recently financed 200 DVC points for 5 years and couldn't be more ecstatic....we're heading down to WDW in 17 days for our first DVC trip that wouldn't have happened for YEARS if we had tried to save up that amount of cash first. the few thousand dollars that i may pay in interest - spread out over the course of 5 years - is a small price to pay for the few thousand memories we'll make over the same time period.....

 

[jodifla]

well said......unfortunately, these boards have their share of wealthy elitists who can't remember what it was like to be numbered among the majority of americans who simply cannot pay cash for everything they buy....and they seem to take pleasure in somehow trying to convince us that we're not worthy to be staying in a room next to them at a DVC resort.

but we're all entitled to our opinions......

my DW and i recently financed 200 DVC points for 5 years and couldn't be more ecstatic....we're heading down to WDW in 17 days for our first DVC trip that wouldn't have happened for YEARS if we had tried to save up that amount of cash first. the few thousand dollars that i may pay in interest - spread out over the course of 5 years - is a small price to pay for the few thousand memories we'll make over the same time period.....

Good points!

 

[Disney-Kim]

We are very happy with our decison to finance DVC. 3 more years and its all paid off. then MANY more years of great vacations !!!!

 

[Pig Pen]

We financed with the intent of paying it off when we sell our house and "retire" in 4 plus years. I know that may not be a sound financial decision, but we are not going to starve and this works for us.

 

[Good Ol Gal]

We financed our original loan in Apr '04 at 50% down, 50% financed. It was paid off 10 months later.

We then did an add on in Aug '05, financed for 10 years. We just made the final payment on it last week, so 10 months into it.

We also have an add-on that we financed for another 10 years. The first payment just came out this month. We hope to have it paid off in less than 18 months this time. We are happy with financing and with our decision.

We have a large family so they only way we can go is to get a two bedroom, so those points add up fast! I am not against doing another add-on someday, but I sure am happy that every point we purchased was less than $83!!

 

[ilovepooh]

You're investing in future family vacations! Priceless if you ask me!! We're VWL DVC members and it's worth every penny!

 

[Corinne]

If you're not jeopardizing your family's financial security then go for it and don't feel guilty. Your family will make more memories with DVC than with 0% interest.

Very nicely said!

 

[drakethib]

We paid cash for ours as we were lucky and came into some money just at the right time. Otherwise we may have financed as well and tried to pay it off early.

In regards to financing, I think it depends on the person and what is best from them.

Heck 2 people that I know that bought DVC make high 3 figures and they financed.

 

[Ooba]

Isn't it funny that people don't think twice about financing a car (usually for even more), when the car will not last anywhere near 30 some years, and will depreciate to nothing - yet they question financing something that you will reap the benefits of for years to come?

 

[Coloradomom]

We financed since the rate was good, and we did not want to sell investments and pay the capital gains tax. With the mortgage being paid off next year, and DD heading to college in 2 years, it gives us more flexibility to decide the best use for our funds, or just keep our money invested and working for us. And it was less "sticker shock" for DH. We know we will be going back at least twice a year for a long time, so if DD gets a scholarship, look out....more points for us!

 

[ACDSNY]

We purchased our DVC last Oct/Dec, we paid cash for our first contract and financed the add on. Didn't want to stretch us to thin with one DS in college and DD getting married. Plan on paying off early once we get pass these two events. We've always needed a 2 bedroom or multiple rooms and Disney was getting our money every year anyway.

 

[cruiseletters]

Hi, I'm new to the dvc boards but have had a great time reading them since my dh and I are also dvc members. We financed our first contract in 2004 and it was one of the best things we've done. We were a family that never took time out from work to vacation, when we heard about dvc I told my dh we have to do this because it will force us to slow down abit.[ there's more to life than work.] Finance charges are nothing in comparison to taking time to smell the roses along the way.

 

[kimberh]

I paid for the first one and financed the second one. I plan to pay it off early. Last Nov. I paid $2400.00 for 3 Savannah view rooms for 3 nights for us and our married 2 children. I was waiting then to get the first one passed through Disney. How much interest is that? We could have fit in a 2 bedroom.

 

[abner1776]

As one of the nah-sayers on financing a DVC purchase, it's not that financing DVC is necessarily bad, it's just that it's generally not the best choice from a financial planning standpoint.

Financing should be reserved for those necessities in life; home, car, college education, etc. Those other "wants" in life should be paid for in cash since by financing you are automatically increasing the overall cost of the item. It is never a sound financial decision to finance a vacation since you end up paying for it long after the benefit of the vacation is gone. Same goes for 5 and 6 year financing of a car...the car can be long gone and you are still paying for it.

Some people will argue that DVC is not a vacation but more like a long term timeshare and they have a valid argument, but at the same time by financing the purchase you are diminishing the savings and benefit of DVC itself; the more interest you pay...the less savings associated with DVC. Personally, I think the DVC can be a great money saver...if properly utilized and managed.

IMHO financing a DVC purchase it not a sound financial decision, but if everyone felt the same way I do...what a boring world this would be.

 

[starbox]

On the subject of financing - we financed and are happy with the choice to do it, but it took us a year of planning before we did it because if I did the math - this is what I got:

2005 vacation - close to 3,000 - Coronado Springs 7 days plus dining plan and no expiration MYW. I'd saved and we paid cash for everything - but would not have been able to save more than that per. year.

We had "done" Disney just about every year (I grew up in Florida and it literally feels like childhood and home to me), but this was the first time we had stayed in a moderate Disney resort and done dining and water parks for the whole week. I decided I could not ever do Disney without the luxuries of eating table service every night/staying at a meo/deluxe resort/having a week in the parks.

We attended a sales pitch and at the minimum buy in, over a year my payments would look like this:

1,500 - downpayment
approx 200 per month = 1,400

total = 2,900 - but not including 7 day tickets OR any dining (and DVC did not offer the DDP yet). Even with annual passes and DDE, I knew I was looking at an additional 2,000 easily. So - even without the downpayment figured in - yearly cost of a vacation would be 3,400 (and the first year I'd spend 4,900!)

My issue at the time was that I could afford the club - but I would not have enough left over to buy tickets and meals each year.

Of course, in the long run - after the initial purchase was paid off, I'd be golden and loving the savings (one reason the extra 12 contract years really, really, really appeal to me). At the time, however, I was not sure I could comfortably afford to pay cash for the non-points portion of the vacations I wanted.

One thing the guides do not do, in my opinion, is prepare people realistically for the price of using DVC each year. I think this is the main reason people regret financing and/or their purchase of DVC.

 

[eliza61]

So, to hear a couple of folks on the operations board, I'm heading to the poorhouse because I had the audacity to FINANCE my DVC....

Well we did, it's all paid off for years now, and we paid way less than we would have if we'd kept taking Disney vacations and paid the hotel rates. We're delighted with our decision to buy in when the points were in the $62 range.

Anyone else?

I always chuckle at those threads. I always feel like I'm back in Catholic school destined for damnation because I financed a luxury purchase and did not wait until I had cash to pay for it. I've never regretted my choice to buy my membership or financing through Disney. It is one of the my best decisions.

My life would be poor indeed if all I ever worked or lived for were the basic necessities (running for my life on 9/11 definitely brought that fact home for me). I'd like to think I strike a happy balance some where in between.

 

[gppnj]

A lot of people say you should never finance DVC. I disagree. If you're going to be visiting Walt Disney World between the present time and the time when you'd have enough money saved that you wouldn't have to finance, I tihnk it makes sense to finance. Otherwise, you'll be paying all that money for a non-DVC resort when the same money could have gone toward DVC.

Rather than saying "never finance," my advice would be to finance to pay it off as soon as possible. (There's no penalty for early payoff.) If you're stretched so tight financially that you'd absolutely have to let the 10-year loan run its full course, you probably shouldn't finance, but you probably shouldn't even be staying at a WDW resort (DVC or non-DVC) at all except for the Value ones. But if you get the 10-year loan and are able to get rid of it in less than five years, I think you're better off to have financed and had all those vacations than to have waited five years before you bought.