Would I be a good candidate to buy into DVC?

[MBELSANTI]

I am a single parent, 40 yrs old with 10 year old child. I have excellent credit, and have modest income. I am considering 150 pts to start with. What would that be in monthly payments with say 10% down? What other fees are there? Is this feasible for me to do? Can someone give me some numbers? As you can see from my signature, I do a big vacation every year of at least 1 week. Mostly I go to WDW or DCL, but I have also been to Italy and Cancun in other years that I havent been to Disney.

 

[DVCJones]

Your monthly payment will be roughly $200 a month. @ $150 for the contract and an additional $50 for monthly dues.

 

[dianeschlicht]

If you are only buying 150 points, you will have to do it from the resale market, because direct from Disney now has a minimum of 160 points.

 

[Amy5000]

I am a single parent, 40 yrs old with 10 year old child. I have excellent credit, and have modest income. I am considering 150 pts to start with. What would that be in monthly payments with say 10% down? What other fees are there? Is this feasible for me to do? Can someone give me some numbers? As you can see from my signature, I do a big vacation every year of at least 1 week. Mostly I go to WDW or DCL, but I have also been to Italy and Cancun in other years that I havent been to Disney.

I'm not an expert and I haven't done the numbers, but the advice I've seen given here post after post is that it mades sense if you visit WDW every year (or at least every other year) and stay at a moderate or deluxe resort. Since you currently have been staying at value resorts, changing to DVC will be more costly for each trip to WDW.

Also, DVC pts are not a good value at things other than the WDW resorts. It will be less expensive for you to purchase the DCL with cash than with points.

That said, if you want to upgrade your WDW accomodations, you could still buy points. Just know the whole thing will be costing you more $$ than what you are currently doing. I would figure out how many points you need for a studio for a for your current length of visit and buy half that number. So if you normally stay for a week during Dream season and you'll stay at OKW or SSR consider purchasing 50 to 60 points in the resale market.

FYI, apprently these are financed at a higher rate than other Real Estate. You may want to consider a home equity line if it's available to you. Once again, I haven't done the math, but if you have to finance, the whole purchase will become more expensive due to interest charges, making this even more costly.

In any event, this will not save you any money. As accomodations, it will cost more than you currently pay.

Good luck.

 

[Dean]

Only you can decide whether buying is is reasonable. If you buy the points you'd need at DVC, use the points only at DVC resorts, don't go heavy on weekends and can plan ahead; it may indeed be a good think to own DVC. I'd generally recommend against financing as I think it's a poor choice to finance a luxury item or vacation but ultimately you'll have to make that decision as well. I wouldn't buy with the idea of trading for those non DVC options off years. You might consider a smaller contract than 150-160 resale, maybe 50-75 points.

 

[MBELSANTI]

That said, if you want to upgrade your WDW accomodations, you could still buy points. Just know the whole thing will be costing you more $$ than what you are currently doing. I would figure out how many points you need for a studio for a for your current length of visit and buy half that number. So if you normally stay for a week during Dream season and you'll stay at OKW or SSR consider purchasing 50 to 60 points in the resale market.

If I decide to only purchase 50-60 pts, then would I just pay OOP for the rest of my stay? Would I need to change resorts? I want my vacations to be minimum 7 nights, preferably 10. I guess what I am asking is what is the benfit of purchasing less points that what I would need?

 

[mikesmom]

Because you can bank a year and also borrow from the next year. Folks who only plan on going every third year could use 3 years of points to cover a vacation. For instance, if I had 50 points, was planning on a vacation next year that required 150 points, I could bank this years 50 points, add them to next years points and borrow the following years 50 points to make the 150 point ressie next year.

I think people are seeing your statement that some years you go to Cancun or other places as an indication that you wouldn't go every year, and thus wouldn't need 150 points every year. If you actually plan on taking that 150 point vacation every year, then yes, the 150 point buy would make more sense.

 

[MBELSANTI]

Because you can bank a year and also borrow from the next year. Folks who only plan on going every third year could use 3 years of points to cover a vacation. For instance, if I had 50 points, was planning on a vacation next year that required 150 points, I could bank this years 50 points, add them to next years points and borrow the following years 50 points to make the 150 point ressie next year.

I think people are seeing your statement that some years you go to Cancun or other places as an indication that you wouldn't go every year, and thus wouldn't need 150 points every year. If you actually plan on taking that 150 point vacation every year, then yes, the 150 point buy would make more sense.

Ohhh ok, I see what you are saying now. I have been wanting to go back to Italy(have lots of family there) and there are other places I would like to go, but I keep coming back to WDW because it was the place where I have so many good memories as a child.

Do people buy 50 pts initially and then later get another 50 and so on to build up?

 

[Disney Doll]

Sure they do. You can start with a small contract and add another small contract down the road. Just know that with a small contract you might not get a DVC vacation every year, but maybe every other, if you do the banking/borrowing thing.

For example, a studio at OKW from July 7-14 is 109 points. OKW has the least expensive point per night amount, July is one of the busiest seasons. That same studio at OKW for January 1-8 is 80 points.

Since you have a 10 year old, one can assume that you will be somewhat tied to the school vacation times to do a WDW trip...at least for a few more years. School vacation times tend to be the most expensive "seasons" so keep that in mind.

If you decided that WDW would be an every other year trip, probably the least amount of points I would buy would be 60, and 75 would probably be even better if it was within your budget to do so. That would give you 120-150 points every other year, which could get you a pretty nice vacation.

One of the things DH & I used to do before we bought a second contract was to spend the weekend at a regular resort and then move to the DVC resort on Sunday night. So we'd arrive on Friday, stay Friday and Saturday night at a moderate, and then on Sunday move to the DVC resort. Friday and Saturday nights are the highest point-wise, so avoiding spending points on those 2 nights saved us quite a bit, and plus, I kind of liked experiencing 2 different resorts. For some reason, it made the vacation seem longer and moving wasn't a big issue for us. If we had a car we just packed it up and if we didn't have a car we called Bell Services and they moved the luggage.

 

[rahrah]

My personal opinion is that if you have to borrow money to buy a DVC, then you should not do it. DVC is a luxury (big time), not a necessity. I feel that you should only borrow money for a house (you have to live somewhere), a car (you need to get to work), and an education (to get a better job).

The cost of buying a DVC, it is pretty much equivalent to the cost of staying at a moderate Disney resort once a year. That is if you pay cash. Borrowing the money makes it more expensive.

Some people like to call a DVC an investment. It is not (unless you rent it regularly). It is a hedge against inflation (and yes, you can lose money hedging). You might be able to make some money in the short term due to inflation and Disney's ROFR (which is tied to supply and demand), but in the long term the value of a DVC will go to zero.

 

[jdvm]

This is a VERY personal decision but I think potential purchasers should stay in a DVC resort of at least one bedroom and see if they like it. Just as importantly I think that you should also feel that you like the DVC room SO much that you'd pay the going cash rate for that room and do it at least once every other year.

If you meet both of these conditions, I think DVC would be a great idea (although I agree you shouldn't borrow the money to buy it). If you wouldn't really shell out the cash for the room I think you should think very long and hard about it.
Good luck
John

 

[wildernessDad]

If one can pay off the loan quickly, then the amount of interest only adds a few pennies to the total cost per point.

 

[Didney Daddy]

It sound as though you love Disney and that is the most important determinat. Start small and see how it goes. There is no need to rush into this and buy a big contract. Believe me, you will have plenty of time for add on itis.

 

[FamilyGuy]

My personal opinion is that if you have to borrow money to buy a DVC, then you should not do it. DVC is a luxury (big time), not a necessity. I feel that you should only borrow money for a house (you have to live somewhere), a car (you need to get to work), and an education (to get a better job).

The above is truly some of the best FINANCIAL advice here.... Your money can be put to good use elsewhere. On the other hand, like so many unnecessary expenses, it can be justified if you really would like to become a full fledged 160 point DVC member. IMHO, DVC purchase motivations are much, much more than just financial.

It is obvious that you enjoy Disney and travel in general. If you really wish to give DVC a try, while remaining somewhat conservative, you may want to try a smaller contract, and go from there.

Believe me, don't look at DVC from the aspect of saving money, it will cause you to spend more in the long run, other's here can vouch for that I am sure.

 

[Coach81]

I have to disagree with Family guy. I am a teacher, so my income is not real good, we have already passed rofr and in the final steps of securing a home equity loan to pay for my family's DVC. It will cost us less than $200.00 per month, and we can afford it without worry. If we would have tried to save up to pay for it with cash, it probably would have taken us several years to get all the money, this way those years will be spent making more priceless memories at our new vacation home

 

[duckfan78]

If I decide to only purchase 50-60 pts, then would I just pay OOP for the rest of my stay? Would I need to change resorts? I want my vacations to be minimum 7 nights, preferably 10. I guess what I am asking is what is the benfit of purchasing less points that what I would need?

there is a minumum of 150pts you must purchase the first time.

 

[Dean]

there is a minumum of 150pts you must purchase the first time.

It's now 160 for retail purchase but one can buy anything resale.

 

[MBELSANTI]

I have to disagree with Family guy. I am a teacher, so my income is not real good, we have already passed rofr and in the final steps of securing a home equity loan to pay for my family's DVC. It will cost us less than $200.00 per month, and we can afford it without worry. If we would have tried to save up to pay for it with cash, it probably would have taken us several years to get all the money, this way those years will be spent making more priceless memories at our new vacation home

HI,

Did you buy through Disney or did you buy through a broker? Did you buy a small contract?

 

[FamilyGuy]

HI,

Did you buy through Disney or did you buy through a broker? Did you buy a small contract?

Must be a resale, as Coach81 mentioned that the contract cleared ROFR.

 

[Disney Anna]

My personal opinion is that if you have to borrow money to buy a DVC, then you should not do it. DVC is a luxury (big time), not a necessity. I feel that you should only borrow money for a house (you have to live somewhere), a car (you need to get to work), and an education (to get a better job).

The cost of buying a DVC, it is pretty much equivalent to the cost of staying at a moderate Disney resort once a year. That is if you pay cash. Borrowing the money makes it more expensive.

Some people like to call a DVC an investment. It is not (unless you rent it regularly). It is a hedge against inflation (and yes, you can lose money hedging). You might be able to make some money in the short term due to inflation and Disney's ROFR (which is tied to supply and demand), but in the long term the value of a DVC will go to zero.

I think this is the single best synopsis on the topic of how to decide to invest in DVC that I have read.