Considering buying at GF..help!

[dreamfinder]

We went to an open house today and are heavily considering buying into the dvc at the grand floridian... Here is what we were told..
$15,000 purchase price for 100 points
They will give us a free 100 points
Our points will be available April 1

The only other resort they had available was the akl, but it was 44 years and not 50 and it was minimal price difference.

We like the idea of having our accommodations for vacations already paid for and the options of being able to visit other locations not only disney . It's just the 2 of us right now, but plan on having a family within a few years.



Hit me with the good. Bad and ugly!

Start from scratch. Figure out when you think you would want to travel. Be it January, Summer, Columbus Day, whatever. Then look at the point totals for that time of year, and figure out how many points you would need. VGF? (Or how are we abbreviating this one) is easily coming out 50% more expensive. In order for DVC to keep costs similar across the board, the points at any given resort cost mostly the same, but their value differs greatly. Comparing a slow weeknight in January (only numbers I have handy) in a standard view studio, BLT is 14 pts, AKL is 11, BWV is 10, and VGF are 17. So your 100 points could get you 10 weeknights at BWV (overlooking weekends cost more) but only 5.88 nights at VGF. You would need to bank/borrow/buy single use points from DVC to get you that 6th night. Now if down the road you do want to upgrade to a 1/2br to accommodate a family, then you definitely need to bank borrow and can only travel once every 2nd or 3rd year.

As pointed out, DVC won't push the other resorts, but they will exercise ROFR on resales to buy contracts that they can then sell to you. In which case, weigh if the benefits to buying direct are better than your cost savings from resale. You can usually save 30-50% on most resale contracts.

DVC can definitely end up saving you money in the long run, but you need to think it through carefully. When doing a savings analysis, compare the cost of ownership (est. dues + any financing) to what you would have otherwise spent on a room. IE compare the cost of a room at POFQ if that is where you would stay, not the rack price for a DVC villa. Straight up cash, you can break even in 7-10 years that way. Financing will drive it out closer to 15-20 years.