Researching DVC

[Megamazing]

I've been researching DVC the past couple of days. I finally got my husband to agree....his dream is to own a triple decker house (we live in Boston so those are common, although not ideal to me), and my dream is DVC with a trip once a year....so we made a compromise, LOL. We won't be buying anytime soon as I'm not working currently and we both want to clean our credit up a little more (mine is low to mid 600s and his mid 600s-700s and they both fluctuate occasionally.) before we make any big investments. I just wanted to start this thread because I have many questions and the members here have been so helpful to me in the past.

My first questions are - Would 100 points be enough? It's just us two. We would most likely do a 6 night or 7 night trip each year because there really is just SO MUCH to do and rushing sucks. (I did 4 days once and only visited 2 parks.) I love Contemporary and he loves animals/Animal Kingdom so we would do either of those DVC options. And we would most likely visit in January/February (NOT February vacation time.)

I know that since it is essentially real estate ownership, they do run your credit. As I mentioned that is something we both are working on ( I monitor mine religiously and am a fanatic about it ), but I'm curious as to what they look for/what kind of scores they look for? Neither of us has any repossessions, evictions, ETC on our reports. I'm just curious.

And what is DVC Resale?

Thanks in advance for answering these and any other questions I may have, LOL. We won't be buying until probably next year but I like to have aaalll my information when making large purchases or investments.

 

[Tinkerbell397]

@Megamazing ....it is never too early to plan. If I knew how to post the point charts for each resort on this website, I would do it. Maybe someone else does.
Anyway.....my husband and I bought at The Polynesian direct through Disney when we visited last March. Now it sound like we are in different places in our lives....we are early retirees and plan to visit alone and with our grandchildren. We bought 100 points because that is what suited our Disney habits of a 1X per year visit. Where you stay, what time of year and room choice will determine how many points you need. You said that you like the Contemporary and your husband AKL and that you travel in January and February. You can stay at a studio for a week in January for 69 points for a value room, 81 points for a standard and a Savannah View is 102. You can still afford February is a value or standard studio depending on the dates. A studio for a week at the CR will be 102-183 points depending on the time of year. If I were you, I would explore the Disney Vacation Club website. You will find lots of information there. Happy exploring and I am sure that there are many people here who can help.

 

[Phonedave]

You can buy DVC either Direct from Disney or on the Resale Market (from someone why wants to get rid of their contract)

There are some perrks to buying direct, but resale is a LOT cheaper. You can also buy resale, and then add on a small direct contract to get the added perks of direct if you really want them.

As far as credit is concerned, try to finanace as little as possible,. This is a vacation time share after all. Be smart with your money. Dont go into debt for vacations.

You can own at any resort you want, and still stay in any resort. You can book 11 months out at your home resort, and 7 months out at any other. If you are not planning on staying during busy times, or you will bot be totally disappoints staying at a different resort, then there is no need to buy into a particular resort. The two resorts you named are both espensive to buy, and also have higher dues.

You started doing some reasearch, but there is a lot more for you to learn before you make the decision to buy.

-dave

 

[Riburn3]

I would honestly avoid financing a DVC purchase if you can help it, and buy on the resale market. People forget often forget that depending on how many points you buy and at which resort, you're usually out between $600-$1500 per year on resort fees.

Some resorts sell for nearly $100/pt less than what Disney is offering direct at the Poly or in Hawaii, and to be blunt, the perks they try to throw in when you buy direct through them don't come close to the savings you get when you buy via resale. Currently there are resale listings for the Animal Kingdom where you can get 100 points for under $10k. That same amount of points for the Poly or new Wilderness resort is gonna cost you close to $18k. At other resorts like Saratoga Springs, you can get 150 points or more for around $10-12k on the resale market, which can still be used at any resort.

I ended up buying a 160 point resale contract at Saratoga Springs for only $11,100 through DVC Resale without financing a couple of years ago. I think at the time, the same amount of points through the Polynesian would have cost over $27,000, giving me huge savings. I could care less about home resort (never once stayed in Saratoga), or any of the worthless perks you get while buying direct. I was able to book a nice 8 night stay at the Polynesian for this fall with a few points left over to bank. The only reason I think anyone would buy direct through Disney is because they don’t know better. When you’re not locked into a single resort with your points, there’s really no reason to pay top dollar unless membership status is that important to you or you can't ever imagine staying at another resort (again I don't care because they're all very nice). I honestly just care way more about being in a nice room to lay my head in after a long day of exploring, and now I have that locked in for decades to come at a fraction of the up front cost.

I think buyers remorse is a really big reason the resale market is as big as it is. Sure peoples life situation changes or kids grow up and they use it less, but when people sit down and consider that they locked themselves into 10 years of financing $30,000 at over 10%, plus another $1000+ of annual dues that keep rising for half a century, they want to cut and run as best they can. It's why even the newest resorts have decent amounts of listings.

 

[correcaminos]

I think buyers remorse is a really big reason the resale market is as big as it is. Sure peoples life situation changes or kids grow up and they use it less, but when people sit down and consider that they locked themselves into 10 years of financing $30,000 at over 10%, plus another $1000+ of annual dues that keep rising for half a century, they want to cut and run as best they can. It's why even the newest resorts have decent amounts of listings.

I'm not sure buyers remorse is the main reason. I think people's lives change and what they want out of resorts change. I know a lot of people who buy and sell depending on what they want to use.

I've been an owner for 13 years. I have most of my points at OKW which will expire when we hit 65. Then we have a small add on at PVB we did 2 years ago so we could get an extended contract and a few more points to use.

I say buy where you want to stay most. Depending on where you stay 100 points can take you far or not much at all even in a studio. If you want a resort like PVB right now the savings and time on a resale may or may not be worth it. If you like AKL you can buy into there on resale really cheap.

While we have been owners for a long time and have the perks, I am not sure I would ever buy direct just for the perks. The DVC AP renewal for Gold is a really good deal - about the same as 6-7 days park hopping now. So as long as we go 1x a year we'll do the AP. But I've had enough years that didn't have that deal so don't buy in for that. The lounge at Epcot may or may not be there and the discounts aren't usually worth it on the food or merchandise to justify that either.

I do not think financing DVC is worth it. Either have the money up front or at least make sure you can use an equity loan or something else that is not high interest rates. Financing through Disney does not do a hit on credit or if you have lower credit ratings going through them will work better if you want to finance. We didn't finance either contract so I can't say much more about that. Most of all make sure this is what you want and enjoy it when you do get it.

 

[Riburn3]

I agree with you 100% helenabear. My buyers remorse statement is targeted mostly at those that finance (which is a significant number of buyers on both the direct and resale market). The agent when I bought my resale was very blunt when he told me their business exists because lots of buyers remorse and people willing to finance their vacations for 10% interest over a lengthy period.

The DVC sales pitch is pretty high pressure, especially when you're in the midst of a magical vacation that you likely don't want to end, they play on your heartstrings. When you're staying at the resort in the Disney bubble, away from the real world, and you think "I don't want this to end", it's easy to get people to sign. People then make dumb decisions like financing $30,000 of their vacations at 12% interest over 10 years. Look at the people here and other sites that specifically say they wish they had known the resale market existed when they signed the dotted line.

In the end you're absolutely right, financing a DVC is not worth it.

 

[EOD K9]

I'm going to partially disagree with @Riburn3 I took the tour of SSR back in 2005 when Congress Park was the only thing up and running. The disagreement is about the pressure. My guide didn't pressure me at all. I enjoyed the tour and went back home after my vacation to sleep on it. After about a month I pulled the trigger. I had just finished paying my student loans and financed. I worked hard and paid the loan off about 18 months early. When I had my twins, I added on through resale and paid cash.
When I was single I used my points constantly and now that I have a full family, I use it even more. For me, it was money well spent and I don't regret it. I didn't have the money to put down up front and didn't know about the resale market. Financing allowed me to get an ownership interest in DVC. That being said, I'm in it for the long haul.

 

[nickys]

We financed through Disney when we bought, 7 years ago. Agree about it not being a hard sell, we weren't pressured. In fact we were even told that a resale market did exist.

As to why we financed through Disney. In our case there wasn't another option. Being from the UK, we couldn't have borrowed here for a)a timeshare and b) to buy abroad. And we couldn't take out a loan in the US We did our finances, we were realistic. We know our break even point is still 7 or 8 years away. That's fine. More important to us is being able to stay in a villa where we have some separation from our now growin up boys. The staying onsite was important, only DH drives. The cost of paying cash for a 1 bed is steep, more than a package for 4 of us to stay in 1 room.

The point is, you need to be sure of your own reasons. I agree for most buyers from the US, resale is far far better option for many resorts. What we did doesn't make sense if you can get a loan through your own bank. I should add that when I look at resale prices now, and factor in our current exchange rate, it makes our deal look not too shabby. We must have bought at a good time, and the incentive we got helped too. Adding on via resale just now is not going to happen. I have considered it, but the prices don't add up.

 

[correcaminos]

I agree with you 100% helenabear. My buyers remorse statement is targeted mostly at those that finance (which is a significant number of buyers on both the direct and resale market). The agent when I bought my resale was very blunt when he told me their business exists because lots of buyers remorse and people willing to finance their vacations for 10% interest over a lengthy period.

The DVC sales pitch is pretty high pressure, especially when you're in the midst of a magical vacation that you likely don't want to end, they play on your heartstrings. When you're staying at the resort in the Disney bubble, away from the real world, and you think "I don't want this to end", it's easy to get people to sign. People then make dumb decisions like financing $30,000 of their vacations at 12% interest over 10 years. Look at the people here and other sites that specifically say they wish they had known the resale market existed when they signed the dotted line.

In the end you're absolutely right, financing a DVC is not worth it.

I totally agree with your statements about those financing big amounts with high interest rates. It is hard to come out ahead with that and I am sure after a while it feels like it is too much.

I will say I went for a tour back in in the early 2000s just before I bought resale and it was super low key. I had gone with a friend who was an owner too and at that point I knew I was going to do resale but wanted to see it all anyway. I did buy direct 2 years ago but even now the resale amounts are really close to what I paid so it's not a big deal. But I didn't finance it and wound up getting lots of rewards points on my credit card LOL

 

[Riburn3]

My experience was quite the opposite. DVC direct sales have been slowing down a bit over the last couple of years (hence why many resale perks were dropped starting last year), and when I went 2 years ago I had a very pushy salesman. He made it seem like anyone would be stupid to not join and basically would lie when we would ask the minimum purchase requirement. He first started with 150 point minimum purchase, then went down to 100, then eventually down to 50 points when desperation kicked in. When we left he didn't even shake my hand, and all I said was I would like more time to think about it. My coworker that bought direct through Polynesian last year said they were needlessly pushy. They started by telling the salespeople up front that they were planning to purchase that day, and they kept trying to upsell them on more and more points, even though they were paying in cash, up front, for 200 points.

I realize all of our stories are anecdotal, but most people here in this thread saying they had a smooth no-pressure tour seemed to have gone a decade or more ago. I also would imagine experience is largely contingent on who is giving the tour at the time.

 

[dizneycraig]

Here's my 2 cents:

We bought in 2008 when the kids were 4 and 6. I did a large downpayment and financed the rest through Disney - didn't think twice about it. We paid the contract off early. Your travel ideas WILL change. Where we used to think nothing of taking the kids out of school, can't be done anymore without a major disruption to them. I do not regret my purchase at all. The only remorse I had was not buying 2 contracts so I can leave one to each of my children. I plan on buying another contract in the resale market someday. If I was you, I would concentrate on the purchase of a permanent residence before DVC. The DVC ownership will force you to go at least every other year. What you will pay in financing and dues, you could easily afford to go when you want and stay where you want. We are heading down in a month. I am curious to see how my teenage children will be with this trip. It seems that some of the magic gets lost with each subsequent visit. I'm hoping that they enjoy it as much as I do, but their interests have changed.

I wish you the best in making your decision.

 

[Seanual757]

Purchased both of our contracts direct from Disney VGF (2015) & POLY (2016) we financed via Disney paid off our VGF last year, and just paid off my Poly this year.

Do what works for you people cannot tell you how or why to spend your $$.


Good luck to you and your husband.