Who SHOULDN’T buy DVC?

WebmasterPete

Grand Administrator
Joined
Jun 1, 1997
Batting around ideas for a show, and thought about this. I have my opinions (surprise), but I wanted to see what the experts had to say. Who shouldn’t buy DVC? Or, when is DVC not a good option?
 


It's a bad idea for military (active and retired) families because the current discounts on rooms and tickets are much better than the savings of buying DVC. The discounts have been in effect for almost 20 years now, and probably unlikely to ever go away completely.

Also, active duty military life is not conducive to being able to plan trips 7-11 months out. More like 2-3 months out is more the norm. Schedules in the military are very unpredictable.
 
We bought into DVC because we take frequent (3 to 4) trips to WDW a year, were always staying deluxe, and we were in a position to buy both of our contracts with cash. With that being said, I would say DVC is not ideal for those who do not frequent Disney and those who are not in a comfortable place financially to make a large purchase.
 


Off the top of my head - & not including what others have already suggested)

Those who would feel "cheated" when free dining offers are available.

Those who will only buy enough points to book studios - especially the standard and value categories.

Those who buy based on current perks.

Those who haven't spent at least 6 months researching the "ins and outs" of the system. That includes those who believe the busy seasons for parks match up to the speed of booking DVC accommodations.

Those who expect daily housekeeping service to be included (and aren't willing to pay a fairly hefty fee to get it).

Anyone who plans to regularly use points for anything other than a stay at a DVC resort (bad economic value to do that).

Those who expect to regularly trade into the near-park resorts at 7 months. (BLT, Poly, VGF, BCV, BWV)

MOST IMPORTANT: ANYONE WHO IS NOT WILLING TO READ (and ask questions if they don't understand) ALL OF THE PURCHASE DOCUMENTS PRIOR TO SIGNING! "Guides" do not tell you the entire story and will imply things that are NOT in the written agreements.
 
I am somewhat confused over the fact that the points for a studio AND a one bedroom total can be raised regardless if the points for a two bedroom go down. I signed the papers, so maybe I should not have bought.

After what owners have just been through, I could not tell anyone to buy DVC. I am shell shocked. I know this is not what you wanted, but it is how I feel right now. I would wait at least until the next point charts come out.
 
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I used to think DVC would be a good option for people living in the vicinity who could pop in for a quick weekend now and then. Since DVC started selling all the smallish point contracts, the studios anywhere are impossible to grab for more than 1 night less than 7 months out except for maybe late August). So unless you have a yen (and enough points) for a Poly bungalow... not sure that population is as good a fit anymore?
 
Those who will only buy enough points to book studios - especially the standard and value categories.

Why makes you say this? We are considering purchasing DVC and were thinking of just getting enough points to book studios.
 
Why makes you say this? We are considering purchasing DVC and were thinking of just getting enough points to book studios.
Not to put words in her mouth, but likely because the studios are competitive and you may be disappointed.

I know. I did a no-no. We financed a small contract. I'm happy with it. With our large family size and desire to stay on property, we would have been renting the points each trip every other year. Buying the contract made more sense for us. Why pay $2-3000 a trip just in renting points when we bought our 100 point contract for $8,800? Sure we have a couple more trips til it "balances out", but our kids are young and DH & I love Disney and are content repeating vacations there. Maybe we should have waited until we could have afforded it outright, but we put a hefty down payment down and are almost done paying on it and now the prices (at least the last time I checked) have sky rocketed.

I think you should rent points and stay where you think you want to buy before you commit. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to finance but I don't want to give anyone financial advice. I know most say "don't finance a luxury!" but people finance BMWs instead of buying Kia's, right? Perhaps that's a poor example, but financing has allowed me to take my kids on 3 Disney trips with 2 more in the works, so it works for us.
 
Why makes you say this? We are considering purchasing DVC and were thinking of just getting enough points to book studios.

1) because the studios get booked really fast, and if you're thinking of buying only enough points to get a value studio - don't. The inventory for them is tiny and they are nigh impossible to book at some locations. I say "some" because SSR and OKW are generally pretty open, but value studios elsewhere are veritable unicorns. I truly believe DVC guides have oversold the low point contracts, making it seem like value rooms are easy to come by.

2) because points CAN be reallocated and if you buy in at the lowest possible amount of points, you may find yourself unable to book studios in the future with the amount of points you have unless you borrow/bank and go less frequently.
 
People who complain if they see DVC villas available for cash stays through Disney Reservation Center and they can't book a reservation using points. Especially if they waited too late to book.

People who look at DVC as a way to "treat" the rest of the family when they can barely afford it for their own use.
 
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I think it's a bad idea for anyone who needs to finance it. If you don't have the cash, you shouldn't even consider it.

I agree it's generally terrible to finance direct purchase but I think it can work *if* resale and *if* able to pay off quickly (maybe under 3 years?).

As an example, if we look at Copper Creek at $188/pt if it's financed over 10 years at 12% I believe it adds about $135/pt in interest. Ouch!

The most likely time it could make sense to finance direct is if you can put it on a new credit card running 0% APR credit card and you pay it off before charged interest.

If one doesn't care about direct perks and he or she is able to pay off a resale contract quickly enough that interest keeps the purchase within realm of a direct price the it's not unreasonable to finance. If the perks are important than it'd be more efficient to save money until able to buy direct. To many it stinks to think that their out of pocket could be about the same direct in 3 years or resale + interest mow, but those that don't care about the perks are better off getting "in" now.

Next, many with young kids think they will be more flexible than they really will be. For example, new parents (and those expecting families in the future) don't consider the future schedules are travel sports, etc that kill family planning.

And don't buy in as an investment. Yes prices have continues to rise but the 2042 resorts are getting closer to closer to expiring and those prices cannot continue to rise indefinately. People aren't likely to pay 170 for BCV in 2030 when resort expires in 12 years. At some point the math says you're better off renting every year than buying, and when that happens at at 2042 *resale* resorts prices will begin dropping annually.

Similarly, BCV has become a villa it's fiscally irresponsible to purchase direct at $225/pt In a way, we are there with BCV *direct* at $225 and 23 years remaining, $225/23 =$9.78/pt acquisition cost (not including closing costs) + $6.94/pt 2019 dues yielding together $17.15/pt value. People would come out ahead renting points for BCV vacations at $14-$17/point.
 

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