Young DVC owners in their twenties

[Sandisw]

My advice to everyone is to only buy if you can safely afford it. But I make no assumptions based on age. I’m sure there are many 23 year olds who can afford better than many 43 year olds.

My advice though: Buy the lower end of the points you really see yourself using now. Easier to add on more points later rather than finding you have too many points.

200 points is plenty for a couple if you’re planning 1-2 weeks in studios per year. With banking and borrowing, you may also want to consider whether you might end up combining points with skipping years. (If you take 1 trip every 2 years, 400 points would actually be on the big side).

If you’re buying direct and want to insure a popular time period, you may want to investigate buying a fixed week. Though I don’t see that as a priority at SSR.

Just so no one is confused, fixed weeks are not available at SSR. They started with AUL. So VGF, Poly, CCV and RIV have offered them.

 

[Evita_W]

At 155 a point, I would actually look at one of the newer resorts, the price difference isn't much more, but you will get a later expiration date and given your young ages, that would be a much better bang for the buck in the long run.

I would also pick a different home resort than Saratoga Springs, as Saratoga Springs is almost always available at the 7 month mark and generally later than that. Instead I would look at a home resort that you would most like to stay at, such as Riviera. Right now with incentives, we just added on at Riviera for $175 per point, I think for new buyers it is just slightly higher, but it will give you the longest run. The only thing to note is if you sell it, the new owners will only be able to use the points at Riviera.

On other thing to note is due to why we originally bought, we originally ended up buying 206 points and those extra 6 points turned out to be the smartest move ever, it didn't add much to the cast; however, it has saved us almost every use year from needing to buy one time use points, so I actually strongly suggest buying something like 206 points vs 200 points.

Just my two cents on it all and congratulations on being in a position to do this at such a young age and having enough sense to understand that the vacations and experiences in life are worth way more than accumulating a lot of junk. It has taken us way longer to figure that out and we wish we would have much, much sooner in life.

 

[Red Dog Run]

Congrats. I'd wait if it were just a couple of months to avoid the deed change if one of you will be changing your names. I'm not married, been engaged 11 years. Finally will marry next year. Only my name is on the deed. I will be changing my name... on 4 deeds. It's a bit of a cost, but I choose to buy when the opportunities were cheaper. If it were just 2-3 months, the savings vs the cost of the deed changes would be about the same.

 

[Tattylou]

I wish I bought in my twenties- I had more disposable income right out of grad school bc I didn’t have these expensive children yet
Honestly I wish I bought five years ago when I see how the minimum for blue card has gone and the prices have gone crazy too.
If you can make it work with your budget then go for it. I’m still trying to decide if and when I want to buy - covid put a crimp in my plans. Sometimes the advice on here makes it seem financially unattainable and overwhelming unless stars are perfectly aligned and you have excess money everywhere. Every time there is a question of buying into dvc the same sort of advice comes up, which I think is valid advice of any luxury purchase. That said only you can know financially if it makes sense for you. My cousin bought in on a whim on her honeymoon with no pre-planning and she even financed it. They have no regrets. I’m sure plenty of others did that and regretted it. You sound like you are at least considering cost, income, etc. I would definitely make sure I had extra money set aside for house repairs and emergencies.

 

[hhisc16]

My wife and I are in our 20s and purchasing our first DVC contract through resale.
We decided on the resort (HHI) and the points (50 points) based on our regular vacation habits and location.
We are purchasing a small contract because we can pay it in cash. (stimulus)
We have a mortgage on our house and student loans and car payments.
We have disposable income for vacation and this is our entry into DVC.

This is our situation. Everyone has different situations though. Make sure you have your situation correctly planned and financed before signing.

 

[Eric Smith]

hi everyone!!!

so, my fiancé and I have decided to buy into DVC!! I am 23 and he is 26. I am blessed with an amazing job right out of college making something like this realistic for our finances.

we close on our house on Wednesday and will buy our DVC that week.

we have decided on 200 points at Saratoga. My fiancé works in the golf industry so it’s very appealing to him. We are buying direct at 155 a point during their special.

I personally do not think 200 points will work for us once we have kids, so I am thinking down the road we buy a 75-100 point contract at copper creek resale or one of the new resorts direct. Which would give us more time, as I don’t think 33 years will be enough!

any advice?

Here are my thoughts:
1) I wouldn't recommend buying at Saratoga. Saratoga is the "resort of last resort"; It's always available for booking at 7 months. It's not necessary to have home resort advantage at Saratoga. Most people use Saratoga as "sleep around points" meaning that they're cheap points that people use to stay at other resorts. Even if you want to stay there, I think you'd get more benefit from buying elsewhere.
2) Have you stayed at Saratoga or at least walked around the resort? If not, I'd recommend renting some points to stay there or at least walking the grounds to see if you like the vibe of the resort.
3) Are you financing your purchase? If you are, I don't think it's a great idea to buy direct. You'll save about a third of your money buying resale which would save quite a bit of money on interest. Also, you should make sure that financing a DVC contract just after buying a house doesn't cause any issues with your mortgage. You can always add on direct later for the benefits.
4) I'm not sure about how it works where you live, but we have had to sign a document stating that we're not planning to take on any other large debts in the near term as part of the mortgage process.
5) You may want to wait on buying DVC at least until you are married. If something were to happen (not to say that it would), it could get very messy.

 

[crisi]

I know others have harped on this...but I'd wait a bit. DVC will be there in two years. For two reasons....houses get expensive fast. Until you've owned one, its hard to understand the money sink they can be. Live in the house a bit to get a feel for what its going to cost you beyond your mortgage. The second is that you want kids. Our kids cost us $40k 20+ years ago before they arrived. Infertility, adoption. We struggled for three years. And once they arrived - again, expensive. Make sure kids/daycare/diapers etc. fit into that budget as well. Plus all those extra park tickets once they turn three! Do a little research - and be prepared for the curve ball - you wouldn't be the first couple to end up paying for fertility treatment to end up with twins.

In the meantime, rent points, enjoy being young and having the financial freedom of a good job and no kids. And stash some money away. Once kids arrive, its really hard to save it.

(Of course, all of this is meaningless if you are a trust fund kid and by a good job right out of college you are pulling six figures a year in a stable industry where you are unlikely to be unemployed)

Congrats on the wedding and the house. May life throw you a minimum number of curve balls.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Sounds like an awesome plan. Don't feel rushed to purchase another contract. You have plenty of time and there will be times when you'd like to travel somewhere else. DVC is one of the more expensive timeshares/vacation clubs and while you can trade your points to stay somewhere else, it's rarely a good choice financially. 200 points should cover you for a long time and you can always pay another member to transfer points to you for the times that you need more. You are at an age where it's realistic that you'll use your purchase until it expires. Financially, I recommend that you only pay cash for a purchase like this. Of course, you work for your money and what you do with it is none of anyone else's business. Just make sure you research a lot and project the costs ownership out for 10 years or longer. Some people find that not owning makes more financial sense for them.

 

[Ginamarie]

OK, there's a bunch of condescending advice here as well as some good points. You know your finances best. If you have the funds for this- go for it! My sister is your age and just joined in on a contract that we bought together. I wish I had bought into DVC at a younger age!

I do think it benefits you to wait until after the wedding, especially if it's just a few months away. This is because you'd be buying the property as husband and wife with rights of survivorship, in case anything were to happen to either of you. Contrary to what's written here, you DO NOT have to change your deeds if you take on your husband's name after the wedding. It's legal under your maiden name. I'm thinking more of the consequences of how you take ownership on the deed (I'm a real estate attorney, so these things are top of mind to me).

I do agree that Saratoga may not be the best bang for your buck, especially since you can pretty much book the resort all the time on whatever points you buy. OKW is also on the golf course, and also easy to book, so you're at an advantage there. You may want to look into resorts with the longest expiration dates. Bay Lake Tower has a pretty well balanced points chart, and Riviera is a good buy with the incentives, especially if you don't plan on selling your contract down the line.

I think you have a good plan in buying 200 points now and then seeing about adding on later. Addon-itis is a real thing! We bought 300 resale points at the end of last year and have already added on 150 direct points at Riviera, and I'll tell you, I look at the listing every day even though I know I need to pay off these contracts first. I just love looking and love being educated on the pricing so that when I get Riviera paid off, I'll know what's a good deal and what isn't.

We have four kids now and 450 points. I didn't think I'd have that many so quickly, but I am happy with where I am pointwise.

 

[gisele2]

Hi,

did a lot of things in my 20s, that everyone thought was too soon. In the end everything went smoothly and to our advantage . So you can do your math and plan ahead. Things can happen at every age.

For your home resort , buy where you want to stay . Buy with low annual dues. Buy cash. And enjoy.

 

[Evita_W]

OK, there's a bunch of condescending advice here as well as some good points. You know your finances best. If you have the funds for this- go for it! My sister is your age and just joined in on a contract that we bought together. I wish I had bought into DVC at a younger age!

I do think it benefits you to wait until after the wedding, especially if it's just a few months away. This is because you'd be buying the property as husband and wife with rights of survivorship, in case anything were to happen to either of you. Contrary to what's written here, you DO NOT have to change your deeds if you take on your husband's name after the wedding. It's legal under your maiden name. I'm thinking more of the consequences of how you take ownership on the deed (I'm a real estate attorney, so these things are top of mind to me).

I do agree that Saratoga may not be the best bang for your buck, especially since you can pretty much book the resort all the time on whatever points you buy. OKW is also on the golf course, and also easy to book, so you're at an advantage there. You may want to look into resorts with the longest expiration dates. Bay Lake Tower has a pretty well balanced points chart, and Riviera is a good buy with the incentives, especially if you don't plan on selling your contract down the line.

I think you have a good plan in buying 200 points now and then seeing about adding on later. Addon-itis is a real thing! We bought 300 resale points at the end of last year and have already added on 150 direct points at Riviera, and I'll tell you, I look at the listing every day even though I know I need to pay off these contracts first. I just love looking and love being educated on the pricing so that when I get Riviera paid off, I'll know what's a good deal and what isn't.

We have four kids now and 450 points. I didn't think I'd have that many so quickly, but I am happy with where I am pointwise.

I think a lot are just jealous that they are in a position to do this at such a young age, I know I am to some extent.....lol, but I figure they know their finances best and can make their own decisions on if the time is right.

 

[thegash35]

People are confusing "good advice they personally wouldn't want to hear," with condescending.

Every single point made has been made by people who have life experience to a 23 year old.

 

[Sandisw]

People are confusing "good advice they personally wouldn't want to hear," with condescending.

Every single point made has been made by people who have life experience to a 23 year old.

Im not sure telling someone to wait because of age, marital status, etc counts as “good advice but no one wants to hear”

Sharing ones own choices as to why they waited is great advice. Sharing the cons of buying now ia great advice.

Posts that tell someone their choices are wrong or shouldn’t happen..which some do..come across as condescending.

Having said that, this is the internet and a forum where one has asked for advice so you are going to get a wide range of opinions. OP can just ignore them which so far, seems to be the choice they have made.

 

[Leight19]

hi everyone!!!

so, my fiancé and I have decided to buy into DVC!! I am 23 and he is 26. I am blessed with an amazing job right out of college making something like this realistic for our finances.

we close on our house on Wednesday and will buy our DVC that week.

we have decided on 200 points at Saratoga. My fiancé works in the golf industry so it’s very appealing to him. We are buying direct at 155 a point during their special.

I personally do not think 200 points will work for us once we have kids, so I am thinking down the road we buy a 75-100 point contract at copper creek resale or one of the new resorts direct. Which would give us more time, as I don’t think 33 years will be enough!

any advice?

I don’t want to harp on what others have said but I think some good points have been made about whether this is right time to purchase that you should consider. Regarding your question for advice on where to buy, Saratoga is one of the easiest to book at 7 mos so even if you would like to stay there you could consider other options if they benefit you in other ways.

Some basic questions to help us provide good advice on whether your plan makes sense would be what type of rooms do you plan to stay in and how many kids do you plan to have? If you think you will have at least 3 kids one negative of ssr is studios only fit 4 people. Copper creek would be more problematic as even 1 bedroom only fits 4. This somewhat makes planning the right resort and number of points difficult while you are still growing your family (keep in mind planning 2 kids can easily become 3 with twins).

I know you mentioned the golf course is attractive to your family but do you see yourself saying at Saratoga often or is selection mainly cost driven and you plan to stay elsewhere and are okay if you end up at ssr? If most of your stays will be at Saratoga or you rarely book before 7 mos ssr would likely work well. However, if you plan to use them as sleep around points id caution you to stay there once before buying if you hadn’t already. While many really love ssr it’s good value is partly the market speaking reflecting some of the resorts negatives (mainly it’s size and distance from parks).

 

[RoseGold]

I actually have a friend who paid five figures in lawyers and taxes and mess to force an uncooperative ex-fiancé out of their house deal. I’m glad it was a lesson I didn’t have to learn the hard way. The process for this when you are married is called divorce.

I can’t even imagine how much worse this would be on a multi-state timeshare. And while all that is going, I’d argue anyone on the deed has the ability to cancel any reservation— and the contract is still on the hook for all those dues or it will be foreclosed.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

Im not sure telling someone to wait because of age, marital status, etc counts as “good advice but no one wants to hear”

Sharing ones own choices as to why they waited is great advice. Sharing the cons of buying now ia great advice.

Posts that tell someone their choices are wrong or shouldn’t happen..which some do..come across as condescending.

Having said that, this is the internet and a forum where one has asked for advice so you are going to get a wide range of opinions. OP can just ignore them which so far, seems to be the choice they have made.

Anyone who ends an internet post with....

Any advice?

.....better have thick skin!

Seriously though, I married extremely young, bought a house at 21, and had my first child at 24. We were absolutely fine, we are still absolutely fine. TBH, we are way better off than I ever imagined being. So, no judgment about any of that from me. At a young age I was smart, I was capable, etc. but life experience is something only acquired with time. You simply don't have it at 23 and most are just trying to share theirs!

I currently have a 22 yo daughter. So, I know enough currently 22 yo's to know they are definitely NOT all the same! Some are busting their butts and some are living high on unemployment bonus checks and stimulus. lol Some are thrilled with a new-found 50K salary and some are making $100K and still disappointed. Despite them all being different, my advice to any one of them would be the same.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Congrats! I understand the caution of some of the other posters but you two have already purchased a house - DVC is no different. My DW of almost 25 years and I bought our first house before we were married and we never regretted it for a second.

My advice; One checking account, one savings account, the person who spends the most holds the checkbook. We had money spread out over 5 or 6 accounts when we were starting out and we laughed when we got this same advice. We had to learn the hard way.

Oh, and ENJOY! The time goes by really fast.

 

[Omoreno]

Here are my thoughts:
1) I wouldn't recommend buying at Saratoga. Saratoga is the "resort of last resort"; It's always available for booking at 7 months. It's not necessary to have home resort advantage at Saratoga. Most people use Saratoga as "sleep around points" meaning that they're cheap points that people use to stay at other resorts. Even if you want to stay there, I think you'd get more benefit from buying elsewhere.
2) Have you stayed at Saratoga or at least walked around the resort? If not, I'd recommend renting some points to stay there or at least walking the grounds to see if you like the vibe of the resort.
3) Are you financing your purchase? If you are, I don't think it's a great idea to buy direct. You'll save about a third of your money buying resale which would save quite a bit of money on interest. Also, you should make sure that financing a DVC contract just after buying a house doesn't cause any issues with your mortgage. You can always add on direct later for the benefits.
4) I'm not sure about how it works where you live, but we have had to sign a document stating that we're not planning to take on any other large debts in the near term as part of the mortgage process.
5) You may want to wait on buying DVC at least until you are married. If something were to happen (not to say that it would), it could get very messy.

Hi! Thanks for the advice, we were actually approved for about 150k more than we spent on our house, so our lender said it is OK. Thanks for the point!

 

[AnnaS]

Congratulations on your home, marriage and soon to purchase DVC.

Plenty of advice here. I will only add which has also been mentioned - regardless of your age, marital status, etc, if buying direct - split your contract - everyone who is aware does this - regardless of how many points you buy or where you buy. This advice is for all.

Good luck!!!

 

[DVCanadian]

Let’s dial down the fear factor here.
If DVC doesn’t work out for any reason, just sell it.
We aren’t talking about a million dollars, the contract mentioned by the OP is a mid-priced car level. Should she not buy a car because they are unmarried? I don’t know, is this 1950?
So hilarious except I wonder if the OP was a man if the “advice” would be different?
The OP clearly asked for advice on the next contract, not on their personal life.

Only caution I see is buying SSR direct. You pay $155pp, it is worth $100pp the next day. SSR is easy to buy resale but hey that’s your call not mine. $25k SSR resale for 250 points AND you’d be “saving” money.