Is Buying into DVC While You're Young a Good Investment?

[MICKIMINI]

Being a long time (1996) DVC fan, yes we have found it to be an incredible value for us regarding accommodations. Over the years we stayed with our young son, family and friends and now our son and his wife. We are crazy Disney people too!
Most of our friends have "toys" like pools, bikes, boats, etc and we have DVC... Over the years the economy went up and down, we bought and sold various DVC contracts, but we were stable and made it through the financial crisis in part by being frugal and part luck though we know people who lost it all...houses, cars, toys and all their savings. I just think it is best to assume you will have some difficult years through things you can control and things you can't. It's not to suggest you can't get the things you want - you SHOULD aim high and work hard to fill your life with things you love, I guess it just comes with some soul searching - as in, if you loose your job (it happens), can you pay all your bills for 6-12 months? None of us can make that judgement call but you. Good luck and follow your dreams!

 

[Spark65]

Missing my point.

. But in my experience, games like that are how marital problems start.

Can't agree with you on that usually that only happens if they are trying to hide something from the other.

You need to have a lawyer one for each side when investing money with others just like a business and when buying real estate there are valid reasons for it. Having a good relationship isn't one of them.

 

[crisi]

Missing my point.

If they are married and not solid, then it's not a good idea to buy real estate together.

It is more about the relationship than legal status.

If a married couple owns DVC and divorces, what happens to the contract?

How is that different than if they aren't married?

Sounds like a mess either way. If they are really concerned, then just buy it in the one person's name who can afford it now, then add the additional name later. But in my experience, games like that are how marital problems start.

If they are marrying the right person, none of this matters.

"Until it suddenly becomes relevant..." Ok, but I'm simply sharing my point of view, which is not wrong. It's an opinion, just like yours.

I think you are missing her point. If she buys and dies, and doesn't have a will, what happens to her DVC if they aren't married? Most young people don't bother with wills. What if she has a will, but becomes legally incapacitated? Until they are married, he has no rights to her property. There are a whole lot of legal protections regarding property that come with marriage that have nothing to do with whether the relationship is stable and permanent.

 

[ray3127]

I think you are missing her point. If she buys and dies, and doesn't have a will, what happens to her DVC if they aren't married? Most young people don't bother with wills. What if she has a will, but becomes legally incapacitated? Until they are married, he has no rights to her property. There are a whole lot of legal protections regarding property that come with marriage that have nothing to do with whether the relationship is stable and permanent.

Okay, I see that now.

My wife and I bought our first house together, before we were married, in both of our names, with no lawyer/complications. Maybe it varies by state, but it was simple in Nebraska. That's kind of where I'm speaking from.

The what-ifs you bring up make sense to me, though, and may be more of an issue if an individual buys property in their name only. Perhaps OP should consider keeping the contract in only their name for now, and it may be a good idea to seek legal advice. However, I don't think that splitting up assets before the marriage is the best foundation. See below.

Can't agree with you on that usually that only happens if they are trying to hide something from the other.

You need to have a lawyer one for each side when investing money with others just like a business and when buying real estate there are valid reasons for it. Having a good relationship isn't one of them.

Sometimes it is hiding things from each other, but that is often a result of keeping score with each other financially. So then somebody feels the need to hide things. I'm not saying my way is the only way with this, but my wife and I have one shared account, and it all goes in/out from there. She used to carry me (I actually went back to school early on, similar to OP's story), and now I carry her. But nothing changed; it's "our" money. Not everybody is like that, and again I'm not saying everybody should be. But I do believe that when you have that kind of trust and treat everything in your relationship as yours *together*, you are far less likely to run into marital problems caused by finances. The scorekeeping of "my money" and having only one spouse own certain assets while another owns other things ... I just think that's inviting problems. But I digress.

My broader point is getting lost in this discussion, but I think it is clear from my earlier posts, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[jvalic33]

I agree with this.

My wife of 8.5 years and I got engaged after 6 months of dating, and two weeks after that we signed the contract on our first house (we were 22 & 21 at the time). We had a 1.5 year engagement because others in the family were already engaged and had their wedding dates planned, and we weren't allowed to jump ahead of them. Does that mean we should have put our life on hold for those 1.5 years? To some, it sounds like it.

I don't know the details of your relationship. In the case of my wife and I, we had zero doubts. Whether or not we were legally married did not matter (and still doesn't, frankly). Age is just a number, and fiance is just a word. We knew who each of us truly was on the inside, and that's all that ever mattered.

To that point, I know married people on much shakier ground than engaged couples I know. So I don't see just being engaged is an automatic problem.

All of that being said... Assuming you two are a solid entity, I think the 100-point contract to get started is a reasonable idea. You can always add on as your life and membership needs change. But given what you said, it seems like DVC may be a good fit for you. I'm of a similar mindset, in that once I learned about DVC I couldn't stomach paying cash prices ever again. If you're going to be spending the cash on Disney hotels anyway, then you might as well buy the points and have something to show for it at the end of the day.

I wish we would've bought DVC when we were engaged or newly married. If you're a solid couple, love Disney, and can handle it financially, go for it.

I agree with this. I wish we bought younger even. We didn't make it to Disney until we had 4 kids and we bought right after that first trip. I never dreamed I would be able to afford multiple trips to Disney for my kids but DVC made it totally possible, especially since we needed suites. In the end, as long as you plan on using those points you will eventually make your money back and if you can pay it off sooner, you'll make your money back sooner.

I also liked the idea of ROFR. Essentially Disney builds into the plan a value that your contract will NEVER drop below and as of right now, if you don't use your points, you can easily rent them to cover more than your dues for the year.

If your relationship is like ray3127 describes, and mine was as well, and you love Disney and know you'll be going back often, go for it! You can always sell it later if you regret your decision and if you at least got a couple off trips out of it, you'll at least break even.

 

[jvalic33]

One other thought....if you die tomorrow are you really going to be worrying about who gets your DVC contract?

I would think this would be more of an issue if/when you have children.

 

[crvetter]

I think you are missing her point. If she buys and dies, and doesn't have a will, what happens to her DVC if they aren't married? Most young people don't bother with wills. What if she has a will, but becomes legally incapacitated? Until they are married, he has no rights to her property. There are a whole lot of legal protections regarding property that come with marriage that have nothing to do with whether the relationship is stable and permanent.

Almost all states allow you to deed real estate interest with the deed going to the surviving member without a will or going through probate (it’s why a lot of older members on her seem to be adding children to their deed) or any other effort on the deeded owners. Though I do believe since they aren’t married inheritance tax could have to be paid on the “deceased” persons interest (but then again that varies by state and federal level).

Florida happens to be a state where rights of survivorship are granted if they take title properly and DVC or any resale title company can easily tell you which title to take. But in Florida unmarried individuals can take title with undivided interests in the title (to be honest not even sure married individuals in Florida can even take undivided interests in title).

 

[Travel60]

I would advise purchasing ONLY if you have NO other debt (school, credit card, etc.) and can swing it totally on your own. Put only your name on the deed and plan to pay off within 5 years or less. You are very young and your fiance is still in school. A lot will change in your life in 5 years....possibly a marriage and buying a home.
DO NOT think of this as an investment ...it is not. It is prepaying your future vacations.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

@crisi has the right of it. I am referring to legalities. In the absence of marriage, things have to be set up just so, and you also have to trust a lot of the extended relatives. If there is no POA or will, a next of kin could get control of medical/financial, for instance. When the property is intestate, it can be weird.

I mean, it can be weird when there is clear legal relationship and next of kin without a will, don't get me wrong. But the number of ways it can get weird multiply for two people unrelated in the eyes of the state.

 

[RaymOOOnd]

The whole engaged vs married thing aside, DVC is obviously not a real investment -- it's a speculative venture at best PLUS many wonderful planned vacations.

THAT SAID, if there were ever a time for speculative ventures my feeling is that it may be now. With any extra money (bonuses etc) I've having a hard time deciding where within this ever-rising stock market to put it. It's at least easy to imagine DVC in this context as a sort of "store of value", which would hold up pretty well if everything else plunges for awhile.

 

[D-Trick]

We are fairly young, 23 and 22 respectively, and I have a full time job as a human resource specialist and he is returning to school full-time. I do have the ability to take on the cost fully without him but, he will also contribute.

I have no objections to making a large purchase like DVC before you are legally married.

However... are your cars paid off? Do you already own your home? My wife and I bought our house before getting married because it will be the largest financial commitment you'll make in your life. Then, after our wedding (another large expense), we bought DVC. Leisure travel and relaxation is definitely an important part of life, but committing to DVC/WDW so early on may be something you regret.

Remember that DVC is not a club. It's above all a timeshare and a real estate transaction. Realistically, where does DVC stand on your life priority list? There may be a rush to purchase before direct prices go up, but keep in mind that DVC will always try to keep prices at an attainable price in order to get new business. In other words, DVC will still very much be doable after your fiance is done with school and you have a second income.

 

[zavandor]

I would go back to the fact I think you're going to finance. Let's make the worst possible example: 10% down payment and the rest financed by Disney at 10%.
188pp x $100 a point is 18,800 total buy in.
One would finance 16,920. The first year the interests alone on that amount would be $1,692.
I've not checked CRO but those alone should be able to book quite a few nights at Disneyworld, (just maybe not in a Deluxe resort).
Financing DVC, especially the maximum amount through Disney, eats most of the savings you could do and puts the ROI much further in the future.
My suggestion would be to wait, spend some time learning the ins and outs of the system and during that time put a bit more money aside to pay in full upfront.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

"Solid couple" is not a legal status. Marriage is. From a pure legal perspective, buying real estate as a couple without attachment in law can be much more fraught over time than buying when already granted the many legal privileges of marriage, some of which can be duplicated via contract, many of which cannot.

If you buy real estate outside of marriage, you should speak to a qualified real estate lawyer around issues like inheritance, among other things.

I know a lot of people get defensive when the married vs. engaged/cohabiting thing is brought up, but this isn't about questioning your love or commitment. It's about how the law sees it, and that may not seem relevant... until it suddenly becomes relevant.

Precisely.

 

[cbyrne1174]

I would say not to do it. I was financially better of when my husband and I were 22-23 than I was when we were 25-28 years old. My husband couldn't hold down a job for longer than a few months (he works in IT) because he kept getting laid off (company buyouts) and when he applied to the jobs that were in the 45-50k range, he couldn't get one because he was too overqualified, but also too under qualified for the next step. We had to live 4 years on mostly just a teacher's salary (my job). We had the earning potential of 90k+, but never made past 55k in a year because of this. We made the mistake of getting 2 new cars that costs us around 45k because when we bought them, we had the means. Now my credit is low from making late payments in the past, even though everything is paid off now. It still follows me because I thought we had the means to get the cars and life went another direction.

 

[Ben E N]

My concern with the idea of buying in has nothing to do with being married or not. It has to do with the fact that the fiance has been to Disney only once, yet you are looking to buy in for the long run. I didn't buy into DVC until somewhere around my 6th trip to Disney. At that point the "sparkle" had worn off a bit, but I still knew I liked it. Since becoming a member, I notice more and more little things (both good and bad).
If you take 4 more trips there without being a member, at 4 days a trip, you are "wasting" at most $5,000 (while not paying any annual dues) to make sure this is where you both want to go every year. If you buy into DVC, you are locked in whether you like it or not. Selling your contract for equal value is not a guarantee, and if you are financing it could become a big burden.
I suggest you go for a few more visits, save extra money in a "DVC" fund, and use that to buy in at a later date once you know it is the right fit for the both of you.

 

[sethschroeder]

This is my thoughts if you are younger:

• Buy resale because you likely can't afford and shouldn't be going to Disney enough to make AP worth it (we are talking 2 trips of like 10 days just to come out slightly ahead right now)
• Moonlight magic is "worthless" if you want to stay at your home resort and need to plan vacations out 10-11 months for home resort advantage
• Resale will be drastically less expensive and you can more easily "break even" if you need to sell the contract in the next 5-10 years
• Resale also has a ton of options outside of RIV (you can always sell your resale contract likely in 5-10 years and buy direct)
• Expirations dates in 25-30 years are not a big deal because honestly when your kids start to hit college that will be a time you want to likely reset your vacationing anyways

 

[gabbyenovak]

My concern with the idea of buying in has nothing to do with being married or not. It has to do with the fact that the fiance has been to Disney only once, yet you are looking to buy in for the long run. I didn't buy into DVC until somewhere around my 6th trip to Disney. At that point the "sparkle" had worn off a bit, but I still knew I liked it.

I totally understand what you are saying but, I have been to WDW and DL a total of 12-14 times in my life and DL twice last year (I live in Ohio). The issue is not if we will like Disney, the issue is will we get the best possible deal if we wait 2-5 years down the line when its almost $200/point or even more. We like the idea of paying something like this down or off before we have children to ensure we have a "home" when we get to that point.

Also the issue of us not being married is also not an issue to us because we can easily go down to the court house, sign a paper and we're "married". We care about the experiences in our lives and would like to secure that while we are financially unrestricted by things like children, wedding, etc.

 

[Ben E N]

I totally understand what you are saying but, I have been to WDW and DL a total of 12-14 times in my life and DL twice last year (I live in Ohio). The issue is not if we will like Disney, the issue is will we get the best possible deal if we wait 2-5 years down the line when its almost $200/point or even more. We like the idea of paying something like this down or off before we have children to ensure we have a "home" when we get to that point.

Also the issue of us not being married is also not an issue to us because we can easily go down to the court house, sign a paper and we're "married". We care about the experiences in our lives and would like to secure that while we are financially unrestricted by things like children, wedding, etc.

In that case I would say you are more of a candidate for DVC. A couple more things to consider. One is that DVC really is more similar to deluxe resorts at moderate, or more than moderate, prices. I have loved my DVC trips so far, but they have been a different experience compared to staying at hotels, and have actually been more expensive overall (I have definitely gotten what I paid for, though). While DVC is a nice piece of visiting Disney, it is not a necessary piece.

Another more important consideration is that Disney is not the only thing that money should be spent on. Just because something can be paid for, it does not mean it should be paid for. I have no idea what your finances look like, and am not asking you to share, but if you are not already comfortably maxing out at least an IRA, plus building a big savings for large purchases coming up, you may regret your decision to buy into DVC at a later date when that money is needed. At one point a couple of years ago, I almost pulled the trigger on an extra 100 points. I had the funds for it, but instead chose to keep it in savings. I am very glad I did, as I am now able comfortable spending money on things like swimming lessons for my kids and surprise car repairs without having to count every penny.
DVC is definitely a luxury much more than an investment, and purchasing into it, along with any other luxury purchase, should be one of the last things you spend money on. While the price of DVC points have gone up recently, so has the price of everything else. If you spend your money on DVC today, you may be spending more to get something else that you need later.

One quick add on - DVC will also never be "paid off". Those annual dues coming just after the holidays are always noticed in my bank account for a month or two every year. And those keep going up as well!

 

[MICKIMINI]

You will be restricted by "things" your entire life, it's just that the "things" change. It took us many decades to be mortgage free and debt free and it took building a foundation early on and then bobbing and weaving as the decades rolled on. We had to make hard decisions constantly, prep school or public (we went prep - like buying a car a year), private university (why not?), doctoral program (absolutely), downsize (yup), drive a hybrid (and not a dorky one), etc , etc... Not paying interest on a mortgage or cars is like found money, but it takes a while, realistically to get there. You stack each good decision on the other like bricks and take them away when you make a bad decision. At the end you either have a foundation or a pile of bricks...and it's your choice.

 

[Capang]

Hi All!

My fiance and I just returned from our first Disney vacation together (his first, not mine) and we went on a DVC tour at the Riviera resort. He has since become a "Disney person" and we have been seriously considering buying in to DVC while the points are in a decent price point. We are fairly young, 23 and 22 respectively, and I have a full time job as a human resource specialist and he is returning to school full-time. I do have the ability to take on the cost fully without him but, he will also contribute.

We all know the value of the points will increase and hotel and ticket costs will increase, but is it worth it to make that big of a commitment. We will most likely start with the 100 points and then increase as we have children. My thought is that after its paid off, the maintenance fees will seem insignificant to the overall value we will get.

We are not necessarily long vacationers (4 to 5 days max) and we have a lot of flexibility to travel during slower times of the year. We are definitely coming back to WDW but, does paying more now and accumulating points while we pay it off seem worth it?

I would love to hear more opinions on how long it took for you to make the commitment, what sold you on the membership, how you get the most value out of your members, etc!

Please use this as a thread as an free discussion of all aspects of DVC membership!

I caution anyone who thinks DVC is an investment. To me, that implies a monetary payoff. If you are thinking it will make you money there are better ways to invest. Keep in mind, dues go up every year. The advice of paying cash is sound advice. No, I realize not everyone can pay cash but if you will have several other debts such as student loans, mortgages, other debt I’d definitely wait before buying in. What about buying resale first and then buying direct when school is out of the way? In any case, I’d get something like a prenup to decide what happens to a DVC contract in the event the two of you split. Sometimes things happen to even the most solid couples.

Watch the videos posted above. Do your research about different resorts and resale. Do not make quick decisions with such a large amount of money, especially while one of you is still in school and your careers are just beginning. DVC is a big purchase that costs us owners every year (dues, tickets, travel, etc). Research before buying is key. Don’t rely on the DVC guides for all the info. Some guides are better than others when describing realistic expectations of DVC.