How much reseach...

[zoomsharedisney]

Below is a quote from Jollymon which was made in regards to the majority of DVC members bought into DVC because we looked at the payment and could afford it without doing any research about the resorts or even DVC. He made this regard to the 'herd' of DVC members that do not belong to the DIS Boards. I disagree and would like to truely find out if Jollymon is right in stating his opinions about the majority or weather we are smarter than what he assumes and actually did research before we bought. Don't forget to ask your DVC friends who don't belong to the DIS Boards and tell me what they did too!

The majority (like most of America) simply looks at the monthly payment and makes a guess at whether they can swing it or not.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

We toured DVC (now OKW) in 1995 and bought in 2005 at BWV. So yes, we did some research. Our only 3 trips as DVC members have been to our home resort, in either BW view or SV.

I probably still would not have bought except for all the great info here on the DIS. I felt like I really knew what I was buying and how to make the best use of it before we bought.

And as to monthly payments, we don't make any. We charged the whole purchase to our FF card and then paid it off when if came due. We pay our annuals dues the same way.

-- Suzanne

 

[eliza61]

I did not know about the Dis when I purchased my membership. Monthly payments were not the determining factor when we purchased. We tried to figure out if it would be a good purchase for us. Would we continue to travel to Disney enough? We knew we always stayed deluxe and how easy was it to use our points at other places. Only after that did we look at ways to pay for it.

 

[jekjones1558]

I chose "No research" because we bought while at WDW and without doing any research whatsoever. The monthly payment was not a factor, since we paid cash. We just liked what we saw at BWV and bought. Had no idea about resale, another resort (OKW) or anything else. Truly ignorant. To this day I am amazed that our DVC purchase has been a good decision (have added on 6 times) despite the fact we checked out nothing and acted pretty much on impulse.

 

[tmk0730]

We did a good amount of research. Monthly payments were not a factor because we paid cash. We went with SSR because we decided we were most comfortable buying from Disney direct and with the friends and family discount we felt the price was good. Now we haven't stayed at any of the DVC resorts yet so I don't know if we picked the right resort for us or not. We think we might like to add on one day, but will try a few of the resorts first to see where/if we should add.

 

[Chuck S]

We bought in 1992, we took the tour, after talking to other owners on the monorail. Truthfully, we were quite skeptical...but it was something we could afford to pay off in 3 years, and not be out our life savings if it flopped. There wasn't a lot of "history" or "research" available in those early years, but our guide patiently and honestly answered all of our questions and concerns during the tour.

 

[DVCMama]

Coming out of lurkdom for my first post - YAY!

We bought this past fall into SSR. We had visited for the first time 11 months prior and after talking with Judy Kaufman on the phone 5+ times with questions and concerns throughout that time period we weren't able to decide. We read this board A LOT for info which let us really pick DVC apart to see what would be best for us and the kids in the long run. Came back to WDW this past Sep (for free dining), toured some of the other resorts (on our own) and bought into SSR a few days after we returned home. We did not buy in only because we could make the payment, in fact we financed in the very beginning but have since paid it off with a bonus. Obviously we still pay annual dues. )

 

[allflgirl]

Yes, did a lot of research before we bought. Toured all the properties, not just SSR, talked with DVC members I knew (that's what got me interested in the first place) and found this helpful message board. We've gone on vacation every year for 2 weeks or more for the last 20 years and DVC just made sense for us. We also live 1 1/2 hours away, so we've cut down on the travel costs of airfare/car rentals, so in essence we've saved some money on our vacation expenses by buying into DVC.

Monthly payment amount was never an issue for us as we paid cash and look at the total amount paid, not a monthly payment amount that we thought we could afford. I really get turned off when a sales person starts talking about how low the monthly payments are on cars and other purchases. I wouldn't have even considered buying if I was concerned about the monthly payments. I've never financed a vacation in my life and I wasn't going to start with my DVC purchase, which is really just a long term vacation purchase.

 

[JimMIA]

The majority (like most of America) simply looks at the monthly payment and makes a guess at whether they can swing it or not.

I think most of us put a lot more thought into our DVC purchase decision than that poster did before making such a simplistic statement. When I hear people make statements like that, I usually don't read anything else they post.

I'd bet that a large percentage of DVC owners paid cash like we did.

 

[mom2rb]

I spent hours on the Disboards. Most of my questions were answered here, the rest were answered after a few calls to my guide. I don't buy anything without doing a ton of research first.

 

[spiceycat]

there wasn't alot out on DVC when I brought it.

in 1992 - when I did the tour I was ready to buy then.

I had done research and even did the tour at a few other timeshares. So I knew the ideal. I just like the way that DVC did it - and I knew it work for my friends and family (and boy has it!!!!)

 

[zoomsharedisney]

I guess I should reply to my own thread. We bought in 2004 on our first vacation as husband and wife. We took the tour and spoke to our guide quite a few different times during the vacation. We even spoke to probably about 20 or more different DVC members. We stopped at the information booths and asked a ton of questions. Ultimately we joined - but not because we could afford the payment - we joined because it was a great investment with a lot of opportunities and perks added into it. DVC is exactly what I thought it would be - no regrets. I'm glad that they are building more DVC resorts too! Once we save up more money we'll be buying more points (which means more vacations!!).

P.S. I joined before I even knew these boards existed!!

 

[crisi]

No answer cause you don't describe me.

We also paid cash - there was no "swinging monthly payments" (That isn't technically true, I had a home equity loan for a week or two between closing and receiving a bonus check that paid for DVC for us.)

We NEVER spoke to a guide at all. We did most of our research on the internet (here and Mouseplanet), bought resale. (That isn't true either, a guide called us back after we'd made an offer on a resale - three weeks after we orginially contacted DVC).

So we did do research, but we didn't speak to a guide, and we weren't worried about payments. We, however, didn't pick a resort based on research - I would have bought VWL, but it was very pricey at that time, BCV hadn't started closing yet. Our original offer was on a contract at OKW but it fell through and we ended up at BWV. I think we'd have been happy anywhere onsite - although if we would have ended up at OKW we'd be happy with a different type of vacation (we'd rent a car, for instance).

 

[Inkmahm]

No answer becasue you didn't describe me, either.

We paid cash. No issue with being able to afford it.

I found a listing from the Timeshare store on ebay and tracked that back to the DIS boards. After reading quite a bit here, we put in an offer on a resale contract for BWV. We knew which resort and which UY we wanted from reading here. We'd never spoken to a guide or toured any DVC location though.

 

[auntsue]

We also bought with no research, but I didn't vote in the poll because it had nothing to do with the payments. We paid cash. We have always stayed at the Deluxe resorts (Poly pre '95, Yacht Club post), and it was while we were at the YC in '99 that we discovered DVC. On the last day of our trip, we saw a DVC desk in the lobby, inquired about what it was, walked over to the Boardwalk to look at the model, fell in love with it, and bought before catching the plane home to NJ. It was a perfect fit for us. We've never regretted it and we've since added on there.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We watched the DVC channel on the TV in the hotel room for a few days, talked to some people at the DVC desk at the Polynesian and decided to take the tour in 1997. We did our discussion at the Commodore's House at OKW and loved it. We didn't like the looks of BWV, so we bought at OKW. We were both older people with one child and prospects of no more. Looked like it would fit for us.

 

[starbox]

We researched not only DVC, but also several other timeshares (Suntera, Bluegreen, Fairfeld). We bought almost two years after our initial tour, once we were 100% sure it was right - even then, we bought close to the minimum points we needed because I wanted to get a feel for how we used our points and how much extra $$ the additional trips we'd be taking with DVC would cost.

One year later, we added-on. After a year of ownership I realized a few things that all my "research" and number-running did not prepare me for.

1. I was not correct in theory about which resorts I would prefer and how much I would value preferred views. After staying in all of the DVC resorts, I realized I was wrong with the point usage I assumed I would do. I "thought" I would try for OKW or standard views at BWV much of the time. I much, much, much prefer my more expensive home resort of SSR to OKW. I also think the BW view is what makes the resort and would never try for a standard view room. I intended to do one stay at SSR, one at VB or HHI, and one "value" trip in the cheaper point-rooms at OKW or standard view BWV. I've found that I only want to return to an OVIR at VB, SSR, or a BW-view at BWV. I probably won't ever use my points elsewhere.

2. I did not know ahead of time that AKV would offer the option of 5 in a 1-bedroom. We are a family of 4, with opposite-gender kids. I just could not see getting a 2-bedroom for the 4 of us, and a 1-bedroom offered the same basic sleeping issue (one bed for the grown-ups and one for two kids). AKV's 1-bedroom set-up is perfect for us. We added on there.

 

[DVCJones]

I first looked into DVC in 2001....did some research.....bought in 2005!

 

[grizbuzz]

I did a little Internet research a couple years ago, but decided it wasn't for us because we live in CA and didn't go often to WDW.

Then during the Disney Cruise we were on, Disney sparked my interest in DVC again. I didn't have the chance to go to a presentation there (which I guess I should have, as I think there was some kind of cruise discount offered), but I did come home interested again in DVC. I started reading these disboards and talked with a DVC guide a couple times and looked at a couple of the financial analyses on Mouseplanet. Never went on a tour to a DVC property, but have stayed before at Animal Kingdom. That's our story.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Sorry no vote from me either. We toured OKW in 1994, but in 1998 something just made us do it. We bought sight unseen at BWV.

Edit: I take it back... I guess we did no research. That's how I'll vote. Although, it wasn't just because we could afford monthly payments.... it was because we thought it was right for us.