DVC Buyer Checklist: 9 Things to Know Before You Buy

Common First-Time Buyer Mistakes (and How This Checklist Prevents Them)

Most DVC buyers who regret their purchase made one of a handful of avoidable mistakes. After 25 years in this market, the patterns are clear. Here's what trips people up and what to do instead.

Choosing the wrong home resort

The home resort advantage is real: you get an extra 4 months of booking access compared to all other DVC owners. If you buy at Saratoga Springs but always want to stay at Animal Kingdom, you lose that advantage every time. Pick the resort where you actually want to stay, not the one with the lowest price per point. The 11-month booking window at your home resort is one of the most valuable things DVC ownership gives you. Don't give it up to save a few dollars per point.

Ignoring the use year

Your use year determines when points deposit and when they expire. A February use year means your points arrive February 1st and must be used, banked, or borrowed by the following January 31st. If you typically vacation in January, a February use year is almost perfectly timed. If you vacation in March, you'd be using fresh points and have plenty of flexibility. But if you vacation in December, a February use year means your points are nearly 10 months old when you book, which limits your banking window significantly. Match your use year to when you actually travel, not whatever contract happens to have the best price.

Buying too few points

People consistently underestimate how many points a Disney vacation requires. A standard 2-bedroom villa at Bay Lake Tower during peak week can run 500+ points for a 7-night stay. First-time buyers often buy 100 points, plan a big trip, and find they don't have nearly enough. Think about where you want to stay, when you want to go, and how many nights, then work backward from actual point charts before you commit to a contract size. It's cheaper to buy the right number of points now than to add a second contract later.

Not accounting for annual dues

The purchase price is a one-time cost. Annual dues are forever, or at least until the contract expires. A 200-point contract at a resort charging $9.50 per point runs $1,900 per year in maintenance fees, every year, whether you vacation or not. Add that recurring cost to your analysis before you buy. The checklist above covers dues because they're one of the most overlooked factors in the total cost of DVC ownership.