How do owners guarantee they don’t get scammed?

[Lionezz]

Im also interested in the answers. I rented through a broker before but would like to try rent direct since the amount per point that broker cuts gets higher and higher each year. I think it was 4 dollars per point a couple of years ago which I thought was OK. Now it's more. I think the broker earns more than the seller nowadays.

 

[muppets3d]

The person renting from a private owner is much more likely the one to be scammed. The owner of the points can cancel at anytime, even after the reservation has been transferred to the renter. The renter, if they paid 6 months in advance, is basically out of luck as most electronic fund transfers (PayPal, etc.) cannot be disputed after 60/90 days. The owner is definitely in control up until the renter actually checks in.

The fact that there is risk on both sides of the transaction is probably why most of these transactions end up working out well for folks.

 

[DanCali]

The fact that there is risk on both sides of the transaction is probably why most of these transactions end up working out well for folks.

The person renting from a private owner is much more likely the one to be scammed. The owner of the points can cancel at anytime, even after the reservation has been transferred to the renter. The renter, if they paid 6 months in advance, is basically out of luck as most electronic fund transfers (PayPal, etc.) cannot be disputed after 60/90 days. The owner is definitely in control up until the renter actually checks in.

I agree that there is a lot more risk on the renter side than the owner side. If the owner gets paid with Zelle, or Paypal F&F (which are "safe" options if you want to eliminate chargeback scams as an owner) then what's the risk for the owner?

On the other hand, as pointed out by earlier in the thread, the owner maintains complete control of the reservation. What's stopping an "owner" with malevolent intentions to cancel a reservation after getting paid? I do agree that the vast majority of owners are decent people (in fact, I used "owner" above because scammers are likely not actual owners!) but when scams do happen, renters rightfully complain online and other maybe other renters think twice or are a lot more careful when renting.

A renter should definitely do certain things to protect themselves like asking for a rental contract, verifying ownership with the county, talking to the owner via phone, avoiding a large deposit upfront, confirming reservation in the Disney app before the final payment, and checking that the reservation doesn't disappear from MDE after the transaction is complete. A contract is important not just to lay out the terms, but also for things like payment timelines, cancelation policy etc.

 

[muppets3d]

I agree that there is a lot more risk on the renter side than the owner side. If the owner gets paid with Zelle, or Paypal F&F (which are "safe" options if you want to eliminate chargeback scams as an owner) then what's the risk for the owner?

On the other hand, as pointed out by earlier in the thread, the owner maintains complete control of the reservation. What's stopping an "owner" with malevolent intentions to cancel a reservation after getting paid? I do agree that the vast majority of owners are decent people (in fact, I used "owner" above because scammers are likely not actual owners!) but when scams do happen, renters rightfully complain online and other maybe other renters think twice or are a lot more careful when renting.

A renter should definitely do certain things to protect themselves like asking for a rental contract, verifying ownership with the county, talking to the owner via phone, avoiding a large deposit upfront, confirming reservation in the Disney app before the final payment, and checking that the reservation doesn't disappear from MDE after the transaction is complete. A contract is important not just to lay out the terms, but also for things like payment timelines, cancelation policy etc.

If you use a mailed check (and wait for it to clear) or ETF payment like Zelle where there are no options for a chargeback, there's really no risk for the owner.

 

[LAX]

Not exactly a scam, but one risk owners take on by renting is damages to the villa. I am not sure how common that is, but it's something I worry about whenever I needed to rent out my points.

LAX