Yes, though we talk about 'renting points' what we really mean is "how much is it going to cost the
DVC owner to get a reservation that you want?" You pay cold, hard cash to the DVC owner, then the DVC owner turns around and makes a reservation using their DVC points. Kind of like when you were a kid and your parents took you to the local arcade where they had games that rewarded you in tickets - you then handed the tickets to Mom or Dad and told them what you wanted them to get for you.
So, no, the likelihood that you'll find someone willing to 'rent' you their allotment of points for a year and then let you decide what you want to do with them is pretty small. For one thing, even if you call Disney or get on the website to *use* those points, Disney won't talk to you. Period. Disney will talk to the owner of the points (someone who's on the deed, basically) and no one else when it comes to making a DVC reservation.
You're right in that it can be a bit confusing. But just think of it as using a concierge to get a room in a really private resort - the concierge will have to use his/her influence (i.e., "points") to get you that room. So the amount of money you have to offer the concierge to use that influence will be dependent on how much influence is going to be "used". It will take time for the concierge to build up their influence for that particular resort again, but for that one moment when you offer them enough money and they happen to have the influence available, they can get the room.
Basically, if you want to stay in a DVC resort *and* you don't want to pay Disney prices, you look for someone who owns a piece of the resort. That's the DVC owner. (Maybe just *a* DVC owner, not one who owns at that resort, but who has the ability to make a reservation 1 day to 7 months in advance. Someone who owns at the resort can make a reservation 1 day to 11 months in advance.) Before you go looking for just any old DVC owner, then, you want to have some idea of what you are wanting from them. Like, for example, what resort you want to stay at, what time of the year, for how many nights, and what kind of room you're looking for. That will allow you to sift through, if you will, the potential owners to find the one(s) that might have the resources to get what you want. One piece of information that you should be able to find pretty easily, though not from the Disney website, will be the total points needed for that particular request you're looking for. That will give you the information you need to start talking with potential DVC renters -- you know how many points they will have to spend to get you your request and you know, based on the time of year that you're talking to them in regards to the time of year you want this reservation, just how hard (or easy) it should be for them to get that reservation for you. At that point it becomes a negotiation in terms of what price (couched in terms of per point, I grant you) they want vs. what you are willing to pay.
The end result is a reservation in your name -- contingent on the strictures found the contract you should have signed with the DVC owner. Generally that contract - like any contract - is solid and unchangeable. FYI: a
DVC rental contract usually contains the following items as set in stone: a) no rescheduling of dates and b) no changes to the type of room (for example, you enter into a contract for a studio and then decide you'll just ask when checking in if a 1 bedroom is available or if you can add a night or two. Such actions would be a breach of contract and would likely land you in court.)
Keep asking questions if needed!
