questions on renting

[vacfund]

New to all of this but had a few questions. In going over the boards I see where people respond back to points for rent. Is it best to request points or respond to advertisement of points? How long does it normally take for the owner to set up the reservation and get back to a person? We have gone over the hints and researched where and how many points we need. Is it adviseable to only contact 1 person at a time or ok to contact a couple of contacts to see which one would work out best. Any suggestions or comments very welcome!

 

[disneyberry]

for the best results, you should both respond to members' ads, and also post your need for points.

regarding etiquette, IMO initially, you can try contacting a number of members to see if their points are still available, what their asking price is, what their terms/conditions are, etc.
once you do find someone who you probably want to work with, it is only polite to work exclusively with that person.
it would be kind of rude if a member spends a lot of time and effort trying to book your reservation for you, and then you suddenly decide to rent from someone else because you happened to be working with more than one person at once.

keeping the lines of communication open is crucial. try to keep the member updated... for example, if you change your mind and don't want to rent from them anymore, do let them know so they can move on to the next renter.
also, respond to everyone who contacts you, even if it is a short note to say, "no thanks, i am working with someone else".

regarding how long it takes to setup a reservation, it depends on what your travel dates are, and how sold out the resorts are then. keep in mind that dates within 2 mos of check-in are usually sold out, and also GVs and Standard Views at BWV are also often sold out months in advance.

HTH! good luck, and i hope you have a great DVC vacation!